Hey all I'm new to the site, and I haven't posted any picutres yet of my work in progress, because I am trying to buy a camera. My diorama will be a king tiger bursting through a two story level building, in a Normandy Town square.The base itself it about 12inces by 16 1/2. I have offset the building so it at a diagonal angle form the base.On the opposite end of the base there is a very small corner ruin, and I have included 5 SS Germans advancing to and around that area.........here is my main questions....is it accurate to have the troops advancing in front of the tank like this or not, and second, when a tank is bursting out of a structure, would the turret be quite straight or could it be turned..............any help based on what I've said is much appreciated, I'm sorry I haven't been able to put up any pictures yet but I'm also a animation student, so this diorama stuff is a side hobby to me......and I don't have a lot of money .....OH YAH MY DIORAMA IS ENTITLED: COUNTERATTACK!...does anybody know this in German?......wow this reading must be killing you by now...sorry

Counterattack would be 'Gegenangriff' in German. Gegen = against, 'counter', and Angriff = attack. Remember that nouns are always written with an initial capital in German. 'The counterattack' is 'Der Gegenangriff'.

I am a native speaker of Dutch, which is very close to German, and I am a professional translator (of English and French - not German).

I'd be careful with the size of the diorama. You'll see lots of posts about 'dead' space or 'empty' space. A KT is big and you do have buildings and a decent number of figures so it sounds like it's going to be ok, just be careful.
I think the figures ahead of the tank would be fine. They could be cleaning up any ambush attempts.
As far as the turret goes, I think it would go through straight until 1/2 the tank is out, then it could start rotating. You don't want angle stress on the barrel of the gun.

Hi Tom, welcome and enjoy!!!
A few things to consider, as Scott said, watch the size of your base. If you are not putting a cover over it you can have the edges of the tank and the barrel extend out over the base. Less is more, so to speak.
It was generally against German panzer policy to go through a building if it could be avoided. If it was necessary to go through, they would try to keep the turret rotated to the rear face. Impact or shock to the main gun mounting would throw off the calibration of the sights, resulting in a trip to an impromptu target range to recalibrate everything.
Also rubble and debris that were on the hull could result in damage to the turret rotation drive.
I know it looks cool to have a tank going through a building, but it really didn't happen much unless there was no other way.
On the other side of the spectrum is that it would look cool, and it is what you'd like to build, so go to it and enjoy!!! That is truly the important part of this hobby, having FUN !!!
Regards, Ed

Thanks for the translation,

Rob thanks for the translation, Scott: I appreciate your idea of the troops "cleaning up any ambush", perhaps they might be scouting for an anti tank team...(not visible on diorama), Finally Ed, I appreciate you advice, while I like good action in a diorama, it is equally important to be historically accurate. I based my diorama idea off a story I read in a history class, but I didn't really know how the tanks actually went through buildings if they really had to....I also like a eye catching diorama too, so I think having the turret pointing towards the opposite face, and having a good portion of the thank facing out, I can make a happy balance, I will honestly try to post pictures asap

Historical accuracy is all well and good but the most important thing is that you have fun. If you build a dio that feels and looks good to you,.....it was a success.
Scott brought up a key point that is very often overlooked, by newbies AND old hands..........void space. Stay away from that,.....the eye tends to linger on a dios weakest point....and that can be one. If there is a lot of action going on in 75% of the area of the base and a nice patch of green grass it really stands out. One thing you can do to avoid this is to set up the direction of the dio as you said. You said that you are placing things at an angle which is a very smart thing to do. The last time I built a dio that was 'square' with the base it had too much blank space in it.
Keep up the good work and get those pics out to us ......even if they are in the first stages of work.........Rob Liles

This sounds like a good one! Looking froward to see this!

Martyn

Well, it would be dramatic but consider this. A King Tiger was 65 tons, 130,000 pounds. Before driving that through a building, I'd want to be sure the floor was going to suppport it if there was a basement. Wouldn't do to have an 88mm aimed at the basement wall. The max speed was 25 mph, so it would likely plod or crush through a building, rather than anything cinematically stunning like we saw in one of the Bond films.
Also, the KT was introduced in the west in August 1944, according to my references and the allies were well past Normandy by that time.

According to Actung Panzer:

'Only two companies of schwere Panzer Abteilung 503 commanded by Hauptmann Fromme, equipped with Tiger II tanks (with Porsche turrets), were committed to the fighting in Normandy, where their mechanical problems and Allied fighter-bombers as well naval gunfire proved fatal and, by the end of August 1944, all were lost.'

I'm sure I've read reports of Kingtigers being in Normandy

Thanks all for your suggestions and posts...I'm working on getting that camera then its photo time

There was a S Pz. heeres(proper spelling?) King Tiger division dispatched in Normandy. I also asked my friends grandfather, who served in Normandy with a Canadian Queens Own Rifle Division, and he said he recalls walking by a abandoned King tiger in his units patrol in an area somewhere near the outskirts of Caen..............I think it was the Porche only turret though that was used in the west, not sure about Henchel

Your idea sounds pretty good. Here is somthing you might want to try. When I start a diroama, I cut a piece of cardboard the size of the base I have in mind. Using mock-up stand-ins from the scrap box, I layout any building and roads. Position the vehicles and some figures. If you take pictures, you can compare your ideas to see what you like the best. Try to keep open space to a minimum . Think of the diorama as a three dimensional picture, and the storyline should be more important than historical accuracy. (think Hollywood) That is why a lot of builders have their figures in extreme poses. People who look at the dio, need to get the point at first glance. I usually have a couple of friends look at the pictures. This gives you a perspective from a second set of eyes.

Good luck, and keep us posted. Jerry

Hey thanks Jerry!!! yah I use that mock up method sometimes when I usually do 1/72scale.......never really done 1/35 though so this is new for me