Ok - I'm about 90 - 95% done with my latest diorama - "Fall of the Reich". I'm in detail land and want your opinion. My biggest area of concern is the grassy areas - what do you guys think of the amount tall grass, moss, leaves, etc on the grassy area.
The photos aren't great but are servicable.
I still have to add some pastel work. I want to add some yellowish highlights to the grass. I am going to put Tamiya's Jeep in front the 1/2 track with the driver talking to the MP. I need to add the MP letters to the arm band too.

Let me have it.

Scott:
Looks good, way to recycle some of those 30 year-old Tammy kits!!
I might dirty up the tarp covering the c-rats and maybe add some washes to the wall, both would give just a little more depth to the dio. Other than that it looks great, can't wait to see it done!!!

Awesome job :-) The walls could definately use a wash...the grass looks perfect, although you might consider putting in more tall grass sprigs

Matt

Very nice Scott. I'm with machu on the walls needing a bit more weathering...
Ciao

GREAT DIO SLODDER - CONGRATS
EXCELENT PAINTWORK AND DETAILS.

ROBERTO

Don´t touch the grass ....... its perfect. From what i can see in photos, the grass looks brilliant. Have to agree with other on the weathering of the walls ...... for plaster that has cracked and fallen off on places, it looks way to clean as do the bricks underneath. A good heavy wash of burnt umber and/or black all over and a light dry brush will bring up the details in it better. Maybe some green filtered on at the base would add realism.
The thing I feel needs the most attention is the tarps. Very solid and plastic looking. Covering with tissue and white glue will add texture and add some wrinkles will improve this 100%. The trees are brilliant , but the tree trunks could use a little work. Some dry brushing with light greys/browns/beiges and even dark greens to break up the colour might help.
The gate also could do with a very grimy black wash and maybe follow up with some rusting by pastels or burnt sienna. Very visible finger prints on your sandbags also... a little sanding and some variation in colour maybe??
The mud road looks perfect but looks like the colour of the "mud" holding the stones.... maybe this should be "grey-er". Rough roads were usually built with stones and stone-dust.
Highlight is those two ammo crates ..... perfect painting, and the trees. Love the layout of this little dio.

Sorry to sound so harsh Scott, but this is just my brutal honesty coming through. Small little touches will add so much extra. These are just things I would look at in my own dios, and are only offered as constructive criticism. Good luck with the finish

looks good. it looks like a sceen right out of ww2.
when u get the whole thing done post more pics thanks

slodder

I think all looks well. More experienced fellows may have some tips, but I know if it was mine I would leave well enough alone.

Cheers

HastyP

Looks good mate,nice job. I think the grass looks great.
Another point for the wall, where the plaster has come off how about some debris at the base of the wall?
And a quick tip for the future, I bet if you remove that masking tape you will find a nice wooden trim to show of thiss great dio #:-)
Cheers
Robbo

Hi Slodder,
Great looking dio I too are building the Tamiya halftrack at the moment, how did you find it?
i see you have left it as a M3A2 version. have to agree with plasticbattle just make the tarps look a little less plastic and solid and it they will look great.

Looks very nice!!
congrats

hi, great work and I like the half track and the trees

Laurie

Looking good slodder :-) Only sugestion I can add to the others is the tarp and sand bags look a little to shiney for my taste. A little pastel dust would help that. I love the groundwork and the trees. Are those ammo crates scratch built , they look so real

Thanks for the input everyone. As always very good points and all well meant and well taken.

The tarp was an experiment. I tried a new technique of rolling out some sculpy and molding it over mochup boxes. Oh well, you win some you loose some. I tried to 'dress it up' this morning with some pastels and dirty it up and add depth better - but not good. So as many of you mentioned - time to pull out the tissue method.
[side bar - did you guys read the GM thread on how you cover up mistakes - one method was with a tarp - how do you cover the mistake when it IS a tarp #:-) ]

I have added two overall washes and some spot washing to the wall and it is looking much better.

I have added a lot of pastel work to the whole thing. I added some at the base of the wall to pull the wall into the ground. PB's comment about the mud coloration deal - he's right the way it is the ground comes off as Mud. I was going for a dark brown dirt, but achieved a mud look. So I went back in and layed down a lighter color pastel layer and that toned down the mud affect and makes it nicer. WIth all the pastel work I have to add the same tones to the men and machines too. The sandbags got a dose of pastels too.

FYI - the trees are wire twist method and hand panted parsley leaves. The road is scratch made poured plaster. The wall is my own mold poured plaster (except for the gate). The crates are scratch (I'm writing an article on those now, soon to be submitted). Figures are Verlinden MPs.

Thank you All - all very good comments.

Scott that it really an exceptional diorama! I am highly impressed with the way it turned out!

So you have been busy, and not just surfin armorama!

~CHip #:-)

I like the whole dio slodder, re the grass, it looks great I like the gaps the mud showing through,grass like that wears real quick with all those G.I. boots clumping across it, nice effect. :-)

great work.
only one comment:
in my opinion it need alittle bit more weathering on the briks in the wall cause they look too new.

I guess you wouldn't ask if you only wanted to hear applause...

wall looks too clean
truck looks too clean
Leaves on tree are too large for scale
sheet over those boxes looks bit shine...
(very nice) gate deserves a bit of rust

but that grass ! Boy oh boy I wish I could make grass like that ! Maybe the best I've ever seen ! What's your secret ? Don't touch that grass anymore ! Mud look excellent, too.

Just a few more changes, and you've got a splendid little dio here.

Scott, constrution/compositiopn wise you have a great piece of work. I particularly like the road surface. The other guys have touched on the tarp and weathering the wall.
My take: The wall sections suffer from repetitive damage. You have several pieces with exactly the same damage to the stucco/plaster. Secondly, and I learned this kind of critique from my wife, the plant expert, if this is, indeed, the fall of the Reich, this should be in early spring, and at least as far north as New England. I'm not sure,about Germany, but deciduous trees up here have far fewer leaves, if any before late April, on them and certainly less mature ones than you've depicted. Renaming it along the lines of Op Market Garden would eliminate this anal retentive niggle.

That grass is PERFECT! That matted down springy look is soooooo real! Is it possible that you might be able to impart to us more ham-fisted brutes a line on how you did it?
capnjock(jealous, jealous, jealous)

Scott,
I echo what the others have said. The road could use some fine sandy texture but I don´t see this as a problem. I think some greyish pastel dust on the cobblestone area will do the trick. I´d also fade the borders of different ground materials with pastels.




Just try kitchen plastic pre-painted with enamels. You can easily make convincing folds and wrinkles with it. Just wrap it over the existing tarp and attach with CA glue. Some pastels, voila! Worked great to make a tent, why not in your case:



Looking good Scott, hoping to see progress soon!


Toni