I just completed my first diorama: a small diorama of a DAK Marder III in action and the crew pointing out the British to an advancing infantry squad. This was my entry in my local Houston armor club October desert build as well as a joint entry in the Tank Destroyer Group Build. I built the Marder III out of the box and used Modelmaster Acryl and PollyScale Acrylics along with an oil pin wash and pastels for weathering. The figures' uniforms were also painted using Modelmaster and PollyScale acrylics and oil washes and pastels. I painted the flesh using oils. I am still working on my digital camera skills, so I apologize for the quality of the pictures.

wow for a first this is really good.. the only criticism i can think of at the moment is in the fourth pic. the tracks above the idler seem to be floating above it.

Very nice dio KBM. Really nice figures and Marder ........ it may have been your first dio, but have you been building and painting for some time? The standard is very high. I really like the figures you have used and also the colours of their uniforms. Very nice.
Points to help maybe would be to move the marder back onto the dio a little. The gun is sticking out too far and may get damaged. And also some tracks in the sand as Dustoff suggested. Nice one! How did you do in the comp.?

KBM:

I have to agree with the other guys. You did a really nice job overall. The tank build looks very solid and nice, and your figures go well with it. Nice painting and weathering all around. Other than the floating track above the idler wheel the only thing I notice (and this is strictly my personal opinion/preference) is that you seem to have more diorama than you need. It's been my experience that alot of people will make a diorama fit a base that they find. This sometimes leaves a dio looking too cramped or too sparse. I don't know if this is what you did. Other than that, I think it looks awesome.

Thanks for sharing your dio with us! Please show us more as you make them.

John

GREAT JOB CONGRATS
ROBERTO

very nice marder...also the groundwork and the figures are nice..congrats !

The dio itselfs looks good and i have to agree with the comments of the others .
The only thing that has to done to get is perfect is the reconstuct the edges of the sand .
It is a bit to wobbely .
Try to get it more sharp . You can see in pic one that the unpainted woodensurface can bee seen at the right side .
And second try to give some more color variation in the sandy surface and add some small rocks to the sand ( Kitty litter ) also for variation.. ( see one of my desert dio's if it still there on the net ?) because over 80% of the desert in Northern Africa were the fighting took place has a very rocky surface..The smooth sand can mostly be found near and on the sand dunes.....
and third you forgot to make some footprints were the soldiers walked .
If you are planning to enter this dio in a contest it will cost you some pionts and that will be a shame ( Is that the correct word ? )

Take these hints as a positive reaction on your dio .
Never the less nice dio..

Keep up the good work..

Eric

KBM, the figures and the vehicle are great! before I read everyones comments the first thing that flashed into my mind was the base is to large for the subjects, there is lots of empty space. That effect can work on depending on the story line but I feel your story can be enhanced even more by shrinking the base down. Another option is to fill in the open area. Rocks, small mound of earth, a Kubelwagan or even a disabled British jeep or something like that. The comments from the others I agree with as well. You have the right concept keep building to that. Look forward to your next project

Brian

Thanks for all of the comments. As far as the base, I am not a woodworker, so I am pretty much limited to commercially available "bases". This one, at 9 x 12, is a bit large for the action of this diorama, and if I had had more time, probably would have filled in some of the space with battlefield debris. It's probably my picture taking ability (or lack thereof!), but the track is glued down on the roadwheels and return rollers, just doesn't look that way in the 4th picture. As far as variety in the "texture" of the groundwork, I used playsand and kitty litter, which may not be too noticeable in my pics. Probably could have used more of the kitty litter. The larger rocks were made with Durham's water putty and the Woodland scenics rock mold. Had made about 25 rocks and maybe could have placed more into the groundwork. Also, there are track marks in the sand from the Marder, which are quite distinct live, but not so visible in the pictures. I also placed many footprints in the groundwork for the troops, but they sort of got lost as I painted the groundwork. The variety in the coloration is there, as I used a warm gray wash and then sprayed coats of gradually lighter tan paints. Maybe the lighting in the pictures does not bring that through. I need to work on my edges to my groundwork as this is quite rough. Finally, re Dustoff and checking references, not sure what you are referring to. I used the kit instructions and picture references from Concord's Armor of the DAK and Panzertruppen at War and Osprey German Army series for the Marder and crew's paint job. For the DAK infantry, I used those same references, plus the Dragon kit instructions. I welcome more specific comments re references. As for the "competition" at the Houston Armor Club, I prefer not to focus on that, as this was a friendly group build, however, I did well against the other 7 entries and won a Dragon Scud missile launcher.

That looks very good! Its simple, and yet very "effective"

~Chip :-)

i keep coming back to look at your marder. great job!

Kieth
as its your first Diorama i thought i would offer some observations.Your diorama is really good for a first time, i like the layout, the figures are looking to a point in the distance focusing on an immenent attack. Minor point as Brian mentioned i would have broken up the empty spaces or reduced the overall size of the base. Keep up the good work.

Cookie

Dio looks great. Excellent job on the marder and figures. Perhaps you should have gone with a 5"x8" for the base. One note, I thought all German armor had red oxide on the tracks? Of course, since you have a book, you should know. You can strengthen your figure tracks by adding a little more sand where their footprints should be. You may also want to sprinkle a little more kitty litter over the base. All in all, a very nice job for your first dio.

Guys.... this thread is 7 years old.

Personally I like the composition with the larger base.

My reasons for liking the larger base are that being DAK the base gives a sence of the vastness of the desert warfare, the lack of cover that was available to troops in some places and the fact that these troops have very little in the way of obstacles (other than the Marder) to hide them while running to protect the marder from a possible flanking attack.

JMHO

Nige