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The field of silence
kurnuy
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West-Vlaaderen, Belgium
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Posted: Thursday, December 19, 2013 - 05:59 AM UTC
Hello everyone,

the field of silence is my new diorama which I started. The theme is World War 1 and the story is about a field where a battle took place a long time ago. Since then it has been forgotten and mother nature has reclaimed the field.

But first, a picture of the sketch that I have made with the computer



The bunker is a ruin and the tank will be completely rusted. everything will be overgrown with grass, moss and shrubs. Meanwhile, the bunker is painted, weathered and covered with moss.




The entrance is partly buried with soil. A German boot sticking out ......... ,i leave it to your imagination.






By the way , that bunker is from Verlinden

Greets Kurt
1stjaeger
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Posted: Thursday, December 19, 2013 - 08:35 AM UTC

Very promising Kurt!!

Please do keep us posted!

Cheers

Romain
AlanL
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Posted: Thursday, December 19, 2013 - 09:55 AM UTC
Hi Kurt,

Nice work so far, look forward to developments.

Al
kurnuy
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Posted: Thursday, December 19, 2013 - 10:38 AM UTC
Thanks Romain and Alan, nice of you gentlemen to say.
Much appreciated.

So here I am back with an update ....

The soil is painted with dark soil effect from Tamiya+ glued some vegetation on it. The little trees are not fixed yet, just a dryfit.



Greets Kurt
1stjaeger
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Posted: Thursday, December 19, 2013 - 11:12 AM UTC

I like your approach to vegetation a lot!

The look of it is right!! Well done!!

The only thing I'm a tad worried is the pillbox.....isn't it too modern for the period??!??

I readily admit I'm no expert...that's why I ask!!

Cheers

Romain
roudeleiw
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Posted: Thursday, December 19, 2013 - 09:46 PM UTC
Hi Kurt

Good work so far.

I would like to see the walls of the bunker more weathered.
Either more mossy, but finer moss, made with green pigments or limestone white deposits. Something like that.

I was never a fan of that high plant you want to use as I can not define whatit should resemble. The twig/leave ratio is nor right IMO

Oherwise a very interesting project

Greets
Claude

kurnuy
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Posted: Friday, December 20, 2013 - 03:52 AM UTC
Thanks again for your kind words , Romain.The bunker is a German pillbox, which were built near the end of the first world war. They were used as firing support in the trenches. Besides, i live in the region where the first world war has raged, and there are still many relics and monuments that remind us of that dramatic period.

You are always welcome .

Hello Claude ,

thanks for your interest and to give me advice. I'll see what i can do.

Much appreciated!


Greetings Kurt
kurnuy
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Posted: Friday, December 20, 2013 - 09:10 AM UTC
hello everyone,

I'm back with an update.

What's new?

First i removed the moss from the bunker. Then the surface was sprayed over with a spray can of Tamiya matt clear. Then i printed the moss in to the varnish with a spoon. It looks more flat now !

The trees are planted differently , to get a more realistic look.
Extra leaves were also glued .

The pictures ;








The bunker is done , now up to the tank

Greets Kurt
kurnuy
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Posted: Saturday, December 21, 2013 - 12:14 AM UTC
Sorry everyone , but here I am back with a new idea.

Poppies!! Yes, why not? So I've made ​​a few poppies and i have planted them, next to the boot.

from a distance ,yes good show .... but close it is less brilliant. Besides, it's not a rose garden ......

comments are welcome.

And here are the pictures ;




Greets Kurt
1stjaeger
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Posted: Saturday, December 21, 2013 - 03:15 AM UTC

Hi Kurt,

still looking good!!

The flowers are a nice touch (all too often forgotten).

Are you going to give the bunker a coat of matt varnish? It looks a tad too shiny IMHO.

What do you think??

