Hi all,

Been working on this for some time now.
I want to do a dio based on Colonel David Sterling's attack on Fuka airfield.
This will be just before,as the classic photo shows.
Tried to keep things short ,not to bore anyone.
So first a quick base coat to both sides of base to prevent warping.Add rocks with pins in base.Cut tire track marks in base.Diluted Pollyfilla to fill track lines.Wait a bit and tracks are done with an old spare on a pin to roll on the track marks.When dry,second coat of base paint.
Added some more rocks and my favourite Kitty Litter.Made to absorb so sucks in the glue.
Next will be to add the sand and airbrush.


Sorry,not great photos and may be reversed in order.Photobucket is starting to a pain

Tom

Looks like a great dio!

Looking great Tom. By the way, it's Stirling, not Sterling.

Regards

Rob

Hello Tom, very nice dio. It is always harder to build a dio after a specific photo, no wiggle room. I look forward to your next update. Regards....Dale

Lookin good Tom , I've got a love of the desert war during WWII and this fills the bill .
What jeep kits and figs did you use ?

Very nice concept and it's moving along nicely!! The small cliff really looks good so far.
J

fantastic!!!! great dio!!!!

Thanks guys,

Your right Rob and I new that, must have been thinking silver when I typed that.
Cheyenne,I used 1 Dragon Smart box ,that I didn't find that smart. Too much tiny PE and fit problems. Although better detail. The other 2 are Tamiya. Always been great kits at half of what I paid for the Dragon. Also more stowage in the kits that is needed.
The figures are a mix of the Dragon SAS Crew and the Tamiya figures.The Tamiys seats are too low and the floor isn't long enough for the Dragon. I did one elevating a seat and the rest are mostly the Tamiya legs with Dragon torsos.
Quite a bit of modifying to have them look in the right direction.
All in all the Tamiya Kits are much better for fit and the figures are better sculpted with beards, lacking from Dragon.Also,$12 at Hobby Easy.
Trouble with the air brush tonight, so in for a cleaning. Sand painting didn't go great.
Updates maybe tomorrow.

Tom

Looks great! Are you planning a figure of 'the man' himself? Or maybe include the photographer to give a reason for them all looking in one direction?

Hi Nick,

Thanks.
Yes I have the Stirling figure.
One problem was his right arm.It didn't make any sense the way it's molded.Hard to switch arms with the heavy coat,so I cut the hand off and lowered its angle.It was just hanging like it needed to be leaning on a barrel or something large.I added a shovel so it made sense and on the angle of the photo it probably won't be seen.
The Bronco WWII British & Commonwealth War Correspondent Set is on the way.So I have a camera man.
My dilemma at this point is the last jeep working on the engine.Do I stay true to the photo or change it
Maybe they took a few and the photographer said "No,get in the jeep"?

Tom

Hi guys,

Working little by little every night.
Got the sand done,added a bit of foliage and close to finishing the base camp.
Have to finish the netting and start weathering.
In the original photo you don't see the jeeps hood,so I'm going to leave it open.
Thanks for looking.

Tom
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Hi Tom,
This dio is coming along very nicely. I always enjoy your desert scenes!

—mike

Great build so far! I'd suggest you use ground up pastel chalks or dry pigments to dust up the tires and undercarriage a bit.

Thanks Mike,
I'm always drawn to the desert. Maybe too many episodes of "Rat Patrol "as a kid. That and "Combat "I would never miss.
Gerald, pigments have been added everywhere now. Thanks for you comment.
Anyway I think I can call this done. Still have touchups and finish the back of the base. It's too long to fit in my light box so again pics are not great. Warming up next week, so I hope to get outside ones.

Tom

I'm liking what I see!

Really nicely composed scene. Really like the rock wall.
Curious as to the overall dimensions. Thanks

really nice work on your diorama.

Nice job Tom!

The Fuka Airfield raid is truly one of the great stories of WWII and you've depicted the characters very well in your wonderful diorama!

I really like the inclusion of the photographer 🎥 ... "Eyes left, Rats!"

—mike

Great dio! Like the addition of the photog... hope I can do as well...