hi everyone,

here is my warmup diorama i made earlier this year as a practice project. i had stopped model making for several years (like over a decade). i call it The Passing Fox, the Fuchs is OOB, actually everything is OOB as i wanted to try some new paint techniques i had been seeing out there nowadays. though i was as rusty as the car shown here i had lots of fun and decided i was missing out not building more stuff. after this i made my Flak 88 Snow Dio with the plan to really try my best, no matter the time it took, to build and paint as best as i could.







so many rough spots but it was about getting back into the groove and getting it done. i wanted to actually finish a diorama and not have it half done for another decade. hope you enjoy and happy modeling.

cheers, mh

Very nice piece. I really like how your car turned out as I have itin the stash for the future. The overall layout is affective also. Seems like your time away has not affected you eccept for the better.

Looking very nice there MH. If I built this after a hiatus like you, I know I would have been inspired to start building more stuff. I'm having a hard time locating the Fuchs vehicles in 1/35 Stateside (I'm assuming it's a Revell kit?). I was also wondering if the car was from MIG Productions? And if so, how was it to build? Everything came out real nice here.

thanks guys, much appreciated as always.

to Jeremy, yes this is the Revell Germany Fuchs and i had it stashed away for years. I have seen the Luchs by Revell at the LHS but not this one. Yes, you are correct again that the car is the Mig Production Burnt Out Vehicle which is hard to find now as well as my buddy looked to buy it after seeing mine.

The Mig Burnt Car had some warp issues on the large thinner parts like the roof but with hot water it torqued back into shape. the kit came with a really cool wire bending spool for cranking out the wire seat suspension. it worked great and i have kept this unique tool for future use. detail was crisp with no air holes or blemishes in the resin. instructions were as basic and clear as a small model like this deserves. well sculpted and symmetrical, i lowered the body by raising the wheels so it sat on its belly and then painted.

a unique piece for any modern diorama, wish there was a 1/35 line of cars from all eras. i would like to see pickup trucks (Mig has some but expensive) and cube vans in styrene.

cheers, mh

Hi Mh, You always done a nice works specially this scene. This works look realistic and perfect about groundworks, rubbles and all composition. Yours painting look harmonious such as building, tank, car, figures, etc., I alway happy watching yours work Mh. Thank you.
Prasert.

Looks good, you can't tell you are just getting back into building. What kit is the building from? Looking foward to seeing more of your work.
Tom

thank you for the kind words as always. sure had fun building that little scene.

the building is Verlinden's Battle Damaged Residence (kit no. 2293) that is ceramic plaster with resin details. i added some tile work to the door and window frames made from plasticard tile pattern sheets. the rubble was made from plaster i poured into a plastic tray and then broke up with a pair of wire cutters. too much in a hurry to make any rebar details like i should have.

the other items come from Mig's Modern Diorama Accessories kit which was really nicely cast, especially the garbage bins. cheers, mh.

MH: I can't even find a dealer here in the US that carries the MIG Productions kits, I'd like to get my hands on some of the 1/35 line, both modern military and sci-fi. I know those HI-LUX kits are expensive, but I really want to build one. As for the Revell FUCHS, I'm still looking for that medic version

Mig kits are hard to find nowadays Jeremy. not sure if it is a supply not keeping up with demand situation but i bought mine at Squadron (but they're not carrying much of late) and you used to see it at GreatModels.com but no longer.

the Mig site says the two USA dealers with websites are:
http://www.coloradominiatures.com
http://www.victorymodels.com

but both don't have much that isn't listed as "out of stock".

but the Mig site has a store and it seems everything including the pickup looks to be for sale:
Super Cool Pickup Where's My Visa Kit

hope this helps. they make a great kit product from my limited experience. i really wanted the bulldozer but i am being swayed by Minimanfactory's resin kits that are very pricey right now... Drool

hope this helps (or hurts depending on your cashflow) cheers, mh

Thanks MH, I'll have to look more into those sites. If I have to I'll order one of those trucks direct from MIG, I would rather avoid paying overseas shipping though. That Minimanfactory line is awesome, I wouldn't mind getting my hands on more than a few of those kits myself. That dump truck looks like it would be right at home in a diorama with one of MIG Productions bulldozers.

The dio looks really good. I like it.




Well there are not many civilian vehicles in 1/35, there are quite a few in other scales. The old 1/32 snap cars can be used and are close enough in scale. I have used quite a few and added detailed to them to make them better looking. Here are a few examples.

Home made Toyota crew cab from 2 Revell 1/32 Toyota trucks:




The remainder from the above conversion as a future Somali Technical project:


1/32 Monogram Malibu (light blue) and Volkwagon pickup truck (red):


1/32 Arii VW Beetle:


1/32 Tamiya Land Cruiser big tired pull-back body set onto a Land Rover frame and modified interior tub:


There are also a bunch of great 1/34th diecast models that can be reworked into a nice piece to go with 1/35 armor. The best makers I have found are First Gear and Signature Models.

First Gear has a nice F350 truck that I plan on making into an Iraqi Private Security Contractor guntruck in the future as well. It looks pretty good and is in my opinion as nice as the Vajra Minatures 1/35 resin version.


Signature Models Cadillac Escalade made into an armored Chevy Suburban:





Hope that helps you out in your quest. Good luck.

cool dios buddy, thanks for sharing them. i had read in a mag that you can use the 1/32 scale cars by not having them right up against any 1/35 vehicles/tanks, same as 1/32 airplanes. your scenes sure work well and get the creative juices a flowing for some future projects. cheers, mh.