Hi Guys,

About a week ago I posted a few images of a 'T-34 in Berlin' diorama, and had some constructive feedback. Principally, the installation lacked sufficient (and varied) debris around the base of the buildings, and it was also recommended that I include some civilian items for variety.

I've now added debris of different type/texture/size, mainly along the rear elevations but some items along the front too. The tank has been 'weighted' with additional rubble around the tracks to stop the floating effect, and I've added a few civilian features in the rubble.

Rather than choose salon furniture for effect, I used Plus Models resin set of 'Tailoring' items. which includes a mannequin (tailor's dummy), a stove, modesty screens, a mirror, a sewing machine (part etch), a chair, and selected clothing. For a whimsical touch I left a ladies coat hanging on an upstairs wall, and a ladies (red) straw hat in the ground rubble, as I thought the bright flash of red would work well against the faded greys and greens.

My view is that the rubble should be representative rather than exhaustive, so I think I've packed in about as much as I can without overwhelming the theme of the dio.

I still haven't improved the rafter ends. I am considering using Milliput to sculpt the ends as broken timber rather than gluing small stick ends in place; we'll see.

Hope you think there is some improvement!

Hi Rob

I saw MKI which I liked and I can see the benefit of the nice additional touches. It's never easy to go back over a piece of and re-work it, but personally I think that sometimes it is better to apply lessons learnt to the next project and not let "modelling creep" set in.

Looking forward to see your next piece.

Darren

Rob,

High praise from me for even redoing the dio a bit.

Difficult to see the difference without opening the other thread, so allow me to give the advice (what is also the usual way to do it) to keep your initial thread and simply continue posting in it.
Regarding the rafter ends, try to get some fire work sticks, break them naturally and glue them in place. If you want to be very exact, you should make a hole for them in the wall to stick them really in ( a tiny bit only). If your hole gets a bit to big, this is in this instance no problem at all. Due to the shock there is a lot of pressure on the rafters and all damage is explainable.
Putty is no solution. If you do not have firework sticks, use Balsa wood or any other you can yourself cut to the needed size.

Claude

Thanks for the tips. I'll probably go with the balsa in due course.

Yes I agree re modelling creep. It's only that with the 'completion' of the build just this past week, and the dio still on the bench I saw it as just a breather before I finished off the groundwork to my satisfaction, having taken on board previous comments. I don't plan on a Mk3 posting...

I think you've done a great job. There's only one mistake in my opinion.
Your dio depicts a T-34/76 mod 1942. Well, as far as I know,the T-34s which entered in Berlin in May 1945, were mainly the 85 ones. Only few of them were T-34/76 but the model was the 1943 one. Here some pics:







Anyway I like a lot your job, especially the house interiors

Thanks for that. I had a similar comment when I posted a few earlier photos of the dio on another forum.

This particular kit as I understand it was 'late production' towards the end of '43, of which 2900 were built. Also, at the Russian war memorial in Berlin there are two T34s one of which is a /76, so I'm claiming diplomatic immunity!

Rob- its never easy to go back and re-work a dio but I think you've done a splendid job of this. It looks much better with the piles of rubble and debris- items like the mannequin and the hat etc always add a nice touch to areas of rubble like that as they help to tell a story and to keep the viewer looking. Also the rubble around the tank is very convincing in suggesting its weight. Really fantastic work.

no need to claim... Your job looks incredibly good, the next will be perfect!

Thanks very much. As I was so close to 'the end' and also as we have a model show this weekend, I decided to spend an hour finishing off the rafters and call it a day.





Now for that King Tiger!

much better, you did it!!

Apologies, but I meant to have included that final rear elevation image showing the remainder of floor/ceiling joists in place, affixed directly to the 'stonework', and not just the earlier shot of the extensions to the MiniArt rafter stubs.

Thanks again for all your comments.