"Defense of Aachen" *pics*

Boomerang wrote:

panzerguy wrote: Hey Manny has'ent anyone  figured out why you'r Dio's look so clean...it's those dang female's thay see a mess and just have to start cleaning   I think you cracked it panzerguy....The girl is in the tank. She has swept the street, cleaned the exterior of the tank and now she is detailing the interior....will be the best looking KT in the entire german army....   Boomer...

Sorry if this has already been asked...................

but what do you use for painting yout figures?

THanks,

David

Achtung, Baby!

Tch....tch....tch.....the bird waiting to help feather beautiful nest of men in grey/green....

Is hanging by her fingertips.....from the sewer grate! 

Where is your imagination? 

Excellent work, the paint job,model and ground work is fantastic

Pedro

ww2modeler wrote:

Sorry if this has already been asked................... but what do you use for painting yout figures? THanks, David

Thanks for the reply, and again great work.

David

namrednef wrote:

Achtung, Baby! Tch....tch....tch.....the bird waiting to help feather beautiful nest of men in grey/green....   Is hanging by her fingertips.....from the sewer grate!  Where is your imagination?

Hi Manny,

I wanted to congratulate you on your dio. It has a strong composition, and like the way the tank seems to hang over the edges, emphasising the size of it. I also like how the camoflage on the tank blends with the base, showing why the crew chose to paint their vehicle like that. The mortar in the bricks made a huge improvement, well worth the effort. One thing I noticed is that the outside of the building was a little bare...often the exterior has brackets, drains, shutter hinges, mismatched paint, mismatched bricks all kinds of add ons giving it a sense of history and everyday civilian life...which makes its destruction even more tragic...it makes us think about where we live and how we would feel if we saw a tank outside our home. Even seemingly plain exteriors have a lot of small details, and I think in the future this will be something that will really add an extra little zing to your diorama buildings...check out what model railroaders do... they are amazing at depicting structures( and please know that this is not to take away the success of yours).

 The pavers on the road look really good and capture those grey European streets. I would have like to see more debris, as it looksed a little arranged around the tank. I would have like to  see the tank crushing/grinding its way over the rubble leaving dust/fine gravel in its path (another way to get across the sheer weight of such a vehicle)

I know that the interior of the building is not important in this dio, but in the future, I think that more details, burn shadows, debris would really add to it. Even a looted burned building is full of so much crap that you can hardly believe it was all in there.

 Please take what I have said in a constructive way, you have no need to defend your choices, these are just some of my thoughts and may well be off the mark. Congrats you have a really strong well composed and executed diorama

vespa boy wrote:

Hi Manny, I wanted to congratulate you on your dio. It has a strong composition, and like the way the tank seems to hang over the edges, emphasising the size of it. I also like how the camoflage on the tank blends with the base, showing why the crew chose to paint their vehicle like that. The mortar in the bricks made a huge improvement, well worth the effort. One thing I noticed is that the outside of the building was a little bare...often the exterior has brackets, drains, shutter hinges, mismatched paint, mismatched bricks all kinds of add ons giving it a sense of history and everyday civilian life...which makes its destruction even more tragic...it makes us think about where we live and how we would feel if we saw a tank outside our home. Even seemingly plain exteriors have a lot of small details, and I think in the future this will be something that will really add an extra little zing to your diorama buildings...check out what model railroaders do... they are amazing at depicting structures( and please know that this is not to take away the success of yours).  The pavers on the road look really good and capture those grey European streets. I would have like to see more debris, as it looksed a little arranged around the tank. I would have like to  see the tank crushing/grinding its way over the rubble leaving dust/fine gravel in its path (another way to get across the sheer weight of such a vehicle) I know that the interior of the building is not important in this dio, but in the future, I think that more details, burn shadows, debris would really add to it. Even a looted burned building is full of so much crap that you can hardly believe it was all in there.  Please take what I have said in a constructive way, you have no need to defend your choices, these are just some of my thoughts and may well be off the mark. Congrats you have a really strong well composed and executed diorama

Bodge The Builder wrote:

Very nice job love the groundwork although the figures look like they have black eyes abit, shading is overdone in my opinion. the Tiger looks great and is made very welljust abit to clean for the surroundings. nice job though.

