The cast assemble...

Here are my figures assembled. It's all looking a bit ghoulish with the sombre colour palette and some of them with detached hands and heads.

So far they have received a dark base coat, a basic highlight and a basic flesh tone and highlight - all applied with the airbrush.

Interesting group!
J

Also a nice collection of corks
Hope what was underneath them tasted as well as the figures that grow from them.
Follow with great interest, nice modeling!

Kind regards,

Robert Jan

Nice cast of characters Tim , looking forward to their placement in the dio , cool !!

Well, despite my 'army' of figures on display in my last post, I decided that one more was needed.

Since my two German vehicles were abandoned, it seemed a shame not to have any figures in the Carrier. Figures in vehicles help to give a sense of purpose and scale. Plus, someone pointed out to me a while ago that parking a vehicle so that it blocked a bridge - and thus the route of advance - would not be very good military practice!

So I decided to add a driver. Of course, it would have been better if I had thought of this before finishing the Carrier. So I had to cheat a bit.



The basic figure is from the MiniArt British Jeep Crew set. These are actually 8th Army troops in shorts and knee socks. The figure was modified by raising his left arm as if to give a nonchalant wave. As you can see, he also lost half of one of his legs. This was to help him fit - plus, you simply cannot see this leg once he is in the Carrier. Because he was a little slumped, I made him sit up with a little putty around his middle. Like the added long trousers, this wasn't done with too much care because it can hardly be seen once he is in place. The head is a beautiful piece of casting from Alpine - with an added cigarette drooping from his lips. Oh yes, and there's the obligatory watch from Aber.

Them, with not a little trepidation, I started to paint the figure. This is only the third figure I have painted since I downed tools as a 16 year old (so that's 34 years ago!) so it was a bit of a (re)learning experience. It's all done with Vallejo acrylics for the flesh and Lifecolour for the uniforms. As I had hoped, once he was behind the wheel of the Carrier, I felt he didn't look so bad...





The idea is that he will be waving to the priest who is standing in the doorway of the church - the priest will not look amused!

This is just beautiful Tim, and nice addition w/ the driver too.
Looking frwd to your next post!

Cheers
Dave

A quick shot with the Stug temporarily in place...

Looks great!
Just love the groundwork and those buildings!
J

Impressive work mate.

I don't know how I missed this one. Awesome work. I love the story line. Looking forward to the finished product.

Incredible work Tim, I cant wait to see it finished with all the figures in it. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Thats quite the cast of characters Tim. Looking forward to see how they progress.

Shawn

Good job Tim , got some more photos ?

Very, VERY NICE, Tim! I especially like the " restrained" weathering on your vehicles. Many dio-builders take the weathering to such an extreme so as to be unrealistic in its appearance. You've carried it off beautifully!

The figures! THIS is what I like to see! A LOT of converting, re-sculpting and re-posing. I like the replacement of the various figures' Heads with more "Human-looking" Heads, such as those made by HORNET. Also like the very realistic "grubbiness" of the dio's terrain, "plant-life" and the buildings with their very interesting features and the attention paid to their DETAIL!!!

GREAT WORK!!!

Thanks for all your kind words...

I've been doing bits and pieces all over the place in recent weeks. Here is a shot which shows progress so far - it should make a good companion to the image at the top of this post.


Only the Topolino is permanently fixed in place. Also the colour and texture of the ground work is slowly changing from left to right as I start to bed things in. There will probably be a little more work with pigments on the vehicles too.

Another overall shot:



On the street buildings you will see a few posters have appeared. I especially like the irony of the smiling German holding out his hand with the slogan 'Germans Are Your Friends"!

The lamp is from Reality in Scale. I made life hard for myself because it actually lights up (there are also flickering lights inside the buildings).



The little building on the other side of the bridge has also received some posters. These are also specific to the Italian theatre: advertisements seeking labourers for 'Organization Todt'. This is a further irony, because by this stage of the war the Germans were forcibly deporting thousands or Italians for what was little more than slave labour back in the Reich.

The little 'Achtung Minen' sign is virtually a legal requirement for any WWII scenario, in my opinion. It also hints at something beyond the scope of the diorama...

You can also see that I have added some additional texture to the groundwork - this is made up of roots from a house plant ground up in a coffee grinder and scattered before fixing in place with Sand & Gravel fixer.



Finally, for now, some work in progress on one of my figures: my bella donna on the balcony. So far I have painted the flesh and hair and given her dress a pale blue wash - so there is more to be done. However, bearing in mind that this is one of my first painted figures in about 35 years, I'm pretty pleased. I think she looks quite alluring!

Nice improvements all around. The lady does have a certain appeal fr sure. As I wrote before,all looks great but certain things always stand out to me with any dio and one of those here is the dry streambed,overgrown with foliage. Very common thing in arid climates and something I never saw done before. Nice!
J

The new pics really show how good the buildings are.

Thanks guys.

We have certainly come along way since this...



Jerry, I am tempted to add just a little water to the stream bed.

As I may have mentioned above, it did actually rain quite hard for a couple of days after the fall of Rome, so this would not be inaccurate (not that I'm that obsessed with the weather - despite what they says about us Brits).

You will notice that on the houses I decided to keep the stone work going a little around the corner. I know that any diorama is essentially a framed by the base, but it annoys me when you you look at a diorama from the front and sides and there is a really obvious blanked-off missing part of a building in the way...

Yes,well,given the amount of green foliage in the bed,it would make sense for some water to be in there. Still a nice effect though.
You are not the only one to obsess about the weather.
I am currently trying to figure out how to show mud and dirt on a Brit tank that went through several days of dry weather and then a night of rain. Will anyone notice?? probably not.
J

Your detailing just keeps getting better! If we're voting, I'd say add just enough water so you can hear it babble. Would seem to make sense with the greenery in that spot. Look forward to seeing all the figures in their places.

Thanks Gentlemen...

I will get back to the landscape very soon, but first I have to get a move on with my figures.

This is the pair who will be seen walking off the left-hand side of the diorama. As discussed above, they are a modified from a set by Corsar Rex. Both heads are from Hornet.

For the British infantryman's uniform, I mainly used the excellent Life Color WWII British Uniform Set. The German was painted with Vallejo acrylics, as were all the flesh tones.

The partisan is almost finished - he just needs his Sten and tricolour armband painting.

I tried to choose colours that would contrast with all the khaki and fieldgrey uniforms. The shirt is Vallejo blue grey highlighted by adding white and deepened with Prussian blue. The trousers are leather brown, darkened with black and highlighted with basic flesh.

He certainly fits my Liberation theme!

Your figgies are lookin good!
J

Thanks Jerry.

Each one I paint is one step on from the last ones I painted when I was 16...

I still have these on my bench to remind my older self that I could then paint, not only the iris, but even the speck of light within it! Having said that, they also look a little monotone and one-dimensional compared with my more recent efforts.

I don't know if you have had the same experience, but I find myself getting more 'impressionistic' in my 50's. Less precision, perhaps, but a better grasp of colour and light...

Hi Tim. Outstanding work you show us. considering the size of the cork, the wine is ok. Great to see this every time.
Happy modeling and greetz from Thailand!

Robert Jan, following with interest on the figures, lots to learn for me