Hello all well here is my second dio that i have done
I hope that you like it !
It was alot of fun and i will do more in the future i hope.
This scene depicts a zug of Infantry Division Motorized Grossdeautchland
which waS attached to Fourth Panzer Army commanded by General Oberst Herman Hoth which was a part of XXXXVIII Panzer Corps commanded by
General Werner Kemphs with theIR objective of the city of Voronezh located on the Don river Southern Russia.
These men are hitching a ride on a Sturmgeshutz Aufs. F no. 16 belonging to
Herbert "Mambo" Schmitt date july 8th 1942



Advice/Comments are welcome...

Regards
Horst

Horst, That is 1 heavily laden Stug III you have there I like the hole idea here with the figures all engaged in different positions. However the figure with the head set needs some putty in the arm seams and I was once told on this sight that my dio was too flat. I think you need to add a rock or 2 or some taller grass in some spots
Looking forward to see some future work

I love this diorama.

It has an element of innocence in its construction that reminds me of my first works. It brought a welcome smile to my face as I remembered doing things I seen you have done here.

Others can correct your mistakes, but to you I say remember how much fun you had while doing this, and try and let every project bring as much enjoyment. Because as we try to stop making mistakes or be super careful to be super accurate we also can take all the fun out of it. When you get advanced modellers syndrome (AMS) later, you will never finish a project again because it will never be good enough or the rivets dont add up or the decals arent relased yet or whatever...

I commend you for trying to paint the men and equipment as per their instructions, And I commend your efforts to weather th vehicle. I also like that you have done some kind of research as to the when and where this vehicle worked.

Thankyou for sharing this.. Like I said, reminds me from where I started and belive me, my "second" diorama I did over 25 years ago didnt look as good as yours does!

Adamskii

Thnkyou Sal for your responce.
I am not to good yet with fine tuning figures i really did not even notice the gap in the arm until i posted the pics.
i
It is really alot of fun this model bulding thing. and i hope to get better with time
and practice.
A couple of things i have discovered with this one is that i would next time use
Hornet heads instead of the kit supplied ones.
and also i had to experiment with attaching the figures to the stug it was a struggle because i did not know what type of glue to use.
I eventually used wood glue and it seemed to work out.
anyway thankyou for your suggestions it will help in the future.

Regards
Horst

Thank you Adam for your kind words.
It appears that we are of the same mind on this subject.
i do love this hobby the whole idea of reading about it in a history book and trying to duplicate it in minature. I am no bolt counter and i never will be
as you said that if it ever becomes a chore and no longer fun i wont bother
and move on to say something like Zumba

Regards

Horst

nice project Horst, you have done a lot of work to get so many figures positioned on the vehicle and you did a great job getting the tracks to fit just right, a difficult task on this kit. i am a huge fan of seeing the works of modelers that are "beginners" who are having fun and really pushing themselves... just a few extra tweaks and techniques and they will be already be intermediate level before you know it.

a bit more time scrapping seamlines with an x-acto knife blade on the figures (tedious but rewarding) and you will find yourself having even nicer results. you already have the knack for painting all the detail work on those guys. i use super glue to attach my figures, you may consider trying this as wood glue is kind of thick.

thanks a lot for sharing. cheers, bd.

Thank you Bruce for your Kind words and encourgement!!!!!
I am an admirer of your posted woks and it means alot that you
have posted on this work.
I know that the figure work has a way to go, like clean up i need to get better
at it and be a little more patient and observing.
Again thankyou fot you advise...

Regards

Horst

Hey Horst, Nice piece and a good biggining. You are off to a good start with your modeling. Don't worry about A.M.S. Some modelers get too carried away and loose the enjoyment of the hobby. Just enjoy and like I say, if you don't like my work, go look at something else. It's a hobby to enjoy, not work that is manditory. One thing to look out for is the positioning of your figures on a vehical, looks like the one up front is sitting right in front of the drivers vision port. Kind of hard to see where he's going that way. Just put yourself in the figures place and you'll see what I mean. No complaints from my end, just enjoy it all. And you will get better as you go along. Thanks for sharing with us.

Thank you Bob for your response and advise...
Its like i said before i did/do not notice these little things like gaps/globs
positioning until i started taking pictures. I will note that as i was nearing the end of this project that i was rushing a little bit and i believe that i will slow down a bit with the final assembly of the figures on future vehichles.
Again to everybody on these types of forums" what an enjoyable hobby this is" It really is a great way to relax and have fun.
Respectfully
Horst

It also reminds me of the first dio I built, some 20 years ago. Nothing nearly as heavy on the figures, but the enjoyment was the same. I would suggest purchasing a lamp or two, so you can take high quality photos inside.

