hi everyone

Just a couple of pics to show the hedge row foliage in my first diorama, "Winding Lanes".







with the hedgerows out the way, I will be able to continue adding my undergrowth and shrubbery, to make it more full in appearance. A massive thanks to Paul for the fantastic materials, and the huge motivation boost !


Comments please! how do you think it looks so far ?

Spot on mate! Glad to be of service... Enjoy! Now you should be able to finish the ground work in short order!

As Ken in Mass said this looks so realistic. And that is
so hard to do; requires so much patience, which you
have in spades, Big John — as I remember your
tutorial on applying weeds w/ appropiate pix some time
back. I wrote it all down.

Obviously, you are very observant of nature. All the little
pieces of branches and foliage have that very natural,
not uniform look of the real thing. Wow.

wow thanks for the responses guys that's really reassuring to know I'm on the right track. I have since added more foliage to the growth i'm calling the "corner bush".





there it is in a "figure test". here it is on it's own..





it will have it's individual branches added on soon, to give it that depth, but I haven't made them yet. To add some variety to the foliage this one was covered in a mixture of Noch leaves and ground parsley. It has a roughter look than the other, but it's not as pronounced as I expected.

Jon, very realistic, very natural. What did you use for leaves ? [ sorry if you already stated that ] .
The gnarley tree and ground cover are also very good.
Any fieldstone walls going to the right of the halftrack ?
Cheyenne

Hi Jon,
Great work on the hedges, did you paint the parsley leaves or just leave them the colour they come?

I have got to do the hedgerows in my Dio...I'm dreading it!

keep up the good work!
Insirational!

:-)

Wacko the diddio!
That has come up roses Jon
The first pic has the foliage sittin really natural, and the earth tones amongst the root system look spot on
For a first diorama, it just shows what one can do with sufficient research and attention to detail
Good show!
Cheers
Brad

more from the lanes

Added a few branches into the outer layer of that "Corner bush", making it look a bit more realistic.

I also started work on the tree, however I am revising my technique after some initial comments and thought..

hi mate !! no, no plans for a stone wall. I want the diorama to be set in thick countryside, with minimum "man made" aspects to the layout. I don't know why, I just fancy the rich summer look on this one without any interference.

The foliage is a mix of Noch "Leaves" in dark green and ground parsley flakes, which I pulverise with the end of my clipper lighter until they are the right size.




hi mate, thanks for your comments. I see I am in front at the moment on the dio hurry!! *whipcrack*

At the moment, those aren't painted. That's the colour they come.. .it's really nice, plus you get the natural highlights etc. however I am told parsley will brown over time so I do intend to give them a coat of paint when I've next got the airbrush out.

I wouldn't mind making an autumn diorama and actually letting the parsley dry for my dying foliage - talk about patience with the weathering :-)





thanks Brad, seeing as I've been inspired by your work and used it as a level to aim for I am flattered by your comments on my dio.


Cheers
Jon

Hello again Big John:

After looking at all the pictures, from the first posts to
latest, I'm almost speechless. . . but not quite. Oh ma'
gosh. . . John you have such tremendous discipline.
We're not talking about something that is easy to do.
There are hours and hours involved to create this kind
of detailed foliage. This is definitely a "fiddley bits"
kind of thing.

Your whole scene, the narled tree trunk, the weeds,
the bushes, etc. are just fantastic. And what a break for
us neophites to see just how you go about it. I can't
remember (since I came aboard two yrs. ago) a SBS
about terrain/foliage/growning things, where each
step was so well documented. I just can't find
the words. This definitely creates that illusive "illusion
of reality" . Just awesome.

wow shucks now Rick come on you're gonna make a grown man blush!! :-)

thanks for your kind words! I yearn to share with other modellers, to increase our global knowledge - as a lot of the knowledge given to me was shared so do i try to share it in return.

I'm really flattered ! Thank you Rick.

I have actually set winding lanes aside this weekend as I am getting a little "tunnel vision" whilst working on it, so I have put myself to work building a Tiger 1 late production for my next diorama.

I am just working on some PE tool clamps..... and you guys think I've got patience working on the foliage!! The bushes were NOTHING compared to these little b****rds!!!

