I finished my winter diorama with two days to spare before my local armor club's contest, so Armorama gets a sneak preview. The groundwork is a Durham's Water Putty/Celluclay mix and the snow is Woodland Scenics and was applied using Ken Fortier's method of the make-up brush. The two trees were made using evergreen foliage from Bragdon Enterprises. I intended the diorama to look like a later season/light snow. I appreciate any comments.
The early stage of the groundwork, as you can see, it is still pretty wet:

The snow has been added and the Tiger attached.


Two pictures of the completed diorama. There are additional pictures in my gallery.

That is an amazing dio, The figures look real well in that setting, I also like the tiger you did very well on the winter camo and weathering. I am very fascinated with your trees. Where can I get the bragdon enterprises products? Are the trunks made from dowels? Can you tell us more about them? Keep up the good work Cheers Kevin

I agree with Kevin. This is an absolutely stellar diorama. There is only one nit-pick I have. The track marks, while very good, do not seem to extend past the dio base. Instead, they are squared-off at the edge. I know, it is really nit-picky but with the tracks right now it looks like it was airdropped in. Other than that, it is an excellent dio and, for your performance, I salute you.
Kyle

You have done yourself proud! I really like this dio and the feeling of anticipation..whats beyond the tree line! Snow looks great especially on the trees. Good luck with the club contest! Looks like a winner to me!

Thanks for the positive comments. Kevin: Bragdon Enterprises is a company in Califirnia. I ordered through their website after communicating via email with the owners, their address is www.bragdonent.com. The foliage is from the Finescale Forest line. The trunks were given to me by a fellow club member, but I think a cheap and easy to obtain subsitute would be chop sticks!
Kyle: your nitpick is a good one as I was not able to get the Tiger's treads pressed down that close to the base's edges. I had already corrected it, although it isn't visible in my original posted pictures. Here are two more pictures that shows it corrected:


Keith

Keith,
I agree with the other posts- you did a fantastic job here... there is ONE little thing I can see, (or can't see) footprints in the snow. I am guessing they are there, but invisible in the photo.
If they are already present, you have really nailed this one. If not, you can probably add some easily. Good luck in the contest. Great work!

kbm

I agree with everyone else, you did a great job on this piece! I like everything about it, the concept all the way down to the detail. I have only one question. Are the figures stock or a conversion? I really like the poses, they add a real sense of fear of whats behond the next bend. Great job.

Wolfsix

Is there a title for this beauty?

Ditto ditto ditto - Great layout - good track correction. If you want to blow'em away check out boosahmer comment about foot prints.
Maybe a smidge of white(ish) snow in the tracks themselves to tie it in a bit tighter.

This is good. Very well done.

Those pines ROCK! Pines are sooo hard to model and you've done it! Well done. love the figures.

God that looks really good! I am highly impressed with those figs, and those branches. Are those PE?

~cHip :-)

GREAT DIO AND EXCELLENT WORK
CONGRATS

I agree with everyone else, outstanding! Also like everyone else says, if you can extend the tread tracks off the edge of the terrain and make the footprints visible in the snow, you will convert an outstanding diorama to a prize-winning one. Two questions. Are the infantry figures made in those poses, or did you alte the poses. And, what are they looking for? I'd hate to be a Russian or Allied soldier in those bushes!

this one is a real nice thingie to see. I like the feeling very much and the dumbness around VERY NICE WORK

looks really good you've captured the look of the ground very well only thing I'd say is turn the turret slightly towards the trees as that seems to be were you have interprated the danger to be coming from by doing this it will give the impression that the tiger is ready to give covering fire to the infantry

In addition to what the other guys already said: the snow is very well toned. Looks like you nailed the texture/scale and the dirtyness. Snow is a difficult element to fake. Many a diorama has snow that is too "clean" and pure, sometimes too coarse. Your terrain really looks like there has been battling nearby. I can almost sense the temperature from the looks of the snow. Around 0 °C right?

Hi
Super job.
Those Tamiya figures look good there!

The comments about footprints and the turret angle are both good ones. With the hatches buttoned down aside from the CO, it would make sense for the dangerous bits to be pointing towards the trees.

Thanks for sharing.

Andy

Thanks for all the positive comments regarding this diorama. Let's see if I can address all of the questions that have been raised:

Wolfsix and Chuckster: with the exception of the tank commander, the figures are straight out of the box, specifically Tamiya's german Infantry in Assault with Winter Gear (35256). This is a very nice set of figures that comes with a great deal of extra weapons and gear.

