I'm working on creating a 1/72 scale 20x30" diorama of a destroyed factory in Stalingrad, fall of 1942. I'm going to add a small track and some destroyed train cars, a destroyed T34/76 as well as some intact armor (haven't decided which, and how many, to use yet...any siggestions? [German and Russian]) and a Pak40 hidden in the rubble. The figures are going to be mainly Pegasus, Caesar and Revell...with a few Esci, etc thrown in. The destroyed T34 will be on a small pile of rubble, with a hole dug underneath the front of it, with a german machine gun team behind cover. Below are a few pics of the beginning stages (sorry the pics aren't the best quality.

Oh yeah, ignore the painted wall of the factory. Thats just a mixture of acrylic, white glue and water to seal the foam. (I peeled off the outer layer of paper on the foam board to allow carving of details) The factory is going to be painted a red-brick color and weathered to look as realistic as possible. This is my first attempt at a diorama so I'm still testing out a lot of ideas and techniques, most of which I've picked up from you guys.


- John

Hi John

Looks like a good start to me, i love stalingrad dio's, there is always mutch destruction en chaos.....not easy to built and in that scale 1/72!!!
But its a great challenge. What do you use for the grounwork and rubble?

Keep us updated

greetz den bill

hi,

at first i already thought huh what have you done with that wall but when you said it i understanded it :-) .
i am also bissy with a dio on 1/72 but it's not that big a yours

keep up the good work
died

As you can see on the board, I have the roadway drawn out...along the roadway I'm going to draw/carve a multi-sized rectangular stone pattern into the foam....the roadway itself, I'm not sure of yet. Does anyone know what the streets of Stalingrad were made out of (cobble, brick, etc) or paved with (if so)?...I've been searching around and can't find much. The rubble will be made out of foam carved into bricks and stone and "sealed" using a glue/water mixture. I'm using green floral foam to create piles of rubble against the walls and hills of rubble in the open...then covered with the individual bricks (balsa), brick wall chunks (carved foam), wood beams, miscellaneous debris, etc.

As for the figures and vehicles;

Soviets:
Revell - Soviet Infantry
Pegasus - Russian Navy infantry ('07)
Pegasus - Russian Support ('07)
Pegasus - Russian Summer Infantry (released '07)
Pegasus - Russian Summer Mortar Set (released '07)
Armourfast - 99005 WWII Soviet T34/76 (2 per pack, I'm only using 1)
Armourfast - 99009 WWII Soviet T34/85 (2 per pack, I'm only using 1)
Preiser:
72523 Soviet Infantrymen on a Tank (aggressive)
72525 Soviet Infantrymen on a Tank (relaxed)

Germans:
Caesar - German Infantry (late war) ....(Would late war uniforms work for October, 1942? Probably not)
Pegasus - German Waffen SS
Pegasus - Waffen SS - Set 2
Pegasus - German Mortar Teams
Armourfast - German BMW with Sidecar
Armourfast - 99007 WWII German Machine Gun Team
Italeri:
7026 German Anti-tank guns (3 diff) (I'm only using the Pak 40 for the Factory dio)
Airfix:
02308 WWII: Panzer IV Tank
02312 WWII: German Reconnaissance Set (Sd.Kfz.222 4 wheeled armoured car & VW type 82 Kubelwagen)

* I'm only using each figure pose once, some poses I'm not going to use at all.

Any new progress on this dio? I would love to see it finished!

regards,
Steen

looks like its going to be an excellent peice of work when done!
Id just warn you about the dangers of having buildings and roads line up to the edges of your dio - It can lead to a stale and dull looking scene no matter how excellent your dio. Even a slight angle to the roads and buildings against the diorama edge can make a scene look far more natural and realistic by making it appear less 'planned'.
Just a suggestion before you get started!
Have fun with this one i'm sure its going to look excellent.

James

Hi there

Good luck with it. Please keep us posted with pictures as you go along.

You could fill the factory with tubes that has fallen to the floor, iron railings with cranes and such placed beneath the roof and small rooms for workshops.

Hope to see more of this one.

Cheers

Simon

Hey
To me it looked like the T34 was a bit shiny




Matt

John,

Best of luck with your Dio it sounds great , Just one note you'll have to convert the SS figures to Wehrmacht there were no SS units involved in the Battle of Stalingrad

Best of Luck ,

Jerry

Looks pretty neat, I'm doing something similar. It's just a fortified building in stalingrad (1/48).