here's my kits for the campaign

So your building a stunning blonde in a hot off the shoulder number ................ Oh hang on there are some model kits there

That was my take on it too! Make sure you keep us up-to-date on Kenzie Dalton, whoever that is.
Cheers!
-Sean H.
PS- will be adding my aircraft to this campaign shortly-- heavy on the ground forces here so far!

Hi guys

I'm very impressed with the photos of the work in progress as well as the completed ones.......keep up the good work

My entry for this campaign will be a diorama of Tamiya's M113 ACAV and Academy's M551 Sheridan stopping at village in the highland to ask for direction.

Below are some progress photos


This is the layout of my diorama. The structures of the huts are made from skewers


Walls are made from manila cards, with double sided tapes applied to both sides. Hemp is then used to simulate straws


Slowly coming together



Finally the finished product. All that's left is the final weathering (to be done in the final stage)

Feel free to leave any comments or suggestions

Hello All,

There are some really good projects underway. It is really motivating to see so many projects with Vietnam as a subject.

My first project for this build is a diorama/vignette titled "Just Another Morning in Vietnam" based in the fall of 1967. In this scene, Soldiers are going about vaious morning activities that would take place in a US Army Infantry unit in Vietnam. A Platoon Sergeant is making his rounds checking the positions on the perimeter askig questions of those who are pulling security. The Soldier pulling security is explaining his fields of fire as a response to the Platoon Sergeant's questions. Ammunition, grenades, and a claymore clacker are in reach to be used in case of an attack. Another Soldier has just removed the magazine from his M16 and is checking it for damage, condensation, and dirt prior to ejecting the round in the chamber that may have caused condensation to build in the barrel. It was a common practice to replace the round in the chamber every morning in my Father's platoon. Then, in the rear of the diorama, a still sleepy Soldier is preparing his coffee for the morning while a buddy is talking to him. He rests his head in his hands wishing he were able to sleep. The rucksacks are pretty much packed ready to move out except for a few small items.

The figures are conversions of some Bravo 6 figures, a figure from Tank, and a figure from Hobby Fan. If you have any specific questions about the figures, I will answer them when I can.

Here is an in-progress picture of the diorama.



Here is a picture of the completed diorama. It is the first one I have actually finished in 10 years. I've started a few after a 5 year break due to deployments to the sandbox, but I keep ending up trying to get ready for a show and the figures end up as single display figures. This time I was able to actually get this finished prior to a show with some time to spare.



Here is a close up of the Platoon Sergeant wearing the 1st Pattern Jungle Fatigues. The two Soldiers in the background are wearing the 2d Pattern Jungle Fatigues.



Here is a view from the right side of the base. You can see the stuff laid out alonf the front of the fighting position and the equipment gathered near the log.



In this picture you can see the canteen cup of coffee being heated up and some c-rations standing by for consumption with the white plastic c-ration spoon.



Here is a view from the rear of the diorama. You can see a rucksack leaning against the shattered tree with a boot sock with some c-rations in it. There are not but two cans in it so this unit must be getting close to requiring a resupply.



And here is the final picture of this set. It is the view from the left side of the diorama.



That's it for this diorama. If anyone has any specific questions about it, I'd be glad to answer them as I have time. It has been pretty busy lately and I'm not on the computer as much these days, but I will answer any questions when I can.

Now that this diorama is complete, I will be starting on another project and hopefully will be able to get that one completed soon.

Take care and have a great day.
Cheers!
James O'Leary

Muhammad: Wow!! Very nice work on the huts. The technique is simple and effective.

Happy Modelling, -zon

@muhammad - Where do you buy hemp like that?

Wow the next wave is clearly going to be dio and vignette oriented, more great looking projects fellas!

@Zon - thanks for the positive input. The hardest part was sticking the hemp onto the roofs and walls.......very time consuming
@Chris - the hemp came in a roll, and was bought from a hardware pump. It is commonly used for pipe joints
@James - nice vignette particularly the painting and posing of the figures

@Chris - sorry......I meant hardware store.....not pump

@muhammad Thanks. I'll have to take a look

@Chris - if you can't get hold of any please PM me......I'll post some for you

@muhammad - Luckily I work with a sprinkler fitter. I'm sure he'll be able to point me in the right direction. I'll ask him tomorrow.