ShermiesRule: at this time, there is not a title. I am not good at thinking those types of things up. Suggestions?

Boosahmer and Chuckster: There are footprints, however they are barely visible, not just on the photos. Any suggestions for adding them at this stage?

Slodder and Chip250: The pine trees were actually pretty simple to make. Take the trunk and spray it with superglue accelerator. Then have a pool of superglue on your work surface, dip the tip of the branch in the superglue and stick to the trunk. The branches are some type of natural plant material, part of the FineScale Forest line that I purchased form Bragdon Enterprises. Some of the branches even have something on them that look like small scale pine cones! I presorted them into appropriate sizes and then started adding them to the trunk. Each tree was made in about 30 minutes. I can't take credit for originating this method, learned it from a fellow member of the Houston Armor Club.

Hello Andy, just saw your comment. Thanks for the positive comments and also for the great transaction/trade we just completed. You are an example of the fine people here on Armorama! Hope all is well up there in Syracuse, uh Rochester!

kbm,
If you can make the footprints a bit deeper, and perhaps a dry wash to dirty them up a bit and make them more visible....I don't know what medium you used for the snow. You might even try a little pastel, earth colored, would also give you the desired effect. Hope this helps.

Hi Keith

Well, KBM makes sense now!!

Boosahmer has the right idea. Add a little wash of dark paint to some of the footprints if you like. Or not!! I mean a 50 ton tank will go through a lot of snow. A 180 pound laden infantryman will not leave more than a dent in snow. Believe me, our backyard has lots of evidence of that!! If the snow is deep enough, you'll just see impressions in the snow that won't show up in photos. And then you have to ask, where is the dirt coming from in those footprints!

I think I can see the footprints in the overhead shot, and they look good.

I have that figure set, you make me want to try them out!

Cheers
Andy

Great dio! If only I could weather anything that well! I was wondering how you applied the ground work. The snow is great, but it looks like it could have been a great base for a spring or fall setting too! Can you just pour that mixture down? How did you get the different texturing in it?

Nice work!

- Steve

This is a great dio. Really very nice work. All the corrections look great. I have a couple "real-life" additions to push the realism just a bit more.

1. certainly shade or dry brush the footprints in. Also, depending on the season and depth of snow, the compression of the snow would cause some melting a the top of the compression along with the muddying of the snow from now wet boots stomping through snow and mud.

2. This same compression and melting would be more visible in the tank tracks. You've shown the snow liquified by showing bare earth in the tread path. I recommend a thin layer of muddy colored gloss paint to show the wetness of the mud. Of course, this same wet mud would get on the tracks and mud covers as well.

3. Some snow on the tank would show either that it's snowing now or the tank was parked overnightin the snow. Unless it was garaged, there would probably be some snow on the horizontal surfaces away from the access points and away from the grilles. While we're at it, the heat generated by the engine would also likely melt the snow near the engine covers. So some pooled water or wet areas would add some idea of the tank's recent activities.

These are all just super nit-picky things I try to take into account when I build.
Good luck in your club's conest. looks like you have a winner there!

Hi again.
Your other points are great, but I still take issue with adding dirt or something to the footprints. My backyard had over three feet deep snow in it up to the last week. There was NO difference in the color of the snow in my bootprints except right where I came off cleared or muddy areas. And if mud is frozen, it doesn't get on your boots. And compressed white snow looks the same as uncompressed white snow (ignoring our dog's lovely yellow contributions!), especially at 1/35 scale. So some color could be added to the footsteps, but that implies the guys have been treading through soft mud rather recently. That doesn't look likely given the scene Keith has depicted.

My 2cents...

Andy

Thanks again for all the suggestions, however time and real life have determined that nothing further will be done before tonight's showing. On my next snow diorama, I will certainly take the ideas mentioned and give them a try, as, being from Houston, I don't have many opportunities to view snow first hand and can use the advice.

Steve: the groundwork is a rather thick 50/50 mix of the Durham's Water Putty/Celluclay along with water, white glue and acrylic paint for color. About the best description I have heard of the thickness is that of a good thick milkshake, or oatmeal that is a bit watery. It isn't poured onto the base (too thick for that) but rather dipped out with my putty knife and spread about. I try to keep the mix as thin on the base as possible to minimize the drying time.

Very nice work on your diorama. The Tiger I, figures, and groundwork all look just great ! One thing to always remember in any diorama, is to convey a story. You have done just that here. The Panzergrenadiers look as if they are patrolling and have spotted something. Outstanding work !

Cheers !

Robert