Hi Everyone, I have been busy puttying and pinning figures this past few days and finally have all the figures together for my Russian dio. I decided to place them on the dio to see how it is looking and here are the results...first the basis of the dio


As you can see on the photos below I have embellished a bit. I added the cossacks to be in charge of the prisoners and also the women in the fields, these women will have the shovels converted into sickles and they will be in the middle of a wheat or hay field harvesting. The woman that is close to the house outline will be hanging laundry on a clothes line, I also added the photographers taking the pics Even the tiger isn't a part of the original pic but it is there with engine trouble and the crew is working on it while the tank riders from it are relaxing and enjoying a nice lunch. As for ground work besides the grain or hay field there will be trees and grasses, and also a stream that the tanks are crossing with I think a destroyed bridge. Enough talk here are the pics, all comments are appreciated and welcomed














Thanks for looking Cheers Kevin

Lookin sharp so far. Its gonna be amazing when this thing is finished. I cant wait for you to finish your ground work. Keep us posted.

Kevin

Very very ambitious diorama. Interesting thread with showing the actual pic first, and then your artistic representation of the event. A lot of work ahead of you my friend -- if I had that many figures to paint, I believe I'd feint Good luck on this one and please keep us posted.

Steve

Hey...... Very nice indeed, when is it finished??

That is way cool. It's going to be awesome

Wow, Kevin:

You are one prolific model builder, Kevin. I marvel
at your skill. I've been hacking on 1:35th fig conversions for over a year now, and can't come close to your
skill level. But I'll keep trying.

But I have a question. Where did the Roosky
women in the fields come from. I looked
closely at the pictures and each one is either
primed or in white plastic.
Where did you find them. Or are these women
conversions, with female haids, eh?

Lovely work

Wow! Magnificent dio! Me too, I can't wait to see it finished! Do keep us posted!
Cheers and happy modelling!
Prato

You know what irks me about this whole dio Kevin? The fact I have 1 x Sherman and 2 x crew to finish, and I have seen your dio get to this stage and you started building after me...
Seems I build like Groundhog Day, seem to keep going over the same parts, and not progressing...
Oh yeah, like what you've got here! When you're painting civvys is the process different at all? I mean, do you treat it different to military figures in approach? Never having painted anything non-military myself...
Good work here and may it continue to be a successful build
Cheers and HNY
*clink*
Brad

man oh man, this is gonna look great when it's finally done. Excellent picture to base the dio on, so far what I see I like, have fun painting the figures..after about six, I get very sick of them! :-) So when's it gonna be done, in a year? hee hee
Keep it up, you're doing great!

Holy Crap!!! Thats amazing. Kevin, ground work looks great. I like the figs and their positioning. What kitsfigs are u using? Cant wait to see this project done. Keep us posted.

Happy New Year

Great stuff Kevin! I cant wait to see the groundwork get painted and the busch grass going in! I'm living in suspense now hehe! Keep it up!
Ian

Wow Kev that is one big dio. Really taking shape and coming alive. Can't wait to see the house, fence and trees added on. For the ground work, are you using scully-play. Thats what it's called here. Looking forward to seeing more progress photos.

Ha, Ha, my turn, - hey man how come you're not finished yet ?
Just kidding Kevin, progress looks great, and the figs. are excellent.
One small question though, you are going to add more chewed up earth and track marks over the Tiger ones from the P z IIIs ?
Cheyenne

Hi Kevin,
Its great to see some progress on this huge dio of yours. I really like the way everything seems to compliment each other (something I struggle to achieve).
In the 7th pic of the tank riders, I am not really liking the guy sitting on the exhaust (?) he looks like he is just about to fall off.
Apart from that everything looks Awesome.........Onward I say!!!!!!!

The diorama is looking great Kevin. I admire your ability to construct these large dioramas. Looking forward to more progress pictures in the near future.

Keith

Kevin -

Absolutely fantastic!!! It just keeps getting better and better with every new addition and detail. I look forward to each update. Anything you might need, just ask. Keep us posted.

Blade48mrd

looks verie nices,Kevin.
What will be the focal point.to direct the viewer's eye?
I agree the gound on the road must be heavily torn up from all the armor passing by.

(++) (++)

kevin, it looks good now and will look amazing when you're finished. what a huge project ! keep us updated with pics along the way!

