Stockholm, Sweden
Joined: October 15, 2013
KitMaker: 444 posts
Armorama: 428 posts
Posted: Monday, December 22, 2014 - 03:40 AM UTC
Hi everyone!
As I'm moving on to the diorama part of my Pz.IV build
https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/221523&page=1 I thought I would create a separate thread for it!
The tank and figures are Dragon and the building is miniart. This will be my first real diorama attempt in 1/35 for years so bear with me
I have few shots of the initial progress but I'll show what i have:
Layout test
Base coat
Current progress
Please share any thoughts, comments or feedback!
(I have NO idea why the last two pics come out flipped!!! Very annoying)
Scotland, United Kingdom
Joined: April 02, 2014
KitMaker: 62 posts
Armorama: 47 posts
Posted: Monday, December 22, 2014 - 06:50 AM UTC
looking good there, will look forward to see how this comes out.
Colorado, United States
Joined: February 24, 2014
KitMaker: 3,033 posts
Armorama: 2,492 posts
Posted: Monday, December 22, 2014 - 01:42 PM UTC
I really like the figure poses and the tank looks great! Glad to see this moving forward again.
—mike
Stockholm, Sweden
Joined: October 15, 2013
KitMaker: 444 posts
Armorama: 428 posts
Posted: Tuesday, December 23, 2014 - 01:35 AM UTC
Thanks guys!
Testing picture rotation fix:
Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium
Joined: August 09, 2005
KitMaker: 939 posts
Armorama: 429 posts
Posted: Tuesday, December 23, 2014 - 02:18 AM UTC
Hej Johan,
Firstly, I like your composition of the diorama especially the angles.
Your ground work looks really good so far. Did you use various washes etc. to get this effect?
Lastly, my only criticism being the placement of the light post. The street looks very wide at the left hand side of the diorama,the post quite inward on the right hand side.
Good luck with everything and Merry Xmas
Cheers,
Shay
Want to see more of what I've been building lately?
Click on my banner to visit my Miniature blog >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
#130
Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Joined: June 07, 2002
KitMaker: 8,797 posts
Armorama: 4,190 posts
Posted: Tuesday, December 23, 2014 - 02:53 AM UTC
Ola Johan
Great job so far. Those miniart buildings can bea bit chalkenging but once constructed they are the perfect base for a wonderful scene. I like the Groundwork a lot. Nice painting and the building looks neat in its yellow coat as well. Nice composition with the tank as well.
Looking forward to further progress.
Greetz Robert "FAUST" Blokker
"Wees niet onverstandig, haastig of voortvarend; alles sal regkom, as ons almal ons plig doen".
FUTBOL KAVGADIR!!!!!!!
Stockholm, Sweden
Joined: October 15, 2013
KitMaker: 444 posts
Armorama: 428 posts
Posted: Friday, December 26, 2014 - 01:12 AM UTC
Thanks for the comments and marry Christmas to you all!
Shay: Actually the groundwork is all natural color. Good because it looks pretty realistic but bad if you want another look than the slight yellow/reddish tone I have here. For this diorama it works pretty good but I think that if I made a desert setting for example I would probably paint over it and use oil washes etc like you said
Ok, so a small update. I took a look at the diorama and I agree that the lamp felt a bit out of place. So... I still wanted a element in the foreground that was higher than the tank so I decided to replace it with a telephone pole! This also gives me the option to hang some wire from the house to the pole.
Thoughts, comments? Never mind the spooked GI in the foreground, he's just there for scale
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Joined: December 20, 2014
KitMaker: 5 posts
Armorama: 5 posts
Posted: Friday, December 26, 2014 - 11:39 PM UTC
i think the windows should also be covered in debris and bricks, they look too clean. And the building need ps more weathering, but overall, the dio looks great
Napoli, Italy
Joined: April 17, 2014
KitMaker: 652 posts
Armorama: 600 posts
Posted: Saturday, December 27, 2014 - 12:11 AM UTC
Hi Johan,
Very nice job so far. My only observation is to be arranged more rubble and debris all around the building.
Damaged building like this one gives a lot of rubble, broken bricks and other pieces all around. And of course dust. Don't keep the wall too clean.
IMO, of course. Good job and go ahead !
Cheers
Giovanni
Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium
Joined: August 09, 2005
KitMaker: 939 posts
Armorama: 429 posts
Posted: Saturday, December 27, 2014 - 05:59 PM UTC
Hi Johan,
The post looks more natural in the scene, adding some wire to it will give that extra detail to the setting. I would of kept the post too
I can't comment on the panzer as tanks aren't my thing, but the figure looks very nicely painted!
Do you have some other close up shots of the figure?
Cheers,
Shay
Want to see more of what I've been building lately?
Click on my banner to visit my Miniature blog >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Colorado, United States
Joined: February 24, 2014
KitMaker: 3,033 posts
Armorama: 2,492 posts
Posted: Saturday, December 27, 2014 - 10:29 PM UTC
Hi Johan,
I agree with replacing the light post with the telephone pole.
