Hi Guys ...... Yes I know it doesnt start until Nov. 5th, but I have plans to build 2 dios for this campaign so rather than start something else, I went ahead with this one. The other dio will be totally made within the timeframe...... so this is to get things revved up for the start date.
I recieved the base from Keith Magee for review (will come later when I get it finished). Its called "the alley". Its thumbs up from me! The damged wall gave me the idea of having a gun post just hit and the gun crew recieving help from a first aid team. All figures are from Dragons sets ... "medical troops" and "fallen comrade Aachen 44". The Howitzer is Verlinden and the kubel is Italeri`s.
The sandbags are grey/yellow milliput (a full box) and the rest from super fine milliput to finish it off.
I started on friday night and couldnt believe how fast everything went together. Having an already made base saved a lot of time, and was a joy to work with. Parts were fixed together and to the base with 2 part epoxy. The Italeri Kubel had no more than 40 parts ..... thats why I will use the hood up as the interior is lacking. I used white glue and tissues for seats and and hood. The Velinden howitzer was a bit trickier ...... my first multi-media kit. The figures were excellent ...... great detail and went together nicely! The table, chair and radio are extras in the kubel set. Next is add rubble and then its on to painting. I would like to thank Keith for the base and also Roadkill for the excellent article on making sandbags. This was a first time and using the article helped immensley
All comments, critic and opinion are welcome. More pictures can be found here

Frank, very very impressive.

Good compostion/placement on this dio. Not cluttered but plenty of variety for the eyes to look at. The sandbags are absolutely awesome!!!

Well done sir!

Steve

Plastic Battle:

I have to echo what WWH already said. The composition is done very well. The action is well portrayed. I can't wait to see how this one turns out. I really like the alley resin that Keith supplied you. Very nice overall.

Keep us posted on your progress.

John

Hey PB,

Looks very sweet in this raw stage! I like the idea nad it would be cool once finished.

Dave
AMPS LA

Wow ! like he and he said! Looks great...only one comment though ..Their heads are looking kinda flat! could be the lighting. #:-) Please keep us posted on this beauty!

Looking good!

This one's gonna be an excellent dio Plasticbattle! I really love the Sandbags & the Kubel tarp. How did you do the tarp anyway?

A good looking litle diorama at this stage
Looking forward for the end result.

Howdy PB: Those are the best sandbags I have ever seen!! Did you carve out the seams on the bags after hardening or while still soft? They really put a great finishing touch on the bag. It looks great so far and is definately getting me fired up to work on "Cover-up". What did u make your straps out of on the figures? Was that super thin milliput as well?

Hey Pb
Great set up in the raw stage, its a good start. Its not cluttered and the detail will
stand out when its done. Great job so far.

ponysoldier

It looks pretty good so far, PB...can't wait to see it done. And I can't wait to begin work on 'cover-up'

Thank you very much guys for all your nice words. It gives me more encouragement to stick in and keep this going! Im having great fun!
Today I added some rubble, a few barrells, shells and casings to the scene. I didnt go overboard with the rubble as there is so much to add afterwards with the figures, kubel and gun. Rubble was made from a small length of wall I cast and scribed from spackel powder. I will also add a tree if I can get it right??
Then I primed it with some cheap primer from a car accessory shop.



Fritz:........... the kubel hood cover and seats were made with tissue paper and white glue. I just dampened the tissue with the glue/water (50-50) mixture, put it in place with some wrinkles and cut it to fit. The Italeri version were very flat and smooth, so this will add some texture.

bison44:............. The sandbag lines were made while the putty was still soft. Every time I placed about 10 bags, I ran a wet cocktail stick along their length for the mark. I followed Roadkills tips exactly. When I had the little cubes of milliput, I flattened them and pulled each corner out like little ears...... this gave a nice saggy shape to the bag when placed and patted down into position. All straps on the figures shown, and on the rifles for each figure are made from an old acrylic tube of paint. When the tube was finished, I cut it along the side and washed it out. The square that was left gave me a nice length for gun straps and belts, and best of all it sits very nicely. Looks great on the guns not shown. I´ll take some pics of these before painting to show later!