Hi guys !
My latest diorama vignette using the Zvezda BMW R-12 motorcycle combination and a fully scratch built pair of DAK crew figures. The scale is 54mm. The next step is painting. Thanks for looking and cheers !
Kenneth .

EXCELLENT Kenneth friend!! You really understood that a good diorama is first a good idea! And then those figs are outstanding -I guess mostly of those are scratchbuilt, really, this is *so* good i am amazed! Just please consider wiping out the bit of lichen on your base
More in progress pics please! I truly love your little diorama, there is a sense of elegiac happiness that is truly great about this diorama!
JB

JB, my friend, thank you very much for the positive comments . I'm glad you like it. The lichen is supposed to represent desert shrubs. Once their painted, they won't be so odd anymore . Yes, aside from the head, hands and footwear, the figures are all fully sculpted with Magicsculpt and Duro. I got the main ideas from the book "Afrika Korps-Rommel's Tropical Army In Original Colour". The rest is, well, a figment of my "warped" imagination . Cheers !
Kenneth .

Really nice project. Great story, great execution. I like the base, nice use of elevation.

Two quick comments. The guy in the sidecar looks like he has a ridge along his right arm, 7th photo white line.
The lower gull's legs look unnatural for a bird in flight.

The figures are really well done, the shapes, lines and overall look is really good.

cool idea i like the set up and will watch the outcome

only one criticism the horse shoe is on upside down it is a belief that a horse shoe hung upside down lets the luck run out ..
..

Hi Steve !
Thank you very much for the encouraging comments. The so-called "ridge" is actually reflection from the daylight when I took the pictures. As for the "strange" position of the lower gull's legs, it's actually depicted flying upwards away from the cliff face, hence the "odd" position . Cheers !
Kenneth .

Hi Paul !
Thanks for the encouraging comments ! The horse shoe position is actually based on a wartime photo of a BMW R-12 that showed the exact position as depicted of the item in question. I guess that's why the Germans lost the war !!! Cheers !
Kenneth .

LOL can't argue with a photo !! new there must have been a reason for them loosing

Hi Kenneth,

great vignette you are showing us here. The placement of the bird eating from the soldiers hand looks really natural, a great way of positioning a flying bird into a dio. There is something surreal about the happiness of the soldiers in your dio in a time of war. Showing this contradiction is executed very well! Great job!



Jelger

How was the bird suspended to the arm?

Fantastic work, Kenneth.

JJ

A really inspired vignette jagd,loved your peaceful scene a lot.Are you going to add sea?
Looking forward to see it finished.keep up that good work.A piece of art.
Refards,
Zisis

Hi Jelger !
Thanks for the encouragement ! I'm always partial to peaceful scenes to contrast with the horrors of warfare. Adding some wildlife to the vignette is lots of fun too ! Cheers !
Kenneth.

Hi Joris !
Thanks for the positive comments . In answer to your question, the bird is suspended from the mouth region to the wrist portion of the figure's up-raised hand by a short length of thin brass wire. I then sculpted the beak and the "fish" to hide the joint . Hope that answers your query. Cheers !
Kenneth .

Hi Zisis !
Thanks for the encouragement . No, I won't be adding any sea for the simple reason that the motorcycle has stopped for a break on a coastal road situated along a cliff face (hence the "flying" seagull at the bottom of the vignette ). It gives the scene a sense of "height" without actually making it too tall and unmanageable. Hope that answers your question. Cheers !
Kenneth .

Look out guys! Hitchcocks! (or are they called seagulls)?
I see you've added missing battery to Zvezda's R-12?

Very nice work, I really like it!

Andrzej

A beautiful little piece. Can't wait to see it painted.
As others have stated, great atmosphere, brilliant positioning of the flying bird, good sculpting.
Kudos,
Charles

Hi Andrzej !
Thanks for the encouragement, my friend ! Yes, the missing battery is a very obvious omission on Zvezda's part . , I never really thought about Hitchcock's "the birds" ! That's a good one, Andrzej . Cheers !
Kenneth .

Hi Charles !
Thank you very much for the encouragement ; I really appreciate it ! Don't worry, I'll definitely try to get some paint on it soon . Cheers !
Kenneth .

Hi,

Very nice ideas, but bear in mind that the German deployment to Tunisia in November/December of 1942 was during one of the coldest winters on record there. Even though the photographic record doesn't support it, I'm amazed by the amount of say, Tunisian theater Tiger models that are depicted with Afrika Korps crews in shirtsleeves, shorts and dust goggles. There just seems to be no end to that for some reason... It's as nearly persistent as blackened barrel ends...

Such crews would be better depicted as belonging to First El Alamein Battle tanks or maybe Tigers in the Sicilian theater.

Also keep in mind that Tunisia has a more temperate climate than say, Libya and Egypt, hence one of the reasons given for the explanations of Tigers deployed in green. (That's a whole 'nother can of worms, granted.)

Excellent! I really like this and can't wait to see the final results.

I recently used one of the Hardcorps gulls you have there. Something to thnk about is gulls have a relatively wide stance and very skinny legs. You might want to cut off the plugs and replace them with fine wire. I suggested the feet with PE leaves on mine.

MINE:

THE REAL THING:

Guauuuu! is amazing, I love
the construction of the figures is a marvel and the approach of the bullet is great

congratulations

Saludos
Domi

Hi George !
Thanks for the encouragement and insightful comments . Though its true that Tunisia has a temperate climate and shirtsleeves and shorts seem out of place, if you look carefully, you'll notice that one of my figures is actually wearing a sweater on top of his regulation shirt . The other chap, though, just had his lunch and needed to catch some Zzz , hence the comfortable singlet attire ! I actually imagined the pair riding along a coastal road on a sunny day, hence the appearance of the hungry gulls . Cheers !
Kenneth .

What an absolutely amazing build!
The hole scene does breath an relaxed summerlike atmosphere and the details are superb!
You just missed one lttle detail and that's the riders left foot. He looks like he is going to step into the air and tumble down the slope.

Hi Al !
Thanks for the positive comments, my friend and the tips on how to improve on the seagull model . Though it's not clearly shown in the photos, I've actually shaped the resin stubs into webbed feet for the gulls. The gull perched on the sleeping trooper's boot also has the stub thinned to a more "scale" size for a 54mm gull. I figured also that, since the gulls will be depicted in mid-flight, that the "leg" portion will be retracted close to the gull's body and hence not visible at this scale range . Thanks, nonetheless, for the photos, Al; I'll certainly refer to them should I decide to do another set of gulls . Cheers !
Kenneth .

Hi Domi !
Thank you very much; I'm glad that you like it ! Cheers !
Kenneth .