Hi All,
This is one I'm just finishing up.Trumpeter PMC,Meng pickup and Verlinden building.The building I was not to impressed with.Their quality does seem to be slipping.The fit was not very good and 2 parts of the walls had the moulding on the wrong side.Pics are not that good,sorry.

Tom

It's wonderful! very nice!
It would look better if you can take some good quality photos

realistcaly this wouldn't happen,
that .50 cal sniper would be scanning the horizon and the like and wouldnt be stood up all the time, in addition to that there wouldnt be much chance of them taking a .50 with them and if they did they would use it mainly for anti vehicle and long range targets. so mavye put an m21 some were or some other sniper around... smaller calibre sort of stuff also add another m4 on the truck or on his back some one would definatle be manning the m240 bravo providing rapid fire cover if it was needed urgently, the guy assaulting would have a number 2 right behind him. i can pick out a few others so if u wish to hear them plase let me know.
still a good model tho my friend
haooy modelling
dan

also what are the guys meant to represent... pmc's or special forces?

They remind me of the "Tier One" soldiers from the 2010 Medal of Honor game.

It looks pretty good to me Tom

It might be an idea to get rid of the guy stood up just looking though. The others all look like they are actively engaged in the scene, but he looks static, and in that pose; unconcerned by the possibility of any threat, which is odd given the situation

Other than that, its a great scene, and in my opinion; well executed

Thanks all,
Advice well taken.Sometimes you don't see the obvious mistakes made.

Tom

are thwy supposed to be pmc's? or special forces???

I read the post title "lets talk" and suddenly thought my wife was online trying to tell me something ...

nice diorama. the building is really old its one of their first iam amazed the mould lasted this long - or they have recast the mold so many times its lost detail. however one of the pylons looks bent ? that doesnt sound like verlinden to me - are you sure its not a copy? The building was nice when I got it like 25 years ago and still have it albeit in pieces. its not plaster of pareis but hydrostone or hydrocal or something much stronger. anyways curious to see your comments.

did the truck crash through the wall or drive through an existing break ? unusual composition either way as driving into a hole in wall seems tactically poor decision, hard to open door when up against wall, and exposes engine/ front wheels to gunfire. if it drove through the wall by accident there is no damage to truck or wall debris. Apart from the standing figure it the only confusing part of the dio. Otherwise great to see a meng pick finally in use!

Great work and I enjoyed looking thanks for sharing

Adam

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did the truck crash through the wall or drive through an existing break ? unusual composition either way as driving into a hole in wall seems tactically poor decision, hard to open door when up against wall, and exposes engine/ front wheels to gunfire. if it drove through the wall by accident there is no damage to truck or wall debris. Apart from the standing figure it the only confusing part of the dio.
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how can that be the only other confusing part, now i dont want to sound like im tearing this fantastic peice apart... but the figures have no dirt on them, the marksman?/ guy with the heavy calibre rifle(.50cal barret)is not wearing any visible armour just a chest rig, also what is the deal with them are the pmcs or are they special forces? coz last time i checked pmc's couldnt wear military issue kit... and those kevlar helmets look alot like military issue... also special forces wouldnt be likly to wear baseball caps on an assault liek this, it mite be sharmaghs or possibly even those special forces helmets that they all seem to wear for cqb siutations sorry cant rememeber theyre name, also you have guys running with on had on a hot weapon... always 2 so that it can be brought to bear easily and allow a quick burst or aimed shot into the entral body mass to drop the xray, u only depcit one xray when in usual iraq,afghan conflicts there are multiple xrays and small slits in the buildings to allow them concealed firing points, some how the guys had all the time in the world to shut their doors .... these would all be left open or pushed to but defo not closed and slowly put on there helmets when they are already dispearesed... 2 man teams at least mate, so that then if they need to they can leap frog, or enter buildings, on on each side of a door... also as i poited out in an earlier post the M240 bravo would be manned and the pick up woould be backed up a bit so that he had a clean line of sight onto that door way... he would also be providing covering fire before the guys assualted, also the pickup would not have destroyed the wall and stopped ion the middle it would have either not touched the wall and halted with the engine block behind of one pilars near the blue gate or would have driven through the wall and stopped near the actual main structure with all the doors open and the m20 covering whilst the rest of the team exit the pickup,if the pcik up is to stay where it is then im afraid it wount be realistic and will need battering up a fair bit and the front spokes will need damaging and mucking up along with all the front end along with and up to the windscreen and both sides of the vehicle.... but as i said its a good diorama, i would just tweak a few bits to make it more realistic, as i said theyre is still little details i would change... and make better but its ur mode so if u wanna make it bettter ill happilty give my 2 cents but its urs and its great as it is just not realistic pal

