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Breakout!

Setting the Scene

The scene below is a compact diorama set in Berlin in the Spring of ’45. Russian regulars have infiltrated the outskirts of Berlin, and fighting is days away from ending. Small pockets of German Wehrmact, Grenadiers, SS, and Volkstrum have banded together in a battle for the streets, under loose command of the highest-ranking soldier present, often a NCO.

Russian artillery has reduced most of Berlin to rubble. Banks, businesses, schools, and offices have been closed, and little of value remains, other than the cover afforded by the huge amounts of debris littering the streets. Fighting is fierce and desperate. Capture means death to the Germans.

Our scene shows a group of seven soldiers, three SS and four Wehrmact, making a desperate dash from a building that has come under heavy fire. As they rush the doorway from within the building, a fire-fight breaks out and the Germans barely make it to the street before they are mowed down.

The kit is an older Verlinden kit (the first I ever purchased, in fact), and is readily available through the Verlinden Website or at many dealers. The design of the kit make for a long, shallow Reich’s Office, but this proved far too unwieldy for the size of diorama I was looking for. The extra wall section was instead used to provide the depth of the building, and is shown in later photos. I sealed the plaster building with a very pale gray primer, then came back and covered the dry piece with a dark charcoal wash to bring out the excellent texture of the concrete and the detail of the architecture. The flag shown above is a cloth item from the Alexander the Great line, and is hung from a white metal sign bracket found at the local doll shop.

Project Photos
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About the Author

About Keith Magee (KFMagee)
FROM: TEXAS, UNITED STATES

After a hiatus of several years following the sale of my hobby shop (Hobby Annex in Dallas, TX), I am ready to build again... I love dioramas, with a focus on WW2 and tend to spend a lot of time documenting my work... any questions, just let me know! - Keith


Comments

Wonderful diorama, great action. One question? One of the last living Germans seems to be firing a modified MP-40. I cannot see a gun barrel beyond his left hand. Maybe its the angle of the photo, if so ignore this question.
JAN 02, 2003 - 06:47 AM
VERY NICE DIO, GREAT ACTION. CONGRATS ROBERTO
JAN 02, 2003 - 09:36 AM
It only hit me when this comment came up......... this was shown in the diorama section a while back and somebody else had noticed that. Keith hadn´t. I had read this before and still didnt see it this time. Keen eye sight GSPatton. Excellent dio again Keith. Still waiting on your own homepage where we can view all your work together plus your tips and items you cast yourself!
JAN 02, 2003 - 11:31 AM
Sadly you are correct... the barrel on the MP40 broke off sometime when I was positioning the piece for the photos. I didn't notice it until it was mentioned before. While I went back and used CA glue to affix a .05 brass rod to replace the missing barrel, I didn't re-shoot the pics.
JAN 02, 2003 - 06:57 PM
Also, Roadkill asked about the picture frame on the painting of Hitler (inside above doorway).... believe it or not, I guy stuff like this at the local doll shop... for around 30-50 cents per frame, and they have a great variety. They are cast in white metal, and I can either use my color laser to increase the size of the photo, or I can add a complimentary "border" around any photo to make it fit a desired frame. The photos themselves come from the ART.COM website (1920's through 1945 section), which has over 300 WWII vintage posters, pictures, and commercial ads, all presented in thumbscale size. I just download the thumbnails and print! I now have a huge library of images broken down by country (English, American, Polish, French, Dutch, German, Italian, and Russian).
JAN 02, 2003 - 07:02 PM
Very nice dio, great use of space. One question, who manufactures the figures ? Russ
JAN 02, 2003 - 07:34 PM
Figures are from a variety of vendors... three come from GUNZE SANGYO, 2 are from Verlinen, there is one Warriors figure, and one that I built from the Airfix multipose German Infantry kit.
JAN 02, 2003 - 07:38 PM
Amazing dio, man! In such small space! Keep upp the good work, I always love to see your latest dios.... Cheers
JAN 09, 2003 - 12:29 PM
Update - this one just sold for $450.... who says our hobby doesn't pay! Shipping it to Birmingham, Alabama to a good home!
AUG 24, 2004 - 12:58 PM
This is truly a fantastic work! it has that dynamic feel to it. I can nearly hear gun shots and war cries.
AUG 24, 2004 - 06:45 PM