Okay fellas, Im not new to modelling, but I consider myself green in the area of dioramas. being a slight perfectionist
( in some respects) I tend to be slightly dissapointed with my results.
The idea is for a t-26 to be advancing up an incline. seemingly unawares that a emplacement is ahead, supported by a figure throwing a grenade. I made an attempt tonight at making the shoring out of costa coffee sticks but i feel they are too " rough" at the moment. i feel inclined to start them again. I am limited by not having an airbrush, and its not on the table in the near future either. I am also a bit skint, so cant afford to go all out with spending.
Here is what i have so far..



and the rough vehicle placement


thoughts, suggestions, criticisms?!

thanks to all

James.

I have been looking at it a bit and the start is pretty decent. The Tankers are in for a bit of a nasty surprise if the whole vehicle takes a nosedive into that pit.

There is one thing that could make it visually more interesting. Maybe instead of an emplacement you could create a bank on the other side as well. To make it a real trench and in it have some tank hunting soldiers. DML has some pretty good figuresets for a decent price. It gives you some interesting angles and seethroughs in the diorama. It gives the idea of russian advance or russian recon troops scouting ahead and the Germans waiting for the best moment to kill their prey. Just a thought. I think the tank looks cool and I have no doubt that the dio will look awesome as well.
And wdon't worry about the money issue. With a bit of creativity you can make the world out of nothing. I have made a bunch of diorama's that cost me less then 5 euro in materials.

Hey Robert, I had not considered placing some Germans on the scene as well, instead of some tank hunters, I was thinking , one or two Germans hiding, waiting to attack from the rear, or scarper.
I have been trawling DML, masterbox and miniart sets for the past hour or so, to no avail,early war tank hunters in appropriate poses, or Germans who look a little apprehensive about a tank.! I don't think I would mind saving for a little to pick up some resin figures either.


perhaps..
http://www.modelhobbies.co.uk/shop/dragon-german-infantry-barbarossa-1941-6580-p-39276.html

this set seems africa themed, would it be a big no no to use these figs?
http://www.modelhobbies.co.uk/shop/dragon-division-kleisoura-pass-1941-6643-p-42950.html

http://www.modelhobbies.co.uk/shop/dragon-panzer-pionier-bataillon-1panzer-division-lening-p-35312.html

the running figures here could be useful?
http://www.modelhobbies.co.uk/shop/master-german-signals-personnel-stalingrad-summer-1942-p-11895.html

Ola James

Those are nice suggestions... But I was actually thinking of this particular box.


Sure the box says 1944 but these uniforms can go on for early war uniforms as well. Mostly a matter of color. And the majority of people can't tell the difference between a an early and a late jacket.
And yeah they don't have to be in the direct act of tank disabling but a handfull of Germans in that tank section biding their time to attack at the right moment might make it a very visually interesting diorama

And of course you can combine some of those figures with some of these


And somehow in my memory I believe DML had a similar set of figures like the first picture I posted but I can't seem to find it.

Ah found them
Not one but 2 similar sets... Allthough you might end up with an overload of flamethrowers




You should be able to score any of these older DML sets for really decent prices on Ebay. And then you can combine the figures to create that one smashing scene.

It is a nice start on the ditch. My suggestion is if it is indeed supposed to be a anti-tank ditch then it needs to have a back wall as well. The way it is now a tank would have a rough time banging down on the ground but there is a chance to recover. A proper ditch with the back wall at the correct distance will trap the tank against the back wall. See my point?
Also,it is a cardinal rule in combat engineer or infantry warfare to always have an obstackle defended weather it's a minefield,roadblock,whatever,so it's a great idea to have some defending troops in there. Sorry if I got too technical.
J

I've built the Leningrad set a few months ago. It's a good kit, but I would go with those 2 sturmpionier sets and/or the panzerjager one. Much better for the scene your going for. Well at least I think so hahaha

-Conor

Robert, great ideas there, I think initially i'll pick up the panzerjaeger set ( although my mind does change easily lol.
I think I will place 2-3 German troops in the trench, maybe modify. do you know if the panzerjaegers come with the extra gear DMl have been providing? it would be nice ot have a few weapons to use here and there.

Jerry, i think that due to the space I have for this scene, a full out anti tank ditch would be unwise, i have been looking online and it seems that the size i have would amount to a defensive position, or communications trench. I agree with the idea of having more defenses, initially the idea was to have the tank advancing on a position that had been compromised, and hastily emptied with its contents repositioned in trenches further back, although, im pretty sure now there will be somebody occupying a trench that the soviets thing has been emptied!

Thanks Connor, I am always slighly skeptical about using plastic figures, but thats what filler is for!! was your stalingrad set much work or were they ok?


A small amount of progress, I was not happy with the wood. it did not reflect what I have seen in photos and various online references. I want to have the trench sides reinforced, at least a little, with wood, So far i have seen a weave style system mounted on upright round timber posts, and small log shoring, usually 2 uprights with a number of horizontally stacked logs or branches within.

well anyway, photos..




the foam is rough and will be shaped as the diorama moves onwards!

It looks like you accomplished exactly what I suggested anyway! I probably didn't explain myself well enough but you made a proper anti-tank ditch so far. Good job. If you are still planning on making retaining walls with the horizontal log I made one of those using sticks from a cheap shish-kabob wood stick set. Just rough them up with a number11 blade and paint like so

Hi James,

nice diorama, are you doing it in winter or summer, I have just spotted a set of new Russian infantry from Dragon

http://militarymodels.co.nz/category/all-news/

I think they would look good behind the T-26 and you wouldnt have to do any snow if you didnt wannt to as it gets bloody cold there well before the snow arrives.