Dan,

oooh i think that in my opinion the only confusing part was the wall/truck hole bit. the guy standing there surely is out of place but not really confusing to the scene.

my comments are almost entirely about composition. something that everyone who builds dioramas struggles with at some point . I know I agonise over it. months of posing figures, asking why each thing is doing what its doing how it got there and what its purpose is, does it make sense and most importantly does my audience "get it" without struggling to find purpose. Parrot has achieved a great layout and the story is obvious, If I was judging in competition, I would give the layout a very solid score.

As for the webbing / equipment / stances etc, 99% of the audience wouldnt have a clue what is supposed to be worn or carried and how, nor the tactical entry methods. I sure as heck dont. i didnt even think about someone manning the mg until you mentioned it. the story was strong enough without the semantics for me to 'get it" what he was displaying.

Every diorama is built to a standard and we all have different ones. perfectionism that observes such things as exact webbing weapons stance method of entry on top of realistic landscaping is a pinnacle we all hope to achieve whatever our subject , but it is extraordinarily restrictive modelling with nearly no room for imagination or artistic license. basically you are left with recreating a photo exactly. problem is no two photos of a situation are exactly the same and every soldier I have met customises and moves differently, no matter how trained. with such variables I doubt anyone can achieve a satisfying to everyone representation of an event. what we can aim for, and as our skills grow, is to have plausible composition and situations, where we use the right soldiers and the right types of equiment even if not exact, at an aprreciable level of effort that the audience gets it and understands who is good guy/ bad guy/ and what their purpose is. Parrot here = ticked those boxes perfectly.

furthermore, I would suggest that we dont always put every effort into every diorama we do to achieve such perfection as you look for, My recent kodak moment diorama had several us soldiers posing on a deserted zsu, having a picture taken. I took my time and told a story, agonised over composition of each man and balance. but the verlinden figure holding the captured trophy rpg was rubbish rpg and it was unueable. I replaced with an rpg from the dragon viet cong figure set. guess what its the wrong rpg. I dont really care because I know next to no one will ever notice - not even the judges at the comp it won first place in. that demonstrates my point - even with an technically innacurate flaw everyone who viewed my dio "got it".

I would be scared to think how many people would abandon modelling in general and especially dioramas if everything had to be perfected. perhaps the figures were not available or could not be afforded in parrots dio? imagine if eveyone built every tank or vehicle with 100% corrections ? total photo etch overload. wheres the fun in that. A quick build often focuses on the things like story and composition to express an event in scale. that is art my friend, interpretation and we are all entitled to ours.

I admire your willingness ot express your opinions on this dio, too often people sugar coat or dont tell how they see it for all the obvious usual forum reasons. the modeller on a personal level I wish I could get more genuine criticism of my work as I know it make me work harder to avoid it.

but in this case, i think this dio is very enjoyable and i think the level of workmanship is appropriate for the vision of the modeller. regardless of the potential for innacuracie, flaws or elements of confusion regarding techical nuances I like it and recognise this dio will be appreciated by most of the audience it is intended for.

The few of us who have tried for perfection, and seen how far from reality it is, envy those who can have fun with this "lets talk" diorama.

I get it.

Adam

I think there are some overly harsh comments here

Regarding the building and number of 'xrays', we're only seeing a part of the building, not all of it. A diorama can hint at things outside its frame to tell its story; it isn't a legal requirement to include everything

As for the closed doors on the Meng pickup; I could be mistaen but I believe that is a limitation of the kit; it comes with closed doors. I admit it would look better with them open but not everyone possesses the scratchbuilding skill required to remove the moulded ones and add new open ones

Tom did say they were PMCs in his first post. If a couple of helmets are the only things they are not allowed then its hardly the greatest crime against accuracy. As for dirt on them, seriously? Maybe they just came from the 'office'. I've seen pics of PMCs and they are not all caked in dust fresh from the desert.

