Bruce:

Looking good!! It is interesting in the first photo of the OT34 and KT together how they look almost comparable in size, but in the second photo you can see just how massive the KT really is.

Thanks for sharing. -zon

your right Zon, in the last pic you can really tell how huge the King Tiger is and how much of a mismatch a battle with a T34 would be. i've received all the diorama accessories so that i can build a factory scene such as a drill press, lathe, oil cans, work bench, etc... this diorama will be cluttered with goodies. cheers for now, bd.

this diorama sounds great, i have done a lot of sketches over the past couple of days for a new dioram i might do and embarissingly it sounds a lot like yours because i have had this king tiger since christmas and after seing that kohelkau post it inspired me to try and create a train station scene, although yours is a factory, they sound very a like. if i was to build it, i know that it definetly would not live up to your kind of standards.
good work bruce, keep it up
stan

Thanks for showing us the two together Bruce, they really do look like they were playing in the same sandbox so to speak. Can't wait to see the next step

thanks Jeremy and Stan, i too look forward to the fun of putting this scene together.

Stan, your train station idea sounds cool and i can't wait to see it come to fruition buddy. i saw someone suggest a train campaign and have always wanted to try my hand at 1/35 locomotives, your plans sound fitting and i wish you a speedy build.

cheers, bd.

Yo Bruce,

You going hard on this one...two nice looking pieces of steel you have build...love your work steps.

Keep up...we follow!

Greetz Nico

Some great work Bruce (as usual ), I only wish I could do such a fine job! I will be trying the methods you used soon. Looking forward to the Diorama.

Regards,

thanks Nico and Vladimir, your kind words are great encouragement to keep moving on this project. the two german figures i am working on are from this set:

it's going to be an interesting challenge to paint the rabbit fur details on the M43 parka but it will definitely be fun.

cheers, bd.

hi everyone,
getting some progress on the german figures for the diorama. they're at the stage where they will need to dry a bit more and then i will spray them with dullcote. then i will add the final weathering and they will be ready for the scene.



the faces were painted with oils and the rest was done with Vallejo acrylics. i tried something new (again) where i did the washes using acrylics which was fun and very user-friendly as you can try so many different layers or mix two colours while the wash is still wet. plus, you don't have to wait overnight to move on as they dry really fast.

i see a bit of improvement with each new set of figures i put together so i feel satisfied but i'm keen to see how the russians will turn out. painting the rabbit fur was a huge challenge for me but i enjoyed trying to get this material represented in paint... i had lots of great references to keep looking at for inspiration.

thanks for checking in and happy modeling. cheers, bd.

Bruce, did you perform any touchup or highlight after the wash? I'm working with Vallejo Acrylics for figure painting and still trying to learn how to work with them to achieve the effects I want.

Bruce: looking good. I think the fur was successful.

Happy Modelling, -zon

Very nice work on everything. I really admire the T34

thanks guys for the kind comments and yes, Jeremy, i did apply highlights after the wash. it is kind of hard to explain with words but i used a wet wash/drybrush method. i first do some colouring as a wash then i add more paint into the wet areas and then i blend as it drys ending the process pretty much drybrushing the paint on. if i had to put it into a sequence i would say base colour, shadows brushed on, shadows blended with washes, drybrush highlights, washes on details then touch ups.

it's all new to me so i'm not sure i'm doing it right but it kind of worked and was great fun. hope this makes some sense. cheers, bd.

Thanks Bruce, that does make sense I think. I keep trying to drybrush the highlights and it looks.. horrible.. I'll give your method a try and post a picture or two, if I'm successful, if you would like to check it out.

i had the same results Jeremy, the drybrushing looked rough especially on the white pants. to get a smooth effect i dipped my brush in water and then picked up a tiny dot of paint and brushed it on wet, i then would wipe the brush clean, dip it in water again and blend the highlights before they dried completely.

please post some pics as i'd really like to see how you approach this so we can bounce some ideas around. cheers for now, bd.

