Hi guys - at last, I'm calling this one, done!

Jerry and Kurt, the dancers are no longer having fun and games! now, to business - Kurt, the Greek dance! ha - pretty funny!

Hi Joaquin, thanks for dropping by....and, yes, your idea of a backdrop is really good, and I used it - funny what happened next...you'll find out below - read on!

Hi Brad, thanks very much for the nice words! yep, I too am an Armorama viewer and participant - there are so many nice projects going on here! I look at lots of them - many that are not really my area of interest, but man, people are doing some pretty cool stuff, as a builder you can pick up a lot! Keep building!

Ok, on to this build:



Turns out it was a rainy (and windy) day here yesterday...nonetheless, into the neighborhood park I went to take some photos!



And the rain, clouds, and wind, allowed for actual rain, and not "rain effects"...believe it or not, I'd do it again!







The real rain, made for a pretty nice "special effects"!










And things were going along pretty well, if not wet...and wetter - I looked much more ridiculous than the dio out there...



And then the beginning of the storm hit...and with it came wind...no real problem for a while. But, as I mentioned above, I made a little sky colored back drop, which of course looked substantially less blue indoors, but that was fine...less fine, the wind.

For a while, the wind kept blowing the backdrop back - away from the dio, annoying, but fine. But, the wind shifted, abruptly! nice. The backdrop was then blown onto the dio!...so, for those of you wondering whether or not to use metal, rather than plastic antennas, my vote is yes! metal! First strike - the uphill GMVs hit - four bent antennas! I bent them back, and kept shooting!














And, I kept taking pictures....the sequence from the beginning is generally going clockwise around the dio. In the end, the slow going with the grass was worth the effort. I didn't post some recent WIP images of the ground plane - it received layers of sand and gravel, which helped too.

I'm feeling better about the figures too...sort of. I think I'm getting better with painting, but as I looked at these pictures I realize I'm showing more variety in equipment than what probably makes sense...I can live with that...If not, I'd never finish this, and I would have cost a fortune to get everyone up to speed....the bottom line is I'm finally feeling better about making figures!











And a few views from above...as the afternoon rains picked up, the backdrop kept getting blow about - the GRV took several hits - bending the antennas, and knocking one of the guys off - a miracle, though, none of the Live Resin barrels, weapons etc were broken! (not to worry, I broke one barrel today...) so, I kept straightening the antennas, and just posed the guy - and did so several times - the wind blew him about...









And a few indoor pics above - while OK, the outdoor lighting makes things pop better. I liked these though.









And the last one, the real deal:



Thanks guys for having a look, participating along the way, and your comments! I liked this build for a few reasons - first, is its based on an actual event which is chronicled, so I could get pretty close with the story, setting and equipment - next, the exercise in patience! and not giving up on all that grass! Good with me in the end!


Cheers and keep building!

Nick

Well,let me be the first to say.... That is spectacular!! Most of these pics could pass for the real thing easily. Nice staging of the vehicles and placing of the figs as it all makes sense. NICE!!!
And Oh yes,I agree your figs are getting better and better. You obviously got lots of practice as there are quite a few figs involved here.
Now I have to go back and study each pic again. Well done Sir!
J

Hi Nick ,

wow man , that's pretty awesome . I like your sense of creating scenes they're always very realistic executed.

Well done sir !

Kurt

Simply outstanding!!!!!

Wow Nick! You’ve really managed to pull everything together and it all works — very convincing! … the vehicles, that groundwork, and figures (yes … much improvement), and photography in adverse conditions! ... not to mention speed of completion! All that while slingin' Styrene and CA and scratch-building a goo-gob (I lost count!) of other fine models along the way!!!

Outstanding effort all around! Take a bow brother!

—mike

Hey guys, thanks for the positive comments!

Jerry - well, your kicking me in the butt to keep moving a while back really helped! I appreciate it! Same thing on the figures - the work you do is very inspiring! A high water mark to aim for! - oh, and most of everything else you build too! Thanks

Hi Kurt, thanks - similar to my note above, the bold projects you tackle keep me thinking about pushing the build as far as I'm capable of! Thanks

Hi Matt - thanks!! You're pretty good at keeping me sharp on the scratch work! I know what you're up to and it's always impressive! Thanks

Hi Mike - you and Jerry with the figures! Someday I hope to be better at capturing the nuance you guys seem to nail with ease! Thanks

Cheers
Nick

That is an astonishing dio -some of those photos look and feel real. Well done - you nailed it.

Nick , sweating out the storm turned out to be a blessing in disguise [ aside from the wind mishaps ] .
Overall major kudos in all facets of the build , your figs turned out great .

Ok what's next ?

I think if I remember correctly you mentioned another wasteland project ?

