I'm currently working on a build of the Tamiya Steyr 1500A/01 and have got to the stage where I'm finalising the composition before painting. The scene is a 12 S.S. Steyr with a full compliment returning to base with fresh bread on the morning of June 6th 1944 after an overnight furlough into town.

On the way home they encounter a group of British Paras at a bridge and the Steyr has crashed into the bridge after the driver is hit. This isn't an organised ambush, just the Steyr appearing as the Paras are on the bridge and a firefight breaking out.

The rest of the crew from the Steyr have dismounted and are returning fire or helping the wounded. That's pretty much the scene. I'm pretty settled on the final layout which is as you see it ( there are two figures missing, the Steyr driver and a German NCO pulling him from the Steyr ).

The foliage is just a stand-in to help me see how it all will look. It is on mounds that are intended to show the start of the embankments along the sides of a typical hedgerow lane. The tree will also have full foliage and the bridge is intended to represent just a small one along a country lane, maybe 10-15m long over a small creek. The Para figure is also still a WIP that needs quite a bit of resculpting, all that's done so far is to sort out the pose.

Where I'm looking for feedback/input is on the use of the Para figure. He fills that space and helps depict exactly what is going on, but I'm not so sure about how he would be that close, or if the use of the figure seems offensive at all.

As I see it the encounter takes place as the Paras are on the bridge and one is hit by return fire before the Steyr crashes and as the other Paras pull back to the other side where both sides are now exchanging fire.

( if you want more background/photos on the build and the story go here :Build Log).

So, thoughts ?

I don't see a problem with it, I've seen lots of pictures of fallen people in wartime pictures. I've always found it bizarre that some people get all bent about it, kind of makes you wonder what exactly they think happens in a war. Besides it's your creation, do what you want.

When I work on composition I always ask the question 'who did it/they get there?', what lead to that, what action would come from that?

If the downed figure is Britsh it looks more like the Styre hit the bridge in an effort not hit the soldier vs. him getting hit by a round. If you replace him with a German, the question becomes why did one soldier run out into the open under fire.
The space will be empty but in my opinion it would be more appropriate. Maybe a hastily built road block? A few logs tossed on the bridge?

Adding to what Scott has said; if it is the right element in the right place it will pass muster, if it is a dead soldier for the sake of it then it may draw criticism.

Dean;

The idea sounds pretty nice and plausible - Germans surprized, driver shot, Steyr crashed, crew bails out.

And my, you are BRAVE, opening up your draft to the critics! Now... my opine: What I see in your draft sort of belies your stated scenario - I see what looks more like an effective counter-ambush assault by those Germans.

You have specified a scenario not of a combat patrol looking for possible ambush (thus maybe ready and psyched to react - the assault you show), but rather of a totally unexpected encounter by troopies riding back from visiting the bakeries. I would expect more of a panicked, confused cluster hunkering down behind the obvious shelter (truck) - these guys were pretty relaxed, maybe even dozing in the morning. The Brits opened fire and they crashed. BLAM BLAM BLAM! S--t is in-coming, you are confused, maybe a grenade goes off, "F--k!", the bowels are runny, folks are yelling and screaming, one or more of your friends is bleeding out right in front of you. It's PANICK city! You MAYBE actually grabbed your gun - and MAYBE not. The kid next to you has lost it and is crying for mommy. Schultz is buggering-out right over the wall! (hint: wouldn't some German(s) caught in what looks like a funnel-like killing ground try to jump over a wall and flee?)

IF you re-group your Germans tight behind that truck, and push it back a bit, you have more plausible space to get a downed Para into the scene. IMO, he's currently too close - and doesn't tell a clear story... But you could do a couple of other things to make him more plausible...

Suppose he and his were still gearing up and getting organized - maybe some rations were being eaten, gear collected and stuff being passed around. Maybe a surprized Para dropped his canteen or a ammo bandalier. Maybe a Para cannister open with a partially-prepped WelBike and a bundled-up chute? Maybe the Paras WERE caught "pants-down" - if so, make it look that.

Alternatively, this WAS a semi-prepared "improv" ambush - after all, the AM is pretty quiet, and those Brits would surely have heard that Steyr coming up the road well before it got to the bridge (and ANY vehicle they would have encountered that AM would have been expected to be a German one...). And they would certainly have been psyched-up to do the dirty, I should think! In which case, the Brit may more plausibly be lying down tight along the road wall with gun pointed at those Germans (or maybe dead in that position). As suggested by another, an improv road-block - a piece of tree or maybe a Para cannister tossed out onto the road - could be useful. The improv ambush could be well suggested, I think, if you add in another Brit shooting from behind the wall.

But, this is, of course, YOUR DIO! The above are just my opines and suggestions. And I'm sure it'll look pretty cool, however you arrange it!

Cheers!

Bob

Hey, do as you please; your piece of work, so make the best of it the way YOU like it.

Me, I really don't give a rats-ass if there's a dead body in a diorama. Hell, we've all seen the pictures and the reels, so if you can see real images/videos, what's wrong about a diorama depicting combat?

The layout looks great, and the body conveys exactly what's going on, so go for it.

Just my .02 cents...