Thanks for the feedback, I posted this in an earlier reply that may address the "eye" issue:

...Since this was the most pointed out thing I will expand a little bit...the sunken eyes look on the NCO fig is partly because the guys face is molded with a "boyish" expression and his eyes are a little sunken in in the casting...one thing I do with my dios that I haven't seen much of elsewhere is that I shoot pics VERY close (most dios--or figs--in the Forum are never shot any closer to approx. my 7th pic as an example). Some of my 35th scale figs appear to be 4 to 5 times their real size on your monitor---closer to 120-200mm (1/16th or 1/8th scale) in real life! When you shoot pics that close you will definately bring out flaws that are not visible to the naked eye, or painting techniques that look good when viewed naturally but not when blown up 4 to 5 times. I shoot that close to get a more "dramatic" effect to the pics and also because I feel that even under that magnification the figs stand up pretty well, but sometimes flaws will pop up and I just have to be prepared to take a little more heat because of the closeups (go back and look at the 8th pic in my series; this is approx. 1/35th scale on my screen)...all of my painting is done to be viewed at that size: real-life...

Again, thanks for looking and for sharing your feedback...

Bodge The Builder wrote:

Sorry i just read its part of the kit, still nice.

somenewguy wrote:

a bit more weathering on the tank and you're ready for the cover

I've been looking everywhere for something kinda close to 1/35th scale in cobblestone bricks. Where did you find these Manny? I found some in 1/48th and 1/72nd scale in the model railroad stuff.

gary

squeakie wrote:

I've been looking everywhere for something kinda close to 1/35th scale in cobblestone bricks. Where did you find these Manny? I found some in 1/48th and 1/72nd scale in the model railroad stuff. gary

Mansteins revenge wrote:

squeakie wrote: I've been looking everywhere for something kinda close to 1/35th scale in cobblestone bricks. Where did you find these Manny? I found some in 1/48th and 1/72nd scale in the model railroad stuff. gary These particular ceramic sections are from a company in California called: Dutton.  Squadron used to carry a whole Dutton line but I am not sure if the company is even still around...good cobble sections are really hard to find...Verlinden used to offer a nice resin section but it is no longer available...a friend of mine is talking about casting one of my few remaining pieces...

The ones I found in the smaller scales were pretty nice, but as I said too small for something like I want. I wonder if a guy could actually make an RTV mold, and then actually cast them in plaster. Lastly; I used to see a guy with a stug 45 (like the one you used) down at a rifle range I punch paper at. His was black with what looked like a birch stock. The reciever had some bare metal showing thru it, but not too much. He promised me a chance to shoot it, but have not seen him in over a year.

gary

squeakie wrote:

Mansteins revenge wrote:  squeakie wrote: I've been looking everywhere for something kinda close to 1/35th scale in cobblestone bricks. Where did you find these Manny? I found some in 1/48th and 1/72nd scale in the model railroad stuff. gary These particular ceramic sections are from a company in California called: Dutton.  Squadron used to carry a whole Dutton line but I am not sure if the company is even still around...good cobble sections are really hard to find...Verlinden used to offer a nice resin section but it is no longer available...a friend of mine is talking about casting one of my few remaining pieces... The ones I found in the smaller scales were pretty nice, but as I said too small for something like I want. I wonder if a guy could actually make an RTV mold, and then actually cast them in plaster. Lastly; I used to see a guy with a stug 45 (like the one you used) down at a rifle range I punch paper at. His was black with what looked like a birch stock. The reciever had some bare metal showing thru it, but not too much. He promised me a chance to shoot it, but have not seen him in over a year. gary

Mansteins revenge wrote:

squeakie wrote:  Mansteins revenge wrote:  squeakie wrote: I've been looking everywhere for something kinda close to 1/35th scale in cobblestone bricks. Where did you find these Manny? I found some in 1/48th and 1/72nd scale in the model railroad stuff. gary These particular ceramic sections are from a company in California called: Dutton.  Squadron used to carry a whole Dutton line but I am not sure if the company is even still around...good cobble sections are really hard to find...Verlinden used to offer a nice resin section but it is no longer available...a friend of mine is talking about casting one of my few remaining pieces... The ones I found in the smaller scales were pretty nice, but as I said too small for something like I want. I wonder if a guy could actually make an RTV mold, and then actually cast them in plaster. Lastly; I used to see a guy with a stug 45 (like the one you used) down at a rifle range I punch paper at. His was black with what looked like a birch stock. The reciever had some bare metal showing thru it, but not too much. He promised me a chance to shoot it, but have not seen him in over a year. gary I f the casting is a success I'll let you klnow and we casn work something out...that's cool about the STUG 45--actually it was a STUG 44...

