Ciao Everyone,
I just wanted to share my finished vignette. It is a Fallschirmjager rearguard somewhere in Italy in early '44. They have taken up a position in a corner garage and are prepared to fire on an approaching Allied force. They will fire the weapon, disable it, and then either attack or withdraw depending on the strength of the enemy. I incorporated several suggestions from folks, including the cross on the wall (RobH.)
Comments, suggestions and criticism is welcome. I hope ya'll enjoy them.





Ciao for now
Rob

Viva..

Nice job you've done with uyour vignette I enjoyed it very much...
Just a suggestion- with those corner walls so damaged, I believed there shuold be a lot more debris laying around the garage floor...But besides that It's a wonderfull job

Keep up the good work
See yaaa

Ciao Celestino,
Thanks for the compliment, and yes, you are right about the rubble. I just didn't want to overdo it, but I might have underdone it. I put a broom in the corner to insinuate that some cleaning had been done, but that the wall was constantly shedding debris. But, I might have to add some more for fidelity's sake. Thanks.
Ciao for now
Rob

Ciao Vanderboer,
Thanks for the compliment, and you guys have convinced me. I will put more rubble on the floor. I guess it does look pretty sparse. Thanks for the tip.

Here's the other photo

Ciao for now
Rob

Excellent work! I love the scene and the figs. I do agree to make some more debris on the floor then it will rock!!! Cheers Kevin

Ciao Kevin,
Thanks for the compliments! Yeah, the guys have convinced me to clutter up the place, so that's just what I'm going to do!
Ciao for now
Rob

Rob, something to keep in mind is that a building with this much damage would be a lot dirtier and dustier. Your idea of the broom is a very good one, but try to portray the rubble as if having been brushed / pushed to the sides, up against the walls. I agree that a wapen like this would probably not have been dragged over and on top of the rubble. Try to put a lot of rubble uniformly on the floor and than push it toward the wall, as if a space has been roughly cleared by the Para's.
In this picture the rubble you have looks to random.
You've done a nice job with the figure's though, is it the Dragon set?

Cheers
Henk

Hi Rob,
Very nice work indeed. I share the sentiments about the added rubble. Other than that, it looks great!! (looks great anyway)

My suggestion would be to scatter the debris a little more naturally. I really like the insinuation of the broom in the corner, but in combat, I am pretty sure that the guys wouldn't be too worried about how tidy the floor was. If you have a small tea strainer or even a piece of screen mesh, put some of the fine scatter into it and run this around the top edges of the wall. This should add some debris too the top of the blown out walls and scatter some along the sides as if they swept the finer particles to the wall wdges. Try a pump hairspray (super hold to set everything in place. It will hold it there as long as you don't play football with the vignette!! After this sets, I would dust up the floor a bit with a mix of grey and earth brown pastels, lightly brushed.

This is great as is, just my .02 cents on how you can make it even better!

By the way, the painting of the figures is superb!

Great Job Huskey
Love the figures and the setting face colors/flesh tones are really great, perhaps a little mor debri in the foor and some dust bits of old upper floor timbers.
Other than that a grat dio look forward to seeing more.
I think i read that you are in the police i was in for ten years in the UK i will see if i can get sa badge for you if you want one,my old helmet is a ice bucket know lol lol works well always a topic of conversation lol .
Cheers Chris

Ciao My friend!
Looking better every day! Nothing to add, everyone else seems to have covered the rubble/dust comments, so I'll just compliment you on the discoloration behind the family portrait(is that a personal reduction, or something off a mini's site?) and thank you for the plug , though I suspect you had that Idea in mind already!

