Hello, I have been working on my dio again I have gotten the hay into the loft. I am wandering if it looks like it needs somemore? I have also gone againist the grain and put a couple trees at the front corner of the dio, what do you think? And have started doing the grasses in the back side of the dio. Does the color look good for late fall early winter? I also have some dormant Ivy to add to the stones and both fences and ground cover on the front side of the dio. I am also hard at work on the figures and should be starting back on the tank destroyer in a few days. any and all comments welcome. I would like to hear everyones thought and ideas :-)



Cheers and thanks Kevin

wow man thats awsome i want to see more pics witha tank and figs great job two thumbs up thanks for sharing johnnyboy

Wow, an incredible amount of work here. Your Russian farm is fantastic ! That barn hayloft is out of this world, and well-done. Can't wait to see what you do with figures and that SU-100.

Outstanding ! Send more pics !!

Cheers !!

Alpen

I like the fencing..not the usual fare.. interesting and looking very rural with the buildings
and old rock wall.. The fir trees look fine and i like the placement.. since the ground is
dipping down and away from the dio the trees seem to anchor that corner..Looks great!
Keep posting..seeya

Hey, seems like you changed those tall grass around the buildings. It looks fine to me now, even if you have not replaced them. May be the eye gets used to them? Please tell us if you changed them or not.

Overall perfect quality! Congratulations on that attic space. It is quite a delicate space!
Keep up the good job.

Looking good. The overall composition is supurb, The placement of the trees adds more depth, I like it. The only thing I'm not sure about is the length of hay,too long? there is no figure in there to see scale so I could be wrong. Being late fall, or early winter I think there would be more hay in the loft. Looks great, keep it up! How are the figures coming along?

I want to thank everyone for there comments. Caanbash- I looked around the farm here and realized that the grasses didn't grow in clumps so much next to the buildings so I thinned them out so to speak and then trimmed the ones I did leave againist the buildings. Nato308-The hay works out to being right at one and a half feet which I beleive is suitable for hay, and I will put a little more in to "fill out the loft." As for the figures, faces are my weak point, luckily I have those all done. I am working on the uniforms of the german soldiers.
I have finished the Ivy on the wattled fence, and have added a stack of firewood next to the barn, Would anyone like to see? I will post pics later this afternoon. I alos would appreciate any input as too what types of ground cover would go best at the front of the dio, besides tall grasses and the Ivy thats going to be climbing the fence. Input is most welcome and appreciated. Cheers Kevin

Hello all, I took some photos outside today. What a difference that makes :-) Let me know what you think about the Ivy, and any input on what types of ground cover for the front slope would be helpful. Here is the new pics, I hope you enjoy them




cheers kevin

excellent work on diobase ..both interior and exterior is very well done. I wish it goes good for you during painting of armor and figures ,so we can call this another master piece in Big A.

OMG so detailed.... wow.
congrats on the excellent barn

Thank you for the kind words. I hope it is going to turn out well. I am thinking of taking Plasticbattles advice and using little or no snow as I would hate to ruin this. And I am trying to work out what to do with the ground cover but nothing is striking me as looking right in the front. I'll keep you posted. Cheers Kevin

totally fantatic you've captured the barn spot on looks perfect if your looking for some thing else to add how about a few rats/mice in the barn they love places like that or add a cat to look like its stalking them a dio within a dio

Again outstanding work ! Looks just like rural Estonia to me

Looking at this setting gives off the impression of an ambush postion. Can't wait to see this progress !!

Cheers !!

Alpen

NOW THATS A DIORAMA!
GREAT job so far, that barn looks like its real!
that is one good dio, cheers!

Hello All,I want to thank everyone for their kind words. I have worked on the "yard" part of the dio today and think I like the results. Mikeli125-rats or mice where can I get some? Or do I have to sculpt them? Any way I am still trying to figure out the front of the dio and what to add there. Any thoughts or suggestions? All would be appreciated Well here is a little look into the farm yard

It looks a lot better blown up but size limits me to this. Cheers Kevin

Absolutely amazing workmanship. Keep up the good work.

Hey Jackhammer. Coming on nicely.
Ground cover is needed when there is big open spaces of nothingness. I don´t think you have any need for ground cover. The scene looks amazing, natural and realistic. It has lovely ground contours, rocky appearance and fences. It gives a barren, poverish look to the scene. Trying to fill out too much space, IMO, would now take away from the scene. One thing that would add to the scene, and tie the whole lot together, is a mule or work horse grazing on some hay near the fence. The hay would have been thrown over the fence, to save the farmer a walk, plus an ideal place for the horse to stand, in the shelter of the trees.
If you mist some white over the scene to give it that frozen or winter look, the brightness of the yellow hay, surrounded by dark, muddy hoof prints of the horse will be perfect.

Some other points IMO, that may help. The road/track/path that the tank will travel on, I would weather it a little differently to distinguish it a bit more. It is obviously a path to the doors of the barn so there would be more wear here than on the sides of the path. You could play about with it ... doesnt need to be heavy.... just distinguishable.
I think the ivy is a bit too thick. Also there is more of it at the top, than at the bottom. Is it possible to thin it out a bit? If not, Make it thicker to look like a wild bush.
The wood splitting block is too perfectly in the middle of the two barns. Move it nearer the wood pile and add little splinters of chopped wood and some darker bark that fell off around the base of the chopping block. Maybe even more timber in the wood pile ... how long would that little pile last in the russian winter?
Thats my input for this time. Hopefully some of the ideas might help.

Jackhammer,
I think either vls or verlinen has just brought out a GI rats set which should
suit your needs

Thanks again guys for the suggestions Plastic battle The ivy is made with a scrub pad that was painted brown. I took the Idea for a hudson and allen ivy pack I picked up awhile back and I dont think I could thin it out. I have made it cover further each direction along the stone wall, I have also added some bark and wood chips around the chopping stump,Also added another row of logs to the pile. The chopping block is a lot closer to the barn than the granary, the pics must be decieving. ratio wise its a third of the way from the barn and two thirds from the granary. As far as the suggestion goes for a mule or work horse that would be great, I'm just not sure I have enough ground down there for it to be set on as there will be a couple germans hiding in and under the trees, I'll check with the horse i have for the german feild kitchen to see how it would work. also I'm waiting on a farm cart my gf ordered me for my birthday its way late and on back order, but the idea is for it to be sitting in the barn and i want to place a bit of grass growing between where the wheel tracks would go. I have been thinking of washing the road or used surfaces with a different color wash and maybe take it a lot lighter with dry brushing. Mikeli125 I am going to look into those rats I think that would be cool a cat chasing a rat around the loft, thank you for the suggestion. Now how am I going to make that tamiya cat look like its ready to pounce. Scott once again thank you for the help as well. everyone your suggestions are appreciated and thank you. Kevin

Wow dude, that looks great!!
A few things though;
strictly speaking, that is not hay (dry grass), it´s straw. Hay does not turn yellow at all, it´s more of a light green. Straw was used in barns and so on for livestock to rest on, like insulation between the floor and animal. My grandfather had pigs before and that´s how he used it.
Hay on the other hand was given to horses and cows to eat. Straw was not.

Also, remember that if you put any people in there or vehichles, animals like rats and cats would most likely gotten scared and ran away, unless the people in the scene were really quiet. IMO, it would look weird if a Tiger tank was outside while rats were still clearly visible in the barn.

Just my thoughts. Looks awesome though, and post some more pics when it´s done