I'm looking for suggestions on the ground cover for this diorama.

This is my first attempt at a diorama. In fact my first armor model as well. I've only been modeling for a year and have a lot to learn. The tiger II is Dragons Battle of the Bulge.
I don't know why I decided to start with a 3 color camo build. I probably should have started with something simpler but so far it's been enjoyable. After getting into this hobby I figured I'd just as well attempt a diorama to go with it. I have been facinated with the windmill idea and not having any within a several thousand miles of here, I'm open for opinions on improvements.



So far each of the three pieces, tower mill, tiger and the tree seemed to have taken equal amounts of time to build. The mill is depicted as ancient and out of service for many years. The damage is supposed to have been a few years earlier. The tree is growing very close to the sails and obviously wouldn't be that close to a working mill. I hope it doesn't look too ridiculous. The idea is that the mill is on top of a hill with the tiger and crew camoflaged for the night.
I've just started on the figures. Again I don't have a clue with them either and much research is underway to understand how to paint them.




The tiger has had 10 filters of thinner and oils applied and is now sitting with a coat of future waiting for drybrushing and I have to paint the tracks. I put the 3 color camo so the turret at either straight forward, or at 90 degrees matches evenly with the main body of the tank.








The scratchbuilt windmill has about 9 layers of plaster on the wire frame and has some weathering done but still needs some detailing and the bottom inside will need some debris etc. I think I'll do that once it is mounted on the base.


The tree was a challenge especially trying to get the colors right. I tried painting it a few times with the airbrush but it either looked like mud or chocolate so I finally decided to paint the whole thing with windsor and newton oils. What a time consuming project. I used oregano for the leaves.







I'm kind of stuck on the colors for the leaves and ground cover. I would like to think this diorama takes place in late November somewhere between the Rheinland and the Ardennes.
Please comment if you can help me determine what to do with the grass and leaves. I'm not sure if an oak tree would have colored leaves that time of year in the Ardennes, let alone if there are any oaks there to start with. Also I'm thinking the grass would still be green and not brownish because it's very wet there that time of year.

I'm open for suggestions on the build and would like to know how I could improve what I've started.

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Your dog is very talented

Great job

I believe the camo is the correct one for the location so don't worry about that (hope I'm not wrong).
My main critique on the windmill is that usually the 'head/top' rotates to catch the wind. I'm not sure you have enough structure in yours to represent that. On the upside, the core is great, wonderful technique. The roof is very convincing and coneys a 'relic'

The TII position is suspect, to have the turret turned with the barrel on the inside of the tree trunk in the 1st image doesn't quite work for me. The turret rotation is limited, it might look more convincing if it were on the other side of the tree.

I would think the tree would have dropped its leaves by November? May want to shift the time frame.

Now that's enough critique- the mill is stunning and I love the technqiue, the wooden base is wonderful and often forgotten on a 1st diroama. The TII looks well built and the camo looks good.

Wow what a wonderful 1st dio!
I'm already waiting for the second one

I am not sure on your choice of location. The area between the Rheinland and the Ardennes is not realy known for windmills. As i don't know anythink about the usage of the Tigercamo, i don't know if you can "move" the dio onto the NL for some other timeframe.

As Scott already said, an oak tree had certainly no leaves anymore, and if he kept some, they would be brown.
The bark of oaks can be grey, but more often are a red-brown covered with so much of Tan and green shaded of moss, so that the overall look is starting to look grey again. Uff, what a sentence .
You may try do wash him with redbrown , so he may regain a bit of the original colour. If you have green pigments, play around a bit with them also.

Also the shape you gave the tree looks very windbeaten, everything in one direction. It looks like a tree standing on a coastline. So here again a problem with you choosen location .

But enough critics! You made a very complex project for a first, and visually, it's great.
Enough for a Sunday morning, Cheers
Claude

Very, very nice work, I really like your windmill, but I can tell that you'll see none of these in the Ardennes.

Windmills are located along the coast (flat terrain and strong winds) you'll see much in Flanders and Holland. In the Ardennes we used paddle mills.

I think the best would be to keep the Tiger (or the mill) for another project.

Cheers
Daniel (from Belgium)

Impressive and ambitious work - tank, tree, windmill - for someone modelling for just 1 year.

