1⁄35Diodramas
"To mark the 73rd anniversary of the Battle of Kursk here are some more images of the northern salient. As previously introduced (Diorama or Bust/ Feature, Alternative Reality/Diorama forum) I’m trying to make dioramas look as real as possible, so as an experiment these images have gone monochromatic to mimic original photography, with one exception.
I’m also trying to tell a story in sequential images - this group illustrates sPzJgAbt 654’s first combat experience on Day 1 (5th July) using Porsche’s new untried Ferdinands against the Russian defence lines north and east of Ponyri town. Despite efforts by German engineers, PzKp(Fkl) 313’s Borgward demolition vehicles and other supporting units to clear paths of mines, the lumbering giants blundered into one undetected minefield after another and those that got through found themselves in lethal zones surrounded by concealed batteries of anti-tank guns and roving Soviet tank-killers teams, armed with a range of anti-tank infantry weapons including “sticky-bombs” and Molotov cocktails. Without infantry support or on-board machine guns, surviving crew members were on their own.
By the end of this first day about half of the battalion’s 44 Ferdinands were damaged, disabled or destroyed."