You got it bud, it may take a couple of tries but once I get it down I'll take some pics and upload them. Wish me luck

Hi Bruce,

The figures look really good. I particularly like the first one, the face is very nicely done! I also like the fur; I will have to try your method out.

I was just wondering how you painted the shadows on the white pants. Do you add a sort of grey wash or do you paint it with a thin brush?

Regards,

thanks Vlad, the white pants were the trickiest part after the fur details. the way i went about it was to paint the pants a light grey as a base colour. i then added a white wash in the creases and blended this removing the wash from the underside of each crease to represent the shadows.

i then brush painted the highlights with white paint and a thin brush following the folds and blending this into the base colour. all this was with acrylics. when i add the weathering the white pants will look a bit better.

hope this helps and know that you may need to go back and forth between white washes and highlights until you feel satisfied. cheers, bd.

I'm following your build....and your tips bruce

Thanks a lot for sharing

Stunning work so far


Cheers

THE RUSSIANS

hi everyone,
here is an update on the russian figures for the diorama. they are all built and here's a review of their assembly from two manufacturers that are new to me:

below is the first of four Tahk figures. someone had previously suggested trying Magic Sculpt epoxy putty when they saw my Milliput sculpting for the Tripwire diorama. i got my hands on some and it does offer an easier material to work clothing than Milliput. it is best descibed as "waxy" in texture and i used it here to make a winter jacket for the trooper.



this second figure also received a new winter jacket. you can work the Magic Sculpt for up to 3 hours from my experience. this figure had some great details like all the Tahk figures but his hands were an atrocious mess so i replaced them with Dragon Gen2 hands.



this figure already had a winter jacket but his gun was broken. i had to fix it and then paint it white so i could check out the repairs. all these Tahk figures got gunslings made from lead foil.



this last figure had damage to the front brim of his helmet so i fixed that with Magic Sculpt and he got a PE gunsling from a Dragon Gen2 set for his Mosin91 rifle. all the Tahk figures would be considered "large" for 1/35th but they will be grouped away from the other figures so it won't be a problem for this scene. to represent the poorly equiped russian troops, this unlucky fellow has no winter jacket.



the last figure is a Doug's Original that can best be descibed as "wow." just a really sweet looking sculpt and a great pose.



all the Tahk figures were not the easiest to assemble so come prepared. the helmets are hollow inside so i filled them with putty as i have no idea what they had planned for a guy to get them to fit on the heads. the gear has superb details, tiny little folds on the ammo pouches and amazingly fine details on the guns. they look like fun to paint and i'm keen to get to this stage.

the Doug's figure went together in 5 minutes and i only added putty to the arm/shoulder joints to be obsessive. the gear looks more smooth (or lacking in all the tiny extra folds) than the Tahk figure but it has uber crisp details and the best PPsh 41 gun of the gang. i would classify him as "slightly small" sized, about the same size as Dragon Gen2 figures. he'll be on the other side of the building so again it won't pose a problem.

writing this figure review was quite fun and hope this helps those who want to check these figure lines out. cheers for now and happy modeling, bd.

i got a double post with my last update. so i've removed the duplicate and replaced it with a joke:

i went to a bar but the doorman said i need a necktie to get in. so i went to my car, opened the trunk and pulled the jumper cables out. i wrapped them around my neck with a lovely windsor knot.

i got back to the bar and said "i'm good to go." the doorman said "okay, just don't start anything."

cheers, bd.

That’s a lot of Russian soldiers against just two Germans. Is this why you named the diorama Red Rain?

yes indeed Jeremy, like tiny red ants swarming a huge grasshopper, the King Tiger's future will be looking bleak LOL.

cheers, bd.

Bruce: some good looking russians you got there. I look forward to the paint job on them.

Happy Modelling, -zon

hi gang,

here are the two german soldiers finished completely, weathering and all. thought a brisk snowy mountain background was appropriate for them:




started building some of the workshop machines for the scene last night. i've got pots cooking on every burner it seems. cheers for now, bd.