135
Modest Sabotage

Introduction

The stories of the French Resistance during WWII are well documented. Thousands of local citizens actually took to arms against the Germans during the occupation, and even more contributed to frustrating the Germans shortly after the D-Day Invasion. Often minor, but “innocent” acts were staged to cause problems with German shipping, railway transport, or in this case, timely movement of troops to the battlefront.

Here we see the driver and delivery man from a local coal company apparently stalled on a narrow roadway, blocking the movement of an unseen troop of Germans. While they appear to be trying to fix their broken down delivery truck, two high ranking German officers observe the scene, one shouting violently as the two hapless shade-tree mechanics monkey around underneath the hood of the truck.

As there are few (any?) civilian transport or cars available in 1:35 scale, I have chosen to alter the basic appearance of a Russian Zis-5 Troop Transport truck. This Italeri kit was a pleasure to build, and serves the purpose well. I purchased two of these units during a recent blowout sale by Modelexpo-Online.com, and the $5 price was quite a bargain. Detail is good, including a nice engine, and the engraved wood grain is top notch.

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

Great dio, this the kind of dio that tells his own story..... you could hear the pointing German say someting to his brother in arms (what it is differs from the viewer offcourse).... I just love how people are able to tell a story in such a small place. Thanks for sharing Keith and Jim !!
DEC 31, 2002 - 11:49 AM
I really like this scene - it's original, detailed, and designed with care. Great work!
JAN 21, 2003 - 06:09 AM
Welcome Lonebuilder. I promise you, you won't be a line builder here
JAN 21, 2003 - 07:28 AM
GREAT DIO - IS VERY NICEEEEE ROBERTO
JAN 21, 2003 - 09:06 AM
Thanks guys! I appreciate the kind words and encouragement!
FEB 08, 2003 - 09:11 PM
I like this dio a lot, it reminds us that we don't always need a tank in a scene :-) Keep up the excellent work Keith Roger
FEB 09, 2003 - 09:38 PM
Thanks Roger... the other lesson is that you can often create "civilians" from less important military uniformed figures, particularly when they are plastic kits. I do find that they work well, althought a Hornets head or two comes in handy!
FEB 10, 2003 - 09:16 AM