Anto

@ James
You might want to search around a bit to see if you can get the 10th anniversary version of the Panzerjager kit. I believe that kit came with the extra weapons and gear.

Your rough 3d Sketch is actually quite inspirational. It might just have inspired me of what to do in the Postcard Challenge.

hello all, thank you for your help and interest, I really appreciate it!
Jerry I do want to use horizonatal log walls, i will have to visit the local baking/oriental shot to try and find there methinks!!.

Anthony, I already have a figure on the way to represent the soviet forces, but thankyou for the link, they look like a very useful set!

Robert, I just put an order in for the figures! and missed the 10th aniversary comment, oops, ah well, ill have to paint the weapons a bit better...

OK.
i have been working on this thisafternoon, and have got the basic trench floor covered. remember WIP, so any thoughs or suggestions, fire em at me.

For your logs you could try barbeque skewers, they tend to be really cheap. Try poundland or somewhere like that.

Paul

Nice looking paint on the wood and a nice touch with the pipe running through as well.
Les Paul huh? I just bought a brand new Musicman 4 string bass with maple neck. Best thing I ever played,sustains forever.
J

after a comprehensive search of the town center I couldn't find any bbq skewers or anything round that wasn't bamboo. so, I went down the Matchstick route. I personally think it's not too bad. and passes as a pretty good "trench"

a birds eye view..



the area where the figures are going to be placed.


and a figure for scale!



thoughts?

also, I was wondering what to place on the top, sandbags? would it have been just earth?

Jerry, Nice, Music Man are usually great, I am currently refretting a bass that was given to me. but i am primarily a guitar man!

Sand bags were not always used. The troops used what was available. But the trenches were usually camoflauged on the side towards the enemy,that's for sure.
Matchsticks look great man. Maybe some water at the trench bottom?
J

Trench looks great so far. I'll echo Robert about the 10th anniversary panzerjager set, I've got it and there's a TON of extras in it.

And since we're mentioning guitar's I've got myself an Epiphone SG bc rich bass, a crappy starter guitar and some south american acoustic from my aunt

-Conor

Ola James
You don't half work at speed my man. And it is taking nice shape as well. I like the look of the matchsticks. Very convincing looking trench.
I would not go with sandbags either. And you really don't need to. As you would not believe how much ground comes from a man sized hole. And that ground needs to go somewhere. And a bank of ground does the work perfectly fine for protection. I second Jerry's suggestion of adding some water to the trench. Make the situation just a tad more miserable for the guys there.

Jerry, thanks for looking in, a wet bottom is already planned! I hope it turns out ok ..

Conor, Nice, I use an epi explorer a lot for gigs. ill post a family shot on here of my instruments.

Robert,
they turned out better than i thought they would, som im pleased with the matchsticks. I was only considering sandbags to top the trenches off, a layer of one, but what i'll do, is mix up a gritty muddy mixture thing.. and place it on top.

What kind of things were you likely to find in a trench of this manner? I am going to run a communication cable along a wall, maybe personal gear hanging here and there?

more soon.

J

James

Regarding stuff in trenches that depends completely on how, when and where it was constructed. The trenchsystems on the Normandy shores were really uncluttered. Nice empty paths leading to and fro with MG positions with some cases of Ammo.
If you look at the trenches at Stalingrad and the Korsun pocket those trenches were makeshift, shallow and cluttered with pretty much everything they could lay their hands on in the short period they had available to get ready before the enemy attacks started.

I have always wanted to chime in about this on line. Speaking as a retired infantryman,one of my pet peaves with a lot of dios was the stuff lying around. My army buddy that also build models and me would chuckle at Verlindens' dios because he had a lot of stuff lying around that made no sense.
So,to get to your trench. Soldiers in the field will sort of expand their"kingdom" the longer they stay somewhere. When they dig in,the first priority is picking the location with tactical sense and good interlocking fields of fire. Next priority is improving said location with overhead cover and commo tranches and alternat postions,etc. If there is spare time,comfort options come into play and items may be gathered from nearby houses,fields,etc. But one thing stays the same. Personal gear and ammo are always ready and within reach in case of attach or in case all hell breaks loose and you need to get out of Dodge quickly!!
So no,the Verlindon method of having the German bread bag taken off the belt or all kinds of weapons laying all over the place would never happen,unless it was a very rear area. LOng winded but maybe you can make a better choice now?
J

hehehe Jerry
yeah the Verlinden method of Cluttering up the trench or mortarpit can be ranked among the mysterious magnetic pouches and helmets when it comes to accuracy.

That said. I have a big collection of real wartime photographs concerning the PAK36 and you'd be surprised on how many pictures the soldiers are in full gear. Basically the only time it doesn't show up is when they were in training or in full rest. Everything in between from digging in to shooting to transport they are fully kitted up. A dug in position for the PAK36 contained nothing more then the gun, a few ammo containers, a rangefinder and the 4 man crew. Everything that had no use directly would either be in a support vehicle further away or even further back in Bivouac

This is true and actually makes my point. I would be suspect though of the Kriegberichter pix as many were staged for the camera and no soldier wants evidence on film that he was out of uniform. But yes,they would have been in full kit in the battle position or on guard,etc. If not then things as web gear,etc would be assembled and within reach. When I was on patrol in SF training we even slept in full web gear,the only thing that came off was the ruck sack and that was within reach!
My point is the clutter would have been non essencial stuff and things collected from the area to make the guys life easier,you know,like a bucket for washing or a small chair from a nearby farmhouse,etc.
J

True and therefore my collection has a total of zero kriegsberichter pics. I only have pictures from soldiers private albums. I like collecting those. It gives a better view of what the soldiers came accross during their service. And not much censoring went on with those shots.