~ FIGURES ~ for ~ ! Clash in Tunisia ! ~ COMPLETE ~

Hey! Adam....where is Mr Pearlman????                 LOL

Bob

~Bob~     He will be featured in the update post after this one

~~Final Assembly~~

 

~I have begun final assembly with the gun emplacement. I know it's not very much the norm, even on detailed builds,  to  show this chapter in much detail.      It's a bit anti-climactic to see everthing without the complete scene to reference everything by, but as this has already been an unusaully complete and thorough blog--I intend to show some of the Dio in parts as it comes together....ahead of showing the completed scene. I think this will let the modelers following this build in to my process (one possible way of doing things) at a really pivital yet enjoyable part of the build.

 

~~Working back to front, I began assembling the Diorama by installing the fieldgun in it's position on it's desert parapet. Oversized holes had been left in the groundwork for the trailing arm spades to dig in, but they needed some filling in after placement, using the same Elmer's Woodfiller used in the base construction. This both filled the excess space in the holes and cemented in the spades. Small dollops of Locktight Gel Superglue we're used under each wheel to permenantly attach the Pak40 . Some colouring was done to the areas near the spades using pigment powders, to simulate the colours of  the surrounding rocks, not the sand scattered around by the wind .  A small bit of discarded earth was portayed the same way.

The gunner figure (nearly) went right into place, but  the the gun sat slightly lower in the dirt  than I'd calculated on the bench. To get him seated right on the trailing arm I straighted out his right leg, by cutting under his knee with a micro-saw, and warming the styrene with my butane soldering iron, that also acts as a heat blower. Obviously some care is needed, particularly on a finished figure! I got success and needed  the smallest touch-up, and ended up with a far more natural position of his leg than I had!

 

 

 

 

~~My loader finally "takes a knee" (forever) in my scene. This was just a matter of pulling the pin(saving his spot in the earth), testfitting, removing, adding some C/A along the length of his already attached fit-pin, and seating the figure home.

~Well, here it is--a start! (a finish?) either way--it's been a long time coming to put together, and soon these two will have the command and logistics structure they require in place  These two figures represent the most involved of the figure conversions on the build, and I think they're pretty effective in thier roles, but certainly need the others to complete even this part of the Diorama.

 

 

~~Back soon with more as it happens Gents,, thanks for your patience !.......

Indy, things are looking pretty damn fine my friend!  You have been putting your hours in on this build and it shows in spades!

Brian

~Brian~ That's hugely appreciated man--thanks for dropping in.

~Anti-Tank Gun Emplacement Complete!

~~I have finalized placement and installed the guncrew and gear using musicwire pins & C/A

The commander, who will be played by Ron Pearlman in the film (it's now confirmed)  has recieved his Afrika Corp issue binocs (Swinging ont he foil strap) and Luger on his right hip (just his style---maybe he likes American Westerns?)

Most of the gear is fixed with the Gel C/A, as it stays put where I want it and doesn't run into visable spots--but also bulks up to fill areas in uneven surfaces really well and bond.(In the old days, old school 'contact cement' would have done the job, but was a bit more messy and sometimes unreliable used in small amounts.

I have used pins on some items you may not expect, because sometimes it's difficult to get a positive 'seat' and be sure not to have visable glue. The ammo stowage tubes  above we're already pinned anyways, from painting,  and here I'm showing how I arrive at proper orientation by turning the part 180 degrees and using the pin itself to guide my micro-drill to the desired pin travel path.

Project Complete~
~~I've continued on to finish everything up, but of course I don;t have lamps enough to evenly light something of this size on the bench--also, it was my intention to photo this build outdoors in the sun, just as the scene takes place, and was painted with that end in mind all along.

 

 

 

 
     The British figures we're always the real subject of this Dio    

 

"

   The basic idea.......... is a direct infantry attack on a German fieldgun position, quickly dug into the terrain, ringed by a few transport vehicles, parked nearby at the ready. The gun I have chosen is the Dragon 7.5cmPAK40, a new item for the time..... 

Your diomara is huge... looks like you need a camera with wide-angle len!  Looking forward to see more pictures...

~Yup Huge Andy!

I'm working out the final pictures now

I'll have them up soon--stay tuned!

That's great animation with the Brit figures charging in. Awesome work on the vehicles as well.

tigerman

That's great animation with the Brit figures charging in. Awesome work on the vehicles as well.

Thanks Eric--nice to hear from you. People keep asking me how I'm going to top 'Clash'. I don't think I'll try to top it in epic-ness or blog-thoroughness---I'll just try to top it a little in quality and by way of venue, color richness.