For some time, I have been quite stuck for ideas about desert dioramas, when this bloke called James offered me these views, I am sure when he is ready he'll add his comments to these fantastic photo's, however, you'll have to look pass the photo and think diorama !





2nd time lucky, and this should be my quick build big gun -

Once again, a BIG thank you to James.
well considering there are no responses I might as well have a bit of fun and add these little gems

why am I answering my own thread ? Well, I wish I knew, maybe its because I find it very hard to believe I can constantly pick out the boring dioramas that no one is intrested in, I kicked off with the mini diorama whippet then another, then a couple of WW1 aircraft, then the planned 10 segment 12"x6" = over 2 foot square WW1 diorama, and now skirting around on the desert 8th army stuff and no one ? No one is intrested ? Honestly are my dio's that bad as I can't believe everyone is into Nam and WW2.

man, i think you should maybe considering in *focusing* in your dioramas, looks to me like you are doing 2 per week or something like that.
In case you noticed, I don't model WW2, no Vietnam, not even real war if you ask me, and I get some response everytime I post something. But that's also because i spend an average of 6 months on a single piece.
When i first saw your pier diorama i thought you showed quite a bit of promise because of use of colour and different subject, but now I am drowned in your numerous projects, and hardly see any progress at all and so I ended up not even checking -so if you believe an OLD diorama maker, please consider spending at least 5 or 6 times more on each piece -even if that means 5 or 6 less new threads in those diorama forums, and focus on the progress done more than in numbers.

Hello there, believe it or not I am 51 years old and this 'new' hobby has got me very excited, and while my work might not be the best, it could even be described as total rubbish, I actually enjoy building, especially after building those boring old war-ships in 1-350 and smaller 1-700, having nothing to follow except imagination is like a breath of fresh air, if I cock something up, run short of tank track, I can simply slap some mud on it and hide the gap, I built the USS Missouri BB-63 that built, painted and crewed in under 7 days, where most model builders would take weeks, ask and I'll post a photo of it. Getting back to the many many dioramas I have built so far, you are 100% correct in everything you've said, I should pay more attention to what I am building then racing ahead to finish something, I should sit back and plan the next move rather than jumping straight in with both feet then realising I can't swim, the only bad thing I will say against what you have wrote, is that you never wrote it a few weeks ago, I need that slap in the face - slow down - its not a darn race - and lastly, thank you for your reply.

Hey Al,
Whislt Jba is right with a more focused approach, i also believe each to his own.
when i started i used to build the revell 1/72 ww2 range, each kit was finished in a day, back then i had no awareness that people could spend weeks detailing a single braille kit, for example, Beyonds opel and flak. or as a full interior, the only interiors i saw was the bad stylings of the larger airfix planes.
a few years ago i was browsing around and came to a site ( that i believe no longer exists)
that was www.ww2modelmaker.comand the fantastic dios and builds there made me catch the bug!
your enthusiasm is great, and over time can be refined so that you make great models and dioramas. dont get me wrong, they are good, and seemings you have not long entered the hobby i think thats a great starting point.
i would say a starting point would be to get a kit of a vehicle you really like the look of , or have connections with. it could even be a spaceship! and focus on cleanup of parts using emery boards, and a blade , and fit making sure its all perfect, some fillers can be removed with nail varnish remover (( ammonia)) . then go for a simple paint job, for my kubel it would be grey or yellow pop on a couple of thin coats, dry then transfers.
then if you feel and see progress, get into the works of planning a base for it.
i usally use a picture frame, sketch out the iseas you have, or gather up the reference pics of the scene you have . plan it out on the base. then utilise what you know, and what you can learn on this site and you will be well on the way to improvement, it may not be noticable at first, but its doable. i sucked at '35 figures, really blew, i spent a few months, doing as many figures as i could, reading as many articles as i could, and after reading those i developed a relatively simple style thats in an article, i dont plan to use that anymore, as i want to leanr and experiment with shading, but i think i did pretty well


i hope that points you in the right direction! and there is no problem using the pics, i just wish i had more desert ones uploaded to share

for your gun dio, i strongly sugest nicking a nail file and sand out the seams on the wheels and gun support, and if you can, pop a hole in the end of the barrel, that would really
help !

i hope all this helps
good luck mate!