Hi all!

This is my first post in the Diorama Forum... and I hope there will be more in the future!

The last dioramas I've build were those included in the Matchbox kits more than 20 years ago. So I decided to make a little scene for the Amphibs Campaign as it was a good opportunity to learn some techniques, specially for doing water...

The vehicle I used was Tamiya's 1/48 Schwimmwagen (see below) build OOB.



The story is the following. Three German soldiers are watching the other side of a river for potential crossing possibilities and to scan for enemies. The soldier with helmet just put a roadsign on the ground and a wooden wheel is here to remind the retreat of the Soviets... quite simple story in fact.





I hope I didn't made too much mistakes. I used the only book I have about German uniforms so I'm not sure if everything is accurate... Just tell me what you think. Every comments and critiques are welcomed. I can make some modifications or add things here and there if necessary...

Jean-Luc

Pictures of the build can be found here

That is a cracking diorama!

The water is great, especially the half submerged cartwheel. How did you do it? The grass and mud looks great.

I'm really quite jealous! :-)

oooh wow it looks good! what products did you use for grass? murdo is right... the wagon wheel is lovely. good job!

Very nice, I too would like to know how the water was done. Mine was a bear. Great job, Congrats.

Bob

This is very nicely done. The detail is great. The diorama techniques and composition are very well done. I like it a lot and I really like the fact that it's 1/48.
From a rivet counters perspective you've got two tankers with no tank. The black uniforms are those of a tank crew.

Exellent job. Well done. A very simple yet effective dio.

Thanks for sharing

It could be a tank crew doing a Recce, (recon to the Yanks) but more likely the Infantry have sorted everything out (as usual) and the Tankies (tankers to the Yanks) have taken a day trip from their hotel to see how real soldiers work. :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)

Hi all!

Thanks for your kind comments! Are you always that nice to rookies!

Slodder, yes I'm aware the two "black" ones are tank crew... so I will go with murdo's explanation... :-)

The grass was made with railroad grass products (a mix of green and brown) secured with white glue. It worked fine and I was surprised the grass didn't go off later... The water was made with clear resin and I just put the wheel while it was still liquid...

Jean-Luc

Looks real nice Jean-Luc..if I may rant about anything the soldiers look a bit shiny [glossy] maybe a touck of flat to tone them down.

Hi John!

Even if they look more shiny on the pics as in reality, you are right! I've used a wash of tinted future on them and may put a flat coat to make them look more natural...

Thanks!

Jean-Luc

It really is excellent Jean-Luc.

I would put a little wicker picnic hamper beside the Tankies with Champaign bottle, glasses, napkins and little, half eaten chicken legs... Oh, and they need a couple of little, foldable chairs to sit on... And perhaps a sleeping bag for their afternoon nap.. :-) :-) :-) :-)

Jean Luc, a very good and simple dio,very well painted
Good work
Pedro

Thats too funny. Tankers here in the US are some of the hardest working soldiers I have been involved with (Used to be one) Maybe things are different across the pond. Regardless, that is funny.... :-) "Q"

I'll do that as soon as Tamiya releases his 1/48 German WW2 picnic set! :-)

Jean-Luc

I second that... I also hope there will be more in future. What an excellent little scene you have built.

I love the detail in the figures and... the wheel in the water...excellent.

About the wheel there are two things that are great about it :

- The painting.... nothing to say about that...wonderful
- The way it was placed in the water.... I always find it hard to make convincing water, specially when there are objects in it like this wheel. Air bubbles, the separation between "water" and object not looking real and that sort of stuff..... You mastered that to perfection !!

I sure hope we can see more of your dioramas in here in future. Nice diorama building Jean-Luc !!!

Novice? Je pense pas...
Well done Jean-Luc! The wagon wheel perfectly blends both elements, as does the rock. Wasn't sure that 1/48 scale could look this good, so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and say this is because you have excelled yourself in their presentation
Cheers
Brad
Oh and I think all would agree that unfortunately this will be your 'last post' (pun intended;) in the 'Beginners' section...

The wagon wheel really adds a little something with out a bunch of clutter. The water looks great. Great depth with the water. The land scape with the grass and dirt look awsome. good job.

Jean-Luc, I love your dio. I think it is very well done and would be hard pressed to guess it was 1/48th if you hadn't stated it. Your figures look very good, are they from the Tamiya German set? the Schwimmwagen is very well done too as well as the ground work. do you plan on doing more work in 1/48th? Cheers Kevin

Jean Luc, its beautiful. I'm not kidding. You did a very nice job. It says what it says and the story speaks for itself. Nicely done. Thanks for sharing.

EasyOff

Hi all!

Thanks for your kind words!

Yes the story and the dio is very simple. I didn't wanted to do something too complicated. I knew I would have enough work with the water and the grass for a first time... so making buildings and rubbles... hum... maybe later. I experienced the hard way that wanting to make ambitious things without axperience wasn't the way to go for me!
Yes the figures are from Tamiya's German infantry set. Figures are still a problem in 1/48... there are not that many! I'm waiting for Tamiya's Panzer Grenadier set because there is a driver for Kubelwagen and Schwimmwagen in it... The figures I used are good but there is indeed a scale problem with them. Some a rather underscaled! The guy on the left (with binoculars) is very small compared to the taller Tank Kommander in the middle. Even placed higher (on purpose), he his smaller despite wearing a Helmet!? I hope Tamiya will fix that in the forthcoming 1/48 sets...
Yes I will make other dioramas in the future! I'm already making one for my Grumman Goose model and saw some nice kits at the quarter-kit.com website! Look here , here or here !

Jean-Luc

Water is always tough but you mastered it quite well. Mud on the shore with some underwater rocks near the shore still visible. The wagon wheel is a great touch

Jean-Luc I'm already looking forward to many of your work here in the Diorama section. Simple but beautifully executed diorama. Water, figures, vehicles the whole lot. I thought your work on the Goose was good but I have to say this is even better and 1/48 at that.