Hey all! Merry Christmas!!!

I'm looking for some good pictures of European bridges (concrete, masonary, wood) that would fit with my planned diorama. Click on this link http://www.armorama.net/forums/65880&page=1 for my basic dio idea(s). Looking for pics of a small RR bridge that would be coming into/out of a small German town and/or a small two lane "traffic" bridge. Any links to AM kits for the above would be appreciated; if not, good pics to scratch them would be real nice as my talents lie in wood.

Thanks in advance!!

Mike

Just did the proposed layout of my dio.



The dashed line is the proposed cut-off; to the left of line may be too much (actually, it is too much...that part will be removed), as I am having a hard time trying to figure out what to fill it with.

The right side of dio will be the front....so the viewer is able to view down the river and see into the main building’s courtyard.

The two vehicles in courtyard are GMC deuces. The upper one will have the Traxz Canvas Cover....which I bought today. The small vehicle in courtyard is the trailer that comes with Tamiya's Jeep Willys MB. It's parked awaiting the return of the Jeep.

The thick blue lines are the sidewalks.

On the bridge (bottom of the pic) is the Jeep leading the M20. To their right, in the street behind the wall fronting the river, is the M16 Half-Track that is in defilade(sp?) behind a 4 or 5 foot tall wall.

The small yellow dots along the sidewalks are proposed street light positions.

Well, no room for the tracks (RR bridge), but I could still use the information on a two-lane concrete/masonry bridge for the Jeep and M20.

Oh, the building that is in the courtyard is, possibly, a hotel...still not sure. Regardless of what the building is, it's been taken over by a small group of U.S. soldiers.....HQ probably.

Mike

Yeah nice Mike! Good to work from something this succinct... Sorry I can't help you with the bridge, but it looks an ambitious but not overwhelming project, and if you put the planning effort into each section to build, then I'm sure it will come out shiny
Cheers
Brad
P.S. defilade is correct

Bradley,

Wish this had 'spellcheck!' I've looked and looked again at the initial layout (left of the dotted line does go) and it will need to be built in sections, per se.

I am going to request from my in-laws in Germany (or others for that matter) that, on their next trip into town (Hanau or Frankfurt) to take some rather detailed pics of a two or three story hotel. I seriously doubt that there is an AM kit for such a large building. With that, I REALLY like the idea of scratching it. It would probably be of the "typical" German style; timbers exposed and tile roof, much like my in-laws house but on a much grander scale. I think that most of the building will be intact, and therefore "not seen" by the viewer, BUT, the front right corner may be battle-damaged, showing the roof supports and inner room(s). Somewhere in there will be the proposed HQ, visible, but not completely. Somewhere within the second or third floor will be an MG nest protected by sandbags; maybe even the attic level.

The deuce next to the steps (right side) will be either loading or unloading supplies; probably unloading.

I think the gist (main theme) of this dio is the Jeep and M20 "coming home" after a recon.

I don't know...........input??

[edit] I haven't even gotten to the positioning of figures yet. I'm guessing at least 20-25 total. Jeep and M20 crew, M16 crew, MG nest, those unloading the GMC, the HQ staff, and, gads, civilians?? Ahhhh, my nemesis....figures. Cripes.


Mike

Impressive Mike
A sandbagged emplacement on a 1st or 2nd level would look great as a contrast to the overall intact hotel...
Why not PM Claude (roudeleiw) I know he is building what seems to be most of Luxemburg in a dio- fantasic stuff. I'm sure as far as reference pics he would be your man for that style or region
HTH
Brad

One thing I have done to find photos of architectural details is to use google and search for tourist sites. These sites usually have galleries that have a bunch of different images of the town.

I love the planning you are putting into this - it will make it fall together very nicely.

Are the vehicles in this drawing 'to scale'? If so, I have some reservations about the spacing. I think the roads and courtyard are too big. Or you are going to have to really 'fill in' with a ton of details.

Here is an idea if you really want to use the railway bridge. Shift the whole thing right a bit. Cut off just to the right of the building, swing the 2.5 around the back court yard. You could even shorten the building (If scratch building). Then put the road and rail bridges parallel to each other.

You need to check out VLS's product lines. 135th Construction Batallion has some great ground work products.

Scott, I probably should have indicated up front that none of it is to "scale." Nato308 (Paul) is the one that finally got me going, from a mere thought to something on paper. It's a start that I've needed.

The vehicles are an approximation...the placement will be further defined once I 1) get the models built or at least get their correct dimensions, and 2) once I get some dimensions of the building [at least pics I can use], sidewalks, and road and bridge widths.

The building, being a hotel(?), should have an area where the "customers" park. The "tricky" part is the placement of the gate. I am still trying to figure out how I'll do that. The part of the building that sticks out in the courtyard is a proposed drive under canopy, where people are dropped off (cover for inclement weather). The courtyard actually seems small to me, but I'll Google and see if there aren't any ideas that'll come out of it. That's a LOT of cobblestone in there!

I've read and read and looked at the pic and finally it dawned on me; you suggested shifting everything to the right. My dumb butt kept looking at it like it should be shifted to the left!! Duh, need my coffee after last night's .

Well, a Googling I go! Thanks guys, more to follow!

Mike

Cofee works wonders even though Ihate it.theother stuff is better even though I can't spell it