This is awesome great work very cool.

I wasa going to post the final"work done" pix today but last night the gun crew took a major barrage which caused one wia and took out the maple tree as well. This barrage was caused by the wonder weapon called"Snoozers the cat" so I have some repair work ahead this week.
J

Hi mate Great looking dio you have there, very well detailed.
To add to the sense of urgency, how about with the water bottles and mess tin you have a puddle/wet patch under the knocked over waterbottle and maybe some spilt food from a mess tin on its side?
Look forward to seeing the finised item
regards
Robbo

Excellent suggestions. I will try to put that in before Saturday. That is my contest deadline.
J

Took a good suggection and put it into action. Added the aiming stake(a little close but it has to fit in the dio)and up-turned the mess kit top and added some spilled grub. Turned the cup on it's side and added water,got the bucket painted up and made a handle for it.

Simply fantastic work. It looks great with excellent painting and a very well laidout scene.

Thanks for sharing

This has really become a fine dio. The suggestion for the spilled food was a great one. As for the aiming stake - glad to see it out there. As was mentioned previously, terrain can dictate the placement under less than ideal conditions, and it's actually on a good azimuth.

Can you handle one more thing? I know the inverted bucket adds to the sense of urgency, but...
The water bucket is usually buried halfway down, somewhere near one of the trails. That way it won't tip over or accidentally be stepped into. It's actually an important item used by the crew. What is supposed to happen is after each round is fired, the bore gets swabbed, to remove any burning residue in the tube. It doesn't take as much time as one would think, especially since minor adjustments may need to be made if the piece hasn't settled in yet. At the very least the gunner is laying his quadrant on the breech to insure to the angle of the tube is still within bubble. So, you could bury that bucket and add some nasty looking water to it. Of course, I have absolutely no proof they did it that way 70 years ago, but artillery is still artillery, and it's a fair bet they did.

EDIT:

Damn! that statement of mine about the gun being settled in just made me go back and look and your photos again. You right spade is not dug in at all - you can see the bottom edge of it. Even on a gun that hasn't been fired, it'll be dug in when emplaced. You can probably get by with slicing of the bottom of it (there should be enough play in the trail for it to settle down) and building up a little bit of groundwork around it.
I know it may be extremely nitpicky, but you strike me as someone who wants to get it right and will.

Thanks for taking the time to look in again and for making your observations. I see what you mean about the right trail. This is actually not a current pic and that trail has been glued down now and there is some dirt build-up. I sliced off the other trail bottom but could not do the right side as the ground work would have made the gun un-even at that point. It has been over 10 years since I made a dio so I am re-learning a lot. Planning is one of those things! LOL
As for the water bucket,I did not see any in the action pics that I have. I have several different gun crews in action and can't find one. I did see the bakelite container for the un-used charge bags though,and have included that. What you say makes sense though. I also need to re-position the gunners angle closer to the gunner? But where? I have it sitting on a shell crate to the right rear.
J

Jerry, I can well imagine why you don't have any photos of the water bucket or swab. Those crews simply chose not to use them! Honestly, when we were shooting multiple rounds, we didn't always swab the bore between shots, especially with semifixed ammo, which is similar to what the guys in your dio are using, as in the charges still remain in a casing, even though that particular gun loaded each component separately.
At any rate, that's why I put the word "supposed" in italics. The Army can take the fun out of so many things with all these rules.
As for the gunner's quadrant, as you say, it's a hasty mission, so it's fine where it is. On the first shot, the gun can be aimed without it, using the sights alone. It's good between shots as a quick reference for the gunner so he doesn't have to get back on the sight.
The container for the leftover charges is a very nice touch. In reality (again, by US SOP) it would be farther back for safety reasons, but to fit the confines of your base I think it's fine.
I really like the dio. It brings back some great memories. One day I'd like to place my finished M102 in a dio, I just don't have the stones to attempt figure painting any more.,

Yeah,I well remember the Armys' fun robbing ways. That's why,when people ask me if it was fun jumping I always have to pause because as a jumpmaster it was so much frikkin work that I would not call it fun. By the time I jumped I just wanted it all over with. And there was the long run to the parachute collection point to look forward to as well so.....nah! No fun.
You should do that with your 102 though. Vehicles always look way better when a fig or 2 are included. Gives perspective and life. Can't tell you how cool it is to have some one look at my dio and actually be able to tell what is going on,etc. Very nice man!
J
J

Ah fond memories once again...

During JMPI sometimes I'd tap the canopy release assembly, look at it for a moment like a pig looking at a wristwatch, then say "if you're good with this rig I guess I am." And move on. (I did end up going back though.)
Don't you think it's time for a resin company to step up and do a fully rigged modern jumper? I'm sure several of us could supply great reference photos.

When I do my last jump, and who knows when that'll be, I'm going to hand the jumpmaster a spare static line. That'll be good for a laugh.

I think most of pre jump is just done to make the newer jumpers feel better. The riggers always inspect the hell out of those chutes and then have to jump with a chute randomly picked out of the pile. Several times I just threw my rig on when I was done JMPI'ing the stick and that was it!
I did scratchbuild a jumper in my 1995 configuration but things are probably a little different now. Did they ever go to the HSPR for the rucks?
J

Indeed. When I went to SF Static Line JM school it was the standard. After that we had some changes - the top pull reserve. Now we jump the SF-10 and are about to get the MC-6.

I'm not sure whay SF Static Line JM is different. I think it's because we use GRMS to figure out where to emplace our our panels, whereas most units use CARP. Is this true?

By the way, why not post a pic of that jumper?

To tell the truth they didn't let us do the DZ orientation any more. The zoomies did all that. We were just responsible for the door check and of course jmpi and getting all ready and out the door. The JM jumped last and the safety JMs stayed on board to dis-engage all of the freakin d bags as they are Army equipment and lord knows we can't leave that to the zoomies. I will dig out the 1/35 jumper and get a photo op.
J

18b,
Here ya go. Dug this out. It is now about 16 or so years old and I cringe when I look at it but this is my old jump mode.

Damn, that is some major talent! Definitely old school though - I can't remember the last time I jumped an M50. We've been jumping exposed weapons for quite a while. You should post it in the figure forum.

Beautiful work!! On both the diorama and the figure!!
I really liked this diorama!

Regards,

OK,made repairs from the cat attack and a few changes. An old gunner or 2 told me to switch the aiming stake to the rear so it was done. Also moved the gunners angle with pouch close to his feet. The project is closed