My first ever diorama

I work all day and am on my feet the majority of the time so when I come home all i want to do is lay around and rest, but all in all, ........I'm LAZY?
but on the weekends I really have no excuse?
I'm also still trying to find the perfect shelf type thing to put it on, thus far it's a negative, but there are a few flee markets in belgium and chek rep. and so on to go hit up?

I could start by getting some soil samples or some soil from the brenner pass? it'll give me something to do next weekend and I could take the lil' woman with me? the only bad thing is , it really sucks to drive in italy!!! nice people/ bad drivers.

you're lucky being over there and to be able to do that sort of thing

Geez would you quit with the artillery-tank squabble!?!?!? Well anyway i'm taking the pics to be developed tomorrow so i shouldn't be more than a week. What kind of help do you need for your dio redleg? Oh and a couple of pointers...an empire can't exist when there's a kingdom and vice versa, and every aspect of an army is as important as the next. Oh and british soldiers are the best. I just realised... this is a "hot topic" wahey!!!!

Hey Seb, sorry it took me a while to get back to you. To answer your question from the beginning of this topic my diorama is going to be intricate. It will be a farm house where a few lost german vehicles and infantry have met. It will have a Pz.Kpfw IV Ausf. H, a Pz.Kpfw III Ausf. L, an 8 ton 3.7 cm flak semitrack (armored cab type), and a Schwerer Zugkraftwagon 18t (Sd.Kfz.9) "FAMO". They will be sort of lounging waiting for their units to return when a few men with observation equip. spot a M4 Sherman (early production that just passing through on the other side of some trees. I think it will be pretty cool. What do you think Seb?

Good luck guys,
Mark

i can't seem to make head nor tail of this infernal image posting mechanism! help!!!

yeah sounds funky but are you sure you'll have enough space? 3 tanks and a halftrack, it'll be at least 50x50cm no? Does anyone know how to work this image posting thing? i have a couple you might be interested in....

Aha so now i know how to post images i've sent an e-mail to the generous moses asking for a place to host images. I'm just waiting for a reply, then i should be able to give you a couple of taster pics (ie the ones that would fit into the scanner). Watch this space

I'm feeling lazy now so that's why I don't go back and check to see if I posted something like this on the 1st page.
my dio plan is to have a german convoy of 2 tigers, 2 panzer IV's , 2 rso's one an ammo carrier one a pak 40, a nubulehkfg? ( rocket launcher ) , a towed pak 40,
a demag ( standard one ) and a demag with an AA gun ( a 38? ). but they will be going up a mountain pass trying to get back the the fatherland when all of a sudden they are taking fire from americans from up top the mountain, maybe another road above theirs? and the americans call in for or are just fortunate enogh to have american flown spitfires providing air cover.

that's my plan, I've been trying to think of how to make the hillside/mountain side, I want it to look like cliffs and the americans road has to be above the germans by about 20 meters ( 1/35 scale ) , my problem is I really don't know what to start out with to make the frame ( I was thinking some 2x4 some plywood some drywall and make a type of steps and then maybe break the drywall up into chunks so I can form the rough mountain. Finnally take some colored plaster and the soil samples I get and make the ground with trees grass and what ever placed in the wet mix?
any other ideas?

Hmmm, looks like it's gonna be pretty hugemungous you could use a mdf base and the innards of the mountain/cliff should be thick layered chunks of polystyrene, all coated off with a layer of papier maché, then add any detail with putty, be sure to "stab" at the papier maché before it dries to get jagd edges (geddit). You may want to consider a few details, such as dimensions of the finished thing, and be sure to draw down every detail of your idea so that you don't make it up as you go along. Moses still hasn't replied so i can't put the pics up yet. As for other ideas, i'm already planning my next dio, methinks something along the lines of troops at rest next to a busy road with military traffic somewhere in france. Well, gotta scoot, I'll be seeing you!

So if Moses doesn't help me out i'm looking for somewhere to host my fine images, any ideas?

Oh and redleg, don't rule out changing the diorama idea slightly, it could be a mountain pass, ie ambushing yanks on elevated plateaus eiter side. Like your initial idea, the yanks are overlooking the germans and the germans have to go forward to get where they wan to, alternatively they could be passing under a bridge, there's an endless list of scenarios
Come on you other blokes, help us out!and give me somewhere to host my pics

Seb ..... check out this thread for info on where to host your pics

http://www.finescale.com/fsm/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2331

Here goes, the first three taster pics, compliments of Moses




These are just a mild taste of whats to come, but not my best work, just the only stuff that could fit into the scanner. I've started the base and will take a few weeks to complete. Good photos are on their way! Any comments/questions??

btw those two pieces are the remnants of a wall the sherman has just busted through. Enjoy!!!!

very cool!
can't wait to see the rest.

"Welcome to Carentan" in French!! That's pretty ingenious, I probably would have been stupid enough to put in English

Glad the pics went up well Seb. They look great, love the weathering on the signs.

Rob

Seb,
I have a tip on the sandbags. Though its a little time consuming. I actually make REAL sandbags out of tan broadcloth and thread. They are REAL sandbags because I stitch them together, leaving one end open, then fill them with sand. Then I stitch the open end together.

The one major plus is that they are pliable and reuseable. Call it obsessive compulsive, but I am a historical purist.

Thanks for replying to my thread. When I came to this thread to read through it I found your request on sandbags and thought I would give you my solution!

Sic Semper Tyrannis,

Sean

jeeze redflag your gonna need three strong guys just to lift that bad boy....

who's redflag??? who's the bad boy??? who am i???

I had a funky idea, to clog up one of my main problems, a large gap in the square, i could use a plane's tail or nose cone. I'm not sure whether i should use this because it's not the only solution, hyas anyone got ideas for what things would be found in small plaza or squares?? A STATUE!!!! i just thought of it!!!.Any other ideas?? and are there any manufacturers who make 1/35th scale WWII bombers and the like?? Don't be shy to show pics of your own dio too

I'm thinking of an american duce and a half smashed into a statue or a fountain?
maybe some dead GI's laying around the truck?

O-yeah, I almost forgot I'm putting up more in progress pics tonight as well.
mmmkay?

C'mon guys show us ur pics! Sherman experts, especially sherman freak, were there any other places other than ammo stowage where a commander would weld extra armour on, ie turret, rear, front etc. And does anyone have any techniques for carving polytstyrene using other than a hot knife or a hot saw? (they cost £25 over here, a rip off!!) Would be gratful for any help whatsoever. Redleg where're those pics??

In answer to your question on additional Sherman armour .... other than the applique armour that is included with some sherman kits, some Shermans had large sheets of steel added to the glacis plate and to the sides of the turrets. Many added layers of sandbags or timbers to the glacis and side armour plates. Some Marine Shermans in the ETO places bolted timber planks to their sides.

I put up a few of my progress of my jagdpanzerIV

Nice pics Redleg. Btw guys i've almost finished the diorama!apart from a few minor problems like missing figures, it should be complete-ish by two weeks time. I'll be off to Canada (YAY!!! Holiday!!!) (NO!!! SARS!!!) for the summer so i'll get the necessary final bits from there ie. resin tank crew from VP and some minor accesories. I need a bit of help finding floor patterns: Most of the ruined buildings have either floorboards made from balsa or styrene "tiles". I've noticed from a couple of professional dioramas that some floor patterns have been printed off a computer. Is there any particular source for such goodies? And do any of you Canadians know of any exceptional model stores in and around Toronto?? Appreciate your help guys. Have a good one!!

Shermanfreak, did Sherman crews ever use sheet steel or anything else to protect their tracks???

Has everyone forgotten me?? Boo hoo hoo...