Thanks to friends on Armorama I have finally,after all these years,made sense of down loading photos.It's been frustrating trying to tell people about a topic and not being able to show it.I have quite a backlog of dios and thought I might start sharing.This one started when I wanted to do a Dumvee,but wasn't willing to pay the price of the AM kits.The base was an older Academy Humvee and all of it scratch built.The building is Verlinden and the figures are Black Dog,Verlinden and Masterbox.

Very nice. A few pointers from my perspective:
First off, no water in Afghanistan EVER looked that blue. And if I'm guesing right, that's supposed to be sewage anyway, isn't it? It is common to have it run right outside of the building.
Secondly, the KIA still has a loaded RPG next to him. Never going to happen.
Third, the guy in the upper floor - is he still clearing the room? I can't tell if the room continues on past the edge of the dio, or if it's actually as depicted. I assume it extends, as there's no door for him to have gotten into the room, and he obviously didn't use the window.Either way, what's he clearing, a roof hatch? Where's his number two? No one clear a room by himself unless it's a short room, which this is not.
Meanwhile his two partners are casually smokin' and jokin' while he takes care of business.
Lastly, the wall with the rug on it need to blend into the groundwork.
I'm not trting to bust your nuts. Overall I like it a lot. It's very well balanced.
A quick fix - remove the figure from where he is in the house. Add a kneeling figure next to the KIA with a laptop. Perhaps he's taking biometrics. And move the RPG away from him. Maybe have it lined up with the other weapons and ammo that were found, and have a fourth dude photographing it. This would make it very realistic, without a whole lot of extra work. Pro Art makes laptops and SLR cameras, Oh, one last thing, out in the provinces, the wall and building are more than likely made from bricks using the local earth. The red bricks in that wall really don't work well with it.
Now someone will find photos to the contrary, but these were my own experiences...
No comment on the tires. I understand you were on a budget.

The guy inside the building appears to be a bad guy.




Regardless of whether there is anyone in building, I agree that the two two SF operators are way too relaxed considering that presumably they were in a fire fight just a short while ago.

Overall I do like you dio.

I considered that, but that would make it even more weird. The SF dude's head is clearly visible in the window behind him. Can't tell what's on his head, nor can I tell what he's wearing on his torso. It's the same color as the Marine Corps MTV that SF wears. Perhaps close ups would be good. These eyes turned 49 today.

Happy Birthday!

The SF dudes obviously neglected to clear the building.

The bad guys head is wrapped in a scarf and he looks to be wearing a vest/magazine carrier of sorts. This guy looks like one of the figures from the MasterBox Iraq set but modified.

Hey Robert,

Exellent pionts.Good to here from someone who's been and knows.Couldn't the insurgent been shot before the RPG? The water,yes,I always knew it was wrong and forgot to change it.

Tom

I see now with that photo the dude indeed is looking out of the window. Makes a bit more sense now, although the dude with the RPG, regardless of when he was shot, would be separated from the weapon. (IF you saw him get shot, that is) If you just rolled up on this scene it would obviously be a possibly booby trap. Not sure I'll say publicly how I'd make sure he was no longer a threat.
One thing I really like is that you apparently took these photos in direct sunlight, making some very realistic harsh shadows. Not many people do this, and it makes it very much more "real" to me. Sometimes it's not all about
tons of PE and wazoo weathering techniques.
I do want to point out the .50 cradle should be changed at some point. And what's hanging from the back of it?

Apart from what the others have said, I'd say its a pretty nice dio. How'd you do the foliage?

As far as modeling on a budget, build 1/72

It appears to be a set of binoculars? Why those on a .50? I like the idea, but it looks like it was staged.