Hi

having finished the KV-1 in a fairly dirty condition, (in another recent post) I had to make a diorama with some muddy conditions in it.

I haven't made a muddy diorama before, so end result was trial and error.

Anyway below are a series of pictures which show it from all angles.

I have put a caption on one picture, if anyone can think of anything better, please post it. I kind of wanted to avoid the cliched war movie 'For you the war is over' type of caption for the scene.

The diorama will be affixed to the wooden base, just need to seal the base first. Base is made from pine, with walnut stain.

any suggestions or comments welcome.

cheers
Neil

Hello Neil this is an excellent little dio well done .

My first thought was "wet!"

Lovely work there. I do like it

Hi Alexander/Michael

thanks heaps for the comments .

Michael This kit had been on sale for a discounted price for some time at my local store, I'd not considered buying it, but I saw how nicely yours turned out, and having also recently done the KV-2, and enjoyed it, I was after another non-stressful build, where I could concentrate most effort on the finish & the diorama.

I think these up-armoured KVs may have been done in Leningrad, after capture were likely to have been used in the same region, so wet, swampy and muddy seemed a good idea. I painted a fair bit of dried mud on the soldat on the ground though its not that visible in the pictures.

For the wet mud I used artists acrylics mixed straight from the tube, without adding water, which is about the consistency of thick mud, so looks right and dries semi-gloss. Where I wanted dry looking mud I used enamels. To get the smaller dried lumps I used ground up pastel chalk.

cheers
Neil

Nice little vignette the base is really cool I like the mud and your figures a lot.

Jaymes.

Very well done, I love dioramas in this scale and yours is fantastic.

Hi Jaymes/Brandon

thanks for posting your comments, I appreciate it, and Brandon I read your introduction, looking forward to seeing some of your stuff here

cheers
Neil

Trumpeters KV series are mighty fine indeed with the only let down being the tracks and tow cables.

With some work on the tracks and a set of Eureka XXL replacement cables though, they really build up a treat. I do intend to buy more of the KV series as and when I can.

Hi Mike

I quite like these Trumpeter KVs as well. The rubber tracks are not my first preference either, but painted and sagged they look the part. If you build another, be sure to post some pictures of it

I might I'll give one of Trumpeter's T34s a try for my next build.

cheers
Neil

WOW, Neil! Do you have an assembly line going or something! I like your figures and the mud is just beautiful. Thanks for sharing all your unique builds with those of us that sre more armchair hobbyists.

Regards,
AJ

Hi AJ

thanks for your feedback.

I find figure painting hardest of all to do. The figures are a combination of Preiser (the tank crew), Caesar (the surrendered guy) and Pegasus with a Preiser head (the soldat on the ground)

I have my spare time each week organised to do as much modelling as possible, all of it Braille Scale.

I recently had a bit of a holiday and that gave me extra spare time to get more done than usual, and I had 5 kits on the go at once. I still have1 kit part finished, and the DT-45 to finalise, and a couple of started small dioramas to do, then I'll break open a fresh kit or two. I generally have 2-3 kits in various stages of completion. Its always a tough choice deciding what the next kit will be

cheers
Neil

Neil,

All around great job! The wet mud on the ground and vehicle looks the part. You've done an excellent job of matching up the vehicle to photograph too! Perhaps you could give us a little description on how you achieved the wet mud and the products that were used?

Thanks for sharing and posting your builds . . . good set of photos!

-Eddy

Hi Eddy

thanks greatly for your comments.

Its easy to describe making the base, it wasn't hard at all, and I've built less than 10 dioramas in my life, so am not really an experienced diorama building expert.

Ionly took one 'in progress' picture, maybe next time I will take more, if it might help someone

Firstly I cut a piece of 2mm thick MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard) to the right size so that it would fit neatly on the pine base I had already made. This MDF is sold in sheets of all sizes at hardware shops and is very easy to cut and use.

Then I placed the KV-1 in various positions till I liked the angle and place. I then used a pencil to trace around that spot, to assist me before spreading wet plaster about .

I then mixed some plaster of paris till it was quite firm, not too sloppy and formed the flat raised area where the figures are standing, then made the road area. Where the ruts are for the tracks is basically on the bare board. I then did a light sprinkle of fine dry dust (gathered from my garden) over the still wet paster. This included tiny bits of dead plant matter, which adds to the effect.

To shape the mounds I used paint brush handles, and to get a random texture used a large 2 inch paint brush pushed and stroked randomly, to give the road area a roughened appearance.

To finish I placed the tank on the ruts in wet plaster to get some track impressions.

When dried, which is only 30 minutes or so later, I painted the whole thing matt black with diluted artists acrylic paint, and ensured all the white areas were covered. Later I dry brushed enamel paint over this, and then more cheap artists acrylics. It took a few coats till I had the brown mixed to the right shade

When that dried I sat the hull (minus the turret) on the road. I then mixed artists acrylic paint (with no water added) which is about the consistency of toothpaste, till it was the right colour then applied it with a brush in the ruts and thickly around the tracks where they make contact with the road, and brushed smaller amounts on the rest of the tracks and roadwheels. I then placed a weight of about 1 kilo on the hull to press it hard down into the acrylic paint until the paint had dried, which was a few hours, and in effect this glued it in place.

The grass is 'Heki' brand grass fibre, sprinkled over diluted white glue (diluted 1/3 glue to 2/3 water)

below picture is during painting of the base, it needed a few more coats to get the right shade, this was early on, and this was before the thick acrylic 'mud' was added, which was last





cheers
Neil

Neil,

Thanks for the reply and for sharing your method for building, putting together and painting the base for your vehicle. Cheap artists acrylics? Well I'll have to give your method a try on a base I will be putting together for a Tiger I that I had posted here earlier this year. I have a similar setting in mind. I hope that mine will turn out at least half as good as yours has . . .

Thanks for sharing your detailed base build, it is very much appreciated.

-Eddy

Wonderfull work,Neil,i like especially the wet mud effect!!
Dani

This is a nice "little" vignette you have here Neil. I wouldn't know this was your first time making mud if you hadn't told us. The first things that come to mind when looking at it are squishy and slimy, well done