Alright finally having some time off this weekend, I started to deal with my procrastination of this project and finally wrap it up. Alot of my procrastination stems from the fact that as things get nearer to completion I worry about messing things up.

Anyway, here goes.


Here I nailed a thin board to a support beam on an incline in order to have the incline of the beach.


Another picture of the board structure along with some materials. I'm going to be using DAS modeling clay for this diorama. I'm still experimenting with ground materials. In the past, I've tried celluclay and Plaster with varying results. Plaster is nice but a bit brittle and messy, Celluclay I find really unpredictable about cracking. I've only tried this DAS stuff on smaller things, but it comes premixed into a clay and seems pretty stable- it does not crack! And can be smoothed with water. I also have some Cadmium Yellow gauche and white gauche.



After adding some screws to the board, I've started to apply the plaster, smoothing it with water.



I positioned the sign and the wrecked boat fragment. Note that the plaster is still pretty wet. I had to keep constantly wetting my hands so as not to stick to the plaster. Very messy overall and I'm very tense about getting plaster all over the painted models. I recommend careful preparation of your space if you're doing this!


Just a different angle of the diorama. Note the built up area.


A small pic of the stakes that are going to be holding the barbed wire. I wrap it around the stake and press gently with small pliers. Mind you, that little barbed wire really does hurt your fingers if you press it. Talk about realism!


Here I've started to press small rocks and pebbles into the groundwork. I've also begun to place the bushes that I made out of my hemp rode into the groundwork and under the signposts.



Another angle shot. Note that I've begun to bury some of the barbed wire and smoothed it over with water as to imitate being buried in sand. The idea is that the barbed wire that was supposed to keep the boys off the beach has long ago rusted and broken.

So there it is for now. More to follow. I have to wait til some of this is dried before I can continue. The most nerve wracking part is mostly over now. I can rest easy at least until the painting. I find diorama building the most satisfying part of our hobby but also the most stressful and time consuming. The ground work alone demands alot of thinking and engineering I find. I'm sure there are people who can do it easily but I still struggle to do even the most basic groundwork.

As always, thanks for reading and comments and questions are welcome as are constructive criticisms!

Hi Raul,

A really good concept and great progress so far.

Al

Al,
Thanks for the encouragement. I now have to start the painting sometime this week. I realized I had envisioned it as yellow sand, but sand is more very light gray or buff so I have to rethink the painting a bit.

Here are a few more pics of the actual set up. It shows the boys running and their placement-- it does not show the kite that will be held in flight by the string out of the base.








Wish me luck with the painting and the final components.

Hey Raul, this looks better than I antisapated. Real nice concept. I don't understand the large post sign being placed in the wrecked boar, unless the angel I'm looking at. Does the boat end there at the sign as a part of what is left? Aside from that it is a great peice to me. Your footprints look real nicely spaced, caught my attention right off. Any waves on the edge planed, maybe lapping at the very edge? Your figure painting is superb!!! I really like this set up, danger and excitement all rolled up in one. Waiting for the finished product and hope it turns out as well as what we see now.

Bob,
The boat is just a half-wrecked boat under the sign. It's not a complete boat if that's what you mean. The idea in my head is that it's an old abandoned wrecked sailboat. I needed something to put some composition weight on that side so I used the boat.

This diorama has been kicking around in my head for almost a year now and it's a relief to start seeing it outside my head.

Oh, and there won't be water. It's probably a bit too close to the shore to put water. I also want to get a sense of the boy running full speed into a minefield and the water would detract from that.

i know its a little late now, but one trick i picked up for making barbed wire is to use metal screening.cut long single strips and take the tiny cut portions and wrap them

Hi Raul. Lots of comments today but there's something none noticed. You forgot the Tiger I and the pointing commander . Now seriously I had lost trace of your dio. Glad to see that you are still working on it. Really fresh.

JePerez,
Good one!

Don't even get me started on the overabundance of Tigers and Panthers in dioramas.

I'm so happy that MB is working on those great civilian sets.

Glad to see you back at it!!! Nice work on the boat, and are you going to add the wooden fence? Will you be adding water and/or mines?

