I'm glad to present my first diorama I have ever built.
I was studying the forums and some books at least two years, but finally I dared to start the building. I'm not pleased with the final result by 100%, but I had to start it somewhere

The name of it the dio is: Convoy arrives!

The scene is Vietnam, the perimeter of an unnamed fire base in the north, around 1968... A long time expected convoy finally arrives after a Vietkong ambush.

I have used the AFV Club's M35A1 Quad50 and Hobby Fan M35A1 Gun Truck III FSV Conversion kit for the vehicles and the Quad50. The figures are Hobby Fan and Dragon pieces. The barbed wire is from Aber, the equipment is from the spare box, mainly Academy stuff. The sandbags were made from plasticine, which one is driing on air. The base is homemade, I have used an old picture frame and some thin wooden like thing, which the carpenters use to cover the furniture. The truck still missing its driver, as I have not found any figure to sit in this position. It took around 4 months to complete the dio, and an additonal 3 months was the truck building.

Comments are warmly welcomed, don't hesitate to point on the weak parts, as my main goal is to learn from my mistakes

Here are some photos:

Generally good building and compostion. Nice, subtle weathering on the trick and the figures.
The position of your forward MG gunner clearly suggests a threat. The guy in the twin .50 looks to be firing only one, a little modification could have put his hands on both triggers.
Given the action form the other truckers, the woulded guy in the back id terribly exposed to enemy fire plus he's right under the barrels of the .50's which would bequite loud.
The truck is blockin the line of fire of the quad .50, which would be more improtatnt to be manne din combat than pointing at the enemuy.
Be careful of mold lines. The pants on the radio guy has a nasty one running down his leg. Vietnam was not noted for having its combatants in pressed uniforms.
The quad .50 looks a bit unstable as you have it. Those had a trailer and even some of the trucks had that in place. Dragon makes a really nice kit with the trailer.
Try working on more highlights on your figures, uniforms and faces, These all look a bit monochromatic.
Good effort n the pointing guys eyes. The whites and pupils look pretty well proportioned. One eye, however, is looking up and the other down. When painting eyes, look at he face in a mirror. I don't know why, but this lets tyou see discrepencies better than looking at the face straight on.
I know, iyt sounds like I'm laying a lot of stuff on you, but these are all easily fixable and worth considering in the future.
Hobby Fan makes a crew for the quad .50
available from Great models

Hi AJLaFleche,

Thanks for your constructive comments:) You are absolutely right in all points.

Nice build I like the truck conversion
Maybe add a bit of clutter. Empty ammo cans and shell casings would be scattered about after a fierce fire fight
All around nice dio

Hi and welcome to the world of diorama builders,

Very good effort for a first one, your 2 year studying the matter was worth it.

Al covered really a lot already (congrats AL for such a good and detailed post).

I would add the sturdiness of the sandbags, (and the size) who doesn't look right. Also i don't like the wall surrounding the Quad. I have no idea how this was in reality, but your side protection needs some recoloring. Either it's wood or concrete, but red? At least that's what i think.

Cheers
Claude

Yes Claude, you are right, the sandbags are not so cool... I have to improve my skulpting skills:)

Regarding the Quads base, I have found only one bw picture on the net, which shows the Quad in a prepaired firingposition. As it seemed to me it has a concrete base, and some wooden box was applied onto it, but I have no idea how was it fixed.
As AJ sad, it would be better to remove the side panels, and put the Quad 50 onto the common trailer, and just keep the concrete base, as it protects the Quad from sinking into the mud.

My only excuse, that when I was started the build, the trailer was only available by the Hobby Fan, and my budget was very limited:)

Other than the things that have been pointed out I think it turned out really nice. The Quad 50 crew would be a nice addition if you could find them in stock somewhere.

A very nice first effort, the red/orange mud of Vietnam looks good. I would note the truck is "floating" where it would probably have sunken in the mud a bit and left tracks. I usually build the base before painting the finished model so it can be pressed down into whatever medium you're using for the mud before it dries. This lets it sit a tiny bit into the mud making it a more natural look.

Also, you can see some silvering and the straight line edges of the decals particularly on the back of the truck. You should trim away as much of the excess carrier film on the decal as you can and I normally glue them down with thinned white glue and/or give them a thinned coat of flat clear so they do not shine.

David, thanks fo your reply, both of your comments are absolutely right.

"For the First Time"....I think you made a a nice job,the color of the groundworks looks like in reality.
Keep it Rockin:))

Hi Istvan,

Very good work. I like the ground colour and the sense of action you have tried to incorporate into the dio.

Lots of good pointers from the folks, well done you, only other thing I would add is the sides of the truck are a bit too clean, there would have been a lot of dust kicked up so a dusty vehicle would fit better and blend into the scene more.

Very good work on the red mud, lots of things to be pleased about for you first dio.

Keep up the good work.

Al

Istvan, nice first effort. The major things were already covered. Only thing that catches my eye are the oversized sand bags. As they are they would be pushing 500lbs each. For size, take the one on the end by "Pointing guy" and cut it in half. That should be about the right size for them. The rest has been covered. Keep at it, you're doing fine. Thanks for sharing your work. "Q"

For a first-time dioramaa this one is really excellent. Your composition is pretty good, the quality of everything is pretty consistent and you have a story. There are folks who've been building for many years who don't get those essentials right.

I think Al Lafleche gave you a terrific critique. Follow his advice and your next dio will be even better.

Thanks guys for the tips, critics, suggestions and the laudations as well!

Istvan,

Just ran across your post 27 days late, but I say Bravo. The guys covered quite a bit for you to learn from. Your composition is good for your first time out of the shute. You will find excellent articles for weathering vehicles on this site as well as painting figures. As long as I have been in the sport I find it necessary to review techniques before embarking on any project, a refresher is you will. Not to mention the guys are coiming up with new ones all the time. Some names come to mind like, Mig, Bannerman, Zaloga, and so on. You will find as you learn that you will eventually be able to view another artist work and be able to identify the techniques used and how the affects were accomplished. Stick with it, and never give up, Go man, Go. I think you are off to a great start.

Ruck Over, Ski.

Hello Peelou75,
I'm not an expert on diorama building so I'll leave the critique to the others.
I like your choice of subject matter. There aren't many Viet Nam dioramas out there and this captures the sense of the "cavalry" coming to the rescue just in the nick of time. Keep up the good work.
If you take the constructive criticism from these guys and apply it your next dio will be even better. Thank you for sharing your work.

Jeff

Istvan,
That is a very fine first effort. Keep up the good work.
Each diorama build gets more entertaining as you go. Have fun.

Cheers.
Todd.

great job for the first one. i agree with a lot of what is above. i noticed the truck floating right away and it is not nearly dirty enough. the under carages were covered in mud and dirt most of the time. and maybe add a little body damage to it. bent fenders, missing mud flap or torn dents and dings. hell most of the guys just beat them to death like they do today!! they never cleaned the things and still do not today due to water shortages. but i love the idea. and it looks great!