This is work in progress. I'm building the diorama for campaign. Any tips or comments for a 13 year.
FYI - I know the river is messed up







Should I have the German on the left or not

Hi, I think it would be cool if you could add a T-34 chasing that guy with the panzerfaust. I think the figure placement is ok. Just add some big rocks, tree stumps, and hip-high grass on the far edges would be my thoughts. Great idea!

Matthew

Looks pretty good for the basis of a dio. Certainly better than anything I could have come up with when I was 13 (and that is sooooo long ago I nearly can't remember it )

Have you had a look through the posts here about groundwork etc? There are also some excellent features on water, ground cover etc, and then when you have gone through them you can hop on over to Historicus Forma as one of their threads is about groundwork (I just can't remember its name at the moment).

I certainly don't profess to be an expert in dios but a couple of things I have learned that I can pass on for you to consider are:

1. Especially when starting out, think smaller rather than larger.
2. Do some planning - such as a sketch to help get an idea on placement of figures etc.
3. Try something new each time (technique) it helps raise your skill level

A suggestion with the water could be to cover it with some form of gloss coat - a lot of people in your part of the world use something called Future which is acrylic floor polish (we Aussies don't have it here). That will at least give the "water" a shiny wet look. I honestly have no idea of the colour of streams in Eastern Europe - certainly in Australia a stream that size would either be clear with a white/tan/brown sandy bottom or be coloured almost like a cup of tea (or weak coffee) so it would be brownish rather than blue as you have.

Also next time you do some groundwork with the white stuff - whether it is celluclay or plaster of paris - it looks like it is something you add water to to get a gooey blob to shape. Anyway you can add some acrylic poster paint - which is usually pretty cheap in the dollar stores - to it. Get something like burnt umber or a dark brown colour and mix it all in together. The end result then is that once it has set if you accidentally chip it there is no bright white spot showing. You could also thin that brown paint down with a lot of water and give the bridge a wash with it to make the paddle pop sticks look like old and weathered timber.

Most importantly have fun - and make sure you finish the dio and then keep it. In a few years time you can pull it out and look at it and compare it to what you are doing at that time to see just how your skills have grown.

Brian

last time i gave advise i didnt get a responce, but i will link to it, and there are some that apply to this dio, some that dosent,
small dio help
in real combat, the retreating units would ahve been anhiallated in that situation way before they crossed the bridge, remeber the 30 cal in BOB mowing the germans down as they ran from caurantan,
and once again i strongly advise against using railway scatter a a Sole gorundwork material,

Thanks for all the responses. Im going to see what i can do better

Good to see your photos improving.

new pics. I'm switching the grenade throwing German with the Machine Gun German. Tell me what the newly painted figures look like.