Regards,

DAS Is an Italian product which I really envise!

Almost all the Italian modellers use Das for terrain works and dio bases, because is cheap, easy to find here and incredibly easy to use. It dries quite fast and, as you noticed, doesn't crack

The only minor flaw is that you can't use it as a sort of milliput or magic sculpt, so you can't do it scratch parts with it.Das, after the drying time, shrinks, so you can't obtain stright, sharp and crisp shapes...Anyway you can use it to reproduce walls and rough constructions.


I like a lot your dio
In my opinion your composition is REALLY outstanding and well conceived.
Your dio tells us a story!

Cheers and congrats indeed!

Bon giorno, Mauro!
DAS really is a very good product and one I discovered by surprise. I don't know why is doesn't have more of a reputation. I had only used it for smaller scenes but it seems to be working fine in this large one.

Vlad,
Glad your back as well.

I will be recovery today from the wedding I went to yesterday AND going to see the July 4th fireworks (Independence Day here in the US), so if I'm not too dead tomorrow I hope to advance things a bit on the diorama.

Thanks for all the encouragement.

Very nice composition Raul. I like the ide of letting the viewer imagine the story than actually showing it! The effects you´ve made like the foot prints in the sand as well as the movement/slope all in one direction, look great so far. Looking forward to more!

Hey Raul, got it now. Must of been the angle of the boat, or the pain pills.. Now looking at it again I see what you are doing. Just a washed up peice of it, fits and looks the part. Great story and well done.

Yo Raul,

Nice story...dramatic with a growing climax that the viewer has to fill in by them self. I love it!

Nice technics you used on the base...

Keep up!

Greetz Nico

Nico,
Thanks for the encouragement.

I've been to your photo gallery and you've got some amazing stuff up there. I'm already studying it so I can steal ideas!

What a very extraordinary and original concept. . The painting of the figures and boat is first class. Very nice. I can't wait to see your finished project.

Jeff

I am done! Pictures below and some closing reflections.

"English Boys, 1940"


Full Diorama


Actual base


Boy and signs.







So there is it. Done. I have that same feeling I always have after I finish a big project. I'm elated, but also feel like a bit of "writer's block" or in this case "modeller's block". I walk into my workshop and don't know what to start next.

I'm really happy to see this little diorama come to an end and see how much it's evolved. The idea originally started as two lovers having a romantic picnic on the beach taking pictures as they are approached by a Home Guard citizen soldier. Then that evolved into the boys on a mined beach but I first envisioned it with 5 boys and stairs and all kinds of stuff! Finally I'm happy I stripped everything down to the two brothers and a kite. I think most of the time, less is more when it comes to dioramas. Civilians and their stories are also important to me because while we all tend to model alot of war machines and soldiers, it's the civilians who are most affected in wartime.

As for the build, I learned alot. I learned I really, really like DAS clay for bases. I was very insecure about my groundwork and base making and while I still cringe at the thought of groundwork, I at least feel like I have a clue about how to do it.

Thanks for everyone who followed my little diorama here, especially those of you who posted advice and encouragement. If I can return the favor by answering any questions or offering tips on your own work, don't hesitate to ask. Finally, I might offer this up as a feature on the site.

Comments and constructive criticism are welcomed and encouraged!

Now it's on to some of the other diorama ideas I have-- something with the Warsaw Uprising. A small scene of two German officers having lunch at a Paris Cafe during the occupation. Maybe even something medieval. See you in those blogs.

That's great!!

Congrats indeed!

Brilliantly evocative(?) - I love the first shot where you see the footprints in the sand.

Brilliant! Wonderfully imaginative and flawlessly executed!

Yo Raul,

Splendid work! I realy like it...the hole story, layout and build proces.

Keep up with your work and on to the next..thanks for sharing!

Greetz Nico

Great job Raul!!! I am glad to see it finished and I hope your next project would be just as nice!

Regards,

Awesome work. You literally hold your breath with the drama of it. Brilliant!!

I agree with all and particularly the above....awesome work

WOW !!

Absolutely a great diorama. Well executed, and constructed. And the story line is brilliant, focused, and leads one right to the scene.