...Did you notice where the soldier is jumping from the truck? Right into the posts ! Ouch!!!

Your layout is good. The scene is good to. Some colors are not so good.
Mainly the trucks coloring and also the tree. You should google some pictures about tree trunk colors in Europe. It should be more light gray or very light brown (a mix )

The leaves are also a bit out of scale, to big...

...Also try a dark wash on your street section. It will darken up the space inbetween the cobble stones so it wont look white. When you think about a pose for your figures, try standing that way and see if it feels normal. Unless it was an emergency, I would not jump out of the halftrack onto stone like that. It's going to really hurt the knees. Of course, there is always the exception, in your story it might be...

The machine gun on the back of the half-track should be black. At the very least, paint it gunmetal. Why is the SS dragging a mine? It doesn't have any location to be implemented on your diorama. IMO, the knocked out part of the wall should be a little rougher. Maybe some more bricks sticking out. There should be something in between the plaster. Overall, it looks like it was fun and hopefully you have picked up some tips for your next dio.

Good start good scene layout
A little tight but it adds a sense of motion to the scene
Have fun do what feels right to you your models are your creations

Have fun

keep having fun nice Dio.

Quoted Text

---

The machine gun on the back of the half-track should be black. At the very least, paint it gunmetal. Why is the SS dragging a mine? It doesn't have any location to be implemented on your diorama. IMO, the knocked out part of the wall should be a little rougher. Maybe some more bricks sticking out. There should be something in between the plaster. Overall, it looks like it was fun and hopefully you have picked up some tips for your next dio.

---

Hi Matt! Thank you for your reply, so fast! For the machine gun, I already paint it with flat black and applied steel-silver (since I'm out of supplies of gunmetal paint ) by drybrushing technique. Maybe not too clearly lookin'

I have no story about the soldaten that draggin' mine, maybe he will put it somewhere else or return it to the halftrack cabin after he realize that such stuff wasn't needed. LOL Just kiddin'... Honestly, I don't have any attention on what he carried out, just assembled him directly like shown in the box art.

Yeah, the knocked out wall also will be my lesson for another project. I have no experience making a plaster before and I will consider about it. Sorry for my English and many thanks Matt, have a nice day and happy modelling also

Best regards


Garry

Hi Garry,

thanks for sharing the pics of your dio with us, and you have come to the right place..to find competent and friendly co-modellers.

There is much to say about your dio...and certainly not only criticism! That's normal and if you study a work carefully, that goes for ALL the dios (I'm sure even Claude finds things in his Clervaux that he can -and will- "improve" in the future )

As stated above you can and should squeeze maximum info out of the Internet. As you are not living in Europe, you cannot get first hand info as easily as Claude f.ex. (who can drive to Clervaux anytime he wants ).
Believe me, we would make similar mistakes if we try a dio scene sited in Indonesia!!
A tree is not just a tree, a wall may be very different from what is standard in your area, etc.

IMHO you are on the right track! Keep searching and above all, keep asking yourself questions.

..and best advice so far keep having fun!!!!

Cheers

Romain

Quoted Text

---

Quoted Text

---

The machine gun on the back of the half-track should be black. At the very least, paint it gunmetal. Why is the SS dragging a mine? It doesn't have any location to be implemented on your diorama. IMO, the knocked out part of the wall should be a little rougher. Maybe some more bricks sticking out. There should be something in between the plaster. Overall, it looks like it was fun and hopefully you have picked up some tips for your next dio.

---

Hi Matt! Thank you for your reply, so fast! For the machine gun, I already paint it with flat black and applied steel-silver (since I'm out of supplies of gunmetal paint ) by drybrushing technique. Maybe not too clearly lookin'

I have no story about the soldaten that draggin' mine, maybe he will put it somewhere else or return it to the halftrack cabin after he realize that such stuff wasn't needed. LOL Just kiddin'... Honestly, I don't have any attention on what he carried out, just assembled him directly like shown in the box art.

Yeah, the knocked out wall also will be my lesson for another project. I have no experience making a plaster before and I will consider about it. Sorry for my English and many thanks Matt, have a nice day and happy modelling also

Best regards


Garry

---

I wouldn't highlight the gun with anything other than burnt iron or gunmetal. I have never seen a gun that has worn through to silver. My dad just purchased a pistol from 1918. It has not been clean, since it was issued. It is rusty, but there are no signs of silver on it. Another alternative is to run a piece of graphite over the edges. This will give a very light dark metallic luster.

On your next project you might do some shading on the flesh portions of your figures (face and hands). The easiest and quickest (although not entirely professional) way to do it is to run a reddish-brown wash over the flesh parts so it will settle in the crevises and creases. When dry drybrush with lightened flesh color on the highlight areas - nose, cheekbones, chin, jawline, fingers, and knuckles. Also try to avoid the 'popeyed' look by making the iris less round and actually touching the upper eyelid. Studying your own face in a mirror, or pictures of faces in magazines will help. Some figures with a 'five o'clock shadow'(drybrush with thinned flesh with a tiny amount of blue) will help to break up their uniformity and add some individuality. Paint some hair color on the backs of their heads where it shows under their helmets, otherwise they all look bald! These are just general guidelines, and with some experimentation and refinement you will find your own technique.

Hi Garry,

Biggles has a sound piece of advice in his post....look at the real thing as thoroughly as possible!
If you consider all the parameters (light, distance, etc) you get a good picture that you can then emulate.

Shep Paine's book on building dios has been a 1st class teacher for me...and I am still learning (after 40 years )

And believe me, unless you are a super painter, avoid posting close-up pics of your figs and models. They show even the slightest deficiencies without any mercy!

When you have to decide on which details to include as "visible" and relevant, try to find pictures that +/- render the 1/35 figures in size (hope you understand what I mean ) and then adapt your models.

I better stop hic et nunc!!

Cheers
Romain

Hi Garry,

"hic et nunc" is latin and simply means "here and now"

If you decide to stick to zoomed-in views, you should definitely examine the clean-up job on your figures 1) in a mirror and 2) under a magnifying glass. You will discover lots of little flaws, even after you were of the opinion everything is cleaned up and fit!

It is true that you listen to advice and even modify your dio accordingly. That's impressive on its own!

Now you should not believe we all want to pester you and show any (non-existing) "superiority" on our side. It's only because we see the potential in you and feel compelled to share some of our accumulated knowledge.

And Shep Paine's book is a tutorial for all different kinds of dios and painting/modelling/converting in general. Its full title is

"How to build dioramas"

and you can find it on Amazon f.ex. It is fairly cheap, but it provides great reading/learning for years on end!!

Keep up the good work!!

Cheers

Romain

Sometimes we have a 'blind eye' for our own work. Before final placement of figures, etc. on your diorama, have a friend examine your work. But don't let it turn into a love/hate relationship when your friends criticize your work!