Fantastic work Nick !!!

Nick,

Incredible work, man. Even that really doesn't adequately describe what you've managed to accomplish here. You really did it up right! All that work you put in really paid off, I'm really glad to have been able to see this take shape. Have a tall cold one, you earned it.

Hi guys thanks for the comments -

Paul, thanks very much - I'm glad to hear your comments. I have fun trying to get it to look and "feel right"

Hi Cheyenne, first, glad you like it! the storm worked out OK - a big factor in the actual event was a dark sky - I don't know if it rained or, not, but it was not bright and sunny. As to your speculation, yes, I have been cooking up an idea for a while - and for now, I'll leave it at that!

Hi John, thanks very much - I really appreciate it. The idea of a cold one sounds about right, in about three hours!

Thanks for having a look

Nick

Humbled and must clarify … I don’t even get projects done anymore, and really don’t belong anywhere near the same solar system as yourself and Master J.

I truly admire the dedication you guys have for the hobby.

—mike

Hi Nick

WOW!!! Absolutely amazing - from all aspects. This diorama is going to be the inspiration for many people (myself included). As was mentioned before - most of the images can pass for the 'real thing'. The background lighting and rain certainly gives it a very real feel.

Could I ask one favour though - a 'zoomed out' pic showing the diorama in totality (I know that given the eventual size of the diorama this might be a "big" ask).

Congratulations on this exemplary piece of model building Sir!

Regards,
Kobus

Hi Kobus - thanks for checking in, and for your comments along the way!

Before I left for work, I snapped a couple of pictures - take a look:





You were right - while not huge, this is big enough that it's hard to get good overall images. Hope these are what you were looking for. The base is a 24" (60 cm) square art board.

Thanks -

Nick

Mind boggling amount of work in this thing man. I wish I had the work ethic that it takes to get all of this finished so fast. Wow! Just one of those vehicles alone would take me maybe 6 months lately the way I work.
Kudos again.
J

Wow, amazing work!

Hi Nick,

Amazing work, terrific detail and a really inspiring build.

You nailed this one, excellent.

Alan

What an amazing talent to create such a detailed scene. Every aspect of this build was done to perfection and I love the ground work. I'm sure it took a tremendous effort to create all that grass, patience unmatched but what a pay-off at the end. The pictures taken outside just made everything look so impressive and realistic. Just blown away by the skill level, you are an artist and your vision to create these incredible dioramas is truly inspirational. Can't wait to see what's next!

Congrats on another awesome build.

JGphins

Amazing work... you managed to capture the story behind the scene really well. Very impressive!

Mario

Hi guys, thanks for having a look!

Jerry, Colin, Alan, Joaquin, and Mario - thanks for the comments! I appreciate them, and, will try to remember them, when the next project comes around, and I find myself gluing in grass, gluing down debris, or other slow moving,
tedious tasks we must endure for this hobby - it's worth the effort in the end!

cheers and happy model building!

Nick

WOW!

Stupendous... amazing... colossal... I am serious, I can't find the correct words to describe all the stuff going on in this diorama. It humbles one to see such detail and accuracy. You should hook up with Ken Hamilton and see what you two could do together!

Great job, Nick... it could be said to be intimidating but it is actually inspiring... thanks for sharing your talents and photos!

Great work, Nick! That's visually stunning and the amount of resin, plastic, and groundwork in this scene really shows.

Holy Crap, Nick!

This diorama is outstanding! I haven't been on this site much lately and finally had some time to take a look around and was very pleased to see your diorama completed. Your efforts of trying to get everything to look right have paid off quite well. In some of the photos, it makes one feel like you are actually watching this resupply take place. I also like how you have the grass beaten down from vehicles driving over it.
Awesome doesn't quite describe this well enough.
Cheers,
James

You've done a pretty accurate build of my truck, Mad Max. I'm the guy (then, CPT Ken Ates, ODB 390 Executive Officer)standing on the back of it during a resupply of ODAs 394 and 395 (second pic). I built both Mad Max and Mother from the ground up based on info from 5th SFG(A)(first pic).

Hi guys - thanks for the comments!

Hi Armorsmith - thanks !

Hi Patrick, thanks - I didn't know Ken Hamilton, so I looked him up wow - very nice work!- interesting you'd mention his work in particular as my next project will be urban - with taller buildings, city streets and an unusual mix of vehicles and figures -

Hi Peter - thanks, as you know, for these builds to work right, you need the whole family of materials - this is a bit unusual, as such a Spartan landscape required a commitment to actually do all of it, and not a building or structure in sight.

Hi James, thanks for the nice words. I'm really glad you noticed that grass being knocked over! I've got to say, it became a nice alternative to the standard grass land!

cheers
Nick