Hi all,

@ Muhammad: very good work on the village, congrats ! Will you add some animals in the fence ?
@James: your dio is really "alive", i like the postures of your soldiers and the details scatered on the ground.

cheers
nico

@Nicolas - I'll be adding some cows from the Masterbox range inside the fence. Also there'll be some scratchbuild furniture for the huts.......all those will be done at a later stage. I'll keep you guys posted

@ Nicolas and Muhammad: Thanks for the comments. I try to make the poses as lifelike as possible and for the figures to be able to interact like they really would. Sometimes I have to convert figures, or sculpt them from scratch, to get them to look the way I want.

@Muhammad: I really like how you are putting together the huts. They look really good. I'll have to try your technique and see how they turn out. Can't wait to see your completed diorama!

There are so many projects that are looking good out there. I wish I had time available to comment on them all.

Cheers.
James

James: very nice dio. I like the "everyday" feel to it. could you please tell us more about how you made the plants?

Happy Modelling, -zon

Zon, the plants are a combination of dried plant products from a craft store, paper laser-cut plants, and some scenic products.

The larger leafy plants that are a dark green are dried plant products. I am not sure of what kind they are as they came in a set of various types.

The paper laser-cut plants were from Kamizukuri. I cut the places that the leaves were still attached to a larger piece of paper and shaped the leaves. Then I attached a thin wire product that was included in the kit. I super glued it to the paper and further formed the plants. I then spraypainted them in green colors and also used a paint brush to paint highlight colors. The paper plants are the fan looking leaves and the palm plant.

Some of the thicker grass is a dried plant product. The thinner grass is from Grass Tufts kits from Fredericus Rex. The forrest scatter is from Reality in Scale Forest in a Pot. Some real tree and plant roots were used as well.

The groundwork itself is Terracotta Miliput which has not been painted or anything other than being textured with an old toothbrush.

Cheers.
James

Here is the box art for MasterBox's upcoming release of their first Vietnam Kit. Alex was kind enough to send me a test mould of the kit and I have started putting it together for my next project.



I look forward to it's release and MasterBox's future Vietnam releases. They have a really excellent kit in the works that will be a hit with armor and M151 MUTT modelers.

Cheers!
James

James: thanks for the info on your dio and for the news about the upcoming Master Box releases. Good news indeed.

Happy Modelling, -zon

Very welcome news indeed, thanks for sharing with us James and look forward to seeing your work with the test moulds!

Got the weekend off so made a start on the creature from the water



Please note that compared to the below photo I have not used the cloth on the back and had to slightly modify the seat of the figure.



The head of the Vietnamese will also be mofified to look down as he will be observing two Legionnaires wading through water.




Have not yet fully decided layout etc of diorama as I normally make a series of items and then see what fits with what. Yea I know non orthodox as the experts cringe but guess what it works for me

Gentlemen,
It has been a while since my last post, during which I stated I'd post some in progress shots of the Monogram Skyraider. It has taken me a while to remember the procedure for posting pics to the sight. At any rate here is a few to give you a rough idea on the progress. Since these photos were taken, the cockpit was finished,and the fuselage was closed up. This will be a Navy Skyraider. I'll post more progress shots as we go, Thanks...............Bruce

Rod: Nothing wrong with that, you build the way that best suits you

Bruce: Your subassemblies are looking good. Are you going to be building her with the wings folded?
On a side note, I don't know if you are familiar with a series called Dogfights, but there are a few episodes on modern aircraft and one of them details an interesting dogfight involving Skyraiders vs. Migs in Vietnam. I believe they were Navy birds, but I don't remember for certain. It may be something that you'd be interested in watching on Youtube or another online video source.

Jeremy,
Thanks for the kind comments. Yes, my Skyraider will be built with the wings folded. Actually this is all in the Monogram (Revell) kit, they just don't tell you about it ! I realize the Tamiya kit is much more "state of the art". But I've always felt the Monogram kit was one of their best, and you can pick them up at reasonable prices.
If you shop around, roughly about 1/3 the price of the Tamiya. Needless to say, I have a back log of them.

As for the A-1 verse Mig-17 fight, that is quite a well known incident. Just goes to show you...."Don't Mess with a SPAD" Take it easy....Bruce