Hi guys-

I'm just asking for a little advice. I have never really done a dio before... usually just a couple of figs and a vehicle.... Since I'm in both Cover Up and RMG, I thought I'd do an action dio for one, and do a more "behind the lines" relaxed scene for the other.

For my trench dio, I want to depict a dug in, knocked out, 88. There will be an M-10 rolling up and a few US infantry tending to prisoners and looking through the German's stuff for goodies. This is where my problem comes in... I want to depict some of the 88 crew as killed in action, you know, laying about. I feel this would lend a sense of finality to the scene... people get killed in war - we sometimes forget that amongst the more glorified aspects.

Anyway.... I don't want it to be too "over the top" if you know what I mean. No gory mess, or body parts, just dead soldiers.... I was thinking that three dead Germans with two taken prisoner would be appropriate. Am I way off base? I hardly EVER (in fact never) see dios with dead soldiers in them.. is there some sort of unwritten rule? I don't want to violate anybodies sensibility here, but I feel that the scene without the killed soldiers, does not portray the same message... without them it just becomes American soldiers looting. I want the action to look very "recent" as in just happened a matter of minutes earlier, and the bodies would help this I think.

I am really curious as to what you all think.... feel free to put your 2 cents in here. I'm going to need all the help I can get with these dio projects

Later-
Jeff

Jeff,
Personally, I don't see anything wrong with the idea of dead soldiers in a war diorama. After all, that is what war is about! I agree that it can be done 'tastefully' with any gore. Just imagine watching a classic movie like Saving Pvt Ryan, or Brothers, or any other war movie, without dead soldiers. It just doesn't work! If there is any unwritten rule, I don't know about it, and frankly, if I chose to portray some, I would simply do it.! Hope this helps!

what about a wounded soldier being treated by medics or evacuated?

I think your idea is a good one. I am only concerned about having to much going on to have a strong impact. Mabye something like just having part of the M10 in the dio and part of the destroyed gun emplacement serving as the backdrop for the focus of the action being the clearing of the emplacement minutes after the fight. I have no problem with fallen soldiers in a dio either. I do not recall having heard or seen any prohibition against the fallen being portrayed.
capnjock

I don't know of any unwritten rule. I've never heard anyone illude to one. I think it's more that people tend to stay away because its easier to avoid. When someone gets killed in action they fall on whatever surface they're on and go limp. To model this can be challenging just to get the figures posture and position down. Then you top off having to add blood and or injury and it get more complicated.
So I think from a modeling standpoint - its a challenge

As far as from a subject standpoint you do see VP coming out with more injury type subjects.

One way to depict dead soldiers without all the gore, etc., is to have them covered with a blanket or a tarp. Another option is to have them face-down -- make sure the limbs are posed a bit awkwardly, so the viewer knows the body is dead and not just "sleeping."

There is a dead German inside the bunker in my M10 dio (see "Me Selected Link" at the bottom of my post), and I depicted hi face-down with a small puddle of "blood" underneath. In the pics, you can see his wounded comrade being tended by U.S. medics.

i don't think your asking for too much now if you were talking about adding severed bodies and limbs and stuff you'd be going too overboard. i've seen a few dios with a ton of dead men. there was this one giant pacific dio in the base library where i once lived that have a ton of dead soldiers. i'm loking for a link of this one dio i've seen with a night fighting pantehr i think and there are alot of dead men in it. if i find it i'll ost the link.

I think Slodder has the main point. Most "dead" model soldiers look like figures that fell over on the way to the display, rather than dead/wounded flesh and blood human bodies. A dead body is absolutely ragdoll-tossed-on-the-ground relaxed. Every joint must conform to the lay of the land. At the same time, the body may be clutching something.
Face down is the "tasteful" approach, and can, from one time, personal experience, be realistic.

I just wached "Black Hawk Down" on video yesterday. Now that IS a bit over the top. No need to show diorama soldiers with their legs ripped off.
Make sure that dead figures have full contact to the ground. Just ask someone to lay down and play dead : you'll see there's no room between him/her and the floor. There shouldn't be a space between dead figures and the ground either. Bend the figure, and fill the openings with putty where needed... It takes a bit of work, but looks soooo much better !

a possible way of making sure the body is in full contact with the ground and this is dependent on what type of surface you are having is to possibly push the figure slightly into the wet plaster to cast the shape of the body as though it was laying on soft ground. this would make sure that all parts of the bidy are in contact with the ground. Like i said this would possibly only work if the body was laying on soil or grass etc.
just a though I had

Anzac #:-)

Thanks guys...

I agree that it will be challenging... haven't figured out exactly how I'm going to try to pull it off yet. I like the tarp/blanket over the body idea, with maybe a boot or an arm sticking out..... who knows.. hehe

I'll definately keep everybody posted

Jeff