First, I would like to thank everyone for their comments both here and in messenger. To answer a few questions:
Harrison, I will have a look at the tank riders and see if i can rearrange some of the gear, thanks for pointing that out.
Steve, if you want I can send you some of the figs to paint
Hilbert, I hope it will be done in time for IPMS nationals next summer.
Alan, thanks i hope it is too.
Rick, you are to kind. the women are from Prieser, no real mods to them yet but soon they wont have shovels but sickles
Prato, Thanks for the comments and I sure will keep you posted.
Brad, all I can say is get busy!!!! I have seen your work and its great, so get on it! :-) As for the civilians i have only done one other so this will be a first for me.
Kelly, thanks I have always wanted to do a dio based on this pic, I have even found two other pics of the same scene but from different angles. I hope to get it done by next August.
Brian, thanks for the comments. The figs are a big mix. I can't recall all the set names. But to start there is a lot of dml figs, most of the tank riders and the German cossacks. A lot of the dml stuff was donated to the cause from blade48mrd and mother. Thanks guys. I redid a lot of them with different arms and changing the heads and torso's to make them all different. The white tank riders are from Carter and Crowley. The commanders are from Tristar, DML and Tamiya. The Russian prisoners are a mix from Verlinden, Carter and Crowley, MIG, and Yanks. The Civilians and relaxing soldiers are from Prieser. the tiger crew is a mix of Warriors, Tamiya and Junior Town Models. The photographers are from the DML initial prod. Tiger kit.
Ian, I hope I dint keep you in suspense to long :-) thanks for the comments and input.
Joe, Thanks for the comments and the DML German Cossacks. I hope you like the way I chose to use them. As for the ground work, it is Sculpey. I am wanting to try out the AVES product clayshay but that will have to wait for another project.
Mike, Thank you for the DML figs you sent for me to butcher up. I'll keep you posted.
Cheyenne, Finished yet hahaha I need a drink Thanks for the comment, these figs will take as long as your buildings I think. As for the tracks, The tiger tracks are there and torn up all the tracks that can be seen are a bunch of pz3 tracks as I am trying to make it look like the whole division had passed thru there. I will add more as I get closer to finishing the sculpey on it.
Andy, Thanks for the comments and catching that guy. If its the white figure you are talking about I am meaning for him to look like he is tipping back wards. Kinda comic relief :-) He is the soldier that was so tired of marching then sitting atop a tank with no room he wanted to try this place for a seat but as the tank accelerated out of the stream he starts to lose balance. I think I will remove the others off these storage boxes so the focus will be on one idiot instead of three, And yeah thats two less figs to paint
Keith, Thanks for the kind words. I'm over anxious to get to the ground work and the critters.
Carl, The focal point will be the column of the three pz3's with all the rest being fill and side stories. As for the road way I will try to tear it up more. Thanks for commenting
GI_Babycakes, thanks for the kind words I hope you like it as it goes along.
As for everyone else thanks for having a look. Cheers Kevin

hi Bro,
now i realized why we dont meet on MSN much,we must be modelling hard very very good piece of art and plz keep us posted

Wow Kevin,

This looks really great, can't wait to see how you will attack the groundwork. A lot of very big dios on Armorama actually and really a lot of material to learn from.

Happy New Year to you all

Claude

Brother Engin, Thank you for your kind words and I guess if we don't meet in messenger soon I will quit having to threaten to call you and just call you Happy New Year and best regards to you and your family.
Claude, thank you for your comments, The ground work is my favorite part, I have been pleased with my ground work in the past but I am hopin gthis comes off extra special. I will keep you posted. Happy New years toy you too!!!! Cheers Kevin

This is looking better every time you post an update Kevin, and I like the way you have managed to force the dimensions of the photo and the dio to work so well. There's one thing however which looks odd to me, and that's the Tiger.. . The photograph looks to me like it's early war, possibly Operation Barbarossa, and the Tiger looks out of place..., but that's just my line of thought, probably because all the other tanks are Pzr III's. I'm really looking forward to the ground work, howmany butterflies will you hide in there??

Cheers
Henk

Kevin, i cant come online much lately but when i do i get surprised in how fast you progress on this one! Marvelous job and keep it coming!

Mirko

Kevin,

This is what I have been waiting for...

Thanks for sharing, I think things are coming along very well, for such a massive undertaking. From what I can tell your figures look good. I know a few of them will have slightly different positions when put into their final positions. The only thing I have to say is watch your tank riders, (which I am sure you will) some look like they might need something to grab on to. The balance to the bodies... Tanks are rough riders...

I have been doing the some thing you have as of late, doing major amputations and reattachments. Never thought of myself as a surgeon. Got to say I love Magic sculpt for this. Still say you need to get some. Absolutely fabulous stuff to work with. Hope we will get together soon. I think we have a lot to show eachother...