While the "Hutwarming" dio is on the workbench, the next idea developed.
I found the 122H63 howitzer by Skif and decided to continue with the training camp theme.

There shall be the gun in position with camo net over it, only one man standing in guard with headphones. Suddenly, radio commands burst through his headphones, waking him up from his dreams. It´s time for sending some iron in the sky! He yells to alarm the other guys at the tent -who are having a sauna, far from being prepared!
The name "tulikomentoja" translates something like "fire commands" in English. That´s when coordinates start coming from the command post to the gun digital display. When this is heard everyone knows it´s time for some action...

I was thinking about expanding this even more to a Trilogy, dios with similar bases, and that they would show different things going on at one second.
The third one could be a lieutenant driving to the gun in his UAZ to make an inspection how things are going...

Anyway, I placed a sketch drawing in my Envar Dioramas! gallery....





Toni

Toni, you do a great job with pencil as you do with models... Do you draw other things? I liked to draw soldiers, usually IDF... Would like to see more of your drawings, if there are some..

Mario M.

Thanks Maki! Indeed I have some stuff made over the years...I wasn´t allowed to photograph much in my unit in artillery, so I always had a sketchpad with me. There are especially some pencil pics I had in mind to "save" and store in digital format.
I have had too many other things going on but as soon as possible, I´m about to put a sketching gallery online. Right now, I´m enjoying some quick drawing to pump myself up in the mood for a new project!



Toni

Congratulations Toni! Your talent to freeze action in a quick scetch will surely lead You to very good results in the end. Moreover I like the idea to present three sides of the same action in seperate "shots", instead of pressing it all into one design.
The finish flag in Amorama is becoming more and more a label for inovating and good work.

Greetings

Ralf

I'll add my WOW again to this Envar....

But I thought the Finnish flag and all that meant Nokia?? :-) :-)

Not everything in Finland relate to Nokia.
Take me for example. My mission here at Armorama is not promoting Nokia, my mission is Connecting People !
So if you have any further suggestions about this Nokia matter, please send them via SMS in my WAP phone.






Toni

Toni,

like before, also this time the compliments on the sketching !!

Looking at the speed you draw and build, you must have some inspiration at this moment ?!

Nice work !

Thanks Danny, yes indeed I have! It just happened that I actually FOUND everything I need for the next three projects...It means I don´t have to go shopping in months!
I will deal with this dio and the "Hutwarming" dio simultaneously as they share the same environment and setting. I think it´s best to do it this way to get the soil colour and nature around to fit the same color scale.
I got great pics of the 122H63 gun with a crew and the weathering will include heavy dust and some wet mud. I try to do it as close to the picture as I can. I´m also playing with an idea of having red fibre optic light for the gun display....

I hope to have some groundwork done today...


Toni

How big is that carriage on this thing? Say larger then the US 155 MM or larger then the Russian 122 MM

This is actually a Russian-built gun.
Specifications given by the Skif package:
Combat weight 3200 kg
Range of fire 15 km
Rate of fire 6-8/min
Lenght 5,1 m
Width 2,3 m
Height 1,3m



Toni

Toni and Jeff,
This is an export version of the Soviet D-30 122mm howitzer. Here is a good site with more info.


FAS- D-30

Ok, gallery updated again!
I tried out the gun parts to see the size, only to discover that I have a base two inches too small! Well, I´ll find some use for that. Not a big deal, I have a nice medal shop near and they have similar bases in different sizes!
The base will include sand and light vegetation with some tire marks.

I got the base for this project and changed the route a bit. It will not be happening the same moment with the tent sauna dio because I want some autumn colours in there! The Finnish "ruska" is far too beautiful to miss here. With red, yellow and orange leaves and some fresh first snow it would be juicy!
I have the figure already sculpted, once again using a figure from Tamiya German Mortar Team. This time the shouting head will do and only the hands are replaced with Hornet resin. He carries a worn wool hat and a thick overcoat that could be white or three color camo.
Those guys in the Hutwarming dio are actually far too trained and even their clothes fit. I try to be more realistic this time, meaning more #:-) look!

