One note about 20 rnd magazines. Some people in an Infantry squad do use 20 rnd magazines. Some soldiers prefer them over 30 rnd mags and most SDM's use them in ordeer to be able to get into a good prone position when needed. It is not uncommon to see a mixturre of weapons, optics, and magazines in Iraq used by soldiers in the same unit.

Thanks for the info guys.
There isn't enough room for the M113, so the flaws are no biggie.
As for the Abrams...that's just plain stupid...doing 4 models at the same time and I mistakenly took option C in the manuel instead of B.
It's fixable though, I'll spray over the markings and put de correct ones on it.
Now for the guns. The verlinden guns are really awfull, but I think I'll leave em on. I do have some reserves from the trumpeter box and some from dragon, so maybe.
Next update then:

New figurines, still need facial details and weathering

new iraqis

Overview so far

Still need traffic lights, street light and signs and this:



Tanks in dullcoat, too bad I have to redo the abrams.


Btw, the dio is 70cmX50cm.
Thanks for looking.

leverancier,

What an awesome dio
Thats huuuuugge!!!
The groundwork and buildings are exceptional .

I thought I was going over the top with 600 x 450.

I am using near the same figures as you .Not as many Iraqi's .
last count in figures was 39 today
I'm no where near the stage your at hence I'm not showing photo's
until I get my buildings done

Look forward to seeing your dio finished .
Thanks .I am inspired to get my dio completed as well .

Cheers
Michael

Thanks,
Question: I know that in Iraq the soldiers often used different types of kevlar vests, but is it possible that guys were running around without vests?
I used some figurines that are marked desert shield, without vests. So: to use or not to use, that is the question.

Wow the dio is coming along nicely and looks superb! I love the groudwork!

I wouldnt use those Verlinden figures, ive not seen any pics of guys in combat without IBA's on, you would have to have a death wish to do that. Equally those Verlinden figures are out of date, they are wearing ALICE gear which has been replaced largely by MOLLE gear of soldiers simply attaching webbing to the loops on their IBA's. The Verlinden Kevlar helmets are wrong aswell, they are the older type with the old straps. The new helmets are not as big and dont has such an obvious peek at the front, they look less like 'fritz' hats now, and the chinstrap is different. You also need to replace some of those respirator bags, they are the older M17 gasmask bags, the new respirator bag is bulkier and looks quite different.

Well, the dio depicts a period between 2003 and 2005, and as far as I can tell army guys were still using the old alice gear as wel as the molle gear.

You are good on the gear. There is still a mixture of gear over there. One rule of thumb is that if one guy has a new helmet they all need to have a new style helmet. These are RFI items, same as MOLLE gear, if one has it they all sould have it but some guys prefer the old gear to the new gear so it is possible to have guys with mix matched LBE and MOLLE but I would not think helmets. As far as vests go, they should ALL have them on.

leverancier, fancy telling us how you painted your figures?
Especially the us troops.

cheers.

scott.

I'm not even close to being good enough to write "how to's". There are some good guides on the web by some guys who know what they're doing.
I could give you my approach: The half a**ed guide on how to paint figures so they look like they could be US troops.
-spray with tamiya xf57 buff
-paint boots with desert yellow
-light green in the cammo with a mix of JA grey xf14, xf57 and white. jab it on with a fine brush
-Brown lines with flat earth xf52, with an even finer brush
-The woodland cammo: the brown is flat earth, the green a mix of nato green xf67 , sea grey xf25 and buff, I make stains with a fine brush and jab it on rather than stroking. To finnish off the black lines with german grey xf63.
I do this in 1 session, a few figures at a time, the benefits of the fast drying tamiya paints.
-Then the hard part, the faces:(with oil paints)
-Base coat is a mix of burnt sienna, yellow ochre and titanium white.
-Let dry for a few hours
-White dots on the forehead and nose bridge
-blend in with a semiwet brush
-let dry for a few days
-a wash with raw umber in the eyesockets and in every crease( is that even a word?)
-Let dry for a day
-tone down with a wash made of the base color darkened with burnt sienna
-let dry
-the eyes: 2 dots titanium white in the corners of the eyes with a fine needle, 1 dot of blue, brown or black between the white dots, et voila, eyes!
-To finish off a wash of raw umber on the uniform and drybrush with asnd color.