There actually were very few STUG 44's produced (too expensive and time consuming). Most all were the stamped steel versions. I remember picking up empty cases on the range trying to figure out just what they were! (before I ever saw the rifle) A buddy of mine collects cases as well as loaded rounds, and he never was really able to place the head stamp. Later I ran accross the old guy that owned it. He also had a near mint KAR 43! Should have known right away when I discovered that empty cases were copper plated steel.

     The Stug is a very rare item, but not as rare as a Hungarian assault rifle (I had one once for a couple weeks).

gary

You do have a gift. Nicely done. Figs are fantastic; boots, buckles, badges, binos, camo, wow! Speaking of cammo i think i see the outline of a buxom lass on the right side of the turm. Myself, i like your eyes. kinda that "thousand yard stare" thing. As for the StG or MP44 series of rifles by Feb 44 they were producing about 5000 a month so rare they were not, just not so many made it back across the pond id think. Everybody wanted a Luger or MP40. And , how many of the last (working) have you seen? Me, only one. I would like to say that Vespas ideas are right in the grove and all should watch and learn. Im sure youll run with it Manny.

                                                Regards, Mac

bobletterman wrote:

Great dio Manny, Well done! You do good work!!! I have had a lay off of several years but I am back in the game and intend to complete "Logistics" a WWII dio set in the last months of the Third Reich, started several years ago, but put on hold with the ever increasing burden of running VLS. Now that I am retired, I hope to begin posting in progress photos on my web site and others as it progresses. www.bobletterman.com Anyway, the talent that has sprung up over the last 20 years is absolutely amazing!! You are certainly included in that category! Let's stay in touch! Bob Letterman

Alright, Manny!  Praise from one of the masters!

Circuitrider wrote:

bobletterman wrote: Great dio Manny, Well done! You do good work!!! I have had a lay off of several years but I am back in the game and intend to complete "Logistics" a WWII dio set in the last months of the Third Reich, started several years ago, but put on hold with the ever increasing burden of running VLS. Now that I am retired, I hope to begin posting in progress photos on my web site and others as it progresses. www.bobletterman.com Anyway, the talent that has sprung up over the last 20 years is absolutely amazing!! You are certainly included in that category! Let's stay in touch! Bob Letterman Alright, Manny!  Praise from one of the masters!

Dont let it go to your head , he,s only being kind . it,s obvious he cant say what he really thinks of it.   Only kidding,

Check out,  this guy does some decent work, on armour section, makes our stuff fall into insicnificant category wouldnt you agree, Long way to go yet. keep modelling.

Bodge The Builder wrote:

Dont let it go to your head , he,s only being kind . it,s obvious he cant say what he really thinks of it.   Only kidding, Check out,  this guy does some decent work, on armour section, makes our stuff fall into insicnificant category wouldnt you agree, Long way to go yet. keep modelling.

Hey Manny, can't say that I know the name myself, but as I gather he's obviously a "name" then congrats to you for the recognition!

*edit* Oh, OK, now--I just checked that other post and realized he's the "Big dio guy" from that book--very cool, Manny. He seems like a real nice guy--hey you deserve the recognition!  

He is more of a "Diorama guy" than anything else...But I am sorta surprised that you haven't heard more about him though. He's a lot more than that guy who was in "that book"...He was a co-founder of VLS (along with Verlinden and Stok) and started one of the country's most popular yearly modeling contests: Mastercon. He has dozens of books out; the one I posted was just a small sample of his work...I would rate him right up there with Shep Paine in terms of modeling skill and as an influence on our hobby.

I dare say that his company, VLS, was what really launched the golden age of aftermarket companies in the early to mid 80's. VLS alone virtually introduced resin parts to the hobby, etc....etc....Even though he is apparently retired and sold VLS to Squadron, I am sure that long after we are gone people will still be using Verlinden/VLS items in their dios, etc... 

the doog wrote:

He seems like a real nice guy--hey you deserve the recognition!

Yep!  Take a bow, man.  I gotta admit to lurking these forums mostly...I'm a brand new armor builder.  But, I've got no problem saying that I consistently look to your builds, Manny, along with Doog's, WBill's, and Biffa's, for inspiration and technique.

Shep Paine and Bob Letterman's books kept me inspired when life interrupted modeling for the past ten years.  I'm delighted to see Mr. Letterman's interaction, and approachability in the forums.