Picture this :

December 24, 1944.... a cold and dark shed in a countryfield near the town of Bastogne..........where just a couple of candles light the room...... There's fighting everywhere except in this deserted and peaceful shed just a couple of miles behind the frontline, where a single soldier is thinking 'bout home........

He's on his own for just a couple of hours R&R....... a couple of hours before the fighting comes into his life again..... destiny unknown......... Will I live...... or are these fields the last I'll ever see ....... His mind wanders off to his family back home.... a tear drops........ and he decides to write them a letter.......maybe his last........

This is the setting of my entry in this contest...... the Title........ "It will be lonely this Christmas...."

The idea : A Soldiers Christmas

More to come...... The idea is there, the building has started.......

(:-)
Nice - I like it - The pressure is mounting

Good one Eagle!
Your dio looks to show the personnal story of a soldier. I like that!

The idea I'm working on will show the preparation of a sniper... I'm thinking of an eloquent description now...

YodaMan

Pfew... some heavy construction going on right now. This contest really gave me a boost.

There's only one "but" .......6x4" is just a bit too small for my ideas.... I had to make minor adjustments to the initial drawings. The original idea still stands though. Just had to shrink the shed a bit ....

I hope the next contest allows a base that's a bit bigger


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Nice idea Eagle........had to break out the Kleenex


Tread.

yeah you really choose an emotional concept snif

let`s see how it comes out I`m very curious

LOL,

I'll try to create a real atmosphere in this dio. Currently I'm working on the special fx... glowing coals, an oil lamp and..... ah just wait and see......

keep on sniffing guys (:-)

Not bad,Eagle,not bad at all,you yush have to build it nicely...

Ha ! This challenge is tougher than we expected, huh ? Most of us know how to scratchbuild a good house, but to do that on a 4x6 or a round 6 base is another matter... You can't make a whole building on 1/35 or it would have to be a real tiny one, so you have to do with part of a house. Then how to deal with the "open" side... ? Interesting challenge, this is... !
The alternative is to find another (non-building) way to get a window into the picture.
If we want to be as stubborn as everybody knows we are and get a sniper in there plus some fresh snow, this is not only a modeling challenge, it's a real BRAINTEASER !!!

Look forward to your special effects. I expect to see at least a candle in there, if not a X-mas tree with lightstring :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)

Actually the initial idea was a room with a christmas tree with some candles..... the room.... well all said and done.... it's just to small...

There'll be other things to spice it up.

Don't put 'em away just yet, Thread : here's the poem Danny's idea is all about :

"The Night Before Christmas
by Major Bruce Lovely

Twas the night before Christmas, he lived all alone,
in a one bedroom house made of plaster and stone.
I had come down the chimney with presents to give,
and to see just who in this home did live.

I looked all about, a strange sight did I see,
no tinsel, no presents, not even a tree.
No stocking by mantel, just boots filled with sand,
on the wall hung pictures of some distant land.

With medals and badges, awards of all kinds,
a sober thought came through my mind.
For this house was different, it was dark and dreary,
I found the home of a soldier, once I could see clearly.

The soldier lay sleeping, silent, alone,
curled up on the floor in this one-bedroom home.
The face was so gentle, the room in such disorder,
not how I pictured a United States soldier.

Was this the hero of whom I'd just read?
Curled up on a poncho, the floor for a bed?
I realized the families that I saw this night,
owed their lives to these soldiers who were
willing to fight.

Soon round the world, the children would play,
and grownups would celebrate a bright Christmas day.
They all enjoyed freedom each month of the year,
because of the soldiers, like this one here.

I couldn't help wonder how many lay alone,
on a cold Christmas Eve in a land far from home.
The very thought brought a tear to my eye,
I dropped to my knees and started to cry.

The soldier awakened and I heard a rough voice,
"Santa don't cry, this life is my choice;
I fight for freedom, I don't ask for more,
My life is my God, my country and my corps."

The soldier rolled over and drifted off to sleep,
I couldn't control it, I continued to weep.
I kept watch for hours, so silent and still,
and we both shivered from the cold's night chill.

