hi guys, this is my first diorama, i did it for the next generation campaign.
please, any feedback would be most helpful and i'm 14 so try not to be too harsh.
here it is, my first diorama








a kubelwagen with souvenirs in




a turret of a destroyed kv-1







thanks stan

Hi Stan,

for a 1st attempt this is quite an achievement!! And my dios weren't anywhere near that quality when I was 14!!

The smoking tank commander is full of character, painting on the figures overall is clean, ..well done!

The composition might still improve (too crammed, looks like a parking lot on saturday afternoon), and there are details like the tarpaulin fitting too tight over the items (too tucked in) or rust being too stereotypical and regular on the KV1 turret, f.ex. but those issues are easily remedied ...and in a few attempts you may well compete with the best in this forum!!

Oh yes, I nearly forgot: try some dark washes over your vehicles. Brings out all the details (like on the back of the Kübelwagen) by adding depth.

Overall: Biiig congratulations!!!

Cheers

Romain

thank you so much for that comment romain, i was gonna do a wash on the vehicles, but i didn't know how to, what paints to use?
stan

Depends on the base colour..did you paint the vehicles in acrylics??

if so I'd use commercially available washes (from Mig f.ex.).

If you use enamels, you can take heavily diluted oil colours. Apply, wipe off the excess and leave the dark colour in the creases.

You will of course try this on an old model (if you have) or else on the underside of a vehicle f.ex. A little practice...et voilà!! It's not difficult at all...and improves the models enormously!

Try it you'll like it!

Cheers

Romain

Hey Stan,
I like your dio it has plenty of interest and I think the smoking guy is great. I like the interaction of the panzer crew, which make are they?
I have a couple of observations for your next dio. The base could have done with being a bit bigger for what you have. Try laying out the dio and then building the base to fit. The last thing is your tank tracks, when a tank turns it tears up the ground because one track is turning faster than the other and dragging the tank around or the tracks are going in opposite directions (this really makes a mess!). Also one of the imprints from the tank passes under the iron railings.
As for it being your first dio, it is really good you should be happy and just take peoples comments in the positive way they are intended.
Many Thanks
Robbo

hi robbo, thanks for the feedback, i'll bare that in mind for the next one. the tank crew are dragons german tank crew 39-43 i think, but the one stood on the kv turret is from dragons german warriors 40-41 with a bit of tweaking to the right arm.
romain, thanks for letting me know about that, i painted them in acrylics yes.

stan

Stan- this is a great achievement for a 1st Dio! You've got three vehicles and a lot of figures all interacting in a believable way- not easy to achieve in a large dio. You should definetly take on board what the other guys have said. Some washes will definetly help the details to emerge on your vehicles.

I like the way you've done the field of straw and the tank breaking through it to the road is fantastic. The detail you've managed on the figures is excellent aswell.

The green grass beside the house is a little uniform- some drybrushing can bring out some subtle differences with static grass.

I would also suggest running a pencil (or some graphite powder with your finger) along some of the vehicle edges- this imparts a nice metallic sheen indicating an area of wear.

All in all this is a great little scene and you should be very happy with it. Enjoying doing it is the main thing- this is a hobby after all!

Good luck with whatever you get up to next.

-Karl187-

This is very nice. Great first try. To be constructive critical , I would say that I noticed three odd things. One, for me the tank should not be running off the base. Use a bigger less cluttered base. Two, the tank tracks run right through the fence and the fence is still standing and undamaged. Three the bricks that line the roof would not be laid at such an angle . they would be level and parallel to the others. Almost all of my dios go through changes and improvements. As time goes on, you start to realize that you left things out or should have put things in. ............This is really nice , and you are only 14. What a great head start you have. Thanks for sharing.......................

i'll sort that fence thing out in the morning, i noticed it a soon i posted the topic.
hi karl, will do for the next one!
stan

wow Stan, that's a great scene regardless of age or first attempts. way to knock one out of the park buddy.

some very good feedback already from the community so i will just add what really works in my opinion: super job on the faces especially the eyes, love the poses in particular the kubelwagen driver getting out, nice paintwork on the building and door though it hangs just a hair off the base in the back (oopsy?).

overall the composition tries to do lots of things in a tight space but kudos for going for a dynamic scene rather than the "tank rolling straight down main street" theme... extra points for pushing the envelope Stan.

i'm sure you learned a lot from this one and congratulations on finishing this project, getting it all done can be the biggest challenge. cheers, bd.

Thank you very much for your comment Bruce, everyone's kind comments have got me motivated to do my next dio, I will be sure to do everything that has been suggested in this thread to make it all seem in Place and go together.
Stan