Thanks for the input guys, the brainstorming helps whether it seems it or not. The difficulty I'm having is in conveying the layout. In my mind it's a bridge between two sections of hedgerow lanes which left both sides with nowhere to go but forward or back, and back gets you dead. How I see it in my head works but I'm having problems putting it all into a single scene that accurately says what's going on.

In my head the jerries are ready to rock because of Partisan attacks in the area so no worries there., in fact them being combat ready vets is kind of key to the scene as it explains why they all aren't just dead in their seats.

So a group of four or five paras have heard them coming and hurry forward to the bridge, take hasty cover at their end and open fire. The driver and front passenger are hit, the Steyr swerves and hits the side, the Paras push up, the jerries return fire as they dismount and hit the lead para ( an NCO leading the charge ) then they dismount under fire with the officer in the front going down as he gets out, hit by the other paras as they pull back to their side.

I sort of don't like him being that close. I feel like I should have made the diorama a little bigger and included maybe another 5cm of bridge, or ideally the whole bridge and a few more paras ( at the end of the day if I really don't like it I guess I can always just make it bigger and build around what is already there because i think that's where I'm heading ). But without him it really doesn't tell you who's shooting at them.

I like Bob's idea though, maybe a half unpacked para drop tube with the lines going over the edge of the bridge ( shows that's where it landed ). More subtle but still says who's doing the shooting and why.

I do like that idea of a bunch of jerries panicking and baling every which way. I need to do another diorama of cherries under fire.

yeah keep the Para in he adds drama and interest.

British fire comes to the lef of the Steyr? Maybe the germans who are retourning the allied fire are too close each other and too exposed. Probably they would fire behind the wall

The idea of the wounded driver is great in my opinion.
I've seen something similar depicted in a dio made by Bernard Lustig










German vehicle it may be a little bit more damaged and oblique. This could help to emphasize the scene atmosphere

Regarding the fallen soldier, according to your story board, he was hit while he was getting off the car. In that case it would be closer to the left side of the vehicle. In front of the Steyr seems that he was there before the beginning of the action. I think it would be more effective for the scene using a "falling" soldier rather than a "fallen" one

Anyway these are just my very humble opinions.
Your dio however looks great and your vehicle and your figures look amazing

Cheers and thanks a million for sharing

This is my driver etc.












The guy in front is the Para, he fell as the germans came to a halt. The german who fell while dismounting is the one slumped up against the side of the bridge.

Well done,figure poses are very convincing!




I apologize, I haven't undrestood in a right way
If he's a Para probably he is too close the Steyr but I agree with you when you say that the fallen soldier fills the space and improve the composition

just my two cents anyway

My half cent: you could do a second dio depicting the other side of the bridge, thereby giving it more length without adding to it directly. Then you could get the whole british para squad in their fighting positions, and the downed para.

My only concern is how close the brit is to the truck. Alternatively, you could back up the truck a bit, crashing it into the corner of the bridge wall, to give a bit more space between the truck and the para.

The driver and the other guy look very good!

Happy Modelling, -zon

I personally dont understand why this is such a controversial topic. People die in war, and we as modelers try to depict wartime as accurately as possible, right? I of course dont mean you should depict body parts all over the place (well you can, but it might not make the viewer want to look at it), but the fallen British solder makes me think that the Germans are having a very hard time fighting back the British and one advanced that close. Just my opinion!

Rightyho, I think I'm almost there. This is what I'm thinking. I've pushed the Steyr back a bit to create a bit more space on the bridge and added a drop container with the lines going over the side of the bridge ( well, I've added a stand-in AA battery that is pretty much the right size till I can grab the Tristar set ).

The container will be open and half unpacked with a half assembled PIAT on the road beside it. The fieldcap is just a stand-in for a beret ( have to use a red beret so everyone knows immediately that he's a para ). I've also tried moving the german against the Steyr instead of the wall but I think I prefer him against the wall.

The second two photos are with just the drop container, but I think the para figure adds more drama to the scene. I sort of like the idea that he stayed with the container in a brave but ultimately futile attempt to get the PIAT together in time to use it.

Hey Dean, I did a dio like yours called Chech Mate, very simular. Base about 8"x10", road at angle with high banks with tall weeds on each side. I had the comander wounded in the passenger seat with the crew jumping out and running about. on either side running for cover. No room for the ambushers but the dramatic actions portrays and carries the scene. It's an deffinete ambush even without the para there, the action tells us. Imho, the para would be a bit further down the road, unless the truck kept going after the inital strike. Just my 2 cent worth. But as per say, it's your dio, have fun and enjoy. Looks good so far!

This is what I finally decided upon. Still a work in progress but getting there. I ended up using the Plus Model PIAT with the Tristar CLE Mk.I Airborne Container with the idea being to portray someone who stayed on the bridge too long in an attempt to get the PIAT into action, so I'll build a second PIAT ammo container that is open with two rounds in it and a third on the ground beside him. I'm toying with the idea of having the chute hung up in the tree.









This is how the base looks, I want to give the sense that the Steyr has come onto the bridge from a narrow, dark lane.

My tuppence:

What I would do is not place a supply container on the bridge but set it up as if a demolition party who were busy trying to blown the bridge were surprised. This would neatly explain the chaos at the bridge I'd think and does fit in nicely with the 6 Abn activities on D-Day.

Have a look here http://www.pegasusarchive.org/normandy/frames.htm talks about Para's hooning about Normandy blowing up things.