Hi all,
This is my first historical diorama and I'd like to offer it for your critique. I've been a Games Workshop modeller for years and have come back to the hobby after an 11 year break (wow that makes me feel old!).
A friend at work is a historical modeller and so he tempted me with photo etch and some of the fantastic kits out there, I had no idea the quality was so good. It turns out I like historical models more than wargaming and the 1/48 SU122 below was my first tester - something to try out some new techniques on before I went on to my 1/35 Dragon Sherman and King Tiger. As I went on I enjoyed myself more and more, found some 1/48 soviet troops and just kept going!
I hope you like it, I'm pleased with the finished result but would really like constructive criticism. Apologies for my photography.

Jon

First of all, welcome to Armorama Jon.
Your experience in war gaming is obvious, you did a very impressive job on those figures. I like the layout of your diorama, there is plenty of action with the infantry disembarking of the SU-122.
A few points to look out for next time.
there is a seam line on the fuel drum, and the broken wall would look more in place if it had been turned by 90 or so degrees. As it is, the complete lack of rubble looks odd, as there is no remains of any structure at all. It also looks like the 'track' (if it is supposed to be a track) goes through were the wall would have been. The burnt remains indicate that what ever structure it was has been recently destroyed. If you would replace the burnt remains with vegitaton, it could look like remains of a very old structure, and the placement would make more sense.

But other than that, I like your work a lot, and I loo forward to see more. Will the Sherman and king Tiger go in a diorama together?

Cheers
Henk

Nice cross over from the game world. The figures are nicely done and the SU's weathering is nicely proportioned.
I really like the angle on the base, the base itself is really nice (good finished product). The story is focused and you know where to 'look'.
As a new diorama builder remember to ask yourself "how did this element get to this point in my scene?" and "did it leave any 'footprints'?"
The empty space in the left corner is a bit big, you could have cut down the size by about 4" on the left and still had a full diorama.

For a first go, it's nice and you've got a ton of potential ahead of you.

Hi, well done for a first in miitary diorama.

Besides Henk^s comments i would ad that (while not knowing where this dio is situated) there is a lack of vergetation. You need a bit more grass on the corner behind the house and also at the lower border of the dio alongside the road.
The alternative would have be to shorten the dio on the left side to avoid the empty space.

Good effort and welcome

Cheers
Claude

Edit.: I'm slow typing (not beeing english) and Scott was faster then me saying nearly the same thing.

Wow, thanks very much for all the comments.
In a way I'm really pleased, the criticism so far (and it's all constructive so I take it positively) has reflected the areas that I myself wasn't too happy with.

I'm annoyed at the mould lines! On the Dragon Sherman I'm taking a lot of care to remove them all, they're such a give away and jars your brain back into seeing a plastic model instead of a scale representation. Trimming every piece of the Sherman's track links (all 468 of them) isn't a hobby, it's a lifestyle choice!

Henk - I don't think I'm going to put the King Tiger and the Sherman together. I feel one would have to be wrecked to make it work and to maintain a sensible range of diorama and I'm not finished being excited by just building and painting yet!
The incongruity in the building wreckage is well spotted. It started out as a recent wreck, then the left side looked unbalanced so I added greenery and that didn't make sense to have foliage over a new ruin. Converted to look like someone had lit a fire in the corner for shelter, but the burned timbers are too far out. Making the story make sense is so important in this style of modelling!

Scott - You're absolutley right, the left side is a little roomy. I considered putting more detail there, but I didn't want to over crowd the base. maybe more detail on the earth. Suggestions are welcome.

Claude - I was a little hesitant with vegetation. Since moving over to military diorama, I suddenly felt all the green material I had in my arsenal wasn't good enough. Green static grass looks too fake. I find myself looking around all the time now for real material to scale to 1/35.

Neil - I appreciate your positive comment! Still, some of the skill and experience on these forums is outstanding. I welcome the criticism. No one is a worse critic than me, and within 5 minutes of finishing I'm always looking at the bits I didn't like.

Thanks again all!

Jon

Hey Jon
I like what you have done since coming across mate!
Some pertinent things have already been said, so I won't add to them...


Try having a look at what is available from companies like Silflor and Heki; you may like what you see...
Cheers
Brad

Welcome to the forum, Jon. I have made the trip between modelling and gaming world a couple of times myself. Rewarding every time

Very good result on your first diorama. It tells a very nice story and has a good layout although the ruin looks a little odd as already pointed out by Henk.

Overall a very good diorama - thanks for sharing