Thankyou, The research is definitely a labour of love!. AlthoughI think if i wasnt doing something so close to home I might just let things be a bit so to speak.

I always look forward to an OOB build after an diorama!

I have many pics of Iraqi children at play but the one you have shown is a nice one with the wheel - amazing how they improvise such toys.

Adam

Update.

Its a build log so better start blogging the build more. Its been a quiet week or two actually with just some minor figure work and design solutions. I also started painting the blue truck. I need to get back into painting again and this is a good way to ease into it. Also i wanted to try a different technique. Normally I paint base coat, the wash dark colour (raw umber or similar oil wash) and then re apply base coat, dry brush and so on. This time I wanted that filter effect of sand/dust accumulating in the corners and crevices where the dark pinwash would normally be. So I base coated, and then did a buff wash of 50%white and 50% raw sienna oil paints. a few dull coats to protect the wash, add some decals. I used a sanding stick and some steel wool to rub the surface back of the base coat to reveal the primer coat to give it that weather beaten dusty rusty desert vehicle. Its also a construction site vehicle and my dad was a bricklayer, I grew up on building sites and light trucks like this were always trashed, totally utilitarian.

Anyways I havent done any drybrushing yet. I havent detailed the cabin interior (its not glued down yet - the glass goes in last and I want to "crack" the windshield) Also the undercarriage hasnt been weathered or muddied. I need to apply an even "dust coat" with the airbrush to settle some of the rough bits as so far its all had painted with brush. I dont have MIG pigments so will weather by ususal traditional methods with oils, acyrlics and enamels.

Oh one last thing - against my gut feel , I went with blue instead of white. As suggested by someone on here earlier. I am pleased I took that advice.

enough talk heres some pics..


I really like this one..





And an update on the figure placement

There will be three street vendors (merchants), a boy selling fruit, a man holding up some of his wares to a customer, and another having a smoke leaning back watching the scene unfold.

the smokin joe. He might be either a book or carpet guy yet...

the store which has yet to have the front built, will have a bit of stock in it and two figures. the merhcant and the customer. Thsi is hardest building because so narrow and is not a destroyed one, so to keep some interest from the back I will detail a store, from the front you wont see much as the windows will be boarded up or covered, just an open doorway. The garage next to it will be stocked as a garage with tools and spares and tins and other things. Upstairs wwell thats TBA...

The female figure is a european woman I have added a bhurqua style head wear too covering the face and head. My first efforts at figure remodelling.


and this pic because it didnt fit anywhere else..


enjoy!

Adam

Your doing a super job! keep up the good work.

Hi Adam,

Some outstanding work, you have really captured the style of Iraq. I like the truck; it looks like it just drove off the street onto your diorama.
I know I am late, but I would like to give in an idea. Many trucks in the Middle East and the Gulf area, especially small Toyota type trucks, are heavily decorated with colorful lights chains and various paintings. Usually they would have chains under the front fender; sometimes a pattern was painted from the front to the rear of the truck. If you are interested I can take some pictures for you.

Regards,

Thankyou for the comments and welcome to my blog!. I would call what you are describing a "jingle truck". I have just finished detailing the inside of the cab with cigarette box's, newspapers, prayer mat, tools, a flag and water bottles. Tomorrow I will attempt to decorate the rear view mirror with some near microscopic chain I have, and few dangly bits.

I have seen the coloured details you speak of. they are very interesting and yes I like the suggestion. I have to weigh up the risk of painting such details firstly, and secondly whether the greater audience would understand why it is like that. I do plan on painting a sign o the side of the vehicle , some sort of construction company name in arabic. the multi colours I will think about for a while. In the meantime here are some of the pictures I have of these vehicles that i am using as reference. Not all are blue but that doesnt matter. I am interested in the chain under the bumper though..

Thanks again for the comments!

Adam

Ya, I forgot about the interior. They also hang CD discs from the rear view mirror; the disks have prayers written on them.

Looking fantastic Adam,

This post is definately getting a ton of response.
What I don't recall is were is the truck from?Is it a kit or diecast?
Looking forward to your progress.

Tom

Hi Tom thanks for the question - the kit is a Fujimi kit. part number 011295. the vehicle is a Toyota Dyna, and it is tiny! even at 1:32 scale I can see the verlinden figures (which are often accused of being overscale for 1:35) dwarf it and would be a squeeze to make one sit in there! So scale is not an issue with this vehicle. They also do a Canter which if i would of preferred, but this one I got half price at a model swap meet. So it is absolutely a kit, I did ponder using the scalextric vehicles as they are also 1:32 to 1:35 scale! some come with full tub body interiors, I would love to get the BMW or something and then give it a rusty treatment and park it in a grage under a collapsed building with the badge sticking out as a great act of defiance...

