Ola People

A new project started to evolve on my workbench last week. Base of which was a demo model of the 10,5 cm Ruckstossfreie Raketen Werfer "Der Hammer" (Hammer) or Panzertod (lit. Tank-death) from Paper Panzer Productions for which I made the master.
10,5 cm Rocket Launcher "Der Hammer"
Basically this was a prototype project designed to enlage the panzerschrecks' 200 meter striking distance to 500 meters. The project was put on hold repeatedly even though the last version was tested and proven battleworthy. The war simply did not last long enough for the gun to be taken in mass production.

The built started with the gun which was already assembled a while back. Sadly I have no buildup pics of that particular gun but I will post a picture of another gun that I assembled for the website pictures. The details are better visible then the pics I shot so far for this diorama.


From another project where I built the PAK 36 from Dragons Chow time I was left with the figures. And since the hammer was Crewed by 3 soldiers that was a great start for a diorama.
Here is an assembly of the guys with the gun.


From one of those cheap stores that sell pretty much everything under the sun I bought a cheap pictureframe. I kinda made it look old by running over it a few times with some sandingpaper. And I carved a block of styrofoam for the base. And I started positioning the figures and the gun.


A styrene border was made to make the sides look tidy. Als the pole to the right of the diorama has a purpose that will become clear in the following batch of pics.


Out of styrene I fashioned up a Garden fence with a few planks that were kicked out to give the gun a clear field of fire. Also not apparent at this point but I gave the fence some very fine woodgrain that will look great once the thing is painted.


Some alternate views of the scene



And that is where I stand at the moment. I'm planning to have this diorama finished before the 5th of Januari as my holiday ends then so it should be a relatively quick built. Next step... Groundcovering.

PS. Frühstück und Panzertod (Breakfast and tankdeath) is currently only a working title. I still have not settled on a name for the diorama.

Nice concept,nice beginning and I like the name. No need for change IMHO,
J

That's a very nice little project Robert , i also don't think that the name of the diorama should change . it fits well in my opinion .

Looking forward for further progress.

Kurt

If I may be so bold as to contradict my friend and colleague Jerry, perhaps reversing the title to read Tank death and breakfast may roll off the tongue a bit more smoothly?

Just my hapenny's worth of course.

Well... you shouldn´t ask for my pain in the tongue here...
Could you please at least change "Fruhstuck" to "Frühstück"? I know these tiny dots above some letters are easy to miss, but they change prounciation and sometimes meaning of the word.
In case you woder how it should come off your tounge: Ask Google, it´s quite close: https://translate.google.de/?hl=de&tab=wT#auto/de/Fr%C3%BChst%C3%BCck%20und%20Panzer%20Tod

But enough of the German lesson, nice work Robert, knowing your previous achivements, it´s worth watching the further process.

Ola guys.
Thanks for the comments and encouraging words so far.

@Jerry.
Thanks for the compliments. Really appreciated. I'm already a few steps further. Period of that will follow soon. Although the original name is already gathering some sort of fan base I like the suggestion of Dave to swap the words around a bit. Funny how such a small change can make such a difference.

@Kurt
Thanks for the compliments. Really appreciated. You already found the next stages I noticed. Can't do without beautiful nails ☺

@Dave
Thanks for the suggestion mate. That small change made a world's of difference. Panzertod und Frühstück it is.

@ Fabian
Thanks for the lesson in German. For somebody from the Netherlands I speak German very well. Problem is I typed my post on my laptop which does not have a German keyboard. Nor do I have my settings in German. And I have no clue how to type those dots above the U. So I decided to keep up the speed and omit them. I'm afraid I can't do much with the topic title as i can't change that. But will do my best to provide the dots in the topic itself.
And thanks for the confidence. I hope I won't disappoint.

More progress will be posted very soon.

Wow, Robert, I am humbled that you would use my suggestion of the swapping around of the title words. I am a huge fan of your work, and think you are neon the best around....

I look forward to more updates as this one moves along. I am sure it will live up to your reputation for excellence and creativity.

Dave

Hi Robert

Great scratchbuild, let's not forget that!
As we talked about in Veldhoven, starting with a "fantasy piece" every possible setting is possible thereafter.

Well, I rolled around your title a couple of times (in correct german spelling) and could not find that one or the other rolls better, so... :-)

Claude

@ Dave
No problems mate. It is your compliments that humble me in turn. I just keep messing up until I end up with something I can be happy with

@ Claude
Thanks for the compliments. You are right. When it is not in the realms of what existed you can do pretty much everything. That said. With this kind of stuff I still like to remain in what could have been and make it look plausible.

Update time as I am a little bit further again. Last evening was a productive one. Let's start with a little SBS on groundwork. I don't think anybody would mind that.

This is by no means THE method of making groundwork but I have been using this for years now and it works quite well. Moreover... It is fast. And I like that even better.

Step 1.
Covering the ground with a good layer of spackle that you normally use for filling the seams between plasterboards. I use the premade version that you can buy in a bucket from the DIY store.


Step 2.
Push in things that don't need anything like grass or sand under it and make it sit natural on the ground. In this case I wanted to go for a fairly soft underground that was already trampled by the crew. So I already sprinkled some grass on the high traffic areas


Step 3.
Sprinkle Bird Cage sand on the base. This serves 2 ways. One it prevents spackle sticking to objects being pushed in and it gives some texture.


