Hi guys

Well im going to give Dioramas a go . Im going to base it on this artical.
http://www.lonesentry.com/tigerflorence/index.html " TARGET="_blank"> http://www.lonesentry.com/tigerflorence/index.html

It takes place in FLORENCE July 1944. It will involve a Tiger 1 and a handful of German infantry.

Im planning on using these models to make the Dio in 1/35 scale
http://www.miniart-models.com/35508.htm " TARGET="_blank"> http://www.miniart-models.com/35508.htm
http://www.modelhobbies.co.uk/shop/dragon-tiger-late-alfred-kurzmaul-6416-p-11918.html " TARGET="_blank"> http://www.modelhobbies.co.uk/shop/dragon-tiger-late-alfred-kurzmaul-6416-p-11918.html

Not sure what figures to use and im realy bad at painting figures anyway.

Im going to have the Tiger sat in the center of the ruin building as tho waiting to strike on a unwilling allied target..

As this will be my first Dio is there any advice anyone can give me to help me get things right.

Hopefuly i will be able to make this a build blog. so watch this space.

Andrew great idea mate go for it

if you start it and post some of your work people can help you or if you have any questions post them and im sure someone will help you.

look at other peoples work for figure advice or check this out

http://www.armorama.co.uk//features/2274

good luck in your build!
we're all here to help each other

Andrew

Have fun with your diorama, just a note while you're getting into it...Alfred Kurzamul's Tiger served on the eastern front so you'd have to change the markings for an Italian campaign Tiger.

Best of luck and post pictures of your work please...

cheers
Bob

sounds good. figures aren't all that hard, my first attampts were pretty good. here's a good link on diorama groundwork;
http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/2002/06/stuff_eng_tech_diorama_bases.htm
, but if you're considering doing more than one diorama, i'd highly reccomend Sheperd Paines 'how to build dioamas'. it covers pretty much all dioramas and a hell of a lot on weathering vehicles and figure painting too. it's well worth the money, but it's quite hard to find in the UK. i managed to track it down here;
http://www.langtoninfo.co.uk/showitem.asp?isbn=0890241953
well worth the money.

hi guys

Thx for the kind words. I have now placed the order for the tiger , so im now waiting for mr postman.

In the meantime im reading up on painting and weathering techniques.

Im thinking of using the salt chip trick to give it abit of a battered look along with a few differant mig pigments.

I have read loads of pages about these techniques , but does and one have any advice on using them.

As for the paint job on the tiger , i can't find any good pic's to show what colors a tiger from the 508 in FLORENCE would of been.

Having read there rather brief history i would go for yellow mate as in Africa corp yellow, i can not remember the proper name some one will be able to help there i would think.
AS the SS-leibstandarte-Adolf Hitler had to change there color After being pulled of the eastern front they went to Italy for training and regrouping.

Official Name:
Schwere Panzer Abteilung 508
Commanders:
Oberstleutnant.d.G.Rohrbeck
Formation Date:
25th September 1943
Formation Home:
Paderborn, Germany.
Formation Source:
Panzer Regiment 8 and training / replacement battalion.
Unit Insignia:
Standing Buffalo (solid black in shield)
Areas of Operation:
Italy (only) Cisterna, Mussolini Canal, Cori,
Anzio (no engagement due to breakdowns)
Note: After the Cori action, (all but 1 was lost) sPz-Abt 508 passed the
remaining
vehicle to sPz-Abt 504 and returned to Germany, sPz-Abt 508 was not reformed
despite an order dated. March 1945.
Noted Vehicle Individual ID:
1 x Medium sized number, turret side, forward white outline, red in-fill.



This is the nearest i can find to what your looking for hope it helps.

thx for all the info there Andrew.

For some reason the picture at the end of your post was not there.

Well theirs def some conflicting info there my friend lol,I would not like to say which is closer to the truth then sorry.
I would like to think that theirs some one on here that could point you in the right direction as all i seam to have done in confounded to problem even more for you sorry.

