Gino, thanks for your comments, once again your input is extremely welcome. When it comes to stuff like this your a font of knowledge. And on that note, you don't happen to have know where I can get dimensions for the rear rack APU, I'm trying to scratchbuild one from photos! not working out very well.

thanks

Ok, been busy trying to scratchbuild the EAPU for my Abrams here it is at the moment. Thanks to Olivier Carneau for the dimensions.







Also scratchbuilt the stowage basket for the side of Abrams.


Again Comments welcomed.

Also, looking to start on the groundwork for this:-



Can anyone suggest the best way to start and what to use for the water.....

Tried using fine sand and burnt sienna/elmers - water mix. Colour or texture doesn't look right...

I'm new to doing dio's so any help would be grateful..

thanks
Paul.

Nice work mate, any progress?

Martyn, thanks for comments.
Done some groundwork but I'm not completely happy with it. Here are the pictures below. (I think I'm expecting too much for my first dio attempt!!)







Any comments and suggestions gratefully accepted.
(ignore the toy skittles in the background, will get some outdoor photos tomorrow.)

NIce work Paul, I rather like the ground work.

thanks Martyn, just got some more left to do then gotta figure out the best way to do the water!

Excellent groundwork! Looking good, you've got a nice start to this one! Like it being based on a photo, that's neat!

Thanks for sharing! Cheers -

Tim

ok, been doing some work on the Abrams, and looking at my reference picture the abrams has the big foot tracks.

Does anyone know where I can get these from or a cheap alternative to them?

AFV CLUB do a set for around £12

yeah, i've seen them, they just look a little bit fiddly for me! plus only part of the tracks are going to be visible, so thought if I could do it any other way then this would save money!!

OK, took some photos outside today.





This one is the start of the groundwork for the bradley dio..



Again, any comments/criticisms/advice etc. welcome

Ok done some more groundwork on the Abrams dio





The plan now is to wait until the filler is dry, then paint a mud colour browns mixed with olive drab etc.....

Then add a few layers of clear caulk to create the water effect.

Also I've adjusted the rear end of the tank, (cut it of!!) this will make the sinking hull look more realistic. (I Hope)

Nice work mate; looking good.

be careful about using clear caulking, as sometimes it does not dry entirely clear, and can tend to look like, well, clear caulk. Have you considered using resin as the base water, then perhaps using caulking for waves/current, etc.? Whatever you decide on , make sure to test it first to make sure it turns out the way you want it.

Thanks Martyn,

Matthew, I have considered using resin but I'm concerned with the heat issue, I don't want to melt my tank once all the stowage is on! I intend to try the caulk on a sample piece of groundwork, so I can get the colour right as well.

Gbarksdale's dio at this link has used the caulk method for his water pictures 2 & 3 and this is what I'm gonna aim for.
https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/140399&page=1

You'll see in previous posts that what I'm trying to go for the water is calm and shows no ripples. Also for the amount of water I need, caulk is the cheaper method.

Next up is to sort out the stowage gear for the back of the tank.
Thanks for your comments guys, more photos when I've had time to work on model.

Paul,

That dio is looking great. I hope my first military dio looks half as good. When I have done water I have used clear acrylic and added color and dirt to it. However, I never had to create as much water surface as you will.

I really like idea you are using. Combines my two of my more favorite things...tanks and off-roading!
Tony

Tony:
Thanks for the comments, believe it or not this is my first attempt at dios!! After seeing all the excellent an realistic looking dios on this site I thought I'd try it for myself.

Struggling with a few things but I'm giving it a go.

ok, started the stowage on my abrams,




I've also started the water effect on the base (photo's to come) at the moment I'm happy with the result, but i think it needs some colour, currently its a semi-translucent look.

Any suggestions on colours would be helpful. I was going for a dirty green with a hint brown!

Couple more updates to the stowage. (I know it doesn't look like I've done much since the last update, but its better than nothing.

One thing I'm struggling on is what to place in the stowage basket next to the EAPU?

Nice workmate.

Thanks Martyn,

I've done a little more to the abrams, had to scratch a new fender as I've lost the original!

Ok it's been a while. Did some work on the model the past few nights mainly groundwork.





Any comments / suggestions are welcome.

Thanks for viewing Paul.

Great work Paul!

As for water I use Crystal Resin. It dries totally clear and gives good effects although you have to make sure the area is sealed sufficently. I've had that problem in the past and found a little gap i didn't see and watched in horror as my river seeps out of the side of the terrain peice!

I really like the scene your trying to recreate as well, it's very interesting. I've seen a few great swamped or abandoned vechile dioramas that follow a similar setup.

For advice and tips on water effects I would reccommend the book by Xtreme Modelling, Elements in Combat 1.

I have the second book in this series "frozen Hell" that covers snow and winter effects. They are great books and really nice reads too.

Ok, added the tank body, and the surrounding mud, just gotta paint and weather the groundwork then add the water...

This looks really good, im hoping to start a dio soon with water effects so i'll be watching this closely!