Hi Everyone,

It has been a while since I last posted but I've been busy working on several dioramas at the same time
this is my 4th diorama and model kit and my second year in the modeling world, its more and more fun!
THE STORY:
In 2013 the Egyptian army suffered many losses in Sinai region due to suicide attacks by insurgents on soldiers and officers. In response the army launched massive operations to hunt down the fleeing insurgents all over the Sinai desert area. this Diorama features an army patrol falling in confrontation with an insurgent camping.
Youtube Video: you can also watch the making video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xvemjcbiMQ
THE KITS:
I used MENG 1/35 pickup and equipment kit and the MB Iraq2 figures kit and some modern US soldiers figures converted to Egyptian Unitform.
The Diorama Base:
I had the diorama base custom made according to my design by www.dioramania.com
THE KITS:



SOME OF THE MAKING STEPS:














DESIGNING THE BASE:


The base was custom made by www.dioramania.com

THE FINISHED DIORAMA:


























Thank you for giving me your comments and suggestions

Nice work Hussein.
Great job on the pickup. The base turned out really well.
A couple of things I noticed, and just my opinion, is the driver seems too relaxed to be under fire and is looking in the opposite direction. The blood seems a little too pink, a little flat red and a touch of clear red for fresh wounds would work better. Last I think there's a lot of dead space between the troops and insurgents. Enough possibly for another small vehicle?

Tom

Nice job on your diorama, Hussein! I like the license plates on the truck. Where did you find those? Looks like the Iraqi insurgent figures served well as Ansar Bait al-Maqdis, and the American infantrymen converted readily enough to Egyptian army troops.
Also, I've got to say, I love the hookah! Could it be that the ABaM were smoking more than just shisha, and befuddled their wits? It's no wonder the army patrol was able to creep up so close and surprise them!

good details. you did an excellent job of bringing all of the elements together to tell a story. The paint job on the truck and the weathering are very good.

Thanks Tom
Indeed the blood color is very tricky to get right especially for fresh wounds.
I was actually planning to add a humvee on the other side of this diorama but had to remove it as it made things too crowded. That is why i ended up with that much space in the middle. Sometimes less is more

Thanks jphilipps
I printed those license plates off the internet with inkjet printer.
Indeed i was glad to add the hanooka to the diorama, i like your scenario about that makes a lot of sense, we'd have to take a puff and find out

Thanks Bobby

Hi Hussein
Glad you finished this nice dio.
The work on pickup is great, also your conversions are going very well!
We had discussed regarding the subtraction of the HUMVEE, but what about one fallen motorcycle beside the wounded soldier?
You maybe know, better than us, if the Egyptian army has some of them

Thanks Dimitris
Unfortunatly i dont think the Egyptian army uses motorcycles especially in desert areas.
What about a small jeep willy? some of them are still in service.

Salaam Hussein,

don't lose your momentum (or mojo as Jerry would say ). I admire people who go ahead in their projects!

Regarding this dio, I must say that the base+ruin is superb! They are doing a great job no doubt, but I'm sure you could do just as well yourself!!

I love the shisha and the water bottles!! They provide atmosphere!! But I agree that most probably there was more than just tobacco!!

Figures: don't paint those biiiig eyes!! Especially in your area, people outdoors would squint all the time!!!

As I've repeatedly said: take a look at people the "right" distance away....and see if you can spot any white in the eye!

Just a suggestion: I would tone down the contrast between colours on the uniforms. The egyptian soldiers I remember wore items that were faded down quite a bit!

Please take care of those mould lines for future projects!

Also, given the fact of 2 casualties already, I doubt these soldiers would advance without aiming their weapons in the direction (I wouldn't!!).

They are not even under stress! Look at their body language!!

Unfortunately, these soldier figures very much show their age! They weren't the best, when they were issued, but nowadays, with much better stuff (even in plastic, MB f.ex.) available...!!

And I agree with the gentlemen above regarding blood, relaxed driver (too much shisha??) and the void space. I agree that another vehicle may be too much, but how about 1 or 2 more figures?? One guy looking after the wounded and one guarding them, kneeling with weapon aimed f.ex..

Might add some drama!!

And allow me one last remark: the impacts on the pickup are a tad heavy!!

Keep up the good work and keep us posted...please!!!!

Cheers

Romain

Thanks Romain for the usual useful feedback.
Watch out for my next diorama that i will post next week, i have dealt with many of these issues in it.
the figures will be more sanded and the body language more in tone with the story.I try to advance in every diorama more than the one before it.
When the scene has lots of action and drama it becomes difficult to find exactly a figure kit that fits all my needs. I wish i could make my own figures then i would be able to have exactly the body motion in my imagination. I always try to modify the figures as much as i can to approach reality but there are limits to my modifications.
Also when doing modern army figures the choices are very limited because most kits are historic from ww2. Could you recommend me some good model sources? I've been lately using Verlinden Productions they are great with some civilians and Arab figures, who else specializes in good variety figures?
I also noticed that i made the kits and figures and then started to plan for the diorama which is wrong. Starting this next diorama i planned all elements from day 1 so it made a big difference in my next choice of kits & figures.

Hi again,
Maybe a Ford Mutt M151 is most possible to be.
But you probably know better (or can find) if any at the Egyptian army.
I found these images but are not from Egyptian army.

Hi Hussein,

good thinking!! I've sent you a PM! Check your inbox!!

As far as conversions are concerned, you must be creative! Many parts from many sets (even WW2) can be used! Missing details can be added with putty, f.ex.

If we always wait for the right figures to pop up, we might never build the dio at all!!

Converting and creating figs out of scrap is one of the best things ever!! Once you get into it, you'll not stop doing it!

Cheers

Romain

Nice dio, Hussein, great use of some really cool figures to tell a compelling story.

Thanks Dimitris

The Mutt is a good idea, i just did a mutt for my latest diorama of Apache helicopter. I enjoyed making it a lot. Its small in size and suitable for this space

Hi Hussein, well done diorama and and I like the weathering of the pickup. The ground base is nice.

I don't think a second vehicle is necessary.

Hi Hussein! I like the action and your truck looks great. Thank you for sharing and hope to see more of your work!

Helwa ya Hussein.. and the shisha is a nice touch

Hisham

Thanks Alex
I agree

Shokran Hisham

Thanks Amoz

Hi Hussein, very nice job,

I like the weathering work on the pickup and the insurgent figures, very nice.

The first impression is that something is missing in the middle: honestly speaking i had this impression too. A suggestion: an abandoned car, maybe used as shield by the insurgent. Maybe is working...

Anyway, very good job !
Giovanni

Thanks Giovanni

A destroyed car or some scrapped equipment might be a good idea.
Bringing the soldiers too close to the firing range was unrealistic especially without any cover, you idea would provide cover i just need to find out what kind of scraped vehicle to throw there

In Egypt pickups are mostly beatup and in terrible condition due to heavy usage and awful traffic
Any one who visited Egypt could have seen that in the streets. This type of toyota pickup is the favored model used by tribes in Sinai.