I was getting bored with the projects I have going and I saw a posting about a Panther being used as a pillbox. It reminded me of an idea I had several years ago that had been shelved. Basically, the tank (Italeri Panther D) had been semi-built so all I had to do was cut off the running gear and paint/weather.
The building was the same, it's Miniart's "The Corner" I had it built but not painted. I did have to scrap the kit base as it didn't fit on the base I wanted for the dio.
The figures are Masterbox's "Eastern Front Series#2" with an extra figure from another MB kit. Figures are basically OOB with exception of Dragon weapons and scratched straps
Base is done with cork cobbles and sidewalk.
















That's it for now. There are more photos in my gallery. Usual apologies for the rough camera work. Comments welcome.
Cheers,
Charles

hey bud....very, very nice dio.

I love it, the figure painting is excellent, as is the tank, groundwork, dirt, etc. I have one quibble, and one only. It may be a mute issue at this point, but I'll point it out anyway.

This is probably a personal preference, but all those little square brick things lying around the tank.....they look wrong to me. I don't know why, but when I saw your dio, I liked it, then saw the stones, and they somehow clashed......don't know how else to put it, or how I'd "fix" it either.


Other than that, love it! Awesome job

EDIT: on closer inspection, I see that those brick thingys are supposed to be cobbles from the street. Maybe they just look to loose or something......whatever, don't worry about my rant!

Love what you did here. Awesome Dio , Cool Panther, Figures, paintjob and effects. I kind of agree with Matthew, those cobblestones seem to be a bit to neatly placed around the front of the panther, maybe break a few up. (my 2 cents worth). milvehfan

Looks likes you had fun.. ..i like it Good job !!!

Hi Charles,
Very good job! I like the overall look of the dio.The colour mix is well choosen.
Nice contrast is also the round base with the square panther, good idea.


Cheers
Claude

This is a real special diorama.

I really like the figures & animation you have achieved. The burnt out effect on the turret and building looks very realistic. The rubble and dirt is good accept I also think the cobbles in front of the tank should be broken up.

Regards,

Chas

Amazing work!

Lars

great diorama its a cracker i love the panther weathering!

figures are good aswell !

maybe a few more cobbles round the tank?

Hi Charles. Another great dio. Great idea, action and layout. Id have to agree with the issue about cobblestones/rubble around the dug in Panther though. It all looks a bit too tidy, planned and un-natural.
The buried panther volume and the resulting earth/cobblestones, doesn´t appear representitive. Same could be said about the house ruin. Luckily this is something that can easily be added to.

Now thats my kind of diorama!

Love it, I have a specific interest in panzerturm, and the buried panzers used in the defence of Berlin, and think you have captured the idea perfectly here.

Top marks, a nice scene!

James

Superb! The building is very nicely done. Good work.

Very nice job! I like the panther very much

Painting and composition are great and I love it.
Couple of minor suggestions:
More rubble from the building. Where is the rest of the building?
As I understand it they dug pits in the street and drove the tanks in. I would put some track marks behind the Panther to show it was driven not the pit.

Again, love it and these are just some things I noticed.

Thanks for sharing your work,

Shaun

Thank you all for the comments and suggestions.
In answer to some of your questions and comments:

The building was destroyed in a bombing raid in mid-1944 and the majority of the rubble was removed so the street could be transversed. When it became obvious they would be defending the city street by street, they dug the pit for the Panther. After the tank was in place, they backfilled with dirt thus obliterating any impressions the tracks had made.
At first, the stones from the street had been stacked not unlike a small wall. When the crew arrived to man the tank the officer in charge had the stones knocked down and tossed into the pit in front of the tank as he was worried their field of fire would have been impaired.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
Thanks again,
Charles

Stunning! Great scene, like how you've portrayed it! Thanks for sharing your work.

Cheers -
Tim

Thanks for the comments Tim.
Cheers,
Charles

Great work Charles.

You beat me to it pal. I am in the process of creating that same type of base for resin production, and distribution. One base will have a small building corner and the other one will just have the side walk section. Both will feature a German Panther D buried into the street.

Jose
Tiger Werke

Hey Jose....
Great minds think alike!
Can you post some photos (pre-production?) of your masters?
Cheers,
Charles

nice work

Hi Charles
Hate to say it, but you beat me to it too!!! But you did it with style and I love it. I think there was more than one dug-in panther around Berlin, so I'll just make mine one of the others You did a great job, and yes, I too have seen the pictures, where there is stacked bricks neatly around a dug-in tank or "pantherturm", so I'll buy it.
Keep up the good work.
Best regards
Jacob

Robby,Jacob,
Thanks for the comments.

Jacob,
Join right in! there are plenty of intersections that need protection in Berlin! I will be looking forward to seeing your version of this type of defensive position.
Cheers,
Charles

Nice work Charles , I've got to agree with the others comments on the " to clean " aspect - but excellent comeback explaination on the rubble !!!!
The Miniart building also came out sweet .
Glenn

Looks good so far, I like the glancing blows on the turret.

Can't wait to see more progress.

Hi Glen,
Thanks for comment.
The 'comeback explanation' was sort of tongue in cheek (although it sure worked out to my favor ) I actually am taking everyone's advice and plan on adding more debris and broken stones. But right now I've set this one aside for a couple weeks so I can get a fresh perspective.
I really like the MiniArt buildings and kits. They are just as challenging as an AFV kit and just as rewarding when finished.
Cheers,
Charles

Wow! Excellent work! The Panther D is gorgeous, excellent weathering and I really like the dio layout too! Well done!

How did you make the shell penetrations on the turret? They look very convincing!