I havent had much experiance in making bases, usually my tanks are just stand alones.. my intentions were, to just make a scenic base with something besides just using grass and dirt...but is this too much? too big for just the tank model? or should I go with a smaller, simpler base for the Jagdpanzer and place perhaps an 88 emplacemnt with the tree? any feedback would be nice..would also like to hear from some AMPS judges?

Visually the tree is huge and thick. I don't think the base is too large, the tree may be to overpowering by the time you get the leaves on.

If you add something to the front left, bushes, figures the base would be good.

I don't think an 88 would be positioned next to the tree.

Just my two cents... wait for others opinions too.

Hi Tim,
great you are trying something new here!

Here's my bundle of pennies;
The treetrunk is too thick for it's size. You could easily do with half the diameter.
It also looks like the tree is going to grab the Jgd.Pz. It doesn't look right this way. Trees tend to grow straight up unless forced to do otherwise and those forces have to be strong!
So I suggest a new slimmer and straight tree. This way your vehicle(s) and other things will not be overpowered, just put into perspective.
Make a choice of what kind of tree too, because there is a huge amount of difference between them! Compare an oak with a birchtree for instance.

Good luck!

the bushes sounds good, it would help with the idea of 'conceal and surprise' which was really my thought with a tank killer.. as it was intended, sit back and pick em off with its long range gun. and perhaps your right about the 88..but..perhaps an artillery emplacement? if I cant get the IV to look right.

hey Ron, thanks for the input. I realize this doesnt show in the photos I provided, but I was going for a large tree..like an oak..and on this tree, its split at the top, but with one large limb missing (it'll be part of the ground foiliage).. now,thats the tree..my dilemma is...your thoughts on the tree vs the tank being too big is my dilemma, yet on the other hand..I thought along with some other foliage , the tree was a good concealment point for a tank killer.. theres my problem..I cant decide between the two..

I guess I didnt really think about it..but ..here in southern US we have trees like this... but I didnt consider if there would be in Europe...is there?

Yes we have oak trees in Europe.
When I saw the first image ... I thought .... the tree is going to overpower the scene and take centre stage. But when reading how the tank killers saught cover and ambushed oncoming forces, It brings home the story. Too many dios have small trees with little or no leaves (laziness, time, skill, cost, etc), that armor modellers must believe that trees are all this small and leaveless. I think you nailed the scale of the real thing, and would go with it .. as is. It´ll be important to highlight the tank in someway ... and not let it get totally lost in the foilage.
The tree looks great Tim. Love the bark texture you have sculpted. What clay did you use?

I have not done dios yet,so I have no advice,but I can't help but noticing the great Jagdpanzer,the paint job and weathering look great

yeah Frank, that has been something Ive noticed at many shows..perhaps most everyone suffers the same dilemma I have now..
Anthony..thanks!

Howdy Tim,

I love your approach; dare to dream BIG! For a tree to be that big it would have to be ancient which means it won't have the same color as a young tree. Take a look at some real-life huge trees. They aren't really brown but have more gray colors in the bark. The leaves will be all different shades and there will be areas of no leaf growth. Also notice there is a lot of life around the base of the tree: smaller saplings, bushes, weeds, etc.

I don't think the base is too big. If this was was my diorama I would invest in some nice figures and have them conferring or scouting at the front. This is a great oppurtunity to tell a story by mixing an officer and enlisted men or infantry, artillery and armor personnell.

That's my two cents worth. I can't wait to see more progress. Thanks for sharing the good work!

Y'all take care,
Don "Lakota"

Hi Tim

For what it's worth, my opinion.

I think it looks very promising, great in fact. I would disagree with Ron's statement regarding the lean on the tree. I walk my dog every day past an Oaks with such shapes. They are not in some remote windy hilltop but on the edge of farmland between two fields. As Frank said it would be prefectly logical for the crew of the Jagdpanzer to seek cover from Allied aircraft etc under a tree of this size and I don't think its size is an issue either in respect to the overall composition.

It gets a big thumbs up from me although I don't envy your task ahead applying hundreds of leaves. Bear in mind depending on your time of year this is set in, Oaks are a deciduous tree and as such lose their leaves in Winter in case you didn't know.

If you intend buying the Plus Model Oak leaves I think they are quite uniform in size. I just wondered if buying some of their 1/48 scale ones as well as 1/35 and inter mixing the two would give a better appearance.

