evening all i am about to start a diorama called Rank does have its Privileges. its ment to be an american officer taking a bath next to an M577

does anyone want to give me any ideas or help it will be greatly appreciated

thanks

Well the first thing that springs to mind is this old offering from Verlinden: bathtime
...but I would take the female figure away...

hth

Richard

And if you haven't got one already, this one's a bargain: M577

i have got the verlindon "saturday night bath" i picked it up from my local model show and yes i didn't intent to use the girl in the diorama thanks for the advice

ive started the M577 its the tamiya kit overall it looks a nice little kit theres hardly and work need doing no flash is presant but there are a few sink marks but i doubt they will be visable when the kit is finished.

i have mocked up the diorama witht he hull on the base with the figure in the bath.

I understand that the title of this diorama will indicate the bather has rank, however how do you intend to convey their rank to a casual viewer?

Hi James,

Put the bath inside a building/shack, and have the rest of the crew washing outside. I'd probably leave the girl in the bath

Al

How about hanging a fresh uniform with his "battle bowler" next to it(with stars painted on it like Patton) on the APC.

good point Darren what about soldiers watching him or a corpral stripe on his helmet?

A stripe on the helmet would be simple to do however if you could pull the uniform idea off it would add great detail to dio. Its something you rarely see in a diorama.

Good concept and good comments made to keep in mind that a diorama tells a story.

Suggestions....

-Isolate the Officer in the tub.....make the area of the tub it's own little entity.....surround it with sandbags and concertina wire....but leave a path out.......and some pallets on the ground and a chair for webbing, a rifle, water cans, table, rations, beer cans, cigarette packs, magazines, a ghetto blaster, and..........a sign that says "Officers Only!" Make it like a little mini jungle spa.

-Have a couple of enlisted soldiers in a fox hole towards the front of the M577.....no frills, muddy, on guard duty and looking back at the Officer.

-Or have an enlisted soldier on the top on the M577 looking directly down on the Officer.....this shows the soldier working.....and adds a sense of elevation to draw the viewers eyes from high to low.....it shows the soldier looking down in disgust/disappointment at the Officer.......I would recommend the Verlinden "Dear John" Vietnam G.I......the figure can be sitting on the edge of the roof of the M577 looking down at the Officer.

Experiment with the layout and construction and have fun.....good luck with your project.

James, have you come up with any other ideas of what you want to do?

ive bult abit more of the tank hand started to play with the layout of the tank but i
dont know what figure im going to use on the tank working any sugggestions????

cheers

James-- If you use the M-577 in the diroama, you might consider this tale. I knew a guy who had a 577 as his operations track while in the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in Vietnam. It was a hot as hades in that marvelous part of the world so he took a new M-113 fuel cell filled it with water and carried it on the top of the track. They did not take the 577 into the bush often so it was pretty well road bound. The sun would heat the water and they would draw it at night when they stopped for showers. You might want to consider a setup like I described or you could use a fuel bladder (blivit) filled with water and left out in the day sun. We did that at Fort Bliss and it worked like a charm. The key point is to ensure the recepticle for the water has never held fuel in it....bad do-do with happen to you if you try to put water in a used fuel cell.
Hope this helps
DJ

in the fuel cell is that a jerry can???

cheers im gona do that i think or have him just with his kit around him on the wooden stage with gi's working on the tank. i thought they were just road bound thats why ive sorta drawn out the road =]

good idea james how about having the guys name and rank on the side of the tank?

or on a item next to him like a jerry can like "sergant pike"

Martyn

If you put the girl in the dio, well.... we know who is the ranking officer...

well its been ages ive got some figures
that will be walking past the tank and the officer bathing =]

i will post some pictures up tomorow =]

Well its been I don't know how long since I posted this. Last time it was still in the planning stage. Its been months, I have improved my figure painting and general modelling skills. I have made some changes. I am not going to use a M577. I plan to use something else either a LVTP 5 or an M48. As Jason suggested I am going to have the Dear John sitting on the tank really muddy looking down at the officer. Also I plan to have either a foxhole or a watchtower next to the AFV. The Bathing guy is going to have his own little shack with a radio some booze, his peronsal kit which will be clean and spotless . I am currently snowed under with college work and trying to sketch out the plan for this diorama.
More soon and any comments welcome.

would like to see some PIC's of progress. or atleast a lay out of what you are doing. and if you really want to sho disgust have the joes doing something to mess with the officers gear or filling his boots with sand or something. but would like to see what you got. good luck and have fun.

Hey Tom .

I have sketched a layout and idea and I will scan and upload it later tonight.