Hi Gang,

Finally I took the jump into dio building!! Here are some pictures of my very first attempt.
It is Verlinden's oldie, Normandy farm ruin, I airbrushed it completely in Tamiya acrylics, and did some oil washes. The window panes are scratch-build from wood, and still have to get the windows in.
The plan is to place a M3 halftrack with it....

Let me know what you think so far...

Greetz, John.

John it looks real good so far. I have been waiting for you to take the plunge. I am glad to see you posting, we have been missing you on msn and hope everything is good with you. I look forward to seeing your next post. Cheers Kevin

Woohoo at last youre into business !!! Looks nice so far and ur painting is good , also the details . When it will be settled in the base and more elements will be added u ll see the needs of some pastels or pigments to tie it up with the surrounding. Looks great so far. Now start to do some figures Mister

And as usual if u need anything on this one dont hesitate

I think it looks great!! I hope to one day achieve that kind of standards... just the painting of the ruin looks great already! Can't wait for further updates on your first dio attempt!

Thanks for sharing it with us John... awesome work

Thanks for the replies so far, Guyz

I must admit it was very different to paint a ruin in stead of the regular armor, but I enjoyed it a lot!!
I'm quite pleased with the results so far, except for the water-pump, this needs some more weathering, I think.

I'll keep you posted on further progress...

John.

Nice work I think you SHOULD be very happy with the results! Very well indeed. Just as a thought... As with any of the plaster or ceramic buildings there are always alot of pock marks and holes from air bubbles in the plaster... Sometimes I fill them and sometimes I will leave them... When I leave them in, and I see a few in the photo's I would consider painting the "chipped stones" a little darker for older chips, and for newer ones lighter in color to represent battle damage. Not a big thing really but it could add a little more depth. I just noticed a few deep holes that I would consider filling only because they are too round to look natural. An example of what I mean, there is one in the detail photo of the fountain there is a nasty little air bubble at the base of the well...

The window frames look great, very nice touch. I respect the fact you took the time to build them. You are well on your way to being a good diorama builder. Glad you found the enjoyment out of it! it is a nice distraction from building straight models.

Paul

Nice work John, i like your choise of colours and the subtle wheatering. Good luck with the groundwork !

Btw. how is your T34 in 1:16 coming along ?

Very good indeed. Wonderful weathering.

Off to a great start. Diorama's can be rewarding!

Thanx guyz,

It's nice to get this kind of encouragement!!

@ Paul: Point and action taken!! All the bigger airbubbles are taken care off, let's wait till it's dry so I can re-paint thse spots.

Next step will be placing the windows, using overhead sheets, they are nice and thin, and very easy to work with!!

Keep you posted, John.

Good deal, I'm looking forward to the rest, it all is looking very well indeed... Keep up the good work!

Paul

This looks fantastic! Keep us posted on the progress.

Looks great to me also. I can't wait to see the next phase.

WHAT??? First attempt?? WOW you must be a very busy boy!
That looks Awesome!!!

I would I can do that.

I think it looks great. Very nice paintjob you've done. Keep us posted

Ola John

Very great job on this building mate. When are you giving me lessons in doing this kind of stuff? I really want to learn it. Also I think the Waterpump is very good. Keep in mind that a waterpump is something of every day use and you don`t want to drink water out of a rusty old pump. The regular use of the waterpump would also mean that it would receive regular maintenance and a touch of paint every now and then. Only if the building was destroyed years and years ago then it could need some more rust and weathering but if it is a building somewhere in the area of Normandy or the Ardennes or even Germany there is a big chance that the building got destroyed somewhere in the last year (months) of the war.
Make sure that when you are going to do groundwork you add enough rubble and floors and such. This is another chapter in Dio making.

Really good. Lookign forward to see the rest of the dio.... And I wonder if the Dio bug bit you :-) :-) ''

I love it! It looks really good. Hope to see the finished product soon.
~Chip

Good work John, keep on going.
I want to see more when it's finished.
Greetz 043

Hi John

For a first go that is wonderful very nice effect on the brick work and i love the weathering on the pump,nice touch with the window frames looking forward to seeing this develop.
Cheers Chris