Thanks you three.

I can't wait to get started painting the bunker.

Chas

I like the ground work it's coming along nicely. keep it up

Hi Chas,
Looking MUCH better with the side areas taken care of!
Have you thought about adding some stray flowers here and there to break the scene a little?
The groundwork is looking just fine mate and i look forward to the next update.
Cheers,
Shay

Hi John and Shay,

I'll definately be adding flowers, weeds, more grass and shrubs (all showing evidence of a pounding!).

Thanks for your replies.

Chas

G'day from (windy & stormy) W.A,

A panel on the roof of my shed has come away and my modelling desk has suffered water damage! Luckily, the diorama itself was on a shelf and was protected from the rain. Tonight I got the place cleared up and the panel put back into place although it is still leaking, I need to seal it up with some putty (ahh, Milliput, I knew it would come in handy someday!)

Diorama Base



I need you guys to give me your opinion on the vegetation I am adding, does it look realistic (remember it will be painted).

These photos were taken at night so it gives a bit of a false impression of the actual groundwork colours. The close ups also reveal the need to do some more work on the opening of the Tobruk pit.

More progress tomorrow, unless the shed blows down....

Chas

great progress so far mate keep it up!

Top job so far mate,what did you use for the larger white clumps ? i like the look of them and was wondering where to get them from.

Steve

Hi Chas,
Sorry to hear about the leak, i had something similar to myself happen while halfway through a dio involving lentils
The vegetation is looking very realistic and i think once painted will blend very nicely into the scene.
What did you use for the latest vegetation?
cheers,
Shay

Hi
I think your doing a great job with the diorama.
The vegetation looks very good to me.
can sympathise with your roof problem had to refelt my shed a couple of months ago started dripping on my work with the heavy rain we've had lately.

Evening All

Sorry to hear about the roof. But no doubt you needed the rain.




The ground work looks excellent. I would also be interested larger white clumps of vege. It all looks very.

Chas - this is coming along great. You are putting a lot of time and care into it and it shows.
As for the clumps of grass the ones on the left (1st photo as looking at it from the ocean) are really nice. The first two on the right have a base that is a bit too tight for me. The point that they go into the ground looks to focused and 'pointie'. I'd just add a bit of short grass right around the base to add a touch of volume, or a rock or something.

Hi everyone,

First of all, I am really wrapped with the amount of encouragement I have been given, thanks guys! It really gives me the boost I need to keep going.

For all those wondering what the white clumps are, it's seaweed! I guess you could call it a better looking version of seafoam. There is tonnes of the stuff washed up on the beach near my home at the moment.

I just pick it up, leave it to dry for an hour, and it's ready for use.

Diorama Base

Here is some more progress on the grass, I have added a few weeds here and there although I think I need to add more. Scott, I think as I add more grasses it will cover up the 'pointie' plant bases?


Using these dried roots I constructed a little shrub, and I will add leaves tomorrow.


In this picture you can see I have given the bunker its first coat of paint. It is no longer green!!

German grenadier

I got some time today to work on the figures.



Slow going but I'm getting there. Thanks for following,

Chas

looks good Chas
But for what I remember for the cliff color
The upper part of the soil is darker than the lover part of the cliff
See what I mean ??
The upper part is earth so brown colour and the cliff is rock like limestone color.
Here is a pic to illustrate it

You should represent that with a dark line on the top of the cliff

Here is a picture from the cliff from Point du Hoc to be more precise (compare apple with apple)

cheers
Seb

Nice, very nice ! Spot on, the right atmosphere caught in this little diorama. And it's even not finished. I'm looking forward to the last stage. Your topic is very helpful, thanks for sharing this info ! The "sea foam" is wonderful, I want a box full of it. G.

Hi Chas,
I agree with Scott, your attention to detail here is superb.Adding some extra foliage to the right side has improved the scene dramatically and given some extra life to what was otherwise a bare looking space.
Seb has hit the nail on the head in regards to how the base of the cliff could be represented.
Almost there digger!!
Shay

great work mate keep it up!

Hi Chas,
I was going back over your photo's of your figures and i was wandering if you have been having to hold that grip vice in your hands all of the time while painting?!

There are a few other ways to make the painting of these guys a lot gentler on your hands.
If you have any corks laying around you can push the pinned figure down onto one, just remember to position the figure so they won't be falling over once put aside.

Secondly, although the cork version is ok,you might have seen my home made jig from my Indy blog.
I actually got the idea from AJLaFleche who posted some pictures of his jig used to hold figures during the painting process.

It is very sturdy, comfortable and a darn cheap alternative to those that you may have seen at shows or online shops.
Extra food for thought mate!
Shay

Hi Chas,

Great work so far and a nice step by step to. This work is often underestimated , but it takes time to take the pics and to the updates.

Regarding this seaweeds, the stuff is great, very fine, and i would love to have some, but for me, it looks to big on the cliffs. Can you provide a measure, how high is it upscaled to 1/1?

Cheers
Claude

Thanks for those pictures Seb, I will try my best to fix the problem. Thanks Guy, if you would like some I can mail it, but you will have to check if it's ok with customs first. I certainly have a whole beach full of the stuff.

Martyn and Claude, thanks for leaving your feedback. The shrubs are about 2cm high, so thats about 70cm in life. Is that too tall? I took these pictures at the Pointe showing some large shrubs:


This thistle looks similar to the seaweed I have used.

I couldn't resist start painting some of the grass. I'm using the painting techniques I have learnt from watching JBA paint his wood, same principle applies to grass. Use millions of different shades instead of one uniform green. Here I have painted some of the darker shades. Highlights and dead growth will come later.



And I had fun painting the figure today! As you can see Shay I have modified my method of holding the figures. This works way better!

Tamiya acrylics aren't that bad once you get used to them. I would still love to try Vallejo, I've placed an order for a few paints so that my Japanese and Australian figures get star treatment.


Claude, the deal goes for you too, if you would like some seaweed I'll be happy to mail it through if it's ok with your customs?

Chas

getting even more impressive as we speak, !!
im just jelaous!!

Looking the goods Chas
I, like Claude was a little concerned about the scale size of the white seaweedy stuff, but once viewing your photos I can see it isn't too bad for scale. That said however, I think it needs some tweaking to make it appear more 'compacted' as per your location photos. I guess this is a survival mechanism for the bush being on a seacliff and all? And to me the white clump front and centre seems to impose on the 'flow' from the cliff to the bunker as far as the viewer would be concerned? This could maybe be solved by a wee bit of pruning/shaping as mentioned...
All said and done, the groundwork is great but I'd hate to see it overshadow the scene you are displaying by adding just that little bit too much, if you know what i mean. I reckon your intended blending of the colours would aid this though
Brad

This is a great thread Chas, it inspires me to get to work on my diorama!

Look really good Chas
Keep us update
cheers
seb

Yes, your last reference picture allows such bushes, but they are probably wrong situated at the edge, so inwards should be ok for them.

Cheers
Claude

Chas
I am not a dio expert but Can I make a comment ?
The cliff seems too much rocky for me and I would like to help you for the painting stage.

Since it is limestone expose to wind and sea water the surface is smooth and you represent with some rocks and roots.
the roots and organics will remains on the top soil 50 centimeter layer not much so less than a centimeter in 1/35.

The rest should be tan color and very smooth also you need to paint the cliff with different shade of tan with horizontal lines to represent the different layer of earth accumulated during the different geological periods.
Sorry Chas if this look like a geological class but it will look more realistic.

Tell me your opinion
Cheers
Seb