I'd easily trade doing an armour modeller some groundworks in return for them doing me some armour work :-) I have not had much luck.

Hehe I've thought this many times myself...

well it's reassuring to know I'm not the only one... :-)

the DML Tiger 1 late production is enough to put me off modelling for life I think. Gorgeous kit, wonderful extras, great design throughout, but mine came packaged with a hidden problem....

Curse my own stupidity though - I did not keep receipt or paperwork for the model and it is too late in the build for me to replace the major problem - THE DAMNED WARPED HULL



honestly, that thing is so out of shape, it has taken me hours to get parts fitting properly and even then only with modifications.

oh well - you live, you model, you learn

John,
i had the same problem with the hull get onto Dragon Care they will resolve it although it may take months (In my case January to May) and a fair few e-mails but I did (finally) get all the bits.

Cheers

Craig

The variation is great. I like the total randomness of the branches and leaves. It is very convincing.

It's too late for that I'm afraid I am about 1/4 way through the build

I will put this one down to experience, I have learned from it how to modify a kit to improve fit etc. so i have picked up a few new tricks.

Besides, it's all good practise

and Slodder - thanks for your comments mate, I appreciate your kind words on my work.

Regards
Jon

if this is an "update" where is the rest of the topic?

that is a good question, I just ran a search for it and it didn't turn up...

the original thread got pretty big what with all the step-by-step images loading up etc, so I started this "update" thread, however I don't know why the search doesn't get the old thread...

Yeah, I could have sworn I saw it before. I had the same issue finding it too, bummer because when I saw it before, I passed by without a close look, now I wish I had payed a little bit better attention...excellent foliage...!

Ola Jon

Lovely scene you've got there going on mate!! The tree, the bushes, the road, the groundwork... awesome:) I really like your hedges, they look very realistic, because of all the randomness and the great looking leaves.

Waiting for the vehicle and figures:)

Take care,
dsc.

OK so here goes - I have had some troubles with the halftrack that has made me consider writing the kit off and consigning it to being a knocked-out vehicle in another diorama. It was the first armour kit I put together and my mistakes early on are pretty difficult to put right.

I have toyed with a few ideas using some other figures and kits I have, bearing in mind I am restricted massively by budget so buying a kit for this diorama or investing in some resin figures is out of the question.

The result is a change of narrative for the diorama. Instead of the winding lanes being the scene of rushed defense as previous, I have decided to relax the atmosphere to make the blazing summer setting seem lazy and stoic. The atmosphere I am trying to convey is influenced largely by the amazing descriptions I took in while reading "the Guns of War".

the diorama now shows the lead truck of a convoy stopped at a road junction, while it's driver checks the map and discusses with his passengers which way to proceed.











the Opel is the Italeri kit which I have put together this weekend. It was loads of fun to build and I'll definitely include another one in a future diorama. The figures are Trumpeter's "12th panzer division" which are actually the 12th SS hitlerjugend - correct for placement in the Caen region early in the allied invasion. The map is one of the fantastic printables by Paul (Nato308) Raines, given a little crease.

I am still very much undecided on the layout and the narrative. I intend to add camouflage and foliage to the Opel as movement in the daytime would have been tricky - with the tide of the battle quickly changing in the allies favour and air superiority being exploited.

please give me a hand! very open to suggestions and comments right now, but please - before you suggest that I have them riding a stug or any other vehicles, remember i'm stuck for cash and what I have is what I'm restricted to working with...

cheers
Jon

Jon I think things are looking fine... I wouldn't mind an arial photo to see the placement of everything. I don't have a good feel for where everything is. Give me a little more description what you have in mind for the story line.

Ken, no worries I will get you hooked up!

I like this idea much more and have to agree with the points Ken makes. Attacking scenes are all well and good, although I find it very difficult to show a realistic sense of danger and movement when the scene is basically a 'still' and is usually viewed from above!

Also, if you're enjoying building Opel, then thats what is most important, and as it looks like it will become the centrepiece of the dio you should really go to town on it as Ken says.

Your groundwork is superb! As you know I'm planning my next project (cut the base board today and its scarily large!) and I'm gonna have to do some foliage so your posts have come along at the perfect time!

Keep us posted, looking forward to seeing your figure work.

Cheers