I don't know Tom from Adam, but no dio is perfect, and I think this one has a lot going for it (action and dynamism, good choice of colour pallete, pretty competent execution). And for my money critism is a dish best served nicely and with constructive intent

guys i really did not mean to be offensize i was just giving my 2 cents having had some expperiance with british special forces despite been only 15,and seeing pmc's in iraq and when they came home, my uncle been a pmc for a few years out there, he said to me that some of the artistic bits of this were out of place, like as far as i can see both kneeling?/crouching figures have no dust or muck on theyre knees... also in relation to mengs offering fair enough not every one can scratch build the open doors but it could have been weathered to show the fact that it had atleast travaled there by its own accord... and be a bit battered from the destuctive entry, fair enough not every one does reasearch or knows what they are dealing with in terms of guys and gear etc.. but i felt it vital that if he was left exposed as he is then he would be wearing some plates/kevlar to protect his sorry ass... ill happily admit that artistic liecence is the creaters own and perfectionism is an art i wwas purley telling things how i saw them... but i did also say it was a great model... i really am sorry if i was a bit too clinacal but when ive posted on other forums its whats made me better. sorry

Not to belabor the point, but your approach was a bit much.

Firstly, just because your uncle was/is a PMC doesn't mean you have experience with anything. You are only 15 and have not been in the military. Some of your points are good; others are just your misunderstanding and conjecture. The helmet bit is BS, I know from dealing first hand with PMCs in Iraq that they can wear whatever they want, including Kevlar helmets. There is no restriction on them for military gear.

The others have pointed out other things off with your assessments, so I won't go on.

Also, could you use complete sentences, capitals, punctuation, spell check, etc.? They would make your posting much easier to read and understand. It would look less like a rant as well.

By the way, how are the Blackhawk models coming?

Hi guys,

I haven't checked in for a few days.I never would have dreamed this dio would open such a can of worms.Sorry Adam it took so much time from you,but I'm glad you did.The truck was placed in an already destroyed wall and I didn't consider your point at the time.The figures and truck have been weathered with pigments.The bad pics don't show it very well.As I've said before in posts I do this for the enjoyment.Constructive comments I always welcome as a learning tool.My audience as ,I believe Adam mentioned, would never think of all the wrong points.Thanks all for your support .In closing,my Grandfather fought in WW1 and my father in WW2,my nephew is in the navy and at no time would I claim to have their knowledge of the military.Just a note Dan,consider a person of your age posting a dio for the first time that they are probably proud of.After you bashing it,do you think they would want to continue with this great hobby?

Tom, I really think you have done a good job here. You are by far a better man than me; I haven't quite mustered up the balls to even begin building my own dioramas.

That Meng pick-up looks like an interesting build. I definitely intend on doing one in the future. As for the 'figures have no dust (or weathering) on their uniforms/gear' commnet; I have seen pictures of US infantrymen in Iraq that look like their unifroms just came of the supply shelf, whilst performing security at a checkpoint.

I do agree that comments and constructive criticism can be most useful (especially when the source has had actual experience in theatre). However, the point of a hobby is to have fun and attain experience.

Keep up the good work!

its all good about time parrot!, Im not building anything at the moment - still churning out the possibilities and seek inspiration from dioramas such as your for the next project.

I hope its plainly obvious for all to see my comment on the vehicle door was not that the kit should have been made to have the doors open demonstrating a vehicle exit... the pmc are far advanced and would probably of shut the doors behind them anyways. the comment was intended as more of a how did that happen sort of thing - a suggestion that the composition could be improved upon - and I am sure parrot will read these comments and a light will go on in his head. this is an example of where progress shots during construction can warrant valuable observations about composition.

Cheers for the wall clarity. makes sense. Once again either option was plausible, but not specific enough to steer me in one direction.

I look forward to your next offering. modern dioramas are to few and far between no matter the modellers skills - I want to see more !!

Adam

heres my 2 cents i work for dod as a civilian i was in afganistan back in 2006 till 2007 and i ran across special forces that were in dressed in civilian clothes

Thanks guys,
Adam,after following your Aussies in Iraq I find it hard to believe you need insperation from someone like me,but I will gladly take the compliment.(notice I never mentioned about the book )I like your comment about "Let's talk",I probably would have wondered how my wife got on here.
Cheers to all.Until next time.

Tom

Tom;
were supposed to mention the book together, that way it seems more important.
I meant NOT mention. . . yeah that's right. . . .