Step 4.
Trample around the high traffic areas with an old figure.



Step 5.
Push in the rest of the elements for their final location


Result so far:




Next up... Spraying the whole base black.

Great idea again Robert.

Your small dioramas always tell interesting stories. It is a nice detail to make the footprints in the muddy ground. It adds to the cold atmosphere of the scene.

:-H

Jelger

By the way, to add dots above a letter, first type the dots and then the letter. If the Space button was not hit in between, the dots automatically end up above the letter.

Thanks Jelger for the compliments. I always try to make a scene as recognisable as possible. And you are spot on with the cold atmosphere. The soldiers have food and that is where luxury ends.

On the double door over the u. I know it normally works like that but my laptop kinda lives live as it likes and seems to have different ideas altogether. So it won't do it that way. I have a similar issue with the f5 button when I push it the page does not refresh. The mouse pad stops working.

Hi Robert,

I really like this scene, the soldiers looking like they are freezing their butts off!!

The use of the photo frame adds an extra dimension to the whole diorama,

Just an idea...but have you thought about adding a tripod of sorts with some soup getting warmed up? Maybe even hot coals underneath it?

Enjoy your Xmas mate,

Shay

The keyboard must be configured to use dead keys. If you are using the US layout you can change to US-international to use diacritics and accents.




That's often the case with notebooks. May work when holding down the FN-key while pressing F5.

Hi, Robert, Hi, guys
Another piece of yours that had me conquered... very good planing, excellent job so far. I cannot wait the development.
Merry Christmas to you all. Warm Regards.

Thanks guys for the replies

@Shay
Yep that's the idea. 3 soldiers on one of those miserable cold mornings between fall and winter. No snow. Just a lot of wind and a windchill factor like mother nature has a personal grudge to that particular area of the world. I actually thought of adding a small fire or even a brazier (I think that is what it's called) but that would make the scene less miserable. Plus the soup would not fit the breakfast theme. Nope cold beans. Water and a bitter cold. That's the recipe for this dio.

@ Ralf
Thanks for the tip. I tried all that long ago up to and including the fn key for the refresh button but my laptop is having none of it.

Bon bini na mi topic Gabriel. Which of the islands do you come from? Thanks for the compliments. Always nice to hear my work is appreciated. More progress will follow very soon.

Merry Christmas to all.

Thank you for hospitality, Robert. Well, my papimentu is very thin, as I live in Sint Maarten since 11 years, and the language is almost dead... sorry to say it. Back to your dio: please-please post some more. Doei!

Hi Robert,

I'm really enjoying this one ... great concept! And thanks for sharing the progress images.

Happy Holidays!

—mike

Nice job Robert!

Very nice progress. What about a blow torch to heat the food,instead of the fire? Just sayin'
They were used a lot by both sides during the war.
J

"Cold Beans" could be an alternate title for the piece. Or "Kalte Bohnen".

Might I suggest "Frühstück mit Panzertod"?

Lovely concept and execution, Robert.

Ola Guys

Thanks a lot to everybody for the reactions. Really appreciated.

@ Gabriel
Don't worry. Even though half my family comes from Curacao that is about as much of the Language that I know. Don't worry about updates. Got a bunch of pics of this dio ready to be uploaded.

@ Mike and John
Thanks for the compliments. Really appreciated.

@ Jerry
Thanks for the compliments and the suggestion of the blowtorch. It is a great suggestion and I have a blowtorch but that would mean warmth and I like the whole dio to have a miserable cold feeling.

@ Jonathan
That is also a good suggestion. Same goes for Bill's addition. I have some thinking to do.

@ Bill
Thanks for the compliments and the suggestion for the name.

New update will follow soon. Quite a big one too. Lots of pics

Update time: Lot has happened the past few days. I spend my holidays around christmas wisely so far. Allthough I bet my wife thinks differently about that

Starting with the figures. OOTB they are pretty nice with well defined details in the faces, Sadly not all is perfect. The details of the insignia and shoulderboards lack detail. But that was quickly fixed with some German soldier insignia from Aber.


Also the gun got it's last details, the shoulderstraps


Then I sprayed the whole base matt black. This was done with a Spraycan from Motip.


And I primed the fence. Which I show a little detail here of the woodgrain I added to the evergreen.


And an overview of everything in it's primer or black coat




Then it was time to do a bit of cleanup of the workbench because soon I was flinging paint around.


Starting with the flesh tones. Did all three faces and 2 hands in a sitting of 1,5 hours



Also colored the fence and the ammo crates in their basecolors.


Then it was time to start on the greens of the guys' uniforms. The first great coat still looks a bit shiny but the paint wasn't fully cured yet and it will get a matt coat anyway. So that should pose no problems.


I also altered the fence with thinned black oilpaint to make the wood look old.



And this is where we stand at the moment. More will follow soon

It's coming together very nicely Robert!

Ironically, it's cold and miserable here in Colorado. I have my hat on, my coat collar is turned-up and I'm eating lunch ... but my meal is a hot one!

—mike