Hey everyone, if youre familiar with my ardenne diorama base youll know that it was pretty sizeable. For the ammount of figures i had available that could effectively convey the scene i wanted, the base was too big, so i opted to make a smaller diorama that is set in a pine forest. There is a fairly steep ridge which a halftrack is climbing, while grenadiers run alongside it. Hopefully the pictures will make it clear to what is happening.

Overall view of base.


Officer running up the ridge.


Another view.


Log and ferns.


Another view.


Halftrack interior.


Halftrack interior (note highlighting on benches)


With halftrack.
http://photos.kitmaker.net/showphoto.php/photo/150237/cat/17355

With halftrack and men jumping out.


Another view.


Thats all the pics i have so far, i do have pictures of how i made the ferns and the pine needles but thats only really if enough people want to see. Ive been drawing a blank as to what other flora i should add to the base. I have ferns but im not sure if grass would be very appropriate in this scene...any suggestions would be helpful. Cheers, Ian

Hi Ian,
Firstly i really like what you have done so far.The whole cocept of the hilly base is very effective and something that i have been contemplating doing myself!Your figures look well painted(the cammo looks great)and you feel straight away the action of the scene.As for the grass,i'm not too sure mate,but i would be more inclined to add extra ferns to the dio.Under big pine trees in forests here in Belgium where not much light gets in , you rarely see any growth other than ferns.The pine needles that build up under the trees tend to deter any weeds or grass growing.It would be great if you could post a few pics on how you made your ferns!
Cheers mate,
Shay

Great dio! I love the immediate sence of movement and action - the fact that the dio shows this is full credit to you! i really think it works well! Please post some pics of the finished dio...

Thanks guys I will definatly post some pics of how i did the ferns, anyone else have suggestions on some groundcover?

Gday Ian
This is coming along verry nicely!
I think Shay has already mentioned it, but pine needles would be everywhere...

Hey guys, for all that would like to know, I make my ferns by harvesting branches from a tree that grows in my area...not sure what its called.


Once the branches are dried, I pick off individual "leaves" and glue them with CA to a wire.


Then i stick them in some styrafoam,


and airbrush them a dark green first, followed by a light green spray ontop. After that is all dry i paint the center "vein" brown. Drill hole in groundwork and voila!

Finished product:

Ok guys ive been looking around and I'm pretty sure that this tree is a variant of an Acacia tree, called "Acacia baileyana" Here are some pics i found that are pretty much an exact match of what i have harvested.

http://leda.lycaeum.org/Images/Acacia_baileyana.15955.jpg
http://images.google.com/images?q=Acacia%20baileyana&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=N&tab=wi

I know these trees are being used for landscaping so it wouldnt be too much of a hard task to find a nursery online or in your area that may carry them.
Ian

Hola Ian
Dug up this photo of the forest floor littered with pine needles... There seems to be some other small green growth which may be some fungus...

Speaking of fungus (How often do you get to say THAT?) I reckon you could add some scalloped fungus; you know the orangey/white scales that grow on stumps and trunks? Would add a burst of colour (not that it needs it though!)
Love the ferns, and I'm happy that they are not PE, and nature can toss up something useful... Although I s'pose rain is useful...and honey tastes nice...
*Cough* I'm a bit crook, and on cough suppressant, so bear with me
Cheers
Brad
P.S. The photo is of the Ardennes by the way...

Hi, Ian

Have you tried some fine compost mixed with a little white glue, and sprinkeled with some more compost?
I tried it once and it looks like "forrestground" with some of those fine roots acting like fallen and rotten branches.
you could also try "blending " fine mosses u'll find everywhere in a forrest, grinding them will provide u with some fine dustlike greenstuff, u can mix it ar dy it as u wish.

I used regular dirt from the garden, mixed with some left over "wood laquer" i found laying around, surprisingly it worked out like half frozen mud .
Well u'll only know if you try.

Good luck with the dio

Peter

Ian:

Great work so far. I like the poses of the soldiers. as for ground cover, dead branches, ferns, pine needles(most of which are a rusty brown color) and pine cones. Also as Brad has pointed out, moss will tend to grow both on the ground and trees.

cant wait to see more

Hey guys thanks for the reply's much appreciated.

Bradley - Thanks for that picture thats very helpful! Im kinda wishing that I can add some kinda grass to the dio where there are breaks in the tree cover just so that its not so bland you know? But i will definatly try to add that moss, looks really great. Oh and Bradley, haha dont worry we all get goofy now and then, under the influence or not haha.
Peter - That sounds very interesting would u happen to have any photos of youre techniques? Ive always been a visual learner so some photos would be very helpful.
Brian - Hey Brian thanks for the info, will try and add some more pine needles...I have added some under the trees but i dont think it caught your guys' eyes. here are some pics of how i did em.

First add some branches to the groundwork, then cover with some static grass


Spread it out as you want it


Tamp it down so that there is no fibres sticking up, you want them laying down as pine needles would.


Before glue


Here is where im adding photo-flo, its a liquid that has very low surface tension. If i were to add whiteglue/water mixture to the needles it would be suspended ontop of the needles, rather than soaking thru. I use this so that when i add the white glue it will soak through because its already wet.