Cheers

Romain


ubisuck
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Posted: Saturday, December 21, 2013 - 03:19 AM UTC
In the photos, bunker has a gloss onto it, Is it me or shouldn't it be very much matte or dull finish? Other than that, I wouldn't love to be the one to pull on that boot

It's a great idea and it's very well done
jrutman
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Posted: Saturday, December 21, 2013 - 03:19 AM UTC
It really starts to take shape now. The added layers of foliage are making it look batter and better.
J
kurnuy
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Posted: Saturday, December 21, 2013 - 06:13 AM UTC
Gentlemen , thank you for the reply's.

@ Romain ,
absolutely right the surface is to shiny. I used several layers of oil paint (drybrush) and after that, acrylic varnish. The result is a greasy look. But no worries , i give that bunker a matt coat of varnish. The poppies are staying and there will be more flowers on the diorama.

@ Marc ,
same explanation as above and you are also right. By the way
that boot can symbolize anything......and it will be a very symbolic diorama.

@ Jerry,
yes, I am surprised by the effect that the foliage gives. This is the situation that i have in mind. Thanks for your kind words.

And now i know what to do

Greets Kurt
kurnuy
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Posted: Sunday, December 22, 2013 - 08:31 AM UTC
Hello everyone ,

yes i'm back with an update of the the bunker.

What has changed ??

I have coated the bunker with matt varnish. The moss has been given a few washes of oil paint mixt with thinner.
light gray pigment from Vallejo was added in to the wet varnish .I used Revell number 2 matt.

And this is the result (varnish is still not completely dry );









Comments are welcome !

Greets Kurt
1stjaeger
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Posted: Sunday, December 22, 2013 - 11:06 PM UTC

Still looking good..

do I keep repeating myself??????

Suggestion: maybe you should pull out some of the pine needles embedded in the moss. They look too "big" for anything in nature resembling them.

And Claude is right, fine moss would be growing on concrete a lot. The coarser vegetation on concrete is possible, but has a slight problem...where to implant the roots!

Question: what are you going to use for the soil surrounding the pillbox??

Well done getting rid of (most of) the shine on the bunker!

Will watch progress closely as usual!

Cheers

Romain


Railspltr
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Posted: Monday, December 23, 2013 - 12:29 AM UTC
Very nice, Herr Nuyttens. Keep up the finishing touches. The poppy's do add a subtle touch of color. The bunker is a good approximation of a concrete observations post/machine gun nest/strong point of the type that was actually poured with the original intention of that type in mind. I visited the Verdun battlefield in the 80s several times and most of those were earlier 19th century fortifications modified with concrete, more grainy (they had been pounded by massive artillery barrages) and they were French. The Germans I believe were more methodical and up to date with their concrete creations. Question:if you can't get rid of all of the shiny parts can you use water effects such as puddles or wet spots on them?
jrutman
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Posted: Monday, December 23, 2013 - 02:51 AM UTC
I do like the progress that you made since the last post. I agree with Romain about pulling those tan pieces out of the moss. Are they needles? Whatever they are they are out of scale and draw attention from the nice moss effects I think?
J
roudeleiw
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Posted: Monday, December 23, 2013 - 06:04 AM UTC
You can get rid of any remaining shine by brushing more pigments on the concrete, earth/sand coloured (dirt obviously) or tan/with coloured (simulating lime),
Don't even fix it , just don't touch the bunker any more.

Claude
kurnuy
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Posted: Monday, December 23, 2013 - 06:14 AM UTC
Gentlemen , i thank you for the reply's !

Oh boy ...........a lot to explain !

@ Romain , yes you are repeating yourself over and over again ! But it does not bother me at all, really!

The pine needles are not pine needles at all , it's a herb ! I once used Oregano to make leaves on a large scale tree . However the herb was mixed somehow with the moss.......I pull them out , i promise !

The bunker will be placed on a diorama and i will use a mix of sand , paint and plaster + glue to create the soil.