Hope that helps! Will post more pictures tonight, have to let enamels dry on some parts first. and then dust coat.

Adam

I think this kid needs a rest.

He looks tyred.

Adam,

Simply magnificent work, I enjoy many of their constructive idea. Regarding tubes stormwater runoff, it is very common this type of installation in some regions of Brazil, I can send you some construction details if needed. Many engineering companies here in Brazil did construction services in Iraq.

Sergio

I was going to ask the same thing. Wow, I didn't know those Fujimi trucks were so pricey. The cheapest I could find online was $40 USD per pop... Looks nice though..

maby hwjapan they have cars in 1:32
henk

Really outstanding work Adam on both the road and the truck.

If I may throw in an observation from a total newby and without having taken a look to the same amount of reference as you have, I get the impression that there are perhaps a little too many male figures with a "kefyia" or other similar garment on their heads in your diorama, whereas whenever I see pics (including those of tis post) or footages from Iraq it seems that, except from the elderly, most men in their 30's or 40's are not wearing any "head cloth". From a certain point of view it runs the risk of reminding me too much of nativities scenes people build here in my country around Christmas.

As stated above, it is only an observation and furthermore it is not intended to offend you nor people that either do or do not wear something on their heads.

Awesome thread!

Hi guys,
James,I could'nt find the truck anywhere,but they do have a rather nice forklift I may be able to use with the Trumpeter logistics team.Still $30 for a kit probably 3" long.
As for the heads on figures,a very good point,at this time I guess the best we can do is replace the heads and shave off what is left of the head gear.

Tom

Hullo and thanks for the comment/ suggestion.

I have pondered this one for a while as figures are the real weak point in this story. If this was a european ww2 german diorama I could populate it it with 10,000 figures. Unfortunately its not . So I am limited to the civilian arab figures and the very few "general" figures that can be adapted. I know this point of debate is coming and I have many photos that agree with your observation- most Males dont wear headgear in Iraq cities.

The dilemma i have of course there is always reasonable crowds around markets and streets. And if the diorama is to be interesting it also has to have a crowded element. That means figures. I love the Christmas nativity analogy - quite appropriate! 80% of the figures are Verlinden, and if you look at his catalogue they nearly ALL have Arab headgear on. So change the heads? Warriors did two Afghan head sets, but if we split hairs over clothes, then most of those heads have obvious traditional Afghan headress instead. The two figures without headgear appear bald. So no heads with middle eastern facial features that accomodate. Now without being in any way disresectful to Arabs, their physical appearance can be characterised. It doesnt usually look the same as western (perhaps my observation lies in the fact their skin tone is much darker ?). I have looked at many head sets companys for alternatives, but to no avail as yet. The other problem being I dont know how to remove the head from a 1 piece figure casting - most the Verlinden arabs were 1 piece and the folds of the clothes match the headress. That is some majoy surgey to remove a head, replace, and make the clothes look like the hood is gone naturally. I swapped the heads around anyways on the ones that were separate.

I did find some other figures from firestorm, their set of street protestors are wearing jeans and t shirts, and I have used these guys extensively remodelled as my reconstruction crew. They pay homage to the Iraqi who doesnt wear head gear ( one has a full wrap around head piece but i will post some great workmen photos of this later , or look at the last vehicle of the light truck pics and see what they wear on the way to work..)

I have one or two african figures disguised in there as I am really stretched for figures, they have had some changes made. I did buy two sets of most of the verlinden figures so i could play at frankenstein an switch limbs and heads. Also I have doubled up on some figures and disguised the doppleganger with head swaps, and borrowed arms. If anyone knows where I can get "modern" civilians in 1:35 scale that are not western - i will buy!!!

the children are western WW2 era figures that had schoolboy uniforms. I shaved them off, and added a long shirt, chopped their shoed legs off and added bare feet, and changed the arms on one. Also added a small hat to the other. the same hat other male figures are wearing. This was a substantial rework of the figures and I must say, I am really bad at figures and their remodelling. However it is unavoidable.

