Hi there !!

Yet another newbie reporting in I'm not new to model making or scenery making but the delicacy and accuracy of 1:35 WWII stuff over my former modelmaking stuns me.

I plan on making my first dio... nothing too ambitious, maybe 12" x 12", involving just a couple of AFV and a few troops.

I was thinking about basing my diorama near St. Mere Eglise on the morning of June 6th 1944, with a mixed unit of 82nd and 101st Airborne moving into position to take out a German sd.Kfz 251

Does anyone have any info on which german units were in the area at the time ? From what research I've done, the Sturmpioneer unit for which I have the halftrack (the DML 3 in 1 model which is great) were deployed in Normandy, though I'm not sure if there were in Mere. Eglise, but I've also read that it was the 234 Infantry and they were in poor physical condition ?

I'm not sure. I want to make an accurate diorama without ruining the fun.

Any input you guys could give me would be appreciated.

sorry I think I've just answered my own questions and also inspired myself more!!

The 82nd and 101st dropped between st mere eglise and carentan, so they would have encountered German 91st Air Landing Division defending the general area, German 243rd Static Infantry Division on the far west coast and German 709th Static Infantry Division on the east coast (Utah landing beach).

Maybe if they dropped very near carentan they would have encountered some of the 6th Fallschirmjäger regiment too.

I am having all kinds of ideas, but I'm thinking of having the airborne troops creeping up on a bushy crossroads between st mere eglise and carentan, ready to hit the halftrack.

All the best to your first diorama my friend.
Oh.. and welcome to Big A
Remember... enjoy your modeling :-)

sounds good there Jon, i noticed u said u wanted a 12x12 diorama base. I say that you build all the things youre gonna put in the dio and then once you have them layed out create a diorama size that fits the scene. My mistake when i first started was making a base too big for the scene, and then the problem is trying to fill in all the dead space i created. It can also be too small and things can be cramped. Im just warning you before hand so you dont fall into the trap i fell into.
Ian

Sounds like a very interesting idea John. Looking forward to see your first ww2 dio.

Good Luck Jon on your first diorama. Sounds like you have some good vison there.. Now get going and show us some work..Can't wait to see your progress.
mary (++)

Thanks for the encouragements everyobe, the first step for me is to invest in some new materials and tools!! All my old gear is AWOL and I need an airbrush as well !

Also, I need to actually get back to grips with modelling. My sd.kfz is coming along nicely!! I am just building it in sections ready for painting before final assembly, but obviously I've got a lot to refresh myself on in the meantime.

Ian, I intend to plan carefully, I have after all got a LOT of time to do so lol :-)

haha yeah thats good...its always the fun part to create the scene you want. Keep planning and make sure you dont cut corners hehe. Happy modeling!

well that idea went out the window :-)

In my ongoing research I found myself more and more interested in the British and Canadian forces in the battle for Caen.

I intend now to piece together a fairly small but detailed scene showing british forces flanking a little element of the panzer reserve. The brits are stealthily moving up on some Germans deploying from the halftrack to set up MG positions in the ruins of the city.

From my reference photos I've seen some scenes of flooded ruins... these just looked fantastic, so maybe I will try water in there too.

I don't know !!! So many ideas!! so much time to think!!

Don't feel bad about changing direction - we all do it.

Water can be an intimidating aspect of a diorama. I firmly believe that it can be easier if you use the right product. Do a bit of research here on the site and you'll find a number of options.
The biggest tip I have with water is to test, test, test before pouring over your 'production/real/live' diorama. There is not muligan or re-do with water.

Hey Bigjon

Hi m8, good luck with your diorama and youre in the right place for anything models - everyone here is really friendly and will help where they can. (going from my experiences here!)

Funnily enough i am helping a friend with a Caen diorama, that initially started out as a pre dday job but eventually turned into a full on DDay scene, involving the 12th SS being deployed in the area.

heres a wibsite you may find useful, just for research if nothing else:
http://www.6juin1944.com/en_index.html

have a looksee and hope all goes well for you.

Aaron

heheh thanks but that site's already in my bookmarks!!

:-)

I have scoured the net non-stop pretty much for the last week, gathering the sources I need.

wikipedia's articles on D-Day are great for placing units on any given theatre of war. They usually list which divisions are where.