A small suggestion: Try EZ Line (.006 charcoal) for the wires; it can be found here on eBay:
EZ Line —mike
Stockholm, Sweden
Joined: October 15, 2013
KitMaker: 444 posts
Armorama: 428 posts
Posted: Sunday, December 28, 2014 - 02:03 AM UTC
Thanks for the comments guys, I will try to bump up the amount of debris! My biggest problem is my limited stash & supply. I probably should venture into town to get some generic balsa wood in different dimensions and some clay or similar to create bricks! Some plaster too I reckon
If anyone have good suggestion for a solid stash for diorama building, please share!!
Mike: thanks for the tip, looks nice!
Shay: I only have this pic which shows a before and after oil paints:
I have only worked on that one figure so far, the rest is still in their base coat. The heads and hands were painted a base flesh and then got a burnt umber deep shadow wash.
West-Vlaaderen, Belgium
Joined: August 22, 2009
KitMaker: 1,491 posts
Armorama: 997 posts
Posted: Sunday, December 28, 2014 - 03:13 AM UTC
Hi Johan ,
so it was my turn to read your thread from the beginning. I like the tank very much . From what i can see it is a very nice build and the paint work is awesome , also a good weathering technique!
Same thing with the building and figures , if you take the time for it i'm sure that the result will be great !
Kurt
Pennsylvania, United States
Joined: April 10, 2011
KitMaker: 7,941 posts
Armorama: 7,934 posts
Posted: Sunday, December 28, 2014 - 03:54 AM UTC
It's all looking good so far. Nice start on the figures. I would maybe add more rubble though as the building looks damaged enough for a lot of rubble to be on the ground?
J
Colorado, United States
Joined: February 24, 2014
KitMaker: 3,033 posts
Armorama: 2,492 posts
Posted: Sunday, December 28, 2014 - 10:21 AM UTC
Quoted Text
Thanks for the comments guys, I will try to bump up the amount of debris! My biggest problem is my limited stash & supply. I probably should venture into town to get some generic balsa wood in different dimensions and some clay or similar to create bricks! Some plaster too I reckon
If anyone have good suggestion for a solid stash for diorama building, please share!!
Quoted Text
It's all looking good so far. Nice start on the figures. I would maybe add more rubble though as the building looks damaged enough for a lot of rubble to be on the ground?
J
Hi Johan,
Master J knows exactly what he's talking about when it comes to the topic of rubble. As a member of the 'Rubble Police' (heh, heh!
), Jerry and others have kindly guided me in the art of debris build-up in the past.
Here are a few bits that I can add: For starters, look in the trash bin for scrap styrene, wood, Styrofoam, thin clear packaging (for broken window glass), etc. ... I rarely throw things away anymore! If you have some Evergreen in your stash, find what looks about right and start chopping bricks — tedious work at first but the results are well worth it.
And the method I used a while back for a MiniArt diorama:
Rubble Buildup Example. HTH.
—mike
Wien, Austria
Joined: May 20, 2011
KitMaker: 1,744 posts
Armorama: 1,727 posts
Posted: Sunday, December 28, 2014 - 12:54 PM UTC
Hi Johan,
first of all congratulations so far on a nice little scene!
Now if I may I would join the other voices and "plead" for more rubble and (just as important) more dust!!
With such a heavy damage there would be dust all over the place!
As to the rubble, you have put an upturned table in one corner! Use Styrofoam to build up the bulk of the rubble, put some spackle/real earth covering with bricks on the surface...and (if you like) let half the table peak out of the rubble (among other things)!
How do you get bricks..?? Well, there are the commercially available ones, but there are other ways, like cork cut up in decent little blocks, or else you can always cut up Selitron, o.s. When painted up these bricks will look the part 100%!
Good luck!
Cheers
Romain
un pour tous et tous pour un!
Stockholm, Sweden
Joined: October 15, 2013
KitMaker: 444 posts
Armorama: 428 posts
Posted: Monday, December 29, 2014 - 03:43 AM UTC
Wow! Someone said the forum had been quiet but here the great replies pile up! (Like rubble
)
I tried to bump up the rubble and mixing it up a bit.
In the pic the glue is still wet so the look is a little glossy. Also I need to add in some more fine dust to cover it all. Please comment or feedback!
Quoted Text
As to the rubble, you have put an upturned table in one corner!
Hehe, yea it just happened to be there in that picture
I could probably streamline my process a bit, right now I kind of just throw stuff in there to see what it feels like!
/J
Removed by original poster on 12/30/14 - 01:57:19 (GMT).
Colorado, United States
Joined: February 24, 2014
KitMaker: 3,033 posts
Armorama: 2,492 posts
Posted: Monday, December 29, 2014 - 06:52 AM UTC
Here's a little inspiration for you — some amazing work by
Kranta (Ayhan Dal): 'France 1944' Pay particular attention to the brick debris in the piles and the broken brick edges on the building.