The women in the street I added face veils or bhurqua too, As the many pictures show both tradition garb and full black garb blended. The nickname for the full black is BMO or Black Moving Object. I want more of these figures, and the woman in the store is a euopean on converted again. It was difficult to do, and not something I think was really well executed - kind of why its hidden in the store, with another male figure (a cleric converted to store keeper) which is hooded and hidden to give more balance.

that brings me to balance. I canot get the figiures i want. I get a bit aggrieved at German WW2 modellers who feel they dont have enough of a selection and put projects off while they wait, try having a range of about 12 figures. Still I like a challenge though. So I have tried to use as many bare heads as i can, and will always look to improve the numbers. I have to balance between what is real and what I am capable of modelling with the materials available. More materials become available i will absolutely add them tothe mix. I guess If I did all the remodelling poorly , even if the figures were more like they should look, the execution would be a greater detractor from the overall picture than some figures over represented with headgear.

I have to go to town shortly, but when I get home will post more pics. the otherproblem I have is there should be alot more children running around - kids are everywhere it seems. I used my spare masterbox insurgent kids feet on one of my running children, but that figure was abit ordinary anyways.

Another consideration is when the figures are wearing western style clothes - lots of soccer shirts etc, (football) and they no longer look Iraqi and in a setting such as this , figures that are out of place often raise more questions than answers and may confuse the viewer - the nativity dress codeat least says middle east.

I hope I have offered some insight to my thoughts behind figure selection. there are lots of problems and I doubt I addressed them all correctly, but still a work in progress, I will take you comment on board and look closely at the figures again and see if I can add at least 1 more bare head. perhaps i could do a census and statistcally plot the ratios of males to females, and headgear to bare heads and then try achieve a balance that is more statistaclly accurate to match that of the street photos I use as reference?

thanks for the suggestions folks. Please keep them coming !

Adamskii

Hey Adam,
I here were your coming from.I just ordered the new Masterbox civilian set thinking I can convert them fairlly easy.Your totally right about removing the head from a resin figure,at the time I didn't consider that.All my dio's I have also used pretty much the Verlinden figs because of the varity.WWII Germans ,enough already.
I'm sure most of the newer companies will realease more modern figures soon,but they can only do so much at one time.What we all need is maybe Tamiya and Dragon to slow down on the 30's &40's and see were the market is today.

Tom

Corny and silly.

Tom,
Ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/Fujimi-01129-1-32-Toyota-DYNA-2-figures-/260248506853?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3c980511e5#ht_2405wt_905
And Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Fujimi-Mitsubishi-Canter-Bottle-crates/dp/B004LORDJ2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1297404422&sr=8-1
And HWJAPAN.com which Henk mentioned- a lot of out of stock items though.
Thanks Henk!

Doing a little research I found out that Aohima has a lot of civilian subject in 1/32 scale

http://www.cyber-hobby.com/shop/index.php?main_page=popup_image&pID=7855>

http://www.cyber-hobby.com/shop/index.php?main_page=popup_image&pID=7825

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10039098


cheers

Hey Tom , I hear your too. I am quite jealous of the range available to other subject matters. I said I would post some pictures of the population I am using. Some pics are already up like the truck with several workmen in the back.

Street market pic with a blend of modern and traditional garb, and adults children etc - good reference pic. note how much colour there is....

street merchants mix of clothing...

this is the kind of clothing trend I am forced to lean towards , note these guys all seem to be in some sort of traditional dress. But I bet their not in the cities and this is some rural type of gathering though...

another bunch of adults working to clear rubble - they workin in sandals! the pebbles would annoy me. No hats though. Mix of tradional and mostly modern clothes. Their haircuts and skin tones are quite common though.

Another pic I am using as primary reference - these guys all seem to be in traditional gear, so it makes my scene more plausible.

this guy will be my plasterer up on the scaffolding - he is a perfect replica! We in the west might associate that kind of headwear with "terorists" and mistake a figure with it on as a "bad guy". I hope this it proves that its just like a ball cap to their culture (my observation and opinion) and is worn as required.

the kids - this is a premium referene pic for me - the street kerb and sidewalk are all borrowed from this design. note the clothes the kids wear - could be south America or meditteranean or parts of the UK!.

Woman (BMO) with child in tradtional garb in Al Samawah

Kids in Afganistan the clothing and hat difference is immeadiately obvious from Iraqi kids, and they are not just all "middle eastern" drssing the same. That said this pic is where I will draw quite a bit of inspiration.

iraqi rural kids..

baghdad kids.