I didn't want to leave on that cold, dark night,
this guardian of honor so willing to fight.
Then the soldier rolled over, with a voice soft and pure,
whispered, "Carry on Santa, it's Christmas Day, all is secure."

One look at my watch, and I knew he was right,
Merry Christmas my friend, and to all a good night."

So sad all my smileys broke down in tears !

Jan,

I'm glad someone took the time to read what the idea was all about. Since we're about to enter the Christmas-time again, I thought it was appropriate to build in style..

Looking back at my initial post, I see the link is missing........ maybe that's why some missed the poem..... I'll try to restore when I get home again.

As for now... I'm on schedule with the dio and..... I still think it will be a nice little atmosphere in that small shed in France..... How do I paint a tear running down from an eye in 1/35 scale..... Gotta use my odeling Tool to calculate the size of it...

Keep 'm Kleenex withing range guys...

Odeling tool ? You don't mean a Yodeling tool, I hope ?

The trick is not to paint the tear : the trick is to build a model in such posture that you can see his sorrow even if you can't see his face. The trick is not to know this, but to do it as well. I certainly won't pretend I'm able to do it, but it's an interesting challenge to try your hand at it. And if that doesnt' work, why not put a hanky or a box of cleenex on his table ?

Odeling tool, yodeling tool, modeling tool.... ah hat's the difference... as long as we enjoy it..

Gotta rush now.....gotta cut some wood to build me a shed......

Pics will follow..

Ok,

just to keep you posted on the progress some "sneek peeks"... no hight quality pics but just a fast preview of the scene...


the idea for the shed


The Shed To Be


the hand made door


A possible background for the photoshoot

And these pics wrap up the construction for tonight :




The Frame


and the cardboard prototype

and for those who want more stories behind the dio :

Lonely this christmas
by: MUD


Try to imagine a house that s not a home
Try to imagine a Christmas all alone
That s where I ll be since you left me
My tears could melt the snow
What can I do without you?
I ve got no place, no place to go.
It ll be lonely this Christmas
without you to hold
It ll be lonely this Christmas
lonely and cold
It ll be cold, so cold, without you to hold
this Christmas.

Each time i remember the day you went away
And how I would listen to the things you had to say
I just break down as I look around
and the only things I see
are emptiness and loneliness
and an unlit Christmas tree

It ll be lonely this Christmas
without you to hold
It ll be lonely this Christmas
lonely and cold
It ll be cold, so cold, without you to hold
this Christmas.

(Spoken)
You remember last year when you and I were here
We never thought there d be an end
And I remember looking at you then
And I remember thinking that Christmas
must have been made for us
Cos darling, this is the time of year
that you really need love
when it means so very, very much

(It ll be lonely this Christmas)
So it ll be lonely this Christmas
(without you to hold) without you to hold
(It ll be lonely this Christmas)
It ll be so very lonely this Christmas
(Lonely and cold) lonely and cold

(Singing)
It ll be lonely this Christmas
without you to hold
It ll be lonely this Christmas
lonely and cold
It ll be cold, so cold, without you to hold
this Christmas.

(Spoken)
Merry Christmas, darling - wherever you are.

and now you can take out the tissues....the whole box if you will

Hi,
Last year at Trucks 'n' Tracks I bought some figures of the little known brand RVfigures (made in the UK) . Though these are tankers, they capture this mood very well, I think.
I posted the scans I made of the kit slips here:
http://www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=67b0de21b30e3ad9e48d¬ag=1
I know the quality is not too good, but so weren't the originals. Still they show enough to give an impression.
Oh, yeah, don't forget a little mouse, maybe even feeding on a piece of bread the soldier put down for him!

Golikell,

Darn man.... those figs are the first I see that meet my intentions..... splendid !!!!

Any Idea where I can buy / order them ??

Eagle,
Allass, I can't remember. I know exactly in the layout of stands where they stood, but I do not know the name anymore. Maybe a posting on the figures forum?
Sorry I can't help you any more!

Golikell,

thx. I'll put in a post on the figs forum like you said. Hope to see some results. These figs are THE thing my dio needs.