God no not Zumba. Anything but please. If your like me you do this hobby to get away from the wife and Zumba is akin to dancing so she'll want to come along. If you ever do loose interest in this hobby I suggest an XBOX with some classic FPS like Modern Warefare. Not only is it fun but it annoys the wife as well especially with the volume turned up.

Personally I love your figures. The details such as the piping on the epuletes is great work.
I agree with Adam as well. No way was my "Second" dio like this.
Cheers, John

Well said Adam. Very very true.


Actually you will! What you consider fun and bolt counting today, will change gradually as your skills and knowledge improve. Listen to the input from fellow modellers, this will take you a long way. Been through all these steps myself in the last 10 years! Your current goals are based on the experience you have. Wait until you´ve knocked out a few more of these, and you goals will increase all the time. Before you know it, you´ll be surprising yourself at your own goals. But keep in mind your goals, not others. Aim to improve your own models with each new one, and not compare them with the work of experienced modellers who have been doing this forever.
One thing you got spot on was the composition. Some modellers struggle with this after many years. But as pointed out already, some simple ground modelling steps would have lifted this to a whole other level. Cleaning the seams is a must, and maybe workinging a bit more on their contact with the tank, would have made a big difference. Way better than my first attempts ... keep it going, and keep having fun.

Thank you Matt, John and Frank for you words of advice and encouragement.
The part said about the bolt counting in my understanding is that if i will do
a tank or what... is that i wont get to involved with the exact location of a screen
or fender type used.
I will say to all of you guys that i have tried to learn as much as i can from yous
and i do appreciate and admire your works!!! i dont feel that i would try to compare my beginnings with the pro's but rather acknowalage my appreciation for their advice.
you guys are the reason that i was able to post this dio THANKS AGAIN!!!!!
oh yeah John i was only kidding about the Zumba sorry!!!!!

Regards

Horst

Nice work!
only a few pointers to help you along!
eventually, try putting in 2 or 3 levels in your bases, one is fine, but a ditch, slight hill, walls e.t.c can really help bring them to life.
also, with your wash i suggest using closer to black brown as opposed to a lighter reddy brown, using oils, burnt umber, or burnt umber mixed with lamp black.
try using a pin wash, loading the wash on a small brush, and touching it to the edge of a detail, capillary action should make the wash flow around the details, applying with more prescision will make your painting even better,
you show a lot of promise, with figures also as well as your armor,
keep it up!

Thanks James for your advise!!!
I left it flat because all the pics that i have seen of this area of russia are
open/flat steppe.
I dont even know where to begin on the subject of pin washing, all new to me!
But i will try it on my next build. Does anybody have or know of a good tutorial available to study?
Thanks again

Regards

Horst:-H

Nice job.......... If a person is already an accomplished artist when he or she starts this hobby, the first few dios might not be in much need of improvement. Most of us started from zip just like you did and we can look back on some of our older work and ask ourselves if we really did that strange looking thing.. You will get better in time even without the help of others. Develop your own ways of doing things , since most improvement comes from within and not from something someone else tells you. All of the dios, even those done by veteran modelers have a thing or two that can stand a little improvement. This dio of yours is very nice.........thanks for sharing................... ............Al ..............PS. As for tutorials, there are plenty of them right here on Armorama.

Thankyou Alfred for your kind words and encouragement....
Now that everybodys photo section in their profiles are back up and running
Awesome job on the mortar pit crew dio
I have not thought about doing one as of yet but it looks like a
good subject.
Thanks again everybody!!!!!

Regards

Horst

Actually one of the best Ive seen is the AK interactive DVD. Some great tips on weathering, washes, pigments, dirt, oil stains, etc. Not only do you get a good explanation, you can see it in in progress and the results achieved. Worth the investment in my opinion.


Theres flat ground and then theres flat ground! If you look at your groundwork ... does it look natural for this time frame/scenario or does it look like a panzer has just driven onto a putting green? You can have a dirt track with a ditch alongside to drain water, long grasses, some stones, a small rural fence, a tree, some bushes, etc. These details are also present on flat ground!! What they do though, is add interest and realism to the ground work.
See the attached thread for some simple ideas to add interest Click here

See the attached thread for some simple ideas to add interest Click here

Holy Sh*&^#^ Frank that is the most awesome DIOS i've seen i love it .
I see what you mean about the putting green effect.
I was trying to focus on the crew and riders and was not to concerned
with the base that was my first attempt on that. i was thinking at the time if i should have spray painter it with a lighter shade of yellow but i didn't.
Thanks again for your help and advice i do appreciate it alot.
Again that pz III is unbelievable!!! i tried to attach wires to the head phones on my stug crew but it did not come out well on mine so i left them off. I am not too good with working with such small stuff but i hope that with time i will get better...

Respectfully

Horst