Bill Cross brings together a plaster building, two plastic tanks and some figures to recreate a possible encounter between the 4th Armored Division, the 1st Infantry Division and the 2nd SS Panzer Division, Das Reich, after the Normandy landings.



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Thanks!

Looks great Bill, specially the branches on the Panther really caught my eye. So, in a short time, the Sherman will pass the wall, and Günther, the commander in the Panther, will have a clear shot, and the Sherman will be well done. Oh, and the infantry, well, they were busy looking for goodies in the winecellar across the street... Sorry mate, but Panthers always wins. Germany only lost one Panther, but that was when Albert Speer drove it into a lake during a very wet dinnerparty at the MAN factory in '44. All pictures which show otherwise are fake, FAKE I tell you...
Best regards
Jacob

Hey Bill,
I saw this at the Mosquitocon and thought it was very nice. Very impressive. Did you make the building or is it a kit? It really captures the look of a Norman antique building quite well.
Good stuff.
J

Wow! That's a heck of a lot of work, but extremely well done, Bill. The anticipation of those two forces coming together in the next few seconds is very real. Glad I'm not there.

BTW, nice looking lawn.

Bill, this is very cool! I love that scene at the wall as they pass each other unawares. As my son would say, "Looks like things are about to pop off right here"!!! I agree with Tom, i would not want to be in the middle of that bout.

Well done Bill!
Gary

Bill

Totally awesome mate. The Longest Day is my fave movie of all time so seeing your adaption of the scene you mentioned has actually given me ground to possibly recreate some scenes from there myself....maybe!!!

Top notch....10 out 10!!

Bill,

Great Dio! The imminent action is easily read from this "little" scene.

There are a few paint errors that I noticed on the figures evident in the photos (i.e.; flesh color on rifle stock, spots on gas mask container, etc.), but the fleck pattern is VERY good.

The figures are posed well and a few of the photos can be mistaken for period pictures. I too like the branches on the Panther. The only change I would suggest is that a back wall or something added behind the Panther to indicate why the Americans didn't see the Germans before they got to the building/wall. Or a thick patch of trees/bushes.

Well done, sir!

Great Job Bill Well done indeed.

Thanks, Matt, for getting that assembled. The feature looks great. My appreciation for the work involved.

Jacob, you didn't see the P-47 about to drop a 500 pounder on the the Panther, LOL! The Panther is one of my favorite tanks, this is the second one I've built (my D on a flatcar is here. Thanks for the praise.

Jerry, thanks, yes, this was at MosquitoCon. The house is a kit from MK35, but reworked moderately.

Tom, thanks, that's a Model-Scene matt that I extended in some places and had the treads tear up to match images I've seen of what treads do to grass fields.

Gary, RWilson, Andrew, thanks! Nothing means more to me than the praise of my colleagues and fellow modelers.

Jeff, thanks for the critique. I made an artistic decision to limit the sight lines of the dio with the frame. At what point do can we assume the "stage" ends? I thought about what to do and decided that the right hand wall (behind the wagon) would not be finished at the end, so it presumably extends beyond the edge of the dio. There isn't a photo from that side of the dio. I just checked, and can't find that I took one (sheepish look).

The gas mask containers are supposed to be heavily-chipped, but that may not come over in the photos. I used the hairspray routine over an aluminum-colored base. The flesh paint on the stocks I'll have to take a look at (I found some on image #19 from page 1); they were painted with brown oils over a Tamiya Buff base with striations to try and recreate wood grain. But keeping that many figures 100% was certainly a challenge, especially when a rifle barrel got broken off bringing the dio in from the parking lot.



And if I have to explain those things, then they are artistic failures IMO.

Bill, the groundwork in your scene looks just the way it should. Great work. But in my earlier post, I was referring to the great looking grass where you placed your dio for the photo session. Wish my lawn looked that good.

Sheesh, do I ever feel like an idiot, LOL.

It looked that way back in April when I took those photos. Now? Well, a week of 90+ days has browned it up a bit.

Strong work what a great hobby to be involved in eh?

The people are even better than the kits. You guys are a great support network. The dio took 6 months of work, so I'm very grateful for the praise and critiques.

Great work Bill I love the foliage on the Panther, what was it also you say the camo uniforms were a decal, wow how cool is that where and how much can I get them
Also was just wondering how big is the base and did you ever add up how much $$$$ you spend on the whole scene, not including the paint
Again well done

They're from Shinsengumi in Japan. Pacific Coast Models has them, though I originally ordered mine from Hobby Link Japan. I strongly recommend Mr. Mark Softer and Mr. Mark Setter, as I have no faith any Micro Sol product could handle the work of softening them enough to get into folds.


It is 19 x 24 inches.


I'd "guestimate"

Building & landscaping: $150-$160 (the building itself was the biggest part running about $50 from R&J Enterprises)

Panther A: $125-$150 (the Friul tracks are possibly the most-expensive item)

Sherman with hedgerow cutter: $100

Panzergrenadiers: $75-$80 (we're talking multiple kits)

US Armored Infantry: $90-$100

Total: $500-$580



Thanks, although after totaling up the money, I'm not sure, LOL!

Hi Bill,

Wow, you actually build models, too!

Excellent work! Man, nothing beats shooting models in sunlight. A few images look like stills from a movie. And that is possible only because of the high quality modeling!

Love the dio and the detail work. Would have liked to have seen more overall views of the work from different viewpoints to get a better idea of how the major elements balance one another. This is something that rewards multiple viewings because new details will pop out for the attentive looker.

Fred, thanks for the compliments. It's actually nice to get something finished!


I will try to get some more photos to the editor for perhaps a third page of long-range views.

Hi Bill,

Excellent work, you have a fine setting there, much to be admired.

I would add a comment though that the Panzer should be facing towards the enemy, with something blocking their view, that would account for the troops preparing for action and the more relaxed poses of the tank commenders, as yet unaware of the threat. In the same way I would move the more relaxed GIs to the rear of the Sherman.

By all that's buy the buy, becasue it's a fine looking dio. Nice work indeed.

Cheers

Al

Thanks, Al. I appreciate the suggestions. And your praise is very meaningful, as you're a terrific modeler whose work I always study for inspiration (heck, I have a Bren carrier in my stash thanks to your reviews and dios).

There was a request for photos showing the full diorama so y'all could see how the parts fit together. Well, here you go:

Hi Bill,

Nice one you should add these in as a page two. These give a nice overall view of what's going on.

Cheers

Al

Dio looks great Bill, impressive work.

Gary

Thanks, Al, your praise means a lot. I think that's a good idea, and if the Features guys want the extra pix, I have them.


Thanks, Gary. I hope to add some ivy on the walls and a roadside crucifix before perhaps donating it to a local museum.

Bill, I particularly like the third photo up from your post above, and if you squint your eyes a bit it can easily end up looking like this:



Agree more ivy would be a nice touch.