Hi all

Here is a short run down of my progress on my diorama for the 1973 Yom Kippur war.

The diorama shows Syrian troops in the very beginning of the conflict. A tank commander is coordinating the futher advance with an artillery officer while some enlisted artillery men are readying and loading the rockets for the BM-13 launcher.

The figures are Tristar and Alanger, The PT-76 is the old Eastern Express kit, while the BM-13 is the Zvezda/Italeri kit.

Work has progressed since the below pictures and the diorama is almost finished, so the final result will be posted soon. Comments welcome....

Hello Jesper,
Too bad you posted pics only taken from above. This way giving comment to the vehicles is quite difficult.
As far as the diorama goes, I think the general idea is good, the men hiding behind the ruins, too. It only looks a bit crowded. I would loose one of the vehicles or increase the size of the dio, the latter would be better!!

Thanks for the comments. I will post more close ups of the vehicles when the diorama is completely finished.

Below are some pictures of the figures and the BM-13 when finished for desert fighters and SPIF campaign respectively. The PT-76 is a very old kit which I build some years ago, so I do not have any pictures of it right now.

Although I like crowded scenes, I would also like to have had just 5 cms more in width in the diorama. I use the Trumpeter display boxes, so the size of the base cannot be adjusted.

Some thoughts on the Katyusha.
First, you might want to do some research on the deployment of this rocket launcher with regards to spacing around other vehicles and people as well as the blast zone for the rockets.
Second, get the net out of there. The blast shields are down, suggesting a recent launch and it would have been incinerated during the launch.
Third. Do some research on the weather during that period and see if that much mud would have been likely in October 1973.
Lastly, think about why the truck is where it is in a relatively casual scene.

I like the painting on that laucher Jesper.
My only comment would be on the mud department, a dust/sandy finishing would be better... just an excuse to build another kit I know...

Anyway keep those builds coming !!

Thanks for the comments, Al LaFleche.

Well, the scene is set out to depict the launcher being made ready for launch some KMs behind the front line. The two commanders are meeting to clarify and coordinate final things before action commences later.

The launcher has not fired in this position yet. There are no sod/burn marks on the rails. Launch might be hours away. By the time of firing the PT-76 and launcher crew would be at a safe distance or in cover.

You are right about the netting. That would have to be removed before firing by the crew. It could be used by the crew to cover the launcher when not getting ready to fire. Anyway, I agree with you that it cannot be placed that far back when firing.

Al LaFleche and John, You are right about the weather. Most pictures from the time indicate more rocky dry terrain. However, the terrain can be muddy - especially in the Golan heights area. I have read stories from some of the Israeli soldiers fighting there and they compared it to some of the fighting in the mud of WWI. I cannot remember the names of the soldiers, but their stories were later made into a movie.

Below are some recent pictures from the Golan heights. I know these pictures are much more recent than 1973, but they indicate that it can definently be muddy.

Here is the pictures of my finished diorama.

Comments welcome

nice build, the rocket the man is holding apperas to be a bit light tho!!

Interesting, I like the camo paint jobs.

Thanks for the comments, guys.

Jimmy, you are right about the rocket. The way he is sitting does not fit very well with the placement of the rocket as he might be unstable due to the weight of the rocket.

Hi Jesper,
nice job you did there. I guess the PT will move before the rocket launching unlike the crew are pleased to be targets for counter-battery fires !

Concerning the vehicles and considering there is mud on the ground, I would have created more mud projections on the vehicles themselves and not only some stains on the chassis.

The rest is out of my own skills so I won't comment further.
Olivier

BTW nice pic of the "entranched" Merk III !

Thanks for the comments, Olivier. I appreciate it.

The PT will surely move away. The PT commander is just coordinating the final details before moving on closer to the front.

I think you are right about the mud - especially on the truck.
The PT does not seem to become that muddy. The picture below was one of the pictures I used to simulate the mud effect on the chassis. I even added more than in the picture below.
However, next time I will try to hit the muddy ground and mud on the vehicle better.

i love it !

you should be proud of it!

have you thought about a wash for the vehicles to show the details ?
great figures!

Nice scene, something different! Like your camo job, they came out well. Thanks for sharing your photos!

Cheers -

Tim

Nice scene!! Really like the layout.
One thing I notice is the rockets themselves are to clean for how muddy the ground is, of which their laying on. Really like the camo, and the grround and buildings are niclely done too.

Good Job!

thxs,
John

Thanks for all the comments, Guys. I really appreciate it.

Martyn, I do not think I will give the vehicles another wash. The detailsstand out quite well now, but that is not that visible in the pictures. My phoyography is not that good.

Johnathon, you are right about the rockets. They seem a little to clean. I will dirty them up a little to tie them in with the ground work. Thanks for spotting that one.

Thanks for all the comments

I like it.
Having been at both the receiving and firing end of these, I can offer a few pointers on the rockets. The nubs on the front need to go. The fuzes are pointed for the most part, with a very slight flat portion right at the nose. The fuzes are reddish brown in color, made from a sort of bakelite material. The flat portion is sort of dull aluminum.
Never seen the body entirely in silver finish, but rather a light Soviet green. That's not to say they weren't ever silver - one museum had a piece in which they were all rather poorly painted in silver.

Thanks for the comments, 18bravo.

The colour should be okay. I have quite a few pictures in books with silver/aluminium rockets with black/dark end. However, I also have pictures with them entirely in a dark colour (green/black/grey?)
I had a few pictures electronically I have attached below although the silver/aluminium does not stand out so much.

The flat noses obviously have to go. I do not know how I could miss that. Thanks for pointing it out.

Jesper I can see them now your right i love it!

Jesper , I've always liked a good dio. and that's what you have there Thank

Thanks for the comments, guys. I really appreciate it.

Nice dio!
i think you need to put little more dirt on the vehicle
good job