Alan

I think you should wait until you get more ground work in, such as bushes, maybe a fence if you want, because the whole idea of a tank killer is like the man said above "surprise" You know there is a very famous picture from the ardennes campaige showing one of those tank killers next to a tree about to enter a field through a barb wire fence, so depending on the season it could work, why not, personally i like the tree, looks good

hey thanks guys for the feedback..
Alan, I checked out those leaves from Plus Models.. you think one set (100) would be enough or maybe 200?

Don, great idea.. how bout these guys? but, I cant recall any ideal panzer commanders looking through binoculars thatd suite this tank..any ideas?

oh and Don..its not yet painted.. and to answer the previous question, I used Super Sculpey over a wire armature.. I couldve gone easier and used spackle or something.. but Ive been wanting to get into sculpting figures, and this was kind of a practice in using clay and wire armatures.

Hi tim

I think you are going to have to see how you go on quantity. It's going to spoil it if you go sparse I think, but as I said it depends on the season. Oaks will be completely bare in Winter losing their leaves from about September onwards. It's a gradual thing just like the trees you have in the US, and of course the fallen leaves remain around the trees base to go from green to light brown to tea leaf brown almost black over a period of time as they decompose and rot feeding the tree again. Those rotting leaves will remain but of course get covered as they disintegrate by the surrounding ground cover.

One other thing about Oak is that because of this very open rough bark texture they attract other plants to grow on them, mostly moss and ivy. Just remember to only to put it around one side. Moss of course loves damp darker shade conditions to grow and ivy needs the sun on its leaves.




Alan

Commander figure......

How's this one. Could change his headgear if it didn't suit



Sorry can't get a bigger image but if you go to web site you see it. Scroll down and click on image for larger one.

http://www.miniature-park.com/search_result_e.php?search_maker_id=376

Here he is used on this lovely build

http://www.planetarmor.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5514&highlight=panzer&page=3

Alan

hey thanks for the pics alan. Im guessing 100 isnt gonna be enough.. Ill start with 200 ...that commander looks the part too..though ,the only US vendor that seems to carry it is Colorado,which is closed for another couple of weeks. I have some small fungi already sculpted into the tree..but I'll add some moss after painting..I think the ivy would be good too.

Seems to me that most bases are at least as big as yours. Sometimes larger or smaller depending on how much is to be displayed and some folks can tell a whole lot of story in just a little bitty space. The tree is a bit large but not out of the question. Nice dio.......Al

I maintain logging equipment and I tell you your tree is fine... we get ALL sorts of shapes even in the Pine plantations you get odd-fat gnarly mutant ones!!! but hay that's nature! plus if your parking under one you'd want a stable looking one!!!

Like your Jgd.Pz. too... I'm looking forward to more up-dates Tim.

Hey Tim

Really cool that your doing a dio. I've always like your models and now that your doing a dio will really bring your model to life.
As for the size I think it's just right considering there will be a tree and vegetation. If it were the model alone then smaller would be better. The tree is spot on. I take my dogs for walks through the woods here in New England and there are plenty of trees that look like yours.
This is going to look great when done. Please keep the updates coming.

Rob
www.scratchmod.com

Tim just take a walk out your bck door. There is no tree that looks like another. Trees will grow to huge preportions if left undisturbed by man. At my step fathers house in New York we had an oak tree that was over six foot thick and a monster in height. One thing to remember when you use trees is that with hard woods, the root system will be about 1 1/2 times the spread of the branchs. I like your tree and the branchs just spread out in a natural way. Add enough leaves and you have a done deal there.

thanks guys, i appreciate it.
Bob, i know what you mean. when I was a kid, we lived on a large wooded area where there was a very large oak..had to be 6-7 feet diameter..with massive branches we could climb..always wondered if it was still there.

Hi Tim,
I somehow missing the broken-off-tree-part, when I replied. Now I understand the strange shape of the tree. Is there a reason why you are doing a broken branch?
I sure do love the 1st (big) picture Alan posted. That one just screems out "build me!" together with that Jagdpanzer.
I wish I knew how to do foilage in that amount, otherwise I would just do that...

Are there any secrets to doing something like this? Features maybe?

Btw; thanks Alan. Your lucious greens are decorating my desktop now!

Hello, the old tree looks very good so far and I don´t think, it´s too much... even with leaves on.
There are many sizes in nature and I made some photos at different months of an "special" tree near to me, it´s also an old oak.

At the moment I "build" 2 bases, which are an opposite to all known standard bases - a naked landscape without grass and trees.

greetings...
Soeren

Tim I really like the scene you are portraying, however I have never seen an Oak that is bent over like that. There are other trees that do grow this way, Willow being the first that comes to mind. My first impression was that it was a wind swept tree growing on high open ground; however that would not work with your idea.