Well, after about a month of work I have finished this diorama. It's about a knocked-out King Tiger which is being stripped of its tracks, weapons etc. by a group of Germans during Spring, 1944. The tank was knocked out by a Hawker Typhoon as it attemped to get to cover in the bocage.



















Thoughts?

I think you should think about your next diorama.

Take the experience you got from this one, some of the comments and feedback you got during the build and plan another.

Having looked at your work there are only two things that I don’t like and one of them has nothing to do with the diorama, the surround on the base is very poor and as said while not part of the project it does detract from the finished offering, my only other negative comment is the green used on the KT, to me it almost looks metallic. That said the construction of the KT looks good and the ground work excellent, I’m not sure about the trees but as they look a little bare. This diorama would be improved no end by the simple addition of a good surround so that your eye doesn’t linger on it.

Maybe I'm missing it, but where is the damage caused by the Typhoon? Has it been hit by rockets or cannon?

Armies during WW2, unless the tank was a total mangled wreck, would swill out the remains of the previous unfortunate occupants, repair the tank and hand it to a new crew. Yours appears to be in very good nick for one that is being scavenged for spares.

One other thing is the comanders hatch on he cupola should swing out to the side, not up.
but the ground work looks good and i like the idea, nice job overall

I like the groundwork Chas, and the placement of the tank and figures.
As to the surround -next time use a picture frame or simply glue strips of Plastic card to the sides.

The only other comment I would add is the soldier carrying off the track links on his shoulder. I'd imagine two links are probably too heavy to carry like that... Anybody know how heavy they are?

Thanks for the feedback. Yes I agree about the frame, I think i might replace it with some card. The trees look bare because I can't find any foliage to put on them suitable for 1/72. The natural moss I have used for the hedges etc. would be perfect BUT there is none left growing in my driveway, I've used it all! I've looked all around the neighbourhood for similar stuff but it seems to only grow at my place. Will have to wait for some rain before it grows again. Will keep you posted on that!

Thanks again for all the suggestions which are helping me make my first diorama. (I don't count Rangers Assault because I'm gradually dis-assembling and sizing it down to make smaller dio's. Made the awful mistake of starting BIG!)

As so many people do mate!

Small and simple is the way to go for your first dio's. Get a new technique going with each one and you can then progress to bigger and better things.

One thing that really stands out about this dio is the groundwork, you really have done a good job there.
While the angles of the dio are very good i'd say that the road and opposite side of the hedge are a little bare, one or two more figs may have helped.
I agree with other comments on the king tiger (needs more damage, green is too green and commanders hatch is wrong) and also the edge of the base. Also the commanders MG34 is missing its barrel.

Learn from this one and good luck with the next!

James

I totally forgot that I was meant to take the commanders MG34 off because one of the soldiers is carrying it away on his shoulder!

The typhoon damage (rocket) is on the front of the tank, bottom right corner. I might have to make that more apparent as well as creating some debris scattered around the tank.

Just dicovered the stuff called seafoam/lichen which I thought would do well in filling out my trees (as well as the illusive moss stuff). What do you guys think about it?

As Scott (Slodder) says, i'd be thinking about your next dio.

What you have here is pretty good as it stands, personally I wouldn't get to caught up in adding touches here and there (otherwise where does it end!) instead i'd just learn some lessons form this one and apply them to your next dio.

James