There is a story of a very famous baghdad boy. He is big, and overweight and beats up the other kids for lollies thrown by the US troops. I did consider adding a tribute to this celebrity, only because its somewhat humorous, but my better judgement decided against it.

I wasnt supposed to go into figure details jus yet - after easter I was going to delve more into it. At this stage its just posing and modelling them, getting balance and the right numbers. All suggestions to improve are very welcomed ! I hope these pics (a selection from hundreds) indicate what I am trying to achieve.

Adam

Adam,

many thanks for having taken the time to answer my previous post and let us know your thought process. As previously stated, this is truly an outstanding thread and thanks for sharing everything so openly with all of us.

You are perfectly right about the abundance of WWII civilians.

For what concern the "head" matter, I would not recommend trodding on the "statistics" path, but I would like to share what I have been able to find on the net and that maybe of help in balancing the non-hooded vs. the hooded.

Before I start posting various links I want to make it clear I have no specific association with any of the vendors mentioned, the link only aim at showing what could be of use that is on the market.

Furthermore, some (if not all of these) you may have already been gone through yourself, so do not hesitate to put my post down and disregard it

Here we go:

Kids:
- http://www.verlindenonline.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=381
- http://www.verlindenonline.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=384 (comes with a woman as well)

Not covered heads you could use (although for some, if not all, major surgery would be required):
- http://www.verlindenonline.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=383 (only one out of the two)
- http://www.verlindenonline.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=442 (although the pose is denigrative)
http://cgi.ebay.com/Warriors-1-35-USMC-OIF-The-Prisoner-2-figs-/370482820454 (same as above)
- http://migproductionswebshop.com/product_info.php?products_id=373
(perhaps a bit "military style")
- http://cgi.ebay.com/Arab-Militia-AFV-Crew-1980s-90s-1-35-Warriors-figures-/320652659808 (these could really work, no?)
- http://cgi.ebay.it/Evolution-Miniatures-Extremist-1-35-Model-/180614116755?pt=UK_ToysGames_ModelKits_ModelKits_JN&hash=item2a0d70b593 (not sure about the sunglasses)
- http://shop.newworldminiatures.com/product_info.php?products_id=131 (ONLY one head could perhaps be used)
http://shop.newworldminiatures.com/product_info.php?products_id=96 (Heads ONLY)
- http://shop.newworldminiatures.com/product_info.php?products_id=97 (Heads ONLY)

Covered Heads (similar to the pic you were referring to):
- http://www.verlindenonline.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=741
- http://migproductionswebshop.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=palestinian

Hope to have been of small help.

Keep it up!

Hi Adam,

I admire your habit of research , many people tend to neglect checking the actual thing out for them self and instead follow the box art. If I may, there are some things that I would like to point out about the pictures (Starting from the top):

The third picture is not Iraq it is probably another country in the gulf the people sitting on the floor are most probably from Pakistan, as that is their traditional clothing.
The 5th picture is also not Iraq the clothing and architecture of the building points to Pakistan or more likely Afghanistan.
The 9th picture is also not one of Iraqi rural kids but one of Afghani kids as depicted by their head dress and the house in the background.

Just thought you should take it into consideration. As depicted in the new master box set, Iraqi men usually wear modern clothing. I hope this will help you!

Regards,

back to the build log stuff.

Here are the promised truck pics. I have drybrushed very lightly, and added some layers of dust coats to even it all out. At this stage I dont want to touch any more. Will add sign later, and the stowage for the back. Once glued down I will add some more dust the same colour as the road to the wheels.

cab interior details. Camel brand ciggies (lol), arabic newspapers, prayer mat, bottled water and tools.


usually work trucks have stuff all over the floor so ..

the cab exterior - I added an Iraqi flag to the inside which you can see through the window

And another inside so it looks double sided. Note the size of the cabin compared to the lid of the humbrl tin it is resting on.

small chain with some sculpted dangly bits..

windscreen has two coats of dust over ,one a thicker coat that is wiped back from the main part of the screen, and the second a light one for dust thats just settled.This pic looks bad but it does'nt look dusty in real.

also note the indicators, headlights and drving lights are installed, as is the radio antenna. All I have to do is add the wiper blades (when the paintdries).
the cabin is placed on the chassis and not glued down - It fits very well. besides I might want to make changes later.


Adam

When we were based at Basra Palace there were 'normal'/Western toilets there, but I think a lot of Middle Eastern people have the sunken/squat type toilets as well. I assume either would be just as applicable.