Charles Reading shares with us pictures from one of his Classic dioramas.



Panzer Destruction Class

If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!

That's a cools diorama. I like the BW photos. Check out the items on the tables - theres a model of a model

Great addition.

Nice. I like the different theme.

Charles thats another great diorama build! First ive seen so far thats in a class room type environment. Am interested to hear how you came up with this idea.

Great work!

fabulous!

I like the subject, and the model on the table is a unique feature. Brilliant! The positions of the figures are very very natural. I bet that you've been observing some modellers that were observing a model on some contest, judging from the very convincing guy who watches the model on the table :-)

Pity that the photos aren't crystal clear, love to see this one in reality.

Nice work

Very good idea! Something completely new. Totally unexpected, and yet we can see ourselves sitting there in that classroom, watching that model. Just super!

Charles,

What a beautiful diorama. I like the unique theme.

One small nit would be that production of the the KV-II ceased in late 1941. The Panzerfaust 30 came into production in August 1943 and the Panzerfaust 60, which is on the table, came into production in August 1944.

Marty

Now this I really like, its a very good idea well executed.
Just one thought, is the guy looking at the T-34 on the table thinking "this isnt as good as the Dragon kit..."?

Hi Charles,
That is a very well executed diorama.The idea to add a model tank on the table is sublime!How did you come up with that one?Details like that on a dio really grab the attention of the viewer.
The soldier who is sitting at the centre of the table who seems very hesitant about putting his hand up looks superb,it really ties the figures into the "classroom" scene.
Adding the cyclist to the scene was a great choice,giving a slight touch of movement to an otherwise static diorama.
I would like to see some more detailed photo's of the dio ,especially an over head shot!
Cheers,Shay

The KV-2 is the ugliest tank they could ever invent, but makes its good impression here!
Very beautiful and alternative work!

This scene looks fantastic. It is surprising how much more atmoshere and authenticity a black and white print can add to the models and scene as a whole. I tried the same thing with my new camera only used the sepia setting to take a couple of test shots of my Dragon Sherman E8. The results were great. The forum post is in here somewhere, just called Easy Eight in sepia. Take ca look and let me know what you think.

Des

Thanks for all the comments!
This dio was built several years ago based on some photos in the book "God, Honor, Fatherland" the photo history of Panzergrenedier Division Grossdeutshland.
The photos show Gerhard Konopka presiding over an outdoor class, teaching close quarter panzer destruction.
I was intrigued with this series of photos but it wasn't until I saw the Jaguar kit "Der Instrucktor" which pretty much depicted Konopka from the same series.

The most difficult part of the dio was finding suitable soldiers in a sitting position who were not wearing combat gear. I ended up scrounging two sets of the sitting guys from Tamiya's Famo kit

If I were doing it over I probably wouldn't put in the KVII due to the timeline mentioned earlier in one of the posts but it is such a monster at the time I thought it would work well.

Again, thanks for the comments.
Since the demise of the WW2MM gallery all my diorama photos have disappeared from the web so as I come across them here at home I hope to submit them to Keith for display here.

Cheers,
Charles

No problem Charles

it aways my pleasure to post On Displays of Diorama work, and than goes for any body who submits them.


as long as i have 8 to 10 picture of decent quality then they will be posted

so if you want your work up in print then submit them through the support centre and ill do the rest

cheers

Keith forsyth

Great diorama. This scene is not so different from how I learned it in the Danish army - and it was still tactics against a floodwave of soviet tanks We even used some old WWII german educational movies to show the basics

Great diorama, very nice work.
Miloslav

Normally I don't care much about WWII models, but this diorama caught my eye. I just love the the instruction scene you have made Charles. It's like taken directly from a military handbook about training troops. It is pretty much like how we would do it today, except for the older weapons and different uniforms...

Erik

This past weekend, (2/10/07) my wife and I drove north to the modeling competion in Petaluma and while walking through the display areas (some very good models on display) I spotted your excellent diorama. I pointed it out to the wife and studied the details upclose and personal. I got a few digital photos of the superb dio to study later.
Outstanding concept, nicely displayed with plenty of details, great weathering and painting on the vehicles and figures. I really liked the small tank on the table the soldier is studying - very nice tough. One of the better dioramas I saw there.
Great work, Charles.
Ironmike

Mike,
Thanks for the kind compliments. We drove north in a constant downpour to get there also. Sorry we didn't meet personally (of course you wouldn't have know that I was the guy wandering about in an Armorama tee-shirt) but I was generally hanging around the dio section.

I was kind of surprised that there weren't more dioramas entered considering the amount of models on display
Generally though, I thought it was a well run show with lots to see and do.
It was certainly worth the 2 hour drive and I plan on attending next year.


Cheers,
Charles