Hi guys,
Thought i'd post some of my progress pics of a campaign that is going on at Kitmakers Benelux site.
The camapaign has a a few criterias.A)an animal has to be present,B)the setting must be in occupied territory of the low countries(Belgium/Holland),C)some form of scratchwork must be done with wood,C)the viewer must be able to identify in which country the dio is set in,this means no name plate i.e G.I's at Market Garden.
I decided to go for a scene set around Market Garden using a 3 figure set of Master Boxes's U.S Paratroopers.
Now deciding on trying to fit an animal into the scene wasn't going to be easy.The poses of the figures have some action involved so i decided to re-work a goose from Tamiya's livestock set to compliment them.The pose of the goose was very bland as it was OOB,so i did some small scratchwork to give it a more animated appearence,adding new wings etc.
Lastly trying to come up wityh an idea for something to identify which country the dio set in wasn't an easy task..until i thought,what else is famous about Holland apart from cheese?Beer..no that's Belgium ..Clogs!!So i set out sculpting some from left over resin.
As for the rest of the dio i have done some scratchwork done by adding a derelict wooden fence and have added a wheelbarrow from Resicast to the scene which is overturned with firewood around it.
The tree is made from an old root with spraypainted seafoam.Grass is from Heki.
There are a few pics..I would like to hear what you guys think so far!What could be improved or added to the scene?



































Cheers,Shay

Looks good, the frightened goose coming out of the bushes is a nice touch.

Shaping up very nicely Shay! Love the ground work .... what are those little flowers? Where did you get them from? The wheel barrow and the tipped wood is excellent ... the split in the wood is very realistic! Great job also on the goose wings .. this will add extra movement to the scene.
There´s no images with all pieces in their proper setting, but maybe the guy looking backwards could be moved forward, so he is looking at the just appeared goose ... this is what startled him and why is looking around. It would also tie the story together better, and add a slight comical touch! Just a thought!

Mate thats some outstanding work you are producing.

Either your hands are monstrous or that the goose is really detailed for its size.

The painting of the wheel barrow is very very nice as well. How did you paint it to get that finish?

Any chance you could write up a build feature for this dio? Would love to know how you do it.

Very nice little scene. Great work on the surroundings, including the duck. Looking forward to see the final work, especially the figures.

Hi Shay,

Your dio looks very nice !!
What particularly stroke me is the setting. I find it excellent. The last guy check behind him the german hunting them, in front of him the two guys try to go faster, and in front of the two guys the goose is running away ! this horizontal line story, alltogether linked to the same fact, is perfect.
The work on brush, flower, grass is excellent. Altought, market garden occured during september 1944 and my first impression when I saw your dio was that the scene depict a spring scene. To me the colors are a bit too green. Maybe you could put some yellow touches, as if the sun have burnt the grass during all the summer, or give the grass a darker shade if it was a rainny september. this being said, I don't know the summer weather in Holland, nor the temparature occured during september 1944....:-)
My second remark concern the fence. You say it's derelicted fence. Maybe you could work a little on the wood to reproduce the time passing by this fence, carving it, giving it different tone, more like a dry wood.
Oh and I forget, the cutten wood in front of the wheel is just marvelous.
This is the kind of diorama and builders which makes me say "armorama N°1 !".

Best and Godverdom !
Julien

Shay,
First off, really great looking piece of work you have there! Secondly; Whats the wensite address for that site? I'd kinda like to see whats goin on with y'alls stuff.

Too bad the campaign is restricted to the low countries, I have really been wanting to see someone do, or do a dio myself, of the Russian tank Dogs.

Very nice work Shay, with imaginative use of the geese. The ground work and the positioning of the figures is great. The Romans used to keep geese as guard animal as they make so much noise when disturbed so maybe the BAR man is reacting to their position being given away by the honking. One question-Where are the clogs going to be?




Steve have a search around for the work of the Norwegian modeller Per Olav Lund who did a great dio with Russian tank dogs. the pics used to be on WW2 modelmaer but that site is unfortunately kaput

it looks great. my only suggestion is to give the guy with the garand a little attention. It just looks wrong to me. The rifle is a 9lb rifle, and I couldn't imagine trying to compfortably carry mine by the small of the stock. Esp. not leveled like it is. When I carry my rifle one handed it is usually at the balance point in the middle.

just a suggestion, and I hope it didn't come across wrong, cause I like the dio.

Hi Shay,

Really a fine piece of work! Where did you get those flowers? That sort of detail really adds something to the diorama!




You're more than welcome to come take a look. If you need any translation, just ask :-) :-)

http://benelux.kitmaker.net/

The campaign topics can be found here:

http://benelux.kitmaker.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=SquawkBox&file=index&req=viewforum&forum_id=115&page=1

Martin

Hi guys,
I'll definitely take into considerations everyones input!!I'm still deciding on certain aspects in regards to the figure placement and where i'll be putting the clogs.
Jazza,kia ora mate,congrats on the new position!Unfortunately i didn't take enough photos of the building process to compile anything decent for a build feature..next time round maybe??
For anyone looking to create firewood like i have,try to find at the local supermarket or health shop a packet of licorice sticks.I originally used them for my boy when he had teething troubles (they don't taste too bad!)!!All you do is cut log lengths off with a fine saw and then cut down through the centre of the offcuts about halfway using a blunt knife,then snap the last piece off.Hopefully you'll get a splintered firewood look!!
Martin,je leeft nog!!The flowers are actually HO scale sunflowers with the stems cut off.I personally think the stems look too dense so i'll be changing them around with some fine wire.Thanks for adding the hot link .
Thankyou for everyone who took the time to post suggetions,it's appreciated!
Cheers,Shay