—mike
Stockholm, Sweden
Joined: October 15, 2013
KitMaker: 444 posts
Armorama: 428 posts
Posted: Saturday, January 03, 2015 - 04:08 AM UTC
Hi and happy new year everyone!
Between a whole lot of family visits there has been very little time for the workbench but today I snuck down for a couple of hours.
I haven't given up on the rubble yet but as I received a bunch of grass/dio material that I had ordered I thought I would spend some time on the groundwork! (new toys etc.)
So, I quickly realized I had no real idea of what I was doing
Whatever knowledge I had back in the days ('97-98 or so) is definitely gone now (except for "first white glue, then grass
) so the whole thing turned out to be more of a trial by fire/rapid learning session before the glue dried. I am pretty happy about it though. I still need to do some touchups after it has set and the tall grass needs trimming down but it's definitely a whole lot of fun, probably what i enjoy most of the diorama creation process!
As always any feedback is welcome! (even if it's about the rubble
)
/J
#130
Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Joined: June 07, 2002
KitMaker: 8,797 posts
Armorama: 4,190 posts
Posted: Saturday, January 03, 2015 - 04:41 AM UTC
Ola Johan
I agree with the people above. This diorama really needs bricks in the rubble. You won't believe the amount of mess a collapsed building gives and bricks or even big chunks of masonry that simply fell out but did not break apart can be found in rubble piles.
I think your grass looks good allthough it is a bit to varied in color for my taste. But I guess that is a personal thing.
And I don't know how far you are with the tank but with this setting it could do with a dust layer or 2
Other then that great job mate. Looking forward to the rest.
Greetz Robert "FAUST" Blokker
"Wees niet onverstandig, haastig of voortvarend; alles sal regkom, as ons almal ons plig doen".
FUTBOL KAVGADIR!!!!!!!
Stockholm, Sweden
Joined: October 15, 2013
KitMaker: 444 posts
Armorama: 428 posts
Posted: Saturday, January 03, 2015 - 04:58 AM UTC
Quoted Text
Ola Johan
I agree with the people above. This diorama really needs bricks in the rubble. You won't believe the amount of mess a collapsed building gives and bricks or even big chunks of masonry that simply fell out but did not break apart can be found in rubble piles.
I think your grass looks good allthough it is a bit to varied in color for my taste. But I guess that is a personal thing.
And I don't know how far you are with the tank but with this setting it could do with a dust layer or 2
Other then that great job mate. Looking forward to the rest.
Hi Robert, thanks for your comments!
I will make sure to revisit the rubble (for my next scene I will do an intact building
) I have bought some clay and attempted to make a few bricks and that seems to have worked out ok so I probably go that route and then sprinkle them on top of the existing rubble. Hopefully it will tie together nicely with a final dusting over the top.
Like you mentioned the tank needs some more weathering as well. Dusting is definitely a part of that.
For the grass, since the dio is supposed to take place in ~April '42, I was going for a spring type look where last years dead grass is still present but the new seasons grass is starting to come up. Some early flowers have popped up as well.
West-Vlaaderen, Belgium
Joined: August 22, 2009
KitMaker: 1,491 posts
Armorama: 997 posts
Posted: Saturday, January 03, 2015 - 06:05 AM UTC
Hi Johan ,
i like the variety of the grass , it's well done IMHO. It looks also convincing to me . I have read that you're planning to add some bricks to the rubble , very good but don't forget the rubble flys in all directions when a building collapses. Meaning some rubble on the road and in the grass side too. Now it looks as if someone was cleaning up the place.
But it's a very nice diorama in progress
Kurt
JPTRR
Managing Editor#051
Tennessee, United States
Joined: December 21, 2002
KitMaker: 7,772 posts
Armorama: 2,447 posts
Posted: Saturday, January 03, 2015 - 06:18 AM UTC
Excellent groundwork - that grass is awesome!
If they demand your loyalty, give them integrity; if they demand integrity, give them your loyalty.--Col John Boyd, USAF
“Any plan where you lose your hat is a bad plan.”
Wien, Austria
Joined: May 20, 2011
KitMaker: 1,744 posts
Armorama: 1,727 posts
Posted: Sunday, January 04, 2015 - 12:07 PM UTC
Hi Johan,
I suppose we are a p... in the a.. with our constant asking for more rubble and bricks, but the fact is....
Apart from the rubble, I must mention the facade colour..!! Lemon yellow was definitely not used in those days in western/central Europe, believe me!
I didn't say anything before as I expected filters etc to tone it down, but you seem quite happy with it!
Just another 5c worth!
Cheers
Romain
P.S.: nothing wrong with that grass though!! Well done Sir..your memory has not deserted you!!
un pour tous et tous pour un!