I´ll be reporting when things get forward...


Toni

WOW. I just hit 500 posts with this message!

Just some updates: The basic construction of the gun is built and the Skif kit is quite ok, but there are little annoying things like missing alignment taps and holes...And I don´t know if I´m ever gonna make the barrel seam invisible, that´s how brutal it looks. Well I was going to cover it with camo net anyway!
The figure has some acrylic primer on, I´m going to paint the flesh parts with oils tonight.

Milliput coat and pants over German mortar commander!






Toni

The head.
I used Lifecolor acrylic sand colour as primer and the oils went on beautifully. The mixture includes Buff Titanium, Burnt Sienna and Raw Sienna. I painted the face overall with Buff and the added some darker spots in the recesses. I actally mixed the paint straight on the face. Eyes and teeth were added using Humbrol Enamels. Some Burnt Umber oil was used to tint the mouth and lower lip, eyebrows and hair. The Milliput hat is painted with enamels, washed with sepia ink and finished with pastel chalks.

This is my second try with oils and I feel that I found the flesh tone I like and methods that work for me.


Toni

Some progress...
This time I decided to go as realistic as possible with the figure. I painted the pants and coat differently to show that these clothes really don´t fit. He also has some beard and his front is black because of the powder smoke.
Any artillery guy can tell he´s the loader.
I sculpted the coat and pants of Milliput and when I attached the head I liked the overall scrubby look as his belt is too loose and his clothes are too big for him...

This is the tenth figure for me and when I compare this one with the first ones all I can do is wonder. It´s the fun thing in every new hobby: you learn a lot in the beginning and show some rapid development.
Sorry about the quality of the pic, but maybe you get the idea!


Toni

Looking good Toni. I like what you did with the uniform, you work wonders with Milliput.. like the folds, very realistic. Now, how did you do the boots? That seems like a tough job to sculpt...

Mario M.

Actually those boots are from the original German mortar figure. There was no need to mess with those as they offered the similar cut as the rubber boots shown here. I just added the reflective stripes and straps (not visible in the pics). They may be somewhat bigger in real life, but it also adds to the costume if his boots are too small for him ...Painted them with Humbrol matt black (not mixed properly, hence the sheen!) and pastel chalks.
I also noted that most of these standard figures OOTB give a feel of soldiers aged 30+ years. Here, although the kit´s own head was used, extended neck makes this guy younger and thinner. The neck is longer because of the hood piece (from ski troops) added to the coat.
There are still some things to add, a puukko for example!


Toni

A puukko is? I always thought Finnish language was strange, but the spelling seems even stranger...

Mario M.

In German, das Finnmesser. In English, a puukko. It´s a special type of knife, kinda Finnish overall tool. There is something in the construction of it that they don´t make the same kind of knives anywhere else except Scandinavia.
I got my first puukko in the age of five.
The picture is from www.marttiini.fi . Marttiini is THE manufacturer in Finland.
Toni

Yet more progress...groundwork is forming.
The colouring is very difficult. It helps to have real soil in the mix but still you have to dip some paint in there...There´s going to be spruce trees with yellow leaves and I´d like to try the ground with just a hint of fresh snow. That would also mean icy puddles. It´s gonna be tough...



Toni

Lookin' great so far! I keep telling myself to try a big piece of artillery like that. Awesome work.

Toni,
I was enjoying the read on the previous page and thought your aviator winked at me. I looked closer and figured it was my imagination. Then I went to the next page and he DID IT AGAIN! hehe

Nice animation!! You are too clever.

Keep up the good work.

Cheers,
Jim

Whatever to make you happy, Uncle Jimbo!



Toni

Toni,

Say that , "tulikomentoja" three time fast please! :-)