Judging from what already been said, you better keep the fabolous windmill for a Market-Garden dio.
You san easily built - judging from the windmill - another building for the excellent KingTiger .
Waiting to see it soon.
petros

Very clever plaster technique for the mill build and the tree has turned out really well.

It's nice when your pet takes an interest but that dog is a little too close for my liking. Dogs teeth have the same effect as anti tank rounds on plastic kits, at least my dog's teeth do

Tony - I can't believe you've only been modelling for a year.

Superb work.

But as Daniel says - paddle mills and not windmills in the Ardennes!

Also I believe that the KT roadwheels should be green only, not 3-tone camo, but I'm willing to stand corrected on that.

But those observations are in no way intended to detract from the excellence of your work.

Very well done!!

- Steve

Tony, fantastic job on the mill !!!!!
The broken up area is well done and the destroyed roof is excellent.
Great use of scratch material and pets, l.o.l.
I do have to agree with the others on location [ theater ] though.
Cheyenne

superb work.....dont know about the lokation...im all the way up north in denmark so i cant tell.....but it sure is pretty amacing job there.....

Tony -

Very nice job so far. Great work in building the windmill and tree. I especially like the 3 tone camo on your KingTiger, looks awesome!

Keep up the progress, look forward to the finished project!

Cheers!

Tim

Well, I don't know about the details of what should be where in Europe and when.

What I do know is that your windmill is a truly outstanding scratchbuilt item! Fantastic.

The scratch-built structure is very nice, good technique and great end result. I don't know enough about windmills or paddle mills to comment further in terms of accuracy.
The tree is very nice also. The finished and photo of it painted is particularly good looking.
The dog is very cute.
The tank paint-job is done well so far. I think it needs further weathering and items such as the tow cables etc should not be camo'ed. Even if these items had been left on the tank when it was painted, the consistency of the painting would not match up after the first removal and replacement. Perhaps you have addressed this and I missed it in the text.
For a first diorama you have shown a keen eye for detail in your scratch building and again in the assembly of the tree. You definitely show the talent and patience! Looking forward to seeing the finished piece and future pieces.
Cheers,
Charles

I'm in awe, very inspiring.

As the others have said I might consider changing the tank for a lower country diorama. A Panzer IV or Stug perhaps?

K

Thanks for this feedback. It's really appreciated and I guess the timing was right to show it now so I can try to figure out how to proceed before mounting any of the items and then no turning back.

Rudy (my dog) probably put in just as many hours on this project as well.

Scott, you're absolutely right with the rotating top. I had a hard time finding pictures that showed how to build the table or structure that would be the moving part and then I guess I overlooked it all together. Maybe I can add some lumber to the inside rim to indicate some of the required structure. I put a chain wheel on the back for moving the cap and yet have to figure out how to put some gears on that little wheel to make it look right. The other little wheel on the back is a sack hoist which I'll throw a rope over later on.

The painting of the mill is close to being done but I want to put some chalks to it, a little more weathering and I still have to add a few broken pieces to the sails and little details like steel braces holding the sails to the main shaft. The brake wheel and sails are free to move 360 degrees (although its going to sit the way it looks) and the upright shaft is disengaged due to being broke at its midsection from the hit at the side of the mill.

The windmill idea originally was just supposed to be a heap of broken bricks about the height of the tank but a friend said "what about windows". I guess I got a little carried away after that comment.


The TII barrel actually clears the tree but the picture doesn't show it well. Last night I moved the mill and tiger up hill a little higher as there is room and it makes for more convincing space. I think the diorama might also look better if the mill isn't at a right angle with the whole mount.

The tree is supposed to have only half of it's leaves left. I was going to throw around a lot of leaves on the ground. I know the leaves are all gone by the end of September here but I'm pretty far up north. I thought the earliest this tank might be in the Ardennes would have been probably late November. Yes, I might have to shift my calender on this.

Thanks again for your good observations.

The feedback from the members overseas is great. I'm not familiar with the area I had in mind. Tiger #104 I think was commanded by SS-Untersturmfuhrer Sepp Franzi and from what I can see, probably didn't get much further than La Gleize, Belgium before it was taken out. Thanks to these sites for reference. (ref: http://www.ss501panzer.com/Tanks_of_SS501.htm) (http://www.achtungpanzer.com/gallery/ktgal2.htm).

