howzit......

this is my little vignette, depicting a pak 40 with crew in berlin 1945.

what i wanted to know from you guys is what can i do to improve the base?
the vignette is not finished yet, there's still a lot of work to be done on the figures and extra's.I still need to finish the weathering on the gun and give it a matt varnish and I also need to give the base a matt varnish.?

another thing, does the scene look a little too crowded or not?

thanks in advance.


regards Christiaan

I really think the base looks fine, no need for matte varnish. However, I'm not an expert.

What I do suggest is that you put a small wall in front of the Pak 40 with the barrel sticking over the top (instead of the gun and crew out in the open with no cover).

Tell me about the cobblestone, how did you make it or where did you buy?

Chas

I think the layout is fine the way it is. I agree with Chas, although I would suggest a little more rubble piled in front to provide cover for the gun and crew.

hi there...thanks for the quick replies...

the i bought it( it's a base from G&S Models, in south africa.although the two partners arent together anymore-not too sure what i'm saying is true, so i can be corrected if wrong)

and seeing as it's a one piece casting of a base, adding more rubble and a wall would be a major effort.(i'm kinda to lazy to scratch anything a this moment in time)

the story of the vignette is that the germans have resorted to just firing and manouvering.so they fire a couple of shots in one location, then run off to another one.so they're not really interested in making too many shots count. All they want is fire superiority. Do you guys anderstand what i'm trying to get at?

thanks again.

peace

Howzit Chris,

Is this the DML kit? And a SA Scenics base?

There were a couple of things that caught my eye right away:

- the gun is laid parallel with the cobblestones. Unfortunately this gives the gun position a very planned look. I understand that in terms of the rubble layout this is probably the most convenient way to place the gun, but maybe think about turning it slightly anti-clockwise.

- the rubble is very low, and the gun and crew very exposed. THink about building the rubble up a bit. Make some furniture from balsa and add some more building rubble. Think of the scene in Saving Private Ryan near the start when they rescue that family from the second floor of the house right before the German sniper takes one or two of them out. Also look for pictures of squatter shacks and buildings in SA being bulldozed by the cops. Look at how the rubble falls and gets pushed and gathers in certain places.

- Too many live shells and empty shell casings too near the gun. When the gun recoils it's going to send those casings and shells flying. You might also want to move the boxes slightly. Put the empty casings to the outside of the gun's arms and the live rounds nearer to the boxes.

- I'm not sure how far you are with the gun, but do some weathering on her

Other than these few nit-picks, it looks great.

Ek hoop jy gee nie om dat ek jou so kritiseer nie, maar ek probeer net help. Ek wil jou verseker dat ek wil nie lelik wees nie. Dis 'n flippen goeie job. Jy het nogal baie talent!

Rudi

rudi, thanks for the comments....

the gun is still far from being finished, there's still filters, fading, washes and paint chipping to be done.

i agree with the position of the gun, it does look rather too uniform.i turned it a bit and it already looks a lot more natural.

i dot know about the rubble though, cause it's moled on into the base so i have no idea how to ad more onto it without making it look like it's been stuck on.

i will move the shells and the ammo crates. i postioned them lik they are in the photo's so that they can take up space so that the base doesnt have lots of negative space.

thanks again brothers...

Chris,

As Rudi mentioned the gun is parallel to the cobblestones and is centered on the base, as revealed in the overhead photo.

I recommend moving the gun forward to meet the rubble and turning the carriage slightly clockwise or counter-clockwise to suit your preference. I would also move it slightly to the left or right so that it is not centered on the base.

I would also aim the gun to the left or right.

Nice work thus far!

Chris,

Upon further review of the overhead photo I think I would turn the gun carriage to the 10 O'Clock position. Just a thought.

Hi Chris,

I'm building this kit at the moment (well partially - i'm using select parts) so it's nice to see one further along than myself, particularly the figures.

I agree with rotating the gun anti-clockwise, and that you need more cover. A great and easy way is to add boards (cut up lolly or coffee stiring sticks) and blend them in with washes and pigments.

I'm interested to see you appear to have casted up some copies of the DML ammo crates, is this correct? If so congrats they look pretty good. (I don't suppose you fancy doing me some do you! )

Keep us posted as you've got a nice little scene on your hands here, i'll be interested to see how you get on with the figs too.

Cheers,

James

thanks again guys...i turned the gun, so it look a lot better.i also put it a little off centre, which makes a world of difference.

i did make copies of the ammo crates.they're not the best quality, but will do in the scene seeing as they will be partially weathered.
i can make you some, you just have to give me some time.PM me or email me your details. My email [email protected].

i'll post some pics of the updated vignette either today or tomorrow....

peace out...

Chris -

You've done an awesome job so far, looking forward to future updates. Nice little scene, good idea and refined layout. Thanks for sharing the pictures!

Cheers!

Tim

Hi Chris, the only thing I agree with is the slight build up of the rubble [ maybe ]. As a static defensive position more attention would be on the protection of gun and crew. In the last days of Berlin I think what you have is quite good enough. If I understand your thinking on this, it's a set up and shoot and if it gets hot - redeploy to another location.
I really don't think you have to reposition the gun either, in a vig. like this I think the focus will be more on the gun and crew than the base. In a vig. too much ground work will take away from the story - a desperate defence of an unnamed street in Berlin till it's time to boogie to a new position !!!
If your base was larger and had more ground work, buildings etc. then I think you would have to worry about the story within the story.
I like it !!!
My 2 $ [ inflation ]
Cheyenne

Oh yeah you might want to add some Volkssturm or whatever [ I'm not looking it up, you guys know what I mean ], maybe with a youngster or two.

Hey Chris,

Was only joking about the ammo crates, but if its no bother I wouldn't say no! I'll PM you anyway.

Thanks,

James

Artilleryman are pretty obsessive about keeping dirt out of their gun's working parts, so live rounds laying on the ground is generally a huge no-no, unless they are laid on a canvas sheet. Even then, it's much more common for the rounds to be removed from the box and passed from hand to hand until they are loaded.

Chris, I like your efforts so far and implementing some of the suggestions will take it further.

I'm gonna come way outta left field with this one, but the overhead shot of the gun on the circular base looks like a peace symbol to me. Nothing wrong with that at all. Just something that stood out to me and made me think of a hidden meaning.

Like I said, way outta left field, but I thought I mention my observation.

- Frank

@Gerald...thanks for the heads up...i'm thinking of tsking the shells lying on the ground out. or, as you said, put it on a canvas or something like that. I've changed the entire layout of the vignette, so these changes will be easy to make.

@Frank....i honestly didnt even notice that until you said it. There's no hidden meaning in it though. Just a co-incidence. But you have given me a very good idea for a vietnam vignette with an artillery piece in that position.

i'll be posting pics soon...just wanna wait for the base to dry.