ok im building an nva bunker that has been captured by special forces comments and criticism welcome!

Thanks to my super crystal ball




What a nice build ??
Congrats

Seb

Comments or criticism on what???

sorry about the delay had to re look on how to upload your photos

Can't see any pictures so that is probably why there are no comments?

Darryl

sorry mate took me a while there up! im only 16

glad to see your patient un like some members

Well It look like really mud the mud
You need to check for real jungle type pf plants

For the M113 the decals are standing not right

the defense in steel unlikely in Nam.

Good start but you need to work harder on your dio Mate
Good luck and the best is to and visit the page of Big A
For nam dio, you need to see the work of Chas Young:
Nice examples of Nam Dio

Cheers
Seb

thanks very much m8! sorry about earlier i forgot to post pictures lol
ok its only stage 1 for ground work

stage 2 jung plants
stage 3 maybe a weapon or 2 ak47

im giving this my up most!
i have done the roof!

more pictures up soon!

m113 is out ! special forces usualy went in by boat or foot im going for foot i have an nva tanker maybe captured ?

yes


no?

[quote] the defense in steel unlikely in Nam.
what do you mean?

the beech obsticles are goin i only put them o there for show

Martyn

Great start. Here's a few ideas to think about:

1) When you get around to doing your ground work under the M113, take some of the groundwork and dirty up the faces of your tracks. Right now the wheels and sides of the track links are dirty, but the faces certainly would hold some dirt, too. This will also make it look like the M113 belongs there.

2) Swing by your local pet store and check out the fish aquarium plants. I have seen guys use these to good effect to duplicate a jungle setting. Palms, ferns, etc.

3) Steel tank traps in the jungle seem doubtful. These were popular in Europe in WW2, because scrap metal was readily available. This would not be the case in Vietnam.

4) I'm with Sebastian. I would grab a Vietnam book or two and take a good look at what you're trying to depict. For example, the ammo boxes in the bunker look like 88mm boxes – there were no 88's in 'Nam, and a bunker that small would not support such a large weapon anyway. It might be more effective to have ammo boxes of a smaller weapon, or a small tunnel entrance(!), or a Soviet machine gun tipped over on its tripod, etc.


This is an ambitious project - more than I've ever tried. Please keep sharing it with us.

good work bud, im looking forward to seeing it done!

matt they are not 88mm cases and i no that 88mm were not used ! mg34,mp44,kar 98s were used i am going to put nva weapons in them any way and the tank traps are out !
i no they werent use either i just put them on for show.

i have just put so more plants in need to go to pet shop now !

any one got any special forces pictures?

martyn

thanks jim!

"mg34,mp44,kar 98s "? These weren't used in Vietnam. And with special forces, do you mean Navy Seals?

Lars

lars i think they were the russians captured the german weapons at the end of the war and when the war started russia supplied them with tanks, military and weapons !
these included ak47, ppsh,mp44 (limited) kar 98 so yes they were used !

yes navy seals thanks mate ! i forgot.

ok this picture shows the nva tank commander wearing russian tank uniform and head gear so on that note i am going to use a nva tanker in the bunker just been captured.

last nite i finished the radio man and started on the seal standing up! pictures later

Hi Martyn, I thought I'd just wade in with some comments and (I hope) some assistance... I like the fact that you're interested in the Vietnam conflict; I've been hooked on it since I was given a book when I was about eight years old, with a dramatic photo of a Monitor on a Mekong backwater... I've picked the modeling hobby up again over the last two years and one of the biggest differences I've seen from the last time I did it (1980s) was the sheer amount of information available, particularly online, as a resource for model making. Just a google image search of "Vietnam war special forces" will turn up tons of great research; But there are also dozens of great books available (on e-bay especially - second hand books are about the only bargains to be had there) on the Vietnam war, and if you know where to look, films too.
For you diorama, I would suggest a bit of research before planning how you want it to look; then compose it like a picture, balance all of the elements and add detail to draw the eye toward points of interest.
I noticed you're using a block of plywood as a base - can I suggest an alternative? Try getting some "foam-board", about 10mm thick, and layer it up in contours to build a less flat base. This way, your bunker can have a depth to it without you having to try carving a hole out of wood. It makes it lighter in weight too. Then use a papier mache mix like "celluclay", apply it thinly (you can mix pigments or poster paint in at this stage if you like) and then work the surface to give the range of textures you need. It stays workable for a day or so.
The benefit of these materials is they remain soft enough to drill into so it's easier to place your plants and trees, buildings, figures etc. Plaster is more durable but much tougher.
Please persevere with this dio, it has the promise to make a great piece of work.
And of course, keep us up to date with your progress...

Richard

Rich thank you mate i read every comment and take it in mind.
I have done lots of research.
Behind this diorama is navy selas on a sweep and clear mission and have stumbled across a bunker leading to an under ground tunnel and the nva have fled after the seals have taken it and have one NVA tanker ready for interrigation!

i always use the internet for research and looking for info and pictures!
i have tried that way but i feel better with this way.

thanks anyway your help is much appreiciated!

more pictures

sorry about the blur trying to sort it out i scratch built the raido link with copper wire rapped around the pin

That's starting to look a lot better. You've got a nice-looking dio started. Your figures look good.

Couple comments: the you might want to reduce the height of the bunker roof. Remember the guys who built it would want it to be very hard to spot.

Your NVA (or VC) trooper should probably not be a tank crewman. NVA use of tanks in Vietnam was extremely rare, and why would a tanker be in a bunker anyway? Just make it an ordinary VC or NVA soldier.

By far the most common VC and NVA small arms would be old US and Soviet bloc arms like the AK, SKS, PPS, M1 carbines, M16s and even old M3 greaseguns. French weapons like the MAT49 were also used. Most of those weapons are easily found in figure sets or by asking here for a donation or two. Using the ex-German weapons again sort of raises questions that distract from your story.

The whole story pretty much depends on the figures so make sure a viewer can understand what they are doing without any explanation necessary. One easy trick is to have them all facing in the same direction or looking at the same thing, so there is some focus. An alternative is to have them all looking at one guy who may be talking or perhaps holding up some object like a captured map or something like that.

Your work is far better than mine was at age 16 ! Keep it up, the more you build the better you'll get, and soon you'll be showing all of us how it is done.

Danny Egan
AMPS
http://www.amps-armor.org

Martyn,

The entrances to most dink bunkers were via a long tunnel and entrances were pretty well camouflaged and not all that easy to see -











Most of the larger "bunker" structures were generally arranged to overlook helicopter LZ's




or well used convoy routes or were a fair way back from forward operating areas (in a secure ville somewhere) if they were used for caching arms and ammo - which is generally why (in the case of your diorama - they would have been comprimised by SF's) they would be unearthed by units operating behind the FEBA (forward edge of the battle area)



Construction was mainly straight forward - local materials (brush logs etc)





or in the case of the ones I saw around Cu Chi - from scavenged stuff from US-FW forces - psp, sandbags, corrugated iron etc. - these are pretty substanstial structures



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(difference between our and theirs)-




Hope this helps

Greg

thanks very much greg!!!!!!!!!!!!!

um i havnt finished the walls and ive yet to camm them up! so be patient guys
i am going to put sand bags on it!

dont worrk it will be a bunker just gota finish it !

thanks very much for the comments guys it really helps !
ok will have the bunker abandoned!

right the ground work is covered but no compete!
need to add more foliage and the bunker is not complete jsut added simple walls to finish with more mud. im having problems deleting photos and i have ran out of room help!

right they ground work has been covered and the bunker is underway!