I guess I was only hoping there might have been tower mills like this in the area. It doesn't appear anyone is buying that this equipment would have been anywhere near a ancient towermill like this?

As Claude, Daniel, Petros, Steve, Cheyenne and Tattooemil have responded, I'll have to rethink the project. I don't want to appear too fictional and it seems from the general consensus, that something here has to go. I'm going to have to sleep on this one. If I the tiger and tower mill can't be convincing, maybe changing the whole thing to a coastal dio or building a different structure is required. I know one thing. That probably won't happen overnight as I've been a little slow on this build.

I started this before xmas last year although haven't done much over the summer. I spent probably as much time researching and shopping for the hobby as building it. Prior to this I built a couple 1/48 planes last year and then my wife bought me the tiger II kit, so this is all pretty much new to me.
Thanks for the comments.



Claude, thanks for the pigment idea for the tree. I have some pastel chalks and I'll try using them for some color to the bark.

CReading, again thanks for the feedback. The tank has a way to go. I still have to paint, dry brush the cables, tools, add hatches, and other details on the tank and was thinking of using chalks for final detail. I am a little hung-up on how much weathering to do though.

I put the assembled tracks on just for the picture. They're a real bugger to get on and off as the wheels with the exception of the idlers are glued in place. I'm kind of stuck on the tracks though and haven't figured out how to paint them yet. I put a base coat of brown. Maybe it should be black. I also don't know if I'll be putting much mud on them yet and without figuring out the ground color, I was going to procrastinate on this until I figure out what kind of ground cover I would be looking at.



I've still got a long way to go here with the figures too as again a first for me. I've started assembling but still need to paint the them (8 in this kit)plus I was thinking of mixing with a Tamiya german obervation crew kit).



Trying to cut and paint the bricks into the back wall was a challenge. I will need to throw in some debris once I decide (that's if I keep the mill) to mount it.

I really appreciate all of this feedback and wasn't sure if I was heading in the right direction with the whole build. Now it's really got me thinking what my next move is going to be.

Excellent work, that windmill is very impressive, as is the camo job for a first timer!

Funny how peoples first dio's are usually far more ambitious than those who have been doing it a while!

Hats of to all the great work you have done so far!

James

Great job this thing looks really good!

-Mike

"I've still got a long way to go here with the figures too as again a first for me. I've started assembling but still need to paint the them (8 in this kit)plus I was thinking of mixing with a Tamiya german obervation crew kit)".

Maybe fewer, but better - Tamiya german obervation crew kit , is a nightmare - figures?
Bad figures can ruin even the most perfect diorama.
My two cents...
petros

Tony,

Simply amazing. All three components, tree, windmill, and tank, all look like they were built by someone with years of experience! Very well done. Looking forward to seeing the completed project!

Excellent first attempt. You might be able to correct some items or maybe go for a smaller scale for the tank. Tower mills are approximately 5 to 6 stories tall depending on their function and yours looks about the right number, but with the tree there they would normally go with a stage mill which would add another 2 or 3 stories, it's to ensure the blades are not blocked by trees or buildings. A great site for info on gears and workings, or just current info is the Dutch Windmill Database and for the construction and general workings try the The Dutch Windmill Just a few changes and you’ll have a great diorama.
Excellent job so far on the windmill,
Good luck,
Bob

great work!

Truly amazing from someone with so little experience. My only comment is that according to my references the wheels on your King Tiger should be all dark yellow. Not painted with all three colours. Other than that it really is amazing what you have achieved so far. Don't get too caught up in the details. Just have fun and learn from it. You learn from every model you build and your skills will improve quickly. Although I must admit your airbrushing is already very nice looking.

Is that really your first dio? WOW!

Good work on the mill. Amazing project. Good luck with it, and I look forward to see the final result.

PS: How did you make the dog?

excellent work tony,your attention to detail outstanding!Dilema,your've appealed to the public for imput and they've responded with great insite , valid concerns and vialbe corrections,you may make changes,then agwin you could just carry on and complete what is an excellent war scene . whatever your derection your not going to please all ,but as it stands now you;ve pleased most , good luck and great work
havik1a