Hey Gang-

These are the latest "in-progress" pics of my cover up dio.

I still need to paint the trees, figures, barrels, and Flak 88 - so those obviously need some work. Oh - and i still need to figure out how to incorporate a flag into this scene - so ideas would be welcome :-)

At least I have the ground work basically done, so I can get on with the figures now... hehe Any comments and suggestions (good and bad alike) would be more than appreciated.
Thanks guys-
Nelson

Lord Nelson aka "Da PE god"

Just a great concept here in your dio. I like how you've balanced the whole scene with the M10 on the lip of the base on one side, with the gun emplacement on the other. Also, the ground work is really impressive as it has the wet mud/dirt look to it. The displaced mud behind/beneath the M10 tracks looks very convincing. I wouldn't mind hearing how you have achieved this look in your base if you don't mind.

The flag question, -- if you are thinking of a Nazi flag you could try a couple of things, --- have the flag crumpled and laying under one of the fallen German figs, or in a gesture of disdain, it could be laying on the lip of the gun emplacement, in the mud, with the US trooper standing on top of it.

Keep us posted here Lord Nelson.

Steve
ps: Has a certain "Lens Specialist" commented on the M10????? (LOL)

very nice. I love the way you have done the base. As WWH says the mud behind the TD and on its tracks is very realistic. One point though that would add to the effect of the 88mm gun is a few empty shells and some ammo and ammo crates lieing aroung the gun.

Thanks a ton Lord WWH... I like your flag idea :-) and MrRoo, hehe great minds must think alike.... lol - I just picked up the brass projectile set for the 88 and will be adding some ammo crates and personal effects for the former crew.

I was gonna answer Steve's question on groundwork.... and had typed a mongolian dissertation... but that was more confusing than helpfull.... hehehe

SO - I'm gonna use pictures for you :-) (Rumor has it that you are a bit on the slow side anyway..... lol - Of course you know I'm kidding, Steve :-) )

This first pic shows the base covered in wall spackle and primed in earth tones. I carved styrofoam and glued it to the base for the "berm", then smoothed the spackle with a wet finger.


Then I went to town with the spices in the kitchen. I used Parsley flakes, some Italian seasoning and some Mint flakes - along with the woodland scenics bagged fine grass. This was all attached with white glue/water that I brushed on the base. Brush on the glue, sprinkle away..... blow off the excess that doesn't stick..... Repeat until you like the coverage.... The sticks are from the yard....


Now you can see the colors are all over the place... so I airbrushed the ground cover with all sorts of earth tones to tie it all together.... lots of very thin coats.


Glad you like it.. I think it turned out pretty cool for a guy making this dio stuff up as I go along :-)

Later-
Nelson

The ground work looks like a big sod of earth cut directly out from the warzone in europe, it looks so real. The whole texture and colouring is perfect!
I love the whole layout and concept...... a real winner.


I agree. In fact any old personal gear you may have at hand laying around adds to the "lived there for a while" look. Water bottles, gas mask canisters, ammo pouches, etc, plus what Mr. Roo has suggested. I also think that a bit more stowage on the M10 would look good. The engine deck and hull sides are very barren!
The flag is the hard one! I would have skipped this detail in mines only for the campaign rules. One thing that came to my head was the unpainted american lifting it with his gun, showing it to the tank crew. It could be hanging of the end of his gun. Lots of mud would hide and difficult to paint areas. It would suit the tank crew as well as they are pretty laid back looking!

And the bad news is ......... 2004-02-01 s the last day!

WOW that is awsome Lord Nelson!!!! I can't believe it's your first try!! Way To Go!!!

One of these day's I'l have to get the courage to attempt a DIO!

Great Work JR!

Lord Nelson,

I have only one word WOW!

this is one of the most well done dio I seen here in Armorama, the soil is very well protrayed, and the breakage of the trees is approriate for an airbust shell that killed the poor Kraut crews. The layout of the tank and the BAR gunner is well placed, and bring cohesion to the dio.

Very well done.

As for Lens, muche unfortunate, none is presented. Verie sad state of affair, and muche amaturisch.

I havent seen the front of the M-10 to see what you have done about the lens situation.
A MV L-116 would go nicely.A nice touch might be a partly loaded round in the breech of the 88.
And I concur about more stowage.

Thanks for all the comments guys - I appreciate it a lot!

Carl - I did an OOOPs on the headlights.. lol I glued them into their stowage places inside the tank before I realized what they were.... Oh well :-)

I will be adding some personal effects for the deceased gun crew, along with some ammo boxes and shells. Thanks for the pointers on that!

I'm still torn on the flag issue...... hehe I'll have to get this all sorted out soon... lol

Later-
Jeff