This build is looking real good Mick, looking forward to your next update!

Here's the coconuts in place ... obviously all sorts of jungle crud follows:

Got some more "jungle" down. I found that after I washed the grey green of the Milliput coconuts, they looked pretty "right". I've been in the jungle in the solomons, and can understabd how the Japs would have tossed coconuts on to their so they would sprout.

Anyway, a whole lot more jungle crud is needed:

Looks good, mick. Some nice progress on the groundwork, although it seems very reddish in colour, but that might be the right colour for the soil on the islands.

Looking forward to see more

Like any jungle, this is a work in progres, and I'll keep piling on vegetation and oils paints. Founbd some nifty and cheap little micro scale palm trees which make pretty decent shrubs or ferns:







I'm all out of grass, but the paint's drying for the next week anyway ... I'll use the time to start on painting the Aussie infantry, who should bring the scene to life!

nice work on this diorama, lots of creative elements. the one thing i've been noticing is the Stuart's tools lack wood handles. PrimePortal is down right now so i can't check all the pics i keep finding online but i'm pretty sure the shovels/cutter/etc... had wooden handles rather than painted green ones. may add more visual interest too. cheers, bd.

Thanks mate - still picking out the details on the tanks as I progress ... you will note the dead Jap is still primer white.

The Stuarts at Buna were freshly painted, and it is possible the tools were in place when the vehicles were refinished.

Just did some research, and it looks like the grass on my diorama is too tall - it should be about knee height ... but the great thing about grass that is too tall is it can be trimmed:



Here's a snap of a Horseshoe turret Buna Stuart ... to be strictly accurate the grousers should be fitted to the tracks, but I do plan to do another (Mousehouse now has a Horseshoe turret conversion available), so this dio will have a point of difference. Note the mud built up on the suspension - I don't think I have gone over the top:



It can be seen in this snap that Buna was flat and relativelky sparse in vegetation in places:

Well, bar a few small details, the project's complete.

I got bogged down with the figures, but some Lifecolor acrylic skins tones proved to be a great investment (I'm getting the technique down, but I am very impressed with the product).



I gave the tracks and running gear a good dab of gloss cote and gave the overall tank a smattering to stimulate tropical rain. I fitted stout rods in to the figure's legs and glued them in place with liquid nails:







I beat up the bunker with some holes to represent 37mm strikes:



I reckon all that is needed to polish the project off is an aerial and some bullet chinks in the tank.

I have a few more Stuarts on the shelf and now I've learnt a few tricks they should fly together.

Enjoy!

And one more:

This turned out fantastic Mick! The "juicyness" of the dio is throwing me off a little because I'm not used to seeing glossyness in armor builds, but it's certainly fitting and has to be a nice contrast to your other builds

What do you have planned for your other Stuarts, if I may ask?

A bit of gloss is the way to go because Buna was a flat marshy area and it rained several times a day ... the gloss actually lifted the vehicle, which looked quite bland when it was matt.

I plan to do a "horse shoe" turret Aussie M3 with crew and interior and an opened up Aussie hex turret in North Africa.

The Academy kits are fun builds, but the suspension is useless and the hull is out of proportion - a new kit is needed but you can get by if you fit the AFV Club running gear.

The big advantages that Academy offers over the Tamiya are larger turrets, a rudimentary interior and separate hatches.

I'm also toying with a US Marine M3 diesel at Guadalcanal or maybe a Russian one.

I love your Stuart diorama, you did a great job. Your diggers look pretty good also. My dad served at Buna.

Just amazing!
BTW, where could I get the track links on the upper hull? Thanks