This will be an odd topic, because i am starting a diorama for which i no not have the figures or the tank yet. There is still a lot that can be done without these though, so i have decided to begin this project anyway. The diorama will depict a russian T 34 advancing over some rubble and a destroyed building with some assualt troops. The figures and tank will be focused towards some off-scene german defensive position, and will be posed at the extremes of motion to give a dramatic feel. The kits i will be using are Tamiya's 'Russian assualt infantry', and Dragon's T34/85 with bedspring armour. i might have to rework some of the figures because they are intended for a tank without bedsprings, but from pictures they look like they will turn out ok. So far i have only started work on the section of building, which was made from plywood and plastered, with some extra milliput and plaster detail. It will be surrounded by a large pile of rubble, and the tank will be climbing over this. I am still not entirely happy with the building, as it is badly proportioned in places, but i hope that it not too noticeable.

Basic shape, brickwork (from card rectangles), and milliput detail. Note the t34 shown will not be used, it was just for layout positioning


plaster added and basic paint job,


extra scratchbuilt details with balsa, thick foil and a straw. Extensive use of various pigments.

wow 625 views but no replies. any comments/ advice/ improvements? all input is highly valid.

I really like the burst pipe on the wall; the frayed edges look perfect!

zaltar

That's probably because so far, apart from a single piece of wall there's not really much to comment on, Luke!

Nothing wrong with the idea, but what more is there to say at this point?

However, the standard of work in your gallery photos looks pretty good, so if they're anything to go by, then I'm sure this diorama could become a talking point once it starts to take shape.

Keep us posted.

- Steve

ok well thanks anyway, i promse i'll get some more done today. what do you guys use for rubble? I'm gonna make some shattered stucco and bricks from cast plaster, but i still need concrete pieces to make up the bulk of the rubble. is cat litter really as good as they say it is?
so far my list of rubble components are like this;
-concrete pieces from actual mortar and/ or cat litter.
-bricks cast from plaster
-pipes from bent straw and brass wire
-small scratchbuilt furniture from balsa
-a steel I beam or open web steel joist (the more complicated ones) from plasticard.
-a door from plasticard or embossed balsa (never tried this before)
-some wire from very thin wire.

if anybody can add to this list i would be greatful. The rubble will make up most of the area of this dio so it is important that i get it right.

Hi Luke
How about adding a couple of german "Panzerknackers" (tankhunters) lurking inside the ruined house? Could this add a little to the drama?
Just a thougt.
Jacob

well i'm not sure really. the building will be facing so that the interior is facing the veiwer, so there will be no place for (living) germans inside because it will have russians in it. i thought about a german on a suicide attack with a grenade but i don't want to overcrowd the scene and disturb the general sense of direction. i will try to explain better with pictures.

Hi Luke
Hmm, yuo might be right about the overcrowding... Look forward to see the progress.
Jacob

hey pyro
maybe you could use this as inspiration?
http://missing-lynx.com/gallery/dio/redtidedio_awilder.html" TARGET="_blank"> http://missing-lynx.com/gallery/dio/redtidedio_awilder.html

Rich

sry the link is broken, could you try again. ironicly though it seems to have 'redtidedio' in it and 'Red Tide' was my other consideration for the name. Kinda lucky there i guess.

ok i took a few pics of some basic initial planning it did. i will try to get the figures ASAP so i can get a better idea of positioning, but they are out of stock at the moment, which is also holding up the tank as i want to order them together. In the absence of any figures, i used dremel sanding wheels to indicate them. two on top of each other is a standing figure while one is a crouching figure. The foam is where rubble will go. Hope this gives people a better idea of my plan.

This looks good Luke. I especially like the rusty and damaged rain pipe.