Ciao everyone,
Thank you all for the compliments!
Henk, they are the DML set. I didn't think about them wheeling the weapon into place, and now that I have glued each individual rock down to the base, I am afraid there is no going back. I have to leave those in place. Maybe some fellow para's helped to lift the weapon into position, then assumed positions of their own.
Steve, I did put a lot of debris on the edge of the wall. I glued pieces of (genuine Mt. Etna) volcanic rock to the edge and also on the floor. I like your idea of hairspray. Will I have to coat it with dullcote after that? Beats glueing each piece down. I feel like that Hollywood special effects guy that is glueing each individual hair to the Wolfman's face. Geez!!! I will have to try that.
Tango, I am a police officer right now. No, I don't want a badge, just a patch from where you were an officer. I will trade you for one from my work, if you like. I like the idea for the ice bucket!! That must be something. I appreciate the offer, and thanks for the compliments.
RobH, thanks for the compliments. That is actually a picture of us taken at King's Dominion (south of Richmond, Virginia) while we were stationed at Norfolk, Virginia, circa 1994-5. We got all dressed up in Antebellum clothing for the "old-fashioned" style picture. I just reduced it with Word, and printed it out. I'm glad you liked the fading behind the picture. Hey, it was your idea for the cross. I give credit where credit is due. Thanks for the nod.
Again, everyone, thanks for the kind words and helpful suggestions.
Ciao for now
Rob

Rob, what I meant, realising that all was already glued in place, is to add quite a lot of rubble to the floor, but leaving a 'cleared space/ path' were the gun is. As in the Para's would have picked the building as their fire position, but the rubble would have made deployment of the gun difficult. Rather than lifting it on top of unstable rubble, they quikly pushed the rubble on the spot where they want the gun out, of the way.

Cheers
Henk

I wont mention the rubble i think that has been done lol,great paint job on the figures Rob,maybe a wee bit too spick and span,but that is just personal taste,and does not detract from you painting skills.
Arthur

Looks great Rob,I will be doing my first camo smock soon hope it comes out as good as your. Nuff said about the rubble.

I guess I don't need to say----- "a little more rubble".... do it? :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) #:-)

Ciao everyone,
Thanks for the compliments! I feel warm :-)--

Husky, the gun is tits up,I hope I can say that, it looks like a real gun, good paint job. One question how did you do the floor tiles they are also very real, very, very nice build overall-Cheyenne

Ola Rob

Well I am not going to tell you about the rubble.. enough before me have done that. But... besides the whole rubble story I only noticed one guy giving you a compliment of a touch I also really liked.
It`s about the discoloration behind the painting on the wall. Now you could discuss what a picture of a family is doing in the garage (mybe a pic of your mother in law which you don`t really like :-) :-) ) but beside that the discoloration is a perfect touch which shows a keen eye on detail.
I like the whole set up And every detail is very well used in teh story by laying weapons and such on top or against it.
The gun is painted in a very convinced way and I like the sheen that the gun has in some angles when the light shines on it. Gives the feeling of real metal. Above that it is very well weathered.
The figures are painted in a good way to and they finish the whole story.

Great job..... Now add rubble8)

Perhaps a little more ru... Naa :-)
Great job. Beautiful paintjob on the figures. The guy in the dark camo looks a bit glossy though. It might just be the picture.

Great Job! I am also curious about the garage floor!

Did everyone notice that the guy with the round in his hand is looking at his gun as if his in love with it?? I do mean because of the expression on his face, not because of the paintjob which is excellent!

Good Job!

Thomas

Ciao everyone,
Again, thanks for the compliments. I tried my best!
Cheyenne, I will take a compliment where I can get it. Thank you. (Tits up used to mean "Dead," in my day.) I did the floor by simply scoring the styrofoam with the dull side of a butter knife, then painting the entire thing. I then weathed it, and went back with white and painted in the grout (the thin lines between the tile.)
FAUST, Thanks for the kind words. I blushing slightly. Actually, the picture is of my family. We posed for it while I was stationed in Norfolk about 10 years ago. I just like the personal touch it gives. In Italy, it would not be uncommon to have family photos (and nowadays, nudie calenders). I'll let you in on a little secret. I give the gun a slight sheen by rubbing the gun with my fingers and it gives them the slight shine. I'm glad you noticed the discoloration. You have a sharp eye.
Hwa-Rang, thanks for the nod and you are right. Some of the vallejo paints have a shine to them. I don't know why, they just do. I never use dullcote, and I guess I am going to have to start. (I guess I need to learn how to use pastels, too.)
Thommie, you know, the guy does look in love, doesn't he? Perhaps he is daydreaming about being somewhere else other than there.
And yes, I will pile on the rubble. Thanks again, everyone. I appreciate your comments.
Ciao for now
Rob

I like it!

Ciao Caanbash,
Thanks! I am still working on the rubble. :-)
Ciao for now
Rob