This is my latest dio that i have been working on. Setting is around Pusan in Korea. At first when starting this dio, i though that Pusan was pretty much barren and without much plant life. But after researching it, i have found that Pusan was actually home to lots of diffrent types of tree and plant life. This is my depiction of Pusan..
Its not complete yet, the jeep still needs to be weathered, water will be added to the ditch, the barbed wire needs to be toned down a bit. Figures will also be added.
Anyway, let me know what you think. All comments and suggestions welcome..

Hey Mary, your doin an awesome job on this and I cannot wait to see the outcome of this dio. The jeep is tamiya right? Ive got one of those ready for my next diorama, i heard it was an excellent build.

Well starting a nice one Mary . Scene looks physicall at start but we can say more when some figgies are on it . Vegetation and ground work loook good to me, and also the jeep seems to be ok . U plan to put some injured guys or anything? I suppose this one got out because of exceeding speed?

hi Sister,
Very very good scene. I think it will be very good as the figures added...and water will add more realism.
you improve fast and i wonder what the dio professor there thinks about that ?

Looking better Mary :-)

i think this one will end up excellent

just one thingie, the green plants on right side look a bit plastic on close up pic.


Mirko

G'day Mary
looking good, can't wait to see it finished.
Cheers

Looking good possibly a puddle where the jeep has finished up from a cracked radiator or something to show what has happen to the vehicle and possibly some skid or slide marks to show possibe reason for crash- just some ideas to ponder and please I like what I am seeing and just want to help it be as good as you want it to be.

Mary,

I think the dio is going well the ground work is looking good. There are only two things I see that you might want to look at. The color of the "knap sack" on the jeep is too green it should be more of an olive green, I will see if I can find something to compare to and e-mail it. The ditch, the variation of plant life is good it has deversity which adds to the realism. The water will be a great addition, but before you do I would try to work on your tall grass a little bit. They look too "clumped" or "planted". There is a technique of mixing up "mud" (pre-colored, pre-textured, adhesive like woodland senics mixed with white glue) spread your mud out and then plant your grass in to the mud. I think this technique would work well for you since you are going to do water in the ditch. I will look for my recipe when I get home, and look for some color refernce for the gear.

Paul

Tankysgal1,

It is good to see what a difference a tree makes behind the fence. I think the quality of your groundwork so far is excellent. I have however one comment, an addition to that of Paul. He commented that your tall grass (or reeds ?) look too "planted." I do have in some respects the same feeling, but then related to their placement.

Their placement on the dio seems too "artificial", too regular. That could be that particular plant however. Maybe if placed in little clusters, or more a long line of various thickness (with gaps in it as well) they could be more effective. I hope you understand what I mean, and good luck with a so far very goo dio!

Howdie. It's off to a good start. I echo the others in the "Garden" look of the plants, I think to fix it though, just add more! One thing I did note was the barbed wire. This type of PE wire looks best if you twist it insted of laying it out straight.

Keep the pics coming.

I think it's great! Are you going to damage the jeep? Cracked windshield? Busted front sterring linkage to that each front tire is turned a different direction?

Yo Tankysgal:

Very nice work. And your ground cover/terrain
is so well done. You've introduced so many
exciting aspects to the scene, such as the
curved road, barbed wire, a stream, etc.
Real "eye candy" for the viewers! Really like
the tree in the corner.

Another person already mention the only
thing about your great start that I would
work further on. That is the tan tall grasses.
Perhaps you remember my equestrian
Cossask jumpin over the fence. . . at
Des Moines. I used Hudson & Allen
Fall grasses. It took me over 6 hrs. to put
all that tall grass in the base and then
trim it. But when I walk thru the park and
look at how weeds and tall grasses grow,
I notice they grow in big patches that
stretch for quite a distance. However, for
a modeler to create this illusion of reality
in a dio setting, this becomes a great
deal of work. Wishing you well, and am
eager to see more pix of this piece in
t's "under construction" stages.

Kind regards,

Mary, nice job so far.
Your techniques are looking good.
Tell us about the layout plan. I would like to know what's planned for the space on the road. It looks pretty large and open.

You may want to put the windshield down as if it fell from the sudden stop. I'd roughen up the ground under the jeep too.

Looking beautifull so far! keep up the good work and keep us posted!
Cheers and happy modelling!
Prato

I agree that the "reeds/weeds" look a bit unreal. I use this same technique quite a bit, and find that spreading the base of the clump a bit will help keep it from looking like "brush bristles poked in a hole".

I like to vary the coloration, as well as length and the way they are "planted"... some sideways, some spread out, others in tight clumps. Here is a sample of my techniques:

I like what I see so far. Did the jeep crash while trying to avoid a zombie??

I think the jeep crashed trying to avoid a skunk in the road I know i am reaching hear. When you get some figures i will comment further. I also agree the tall grass looks a little uniform to me.

I would just like to thank everyone for their comments and critiques. As stated before, i still have a bit of work to do as of yet. The actual cause of the crash will be a sniper shot that has went through the windscreen and injured the driver. Their will also be four other figures added to the scene, near the rear and to the side of the jeep using it for cover as they look for where the shot came from.
I will also work on the grass a bit, i planned on making it shorter but will also try to adjust and make it look not so "planted"..
To those of you who were looking for zombies etc...sorry..nothing like that this time..lol..However, i did want to have a mule in the scene but just can't figure out how to make that work....
(++)

Mary:

So you may have Missouri represented in
your sniper's/jeep dio, huh? A Missouri mule in the
scene, perhaps? I'm collecting mules and burros
for an idea I have dio wise for a setting in the
Italian Alps w/ Model Victoria figs. Started
painting the animules some time back.
So my question is: Are you looking at the mule
from the Tamiya livestock set? I would recommend
that one. She paints up really nice.

Around these parts, here in the American
Heartland, not many dio builders use animals in
their dios. . . or women either, for that matter.
So I like the idea of an animal.
Eager to see more pix,

How about your mule dead near the road and some of the figues taking cover behind it, it worked with a cow in saving private ryan. Well just an idea, hoping to see more progress soon.

Looking good so far Mary. Nice scenery.
Will the sniper be in the scenery?

In the third picture, some of the plants look remarkably like plastic. A Matte varnish probably would tone them down.

Roger

Mary, I think your dio is looking very good. I wont address the issues with the tall golden grass in the ditch. I will adress your plants in the foreground. The "plastic " looking plants will look better once you start adding some "veins" to them. I still dont understand how metal plants come out looking plastic. But this will help. Cheers Kevin

You could always have the dead mule "hit" by the jeep... and a farmer standing nearby lamenting the loss of his animal... a true dichotomy - here we have lost a metal mule and one made of flesh and blood... two dead mules - one shot!