11 May 1943 Originally formed by reorganization and redesignation of I./Panzer-Regiment 29 (in France)
8 July 1943 Redesignated I./Panzer-Regiment 29 again and re-equipped with Panther tanks
25 August 1943 S.Pz.Abt. 508 reformed in France from remnants of Pz.Rgt. 8 and Pz.Abt.190 [Tessin: 15 September 1943]
10 December 1943-24 January 1944 Equipped with 45 Tiger I's
29 December 1943 Pz.Kp. 313 (Fkl) attached
4-12 February 1944 Sent to Italy for counterattack on the Anzio beachhead
19 February 1944 Pz.Kp. 313 (Fkl) integrated as 3./
29 February 1944 4 Tigers are lost in action
1 March 1944 4 Tigers are lost, written off (1 turned into demolition carrier)
11 March 1944 Tigergruppe Schwebbach with 8 Tigers absorbed [Schneider: 3 March ]
20-25 April 1944 11 Tigers arrive, 7 lost, 49 on hand
30 April 1944 1 Tiger is lost, written off
1 May 1944 2 Tigers are lost, written off
23 May 1944 1 Tiger is lost in action
24 May 1944 2 Tigers are lost, destroyed by crew
25 May 1944 19 Tigers lost in the retreat from the Gothic Line (most were destroyed by crew), 24 on hand
13-14 June 1944 13 more Tigers lost in the retreat, but 13 are received
18 June 1944 14 Tigers arrive for 3./, 37 on hand
27 June 1944 2 Tigers are lost in action
4 July 1944 1 Tiger is lost, destroyed by crew
24 July 1944 1 Tiger is lost, destroyed by crew
25 July 1944 1 Tiger is lost destroyed by crew
29 July 1944 2 Tigers are lost in action
30 July 1944 1 Tiger is lost, captured
2 August 1944 1 Tiger is lost, destroyed by crew
September 1944 11 Tigers are lost in action or destroyed by crew. Most of the losses are from the road marches during retreat.
1 October 1944 15 of 17 Tigers operational
30 November 1944 men of the former Pz.Kp. 313 (Fkl) transferred to Panzer-Ersatz-Abteilung 300 in Eisenach
1 December 1944 2 Tigers are lost, written off
4 February 1945 15 surviving Tiger I's transferred to s.Pz.Abt.504, ordered returned to Germany for re-equipment with Tiger IIs [Schneider: 12 February 1945]
Mar-May 1945 No action as tankers, but some as infantry and artillerymen

found at the tiger 1 information center

Found it on amazone.com The book and it was infact £5 cheaper.

I have placed an order for it, thanks for the tip

Hi and wellcome to the world of dioramas.

Theres many "rules" you can choose from, and break at will, but a few things that wil make your work look better and more dynamic is:

1) Stay away from items parallel to the edges of your base - that goes for buildings and vehiacles.

2) keep it small, dont make it bigger than needed to tell your story - too much surrounding space is confusing and will distract the viewer from the story line.

3) Test - build a rough - in carboard or styrofoam to test size and composition. Turn it around and view it from 360 degrees to see it if looks good

4) do it yourself - buying buildings etc. can be quite expensive and with a little care a lot can be done with little.

5) make a search on "blockhaus" - he regular visits and post on this site, He´s a master of turning nothing into art - what most people would just throw away he can turn into masterpieces - lots of inspiration to find here.

6) blend in - dust and grime on the road, ruins, tanks and crew all have the same nuances - so make the stuff fit together.

7 Have fun, and post pictures of your progress

Cheers/Jan

Ok guys here we go!!

The Tiger model arrived today.
First impressions are the model is well moulded ,very little clean up work needed.
The quality of the parts is realy high and very detailed.( I only hope i can do the model justice)

Very nice project !
Will be folowing your progress, I'm eager to start my first dio too.

Keep them coming, impressive Tiger too !

Jan,

Could you give a full link for "blockhaus". I did a google search, but my foreign language skills are lacking.

Thx, Ski.