Adding white glue/water mixture 50/50


You can add more braches to the static grass as you work, here is what it looks like dried...ready for a red brown paint.


Hope this clears up any questions people might of had about making pine needles.

Cheers, Ian

Photo-flo is your secret huh. Great tip. Have you had any experience with liquid soap? I've seen some pointers that indicate you can use that to break the surface tention, haven't ever tried it myself. Just curious.

Haha yeah, i raided it from my dad's dark room ; ) but im sure water with soap would do the same job, but i think photo flo is a bit better. My dad is gonna wonder what happened to all his photo flo the next time he goes to develop some film hahaha.

Hey Ian, she is a beauty so far. I would really like to get my hands on some of them there ferns !!! Looking forward to your next update. Cheers Kevin

Haha thanks Kevin, I will try to send some over to ya ; )

G'day Ian
This is looking fantastic. Your groundwork is just awesome, but what really gets me is those ferns, as ive been wondering what i could use for a diorama i am working on, and those would be perfect, might be a longshot but any chance you could find out the name of the plant?
Cheers mate, keep us posted on how this one progresses!

Thanks David, if you read up to previous posts you can see the name of the plant...i actually found it! Thanks to google haha.

Nice one Ian...
This is a type of 'wattle' tree in Oz... Have them pretty much everywhere here... Have looked at these leaves before, trying to nut out a use in constructing a pine tree, but the obvious 'fern' that can be made is now clearly obvious!!

Hello Ian,

great job so far, your groundwork is going to be excellent.
I have a problem with the grenadier climbing out of the halftrack. I do not think that he is going to do it. He is going to slide to the back of the halftrack, and if i did not brock his leg by then, he will climb of the back of the halftrack, that would be a lot easier.

Cheers

Claude

I'm loving the SBS on the pine forest groundwork. But am a little skeptical of the layout/storyline.

If you were going to drive a halftrack up a steep incline and de-bus your troopies, wouldn't you stop just below the crest , hull down or as close to it as you can get, so the onboard mg can provide cover and so as not to expose the vulnerable underside of the vehicle to enemy fire?

If it's to portray the exact moment the enemy spring an ambush, then wouldn't the troopies be piling out the rear of the vehicle, or moving toward cover, not disembarking over the side directly under fire?

The figure posings are great, the painting is fantastic, and halftrack looks good, but the storyline just doesn't quite sell itself to my jaded (and admittedly non-military) eye.

My US$0.02
mike

Claude - Thanks for the pointer, Ive been debating this myself, and ive come to think that even though it would be difficult to jump out of the halftrack while climbing, it wouldnt me impossible. And for the compisition, Im trying to make the scene look like it flows and has a lot of movement, however if i have him jumping off the back he will be facing away from the direction of movement.

Mike - I understand your skepticism of the scene, and of course under the most logical circumstances this scene would never happen. I didnt really put too much of a storyline behind the scene, just that a group of grenadiers are walking up this ridge while they are attacked as the halftrack crests the ridge, causing the men over the ridge to be cut down and the men under the ridge act to set up a firing line at the crest. The men in the halftrack hearing the gunfire have to bail out to help support the line. Realistically speaking i dont see that a party that would ambush would ambush while the halftrack is at the lowspot in the ridge, they would mostlikely attack when it is at its most vulnerable spot. I hope this clears up anything!

Thanks for the comments guys i really appreciate them

Ian

Hey Ian

Great work so far. However I am disapointed you changed your dio....
I followed the first version. I even asked you once if you had made any progress. I think it's a pitty you made it smaller. I really loved your first setup.....

But I think this one is goin to score also. Could you do a how to on the way you make your groundwork of that dio?? I saw how you made those pine tree needles on the ground. Put the whole area looks GREAT. And I really like to know what you used with some pics Aye??

Great work buddy really great keep it up

Cheers Roel

Heh, Roel, you have my word on that one ok! Unfortunatly i didnt take any in progress pictures of when i did the groundwork but I will be making a new base for a tank very soon. If you want I can take some SBS pics when i lay down the groundwork then ok? Or do you want me to describe it right now?
Ian

hi Ian,
I guess , by the look of ur recent pictures , u won't be needing my advise, I'm learning from u!! that foto thing great find!
And by blending, I mean putting dry mosses into a blender , creating a fine dust like green pouder ( depends on how lang u blend )
You could put it underneath the Henki grass mats to provide indepth grass look, I mean when stretched the Henki mats tend to be to thin to hide the groundwork beneath.

And for the possition debate; In war EVERY position is thinkable!!
As war is inpredictable!


Ps on kitmaker there's an "old" picture of a Kv2 of mine on a small base, groundwork is entirely made of blended mos and some static grass.
( yeah yeah I hear ya'll cry out , the rest is made of plaster end sand.)


greetz Peter

Haha Peter, you crack me up, doubt anyone is learning just from one person, i think it goes both ways! I really like how you did the ground up moss it looks really nice! I will try and incorporate that into my dio, but i have to wait for my order of silflor grass to come in the mail. Then I can make decisions of what exactly I want to do with all the vegetation. I also found some other fern looking plants that are being preserved as we speak. Hopefully they will preserve well and can be used in my dio as well.
Ian