Here are 4 pictures of the D-Day diorama for the NAval Museum of Alberta. I'll get better pictures tomorrow, forgot to take my tri-pod today. I built the beach obstacles, the rest of the diorama is the work of three of the best model builders in Calgary + the museum volunteer staff.

Looks awesome, though the LCT looks way too clean to be a landing craft hitting the beaches on an enemy beachhead. I figured it'd be because it's going in a museum (?), but the first shot shows rust and other bits of weathering on the LCM (which by the way is great). I'm also not seeing nearly as many people on the LCT as should be. My grandfather was a radio operator on an LST, and in photos I've seen there were many people running around, taking cover, doing various jobs. This would be all the more so in a GQ (general quarters) situation where the ship is just about to land. You would have gunners manning AA guns preparing to or - given the closeness to the beach - already shooting in a direct fire role towards the beachhead. Also, I noticed you have two squads, one disembarking from an assault craft and another running up the street. They are way to bunched up. That is what every German machine gunner dreamed of: enemy soldiers crouched together running up the middle of the street with no cover around them. Just some things to mention to the builders - that is if the dio isn't on display yet.

Just a couple of questions you could answer for fellow readers who can't see it in person: How big is the overall dio; even at 1/72 it's gotta be huge! How long did it take to build your part? the overall dio? And I'm not remembering US sherman's being landed on Juno - a Canadian beach - though I'm not sure (off course maybe). Note though I'm not refering to the DD Shermans but the 2 shermans on the LCT. Maybe someone could explain that to me.

As for the photos, the first one is awesome! That the background is blury and its taken from the low angle makes it seem as if you are landing on the beach. A little Photoshop to crop off the top and make a small foreground of an LCVP in the very bottom of the picture (making it as if you are in a Higgens landing on the beach) and greyscale the image with a few other odds and ends, you could have a real cool shot on your hands. Remember, clarity and focus isn't always the same thing.

Despite all the complaining, I seemed to do, I can't stress this enough and I highly suggest trying this to all you readers out there: stare at the pictures. Imagine yourself landing on the beach. Take in all the smoke and ships and details. The pictures and in fact the dio itself just makes me hear the MG fire and the 88s whistling past. I feel there. I feel like the souls of all those who died on that day are surrounding me, encouraging me to run foward, rifle in hand. And all this from looking at four pictures. It is those large, yet personal one-on-one you-are-there dioramas that capture what scale modelling can make you feel. Awesome job!!!

Love it! Even got the first house in Normandy to be liberated by allied forces. Love the pic of the troops just as the ramp dropped and that house is on the beach. Great work.

HastyP

Thanx for the comments, I'll pass them on to the main builders. I noticed the stars on the Shermans today and thought that was incorrect for a Canadian landing! I think the reason the LCT is not as busy as it should be is that the model was done a long time ago and "drafted" into the scene.

Overall the scene is 6 feet by 2 feet. There are 110 soldiers on shore plus additional forces on the landing craft. I'll try to get some better pics of the shore action tomorrow. The Allies have advanced behind the house on the far right and are setting up against the germans running up the street.

I only did the beach obstacles so I don't have much say in the design of the whole thing but I would like to put more debris on the beach and shallow water.

Wow, thats great, do you have any more pics, maybe closer ones of that group of germans running towards the beach?
cheers!

That's is a wonderful scene !!

The only crytics I have on this, is that the overall scene is way too clean to look real. It's not only the landingcraft and verhicles that are too clean, but it's also things like the beach and the street. The beach should be covered with footprints, some marks from the wheels that are on the beach etc. It just looks like it is brandnew... when a bit of "usage" can be added, it will benefit the overall looks.

Would you compliment the man or woman who did the background painting...that is ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL !!! The clouds and the background painting behind the houses really add atmosphere and depth to the overall scene...it blends all the items together !!! WONDERFULLY DONE !!!!

Amazing job on the build and great pictures.. at first i kept trying to click zoom
so i could see more If you will be taking more pictures i'd like to see a closeup
of the landing craft disembarking the troops, and more of the town. Does anyone
know if that landing craft is a production kit? or scratchbuilt?.
Congratulations on that first picture you took - made me stop and wonder how
they must have felt with the beach approaching!

I think it looks great! much better than I did for my Sword Beach dio for a museum. But then again, looks like you had more time and it was a group project? I had to do mine alone and it was due for the museum in 2 months.

Nice diorama Swampfox! Good work there.

I think all of the landing craft in my pictures are scratch-built. The DD tank in the water is a kit as are the ones on the beach and in the landing craft.

I escaped from work for a little bit this afternoon and got some more pictures:

a very nice museum piece. thanks for the photos

This diorama is absolutely incredible! Where is this display located? I have to see it in person.

In reply to Jeff's question about the "US Shermans" on Juno beach... Of course, the Canadians and British used Shermans as well as the Americans, but with different designations. The three Canadian armoured brigades that hit Juno beach were all equipped with Shermans. The star was applied to all Allied armor to avoid confusion with fighter support.

BTW, for all you Canadian readers, Ted Barris' new book "Juno: Canadians At D-Day" is really good and I highly recommend it.

Howdy BB: I can't believe how much work you guys did in that short amount of time!! To put it in perspective, I was at the museum in early May only a month ago and there was only the plywood base there, no water no bulding etc!! EXCELLENT work under a tight time constraint. The background painting is brilliant, it really captures the crappy day it was. The buildings and sea wall are great and the water blows my mind! There has to be about 6-7square feet of it! The 1/72 figures are very nice, hard to believe there are 110 hiding in there. There are some niggly details which I am sure you and the team will get around to, like the uniformity of the beach/adding some debris etc, but they do not detract from the awesome display you have there.
When is the official unveiling (June 6?)? That still gives you guys a few days to flesh out some of the little details. But you have already created something that everyone can be proud of, I am sure the museum will be tickled pink! Congrats!

Thanx for the comments guys...I'll pass them on to the builders. I think the beach will get detailed tonight and the final prep work has to be done by Friday when the press comes to take pictures. The other parts of the display are coming along well. When the whole thing is complete the dio will be fairly low to the ground. Rising above this will be a large 8X8 foot 1/2400 scale representation of the invasion fleet. Each ship is wired with a fiber optic lead so that the individual ship types are identified when they are mentioned in the interpretive tape recording. It should all be pretty neat when finished.

The dio will be on permanent disply at the Naval Museum of Alberta.

http://www.navalmuseum.ab.ca/

bb

@bugbrains

Great job you did. Just one point: You didn't post enough pictures

CU

Frank

damn!!!! the lcm is whit, now i have to repaint min. thank god i found your pics. many mild profanities that can not be repeated on television!!!!

Hi there,
This is outstanding work, especially given the scale you are working in. Having visited Normandy in May last year and Juno Beach in particular, you have captured the scene fairly well. Very good work.
Regards,
Garth