135
Die Pressung

MODELS Part I
I originally had planned this diorama to be of a light armored column passing thru a small polish mountain village. I was just going to use a Kettenkrad, Hanomag, and a PzKpfw III but that soon changed. There was room on the base for more!!!!! So after a little debate it was decided that a Marder III would also be added.

PzKpfw III L is a Tamiya kit with the AM PE set. This was basically an OOB build. Besides the PE parts the only things that have been changed are an extra crewman in the side hatch as well as a different tank commander. The kit was finished in a base coat of MM sandgelb rlm79 with signal brown camo. I know its not the correct color (sandgelb) but I feel it gives a very good rendition of the color I have seen on actual tanks. It was weathered with the standard washes of burnt umber. Then filters with a green tint were applied. With each filter I used a wide stiff brush and pulled the filter downward on the model. This step is very important to achieve a realistic look. After this was dry it was drybrushed lightly with a lightened base color. Following this it was chipped and worn metal was portrayed with the use of pencil lead. A final weathering of Tamiya buff was lightly misted on the tanks lowers and then a dusting of pastels to finish it off.

Kettenrad is a DML kit that I had left over from my last diorama. Again the build was straight out of the box. It was finished in the same way as the above-mentioned panzer with the exception being that this received a 3 color camo pattern. Also a good friend of mine, Nato308 (Paul) had been thinking of starting up an accessory company and he graciously gave me some of his amazing boxes to try. With these I made cargo for the Kettenrad to be hauling. These boxes add a lot, they are a great addition to the kit as I am sure you all can tell from the pictures.

Hanomag Sd Kfz 250 is an old Tamiya kit. This is the type of vehicle that Rommel used and it really leaves a lot to be desired. It is built out of the box with the addition of two ancient (1970's) Italeri figures that were wedged into the driver's compartment. Again this was finished as per the other two vehicles with the exception of it being a solid color (sandgelb). Two of the crewmen also received hornet heads as the figures just weren't good with this kit.

Marder III by Tamiya rounds out our vehicles for this project. With this vehicle I experimented some. This is the first open top AFV I have built and from pictures on the Internet and others models I had decided on wanting a well used vehicle. The build is, once again, OOB. I first primed the vehicle in panzer gray paint. After this had dried, I used the salt chipping technique and applied the salt. Now it came time for the camo, which was the sandgelb base, followed by redbrown and olivegrun. Once a satisfactory scheme was achieved it was left to dry. Once dry it was time to chip the salt off the model. Instant chipped paint!!! It was on to weathering after this. Since I wanted a mix matched mess of troops and vehicles I decided to weather this one a little different than the others. With this the filter was skipped and not as much drybrushing was done. I added pencil lead patches to some of the paint chips and added rust streaks and weathered more heavily with pastels. Also the only changes to this are the crew (Tristar) and some resin crates that I received from Graywolf (Engin). These again are a very nice addition to the AFV.
  • 2_1_PIII
  • 2_2_kit
  • 2_3_half
  • 2_4_marder
  • 2_A_piii
  • 2_B_piii
  • 2_C_piii
  • 2_D_kit
  • 2_E_kit
  • 2_F_hono
  • 2_g_hono
  • 2_h_hono

About the Author

About Kevin Gardner (jackhammer81)
FROM: NEBRASKA, UNITED STATES

When I was a kid I built my first tank at around 10 years old it was a 1/48 scale tamiya m60 motorized. I did a few 1/48 bandai kits as well. then I jumped to model cars for the next few years, around the age of 15 I started back into armor and mostly did the 1/32 monogram stuff. I quit modeling whe...


Comments

Again thanks for the wonderful words everyone. I am very glad you seem to find it informative. Costas, bro I am glad you have been there every step helping me out, thanks!!! Arvin, the next project is for the Ardennes campaign. So far I have about fifteen figures, tamiya sherman 105, DML hetzer, and a Tamiya schwimmwagen. Its going to be a scene with a knocked out sherman and the germans are taking the fuel from it. I am going to try my hand at another river or stream with it being half covered with ice this time and a stone bridge for the dio. Again thanks for the comments. Cheers Kevin
FEB 08, 2005 - 02:34 AM
Sorry to chime in so late here, but, having followed this diorama from the beginning, what a wonderful way to finish off a fantastic project: with a very informative article. Also, thanks to Slodder for making all the extra photos available for viewing. Keith
FEB 08, 2005 - 03:26 AM
Kevin, that diorama is superb. I love the composition and the details just like everyone else here. Best of all, I love the "contrasting" atmosphere....war machines going through a peaceful village. It's fantastic. I wish I can make something like yours. It's simply one of the best dioramas I have ever seen. Congratulations. Angela
FEB 08, 2005 - 01:53 PM
wow. This is a beautiful piece of work Kevin
FEB 08, 2005 - 03:08 PM
Kevin, that is one heckuva dio guy! Something little and normal going on everywhere you look on it.The contrast is perfect for alot of the affected countries,war material passing through serene and peacefull villages.I especially like the tanker peeking out the turret side hatch and the way you made what I think are Italeri and ESCI figures look very good.Very ironic since Italeri figs got a pretty good bashing here the other day! :-) Really great job and outstanding write-up. Cheers lad!
FEB 08, 2005 - 05:14 PM
The deeper I get into this fine past time we call modelling, the more I appreciate this calibre of workmanship. This dio makes the viewer search out all the details and all the little stories, which are done so well.You have both alot of patience & talent. You've done a great job with this one Kevin, and somehow it looks like it was a blast to build. I'm not sure if it's a inspiration or if I want to throw away my brush and sit back and enjoy............Nah it's an inspiration! Cheers to a job well done Bruce
FEB 08, 2005 - 06:51 PM
Hi everyone, I am glad everyone is liking this dio and finding it interesting. It warms my heart that something I have created has this kind of impact on people. I had a blast making it and documenting the build, and am glad it has given inspiration. Cheers Kevin
FEB 09, 2005 - 12:53 AM
Graywolf: Graywolf, I couldn't disagree more....this diorama could BE an entire book! He has everything: models, scratch building, scenicing that would bring praise from model railroaders, composition, a story... To redundantly mix superlatives, this diorama is absolutely extraordinary! This is work I strive for.
FEB 17, 2005 - 02:55 PM
Kevin, All I can say is....SWEET! Everything about this work of art is superb, my friend.
FEB 20, 2005 - 06:44 AM
Hi Guys, thank you for the kind words. I am really glad that you like this dio Thanks again. Kevin
FEB 20, 2005 - 01:13 PM