This week marks the 70th anniversary of Operation Market Garden, so I thought it appropriate to use this time to launch my new project. I've always been fascinated by this particular battle and have made several attempts at depicting scenes from it with varying levels of success. For my latest attempt at recreating those events, I'm planning on making a diorama of Lance-Sergeant John Daniel Baskeyfield's stand on September 20, 1944, for which he was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.
My inspiration comes from a diorama I saw in a Verlinden publication a long time ago showing various figure show entries as well as two illustrations. One is Terrence Cuneo's painting:

The other is a drawing by Capt. Bryan de Grineau made shortly after the battle and appears to serve as the model for Cuneo's painting. Unfortunately, while it appears in the After The Battle Volumes dealing with Market Garden as well as other publications, I can't find a scan of it online to show here.
I originally planned on only recreating Baskeyfield at the second gun, but a viewing of 'Theirs Is The Glory' showed how narrow the streets were, which was also hinted at by de Grineau's drawing, so I decided to show both guns. To do this I'm going to use a Resicast airborne six pounder that I build for a previous diorama that I later disassembled as well as one of Bronco's new airborne six pounder kits.

I'll also need plenty of figures to fill out the scene, so in addition to the figures that come with the Bronco kit, I plan on using a few figures from the old project as well as those from these two Tamiya kits:


I know those aren't the best figures, but I only need them for parts to convert for casualties, so they'll do nicely.
I don't know how regularly I'll be able to update this, but I'll post as often as I can. Thanks for looking in.

Ed,
FYI there is an old Dragon set of 4 British Paras, which might be better for the scene you have in mind. I think it was rereleased recently with a Welbike added.

Looking at the poses of the Tamiya figures they lend themselves more to being casualties posewise. I've got a couple of boxes of the DML ones and the legs are in the wrong positions for corpses unless you do some major surgery

That painting is fascinating!!!

It's been a couple of weeks, but I finally have an update. First of all, thanks for the comments. I'm very familiar with the DML paras, and I'll be using a modified version of one in the final scene. It's just that the Tamiya figures have poses that are easier to modify as casualties, which are necessary for the scene.
I've finished construction and base painting for the two six pounders. The Resicast gun only needed a couple of minor fixes, and I added the breech guard from the Bronco gun because I had never been able to figure out how the traverse pad was mounted.





It doesn't sit quite flat in the pics mostly because of the surface under it. It should be fine in the final setting.
The Bronco kit was challenging. There are a ton of tiny plastic and photo etch parts that require a great deal of attention and care. If you're a bit clumsy, shaky, or prone to severe bouts of tweezer launch, then this kit may not be for you. Patience is required, but the results are worth it.





There's a good step by step review of the kit on the AMPS site, and I agree with most of the writer's opinions and conclusions, so check that out if you're interested. I painted both kits a mix of Tamiya Olive Drab and Khaki. I haven't done much in the way of washes and weathering yet, but I'll get to that next along with getting the figures fixed up. I'll have more pics as soon as I've got more done.
Thanks for looking.

A tough build for a small gun.

Hi Ed,

Look forward to developments, I have similar plans for the Bronco gun.

Cheers

Al

Look forward to seeing this develop. I've been put off the 6lb by how complex it is but it's great to see someone else bring it to life.
The pen and sword Arnhem DVD's are a great source of inspiration and show actual locations. They might be worth a look.

COOL!! Nice to see another Arnhem/Market Garden dio under way. Nice progress on the gun so far. If you check out the thread I started you can see all the suggestions guys made for other para kits.
J

Well, it's been a bit more than a month, but at last I have a chance to update my progress here. I've managed to finish most of the construction and modification of the figures for my scene.
First up is Sgt. Baskeyfield. I partially based the pose on a statue of him outside a school named for him in England. The main difference is I chose to go with a more dramatic 'war face' by giving the figure a scowling Hornet head.




Next are a shooter and the mortally wounded trooper laying in the street.


Lastly are four casualties. The two on the right are posed so that they're laying over the trails of the gun mount, thus the legs up in the air look while on their backs.

Pretty much all of these figures will get a few tweaks here and there once base colors are applied and issues are spotted. I hope to get the painting done without too much delay. I'll post an update as soon as things are ready.

Following with interest.

Nice to see all the para dios going on simultaneously.
J

How the Arnhem diorama going, my main area of building is the Arnhem battle and I have been to the area a few times over the years, and have a large number of photos.

Hello lj and anyone else wondering about this build. I've made a little progress with getting the paras painted, but work and family demands have put a pretty big dent in my hobby time and slowed my progress. I hope to get more done soon and get around to posting pics sometime soon.

Keep up the good work. I really like how you did the straps for the helments. That is an extra brownie point. Well done. Looking forward to the paint job.



Cheers,
Tom

You're probably aware of it, but AB3567 - WW2 British Airborne Weapons and Equipment set from Bronco will probably have some useful stuff for you...

I remember this guy from Euro Militaire and Military Modelling magazine, John Hunter I think his name was, he made a similar dio using 1/32nd Airfix multipose figures and the old 1/32nd 6 pounder now under Zvezda. I've been trying to find pics for added inspiration but to no avail, seems Google's never heard of him. Great work Ed, and awaiting your progress.

I share your fascination with all things Market-Garden, Ed, and will be watching your dio with interest. Perhaps our British friends might answer this; Do the surviving vets of the 1st Airborne Division have reunions, similar to the guys who were aboard the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor??

Sounds familiar - look forward to developments.

Al

I live in Scotland but my mum is still in Stoke-on-Trent and she sent me the local paper and in it was a piece about the school which was named in Lance Sgt.Baskeyfields honour. They renamed the school because they said it promoted a losing is good attitude and wanted to steer away from this. I was disgusted, once of the Potteries best known and most highly decorated soldiers a loser? They should burn the bloody school down and the idiot who came up with that one with it. I served in the Staffords and as you walked into the Regimental headquarters there was this actual picture and it could do nothing but instil pride in everyone who served in the regiment when you walked past it.

A great piece you are undertaking and really look forward to seeing the outcome.

cheers Pete


Link I just found

http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/soldiers-Staffordshire-regiment-protest-decision/story-20889219-detail/story.html