-edit: allmost forgot my secret ingredient: tamiya smoke, wit my finest airbrush(0,15) i add shade where needed. Works like a charm.

While I'm at it, an update:
The abrams, 2nd platoon, F Company,2nd Battalion,3rd armored cavalry regiment, as it should have been in the first place:




Nothing final yet, just a tryout:


Since I took the desert shield figures(6 in total) out, I came up short so I orderred some extras from blast models, even more expensive then verlinden, but I hope they're better.
Also some extra insurgents from warriors to put in the house, I don't even know what they look like( it says limited edition).
Thanks for looking!

Wow, that sure is one hell of a diorama you got going there. That mosque is a thing of beauty.

I had to chortle though at all the corrections on equipment, weapons fit etc. One of the reasons I shy away from modern sandpit subjects is the bewildering array of differences in bits of kit, mods etc. I just don't have the time or desire to try and keep up, and all these changes are constantly being rushed through, way faster than the model companies could keep up with.

But still, looking great

Very impressive dio! It's really coming together. Where will you display it? It probably wouldn't even fit in my living room!

dude....what an awesome dio!!!

where'd you get the idea for this though?

leverancier,

Thats a good choice on getting the Blast figures.
They are excellent.

You may pay a bit more but as for quality It's leaps and bounds ahead.



Now all I have to do is pull my finger out and get my dio done .

Cheers
Michael

That dio is looking cool their Guy.

Really nice wish I had the ambition or time to make that.

Or heck even the skill to paint all those Figures

Here is what I have done after a month

Base coat of Desert Yellow Tamiya


Before




after




Will get some outdoor pics soon.

Raining and hot around here.

Thanks all

Hi leverancier

That is a great dio. Could you tell me what you thought of the Verlinden shrine, it looks pretty nice from the pics.

Also one or two date Palms would be nice in the setting, maybe instead of that other tree.

Very well done
Ryally.

@Leverancier: that diorama is coming along very nicely It will look outstanding when it is done I am sure.

Looking forward to see more

The verlinden shrine is a very nice kit, it was broken up when it arrived but easely fixed.
I have some palm plants on the way, the tree is a fig-tree, so this works fine for the setting.

Another update:
After these 4 more and 'im done with figure painting


Some pics so far:


















Thanks for looking

Hi

Looks really great.
Just one thing the guy in the door way with his hands up. His right arm/wrist looks way to long/skinny. It might look better if you were to shorten it a little.

I really like the dio and may have to copy parts when I do mine

Ryally

The only thing missing now are better weapons, but they are on the way.

Wow, Im really impressed. Not only at the scale of the dio, but of the quality. As someone said on your post in the diorama forum, all that is missing is the dust and the heat.

Frederik this is going great. Your composition is great and the added weapons will look great. Couple things, also weapons related. I'm not sure about your M60 on top of the Abrams. I don't think any armor unit has them on their TO&E (the equipment they are authorized to use) and if it is, it'd go on one of their humvees since they've got the M240s. Also I noticed an M-16/203 on the tailgate of the humvee. It looks like everyone around has a weapon. In the military, especially in a combat zone, setting your weapon down is a huge no-no, even more so with civilians around. If it were me, I'd either remove it or set one of your figures without a weapon next to it.

Otherwise, you've done a fantastic job and I think you'll enjoy whats on the way and seeing what I see, it'll greatly enhance what is already a supurb dio.

Jeff

Very impressive leverancier.


I’ll soon have my small dio complete.

Hi Jacob,
Its looking great. I like the room, and figure placement. What did you use for your radio antennae and the cord to the handset? They look great, especially the curls on the cord. Its still a little shiny, but then again, you did say almost done.

Great job!

Thanks Kevin.

Both of them were done with thin copper wire I ripped out of old appliances. To get the curls I wrapped it around a piece of wire from a paper clip.