G.

yeah i was pretty happy with that. it's amazing how easy it was too. i just took a straw and made some rips with a pin wh i wanted the hole, then ripped it apart so the break was all frayed. then i just put PVA on the rusty bits an dipped it in plaster. Then i gave it a quick clear coat, some black, and then dark brown on the rusty bits. then i just used rust pigments (dry brushing rust also works), to give the final rust effect.

i finally found the page for that link you posted Richard, and it is indeed very helpful. I plan on using similar steel sections in my dio, although i will not be able to use as much due to the fact that the figures need sufficient room to be running.
on a different note, does anyone know whether spray paint cans existed in WW2 and could therefore have been used for nazi graffiti?

small progress today. i scratchbuilt this lamp from junk i found lying around, and made some plaster moulds to be broken up into rubble.

Nice work My friend, look really cool!!!

thanks Martyn.
today i completed the street lamp. i am really pleased with how this has turned out as it is my first attempt at scratchbuiling. the fusebox is my favourite part but unfortunately it puts the wall to shame, so now i think i need to do some more work on that. i lost track of exactly what i used for this but here is a rough idea:
-thin aliminuim tubing
-thick foil from a quiche dish
-a modified BB pellet
-a clear LED cut in half
-a tiny part from my spares box. think it is an antenna holder for a T 34
-thin copper wire
-some flat plastic sheet from my recent halftrack build. (i have no idea what this was for, there were just two 2*3 cm sheets on one of the sprues?)
-half of the side turret hatch for a tamiya panzer IV.
-a lot of patience and trial and error.

Luke,

Fantastic work there , I really like the light fitting, is it scratch built?

looking forward to seeing this progress

Regards,

Jerry

The broken lamp is a great addition to the dio

se

yes Jerry, all of the lamp and the fusebox thing is scratchbuilt. it was suprisingly easy actually. I posted a picture earlier showing the unpainted lamp.

Well i seem to have taken a much longer break than i had intended, but i think i'm at a stage now where i'll be able to go a while longer at this without taking another huge break. A lot has happened since i last posted though. Sadly, the building had to go- it was just too out of scale and unconvincing. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to try out one of miniarts vacuum formed building kits, and if this sounds like an easy option, believe me, it isn't I will try to salvage the lamp and electricity box, although the water pipe is too out of scale to be used.
After following the tutorial on the miniart website, i've now got the building (35519 Ruined city building) built and most areas filled so that the join cannot be seen. I've also nearly assembled the figures from the tamiya russian army assualt infantry, which will need a bit of work to get them up to scratch. Some of them are in the pics below, there are 12 in total, although i will probably leave one out. Note that apart from the ones mentioned, the positions of the figures will not be as shown, this is just so that you can see some of them.





This figure will be one of 3 or 4 figures riding the tank.

This figure will be lying down behind some low cover such as a barrel.

This figure will be positioned roughly in the same place in relation to the building, so that he is using the wall as cover.


At the moment i am working on the detail for the building which consists mostly of the the windows. I am using the kit parts, but will be altering them to show extensive blast damage to the glass and frames. No glass is provided with the kit, so i am using clear 0.5 mm PET, which glues quite well with thin poly cement without melting. Here is the first completed frame.

Starting to shape up nicely Luke.

How about some broken "glass" on the ground?

i've saved all of the offcuts from the windows for exactly that purpose
I don't want to over do it, so i'll only use a few bits here and there, hopefully just enough to attract attention.

Had a chance to finish off most of the windows. I will make up a few more badly damaged sections to mix in with the rubble soon.

I had a bit of a play around with the layout earlier, and this is what i came up with, there are a few more figures left to come, which should hopefully help to strenthen the forward motion and movement i am trying to achieve. One will be another running figure, which will help to fill the empty space at the front of the diorma. Most of the figures will be off balance, while the tank will be just about to drop down the other side of a pile of rubble. In this way, the tank points upwards slighly upwards which creates suspense. (The plaster on the base was just some that i had spare, and not wanting to throw it away i used it to build up the level a bit). Any comments welcome.



Finally, for those who have not seen my other build thread, this is the beast which will take centre stage in this dio. It's as done as i can get it now, although a bit more overall dust with pigments will be added to help tie it in with the diorama.