Concerning the moss ; I have a picture of moss on a bunker in my topic '' Het veld der stilte '' on Kitmaker Benelux , discussies , diorama's.

With the use of limestone you imitate rather a fungus IMHO ?

@ Edwin ,

Thanks LT , the pillbox was actually integrated into trenches that were part of long resistance lines such as the '' Flandern I stellung '' in Belgium for example. they were also build into farms as reinforcement. I will give the bunker a second coat of matt varnish.

@ Jerry , notice the explanation by Romain please , thank you !

Stay tuned !

Greets Kurt
kurnuy
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Posted: Monday, December 23, 2013 - 06:20 AM UTC

Quoted Text

You can get rid of any remaining shine by brushing more pigments on the concrete, earth/sand coloured (dirt obviously) or tan/with coloured (simulating lime),
Don't even fix it , just don't touch the bunker any more.

Claude


Sorry , i did not notice your post . Thanks for the advice !
Greets Kurt
AlanL
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Posted: Monday, December 23, 2013 - 11:12 AM UTC
Hi Kurt,

Looking good. How long after the war are you thinking? Given the colour of the bunker me thinks a considerable time? If that's the case then more rather than less growth would be appropriate. Roots would easily form in the gaps in the bunker and any flaws in the concrete. Tufts of grass and weeds can grow just about anywhere that soil and dust collect, so to my eye and from your opening post the first option seemed reasonable given a long enough time period.

Either way it's looking good. Are you going to show some rusty studs on the boot? It seems covered in mud at the moment.

Cheers

Al
kurnuy
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Posted: Monday, December 23, 2013 - 09:18 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Hi Kurt,

Looking good. How long after the war are you thinking? Given the colour of the bunker me thinks a considerable time? If that's the case then more rather than less growth would be appropriate. Roots would easily form in the gaps in the bunker and any flaws in the concrete. Tufts of grass and weeds can grow just about anywhere that soil and dust collect, so to my eye and from your opening post the first option seemed reasonable given a long enough time period.

Either way it's looking good. Are you going to show some rusty studs on the boot? It seems covered in mud at the moment.

Cheers

Al


Hello Alan ,

i thank you for the ideas and thoughts . In my mind a have a picture how an abandoned battlefield would be like a hundred years later.

It also depends (in my opinion) on what kind of terrain the bunker is placed on ?In an open field ? In a forest ? On a sand dune ? Not to say anything about the type of climate .That determines the type of weathering .

On the diorama the bunker will be surrounded by trees, wich is the reason of the application of moss.No worries with the boot , it's all gonna be allright . I promise

Much appreciated !

The bunker as it looks now , after pulling out much of the needles (herb)







Marry Christmas to all of you !

Stay tuned

greets Kurt
AlanL
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Posted: Monday, December 23, 2013 - 11:15 PM UTC
Hi Kurt,

A fitting dio for next years anniversary. Have you joined up the the latest WW1 Campaign? This would be very appropriate there.

Given what you said then I can see where you're going with this one, look forward to developments.

It's looking excellent so far.

Cheers

Al
kurnuy
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Posted: Tuesday, December 24, 2013 - 03:45 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Hi Kurt,

A fitting dio for next years anniversary. Have you joined up the the latest WW1 Campaign? This would be very appropriate there.

Given what you said then I can see where you're going with this one, look forward to developments.

It's looking excellent so far.

Cheers

Al


Now ,i did not sign up for that campaign yet, Alan . Normally i would join in the campaign wwo 1 on kitmaker benelux next year with this diorama , but there is more interest and respons on Armorama. I will think about it , thanks again for your reply.

Kurt
kurnuy
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Posted: Tuesday, December 24, 2013 - 09:27 PM UTC
Hello everyone ,

The rusted remains of a German boot , a helmet and a Luger pistol frozen in time....


I'm thinking to place a rusted machine gun in the bunker, but I'm not sure yet . Hmm....maybe ?

Greets Kurt
 _GOTOTOP