A while ago I started a topic of a sniper dio I wanted to make

Another idea ...

A have put the idea aside for a while because I wanted to finish my dummy tank dio first (I am not that good at working at several projects at a time ), but ...last weekend my son of 2 got in to my hobby room and started to play with the stuff that was on the worktable (thank god no knifes or paint/glue around ) and he pulled the base and dummy tanks to the ground, smashing them totally

Needles to say that dummy tank dio is (litterly) of the shelf for a while, I don't feel like restarting it right now

Anyway, that got me thinking on my sniper box dio and I started to make some sketches and mock ups.

I have one big problem with the idea: in my plan the person who wants to see the dio must look thru a (makeshift) sniper scope to get the feeling of the story, so I make a temp box with a scope tube sticking out of it, and it just looks stupid, then I got another idea and the problem is that I don't know if I will be able to pull it off or that it would even work, look at the picture:



As you can see I am playing with the idea of implementing a rifle shoulder piece (I don't know the correct word) with the (fake) scope, to really get a gunman feeling, now, should I use a 1/1 scale piece? (broken piece?), or use a smaller scale rifle (children toy rifle (they do look accurate these day’s)), I don't think that it is possible to get my hands on a real (piece) K98 or replica.

I went to my local gun merchant and explained what I want and he thought that I was nuts #:-), what do you think,

Can it be done?? any ideas/suggestions on how??

If it works than I believe that this would be a stunning box dio, IF IT WORKS

Well, what you probably need to do is buy the stock from some gun. It wouldn't have to be any certain type of gun, just something of a basic stock. Maybe find and old trigger mechanism and add that as well. The idea with the scope could get tricky. It's like whenever you look at something close with binoculars. The stuff you look at real close looks all blurry. So what I suggest is you’ll probably have to get a magnifying glass, or lens, and put it in a plastic tube, or a scope with the two lenses out. Maybe draw, or somehow add some crosshairs, if they aren’t in the scope already. I like this idea a lot. "Interactive Dioramas"; I can see a future in that. Too bad about the other stuff you were working on. Anyway, good luck with this one. Before starting, I’d suggest placing a lock on your door.

Ronny

I like the idea it`s really original.
but yeah cutting an original Kar 98 for a dio while the thing looks so much cooler hangin` on the wall. I have to agree with the gunshop owner. But maybe this is an idea: Here in Holland at those fairs (kermissen in dutch) you often have a stand where you can do price shooting. Maybe you can ask there if they have a gun that has a malfunction and that they want to throw away or take out the parts that work and then throw away and that you can buy for a small amount of money.
ok then it is not a Kar but hey the idea is stunning anyway and if the execution is good then I think it really doesn`t matter what kind of gun you put in it.
Another thing I just thought of is: I walked in a dumpstore a couple of weeks ago and I saw a training rifle laying there. They filled the barrel so you can`t fire with it anymore. and you are allowed to have it at home. I don`t know the price of it but in a dump things are always cheap. you can try it also in a dumpstore

just a guess. I definitely want to see that when it`s finished

very good idea.i am eager to see it when finished

Ok - a few thoughts - first of all nice growth of your idea is cool. I like it. I agree implementing it will be tricky.
If you can I would moch up a box and scope and stock in about the size you want. Cardboard box, paper tube from a paper towel roll, paper mache, wire hanger type of stock. The idea behind it is to get a better feel for 'how' someone will view it. I'm concerned over size of the overall dio/box. This may impeed the 'displayability' of the overall project. Think about how a person say 5'5" (just an average height) would have to lean over and position themselves to view the dio. If its at table top height the physical bending over may keep some people form leaning over to grab the stock.

For representation purposes the addition of the stock is awsome. I would think you could visually implement using a much smaller stock. The concept is there to give people the idea of a sniper rifle and I think it doesn't have to be full size.

You may be able to go to the local toy store and get a smaller plastic weapon and cut it up for use. I know that there are stock manufacturers that make smaller versions of full size stocks for smaller people.

And - I'm sorry about the dummy tank dio. That was coming along really well. I know how much work you put into it and its a shame that it happened.

Some random thoughts:
The idea sounds really neat. I think what you'd need to do is have a scope with no glass or at most a piece of plain glass.
The rifle stock part would scare me, because you now have what amouts to a lever and if the dio is not affixed to the table, it would be easy to tip.
Securely attaching the stock could present some challenges as well.
I think using an under scale toy stock would destroy the feel of your idea.
I have seen rifle stocks at Army-Navy Surplus stores in the past.
One final thought. Instead of the rifle stock and scope, a larger, round view port with cross hairs, or a piece of PVC tubing attached inside the box but at 90 degrees to the box wall. The ground portion is set at the angle the sniper would be looking down.
__-|
Sort of like the scenes in [b] 2001 A Space Odyssy [/] where the waitress is walking upside down.
Good luck and keep us posted.
:-)

I find his ideafantastic!
My suggestion would be to use one of those lenses we put in entrance doors of apartments, I don't know the name in English, here we called "olho-mágico" (peeptube?)
You could put it in a weapon in smaller scale as having suggested before or simply to fasten in the lateral of the diorama.
Regards

If you want to use a ww2 mauser buttstock for this look for FAC= Federal Arms Corporation on the internet,they had some different models of ww2 era mausers in good to fair condition;if not there try looking into a copy of Shotgun News you can get at your local gunshop,I'll look through my other gun catalogs on my end.

Grizzly

Ronny,

this is absolutely a great idea. When you stort at this, could you please make the in progress pics and share them with us..... I would love to see you build this.

Maybe you have some spare time for a feature article too ? Not right away ofcourse, but all in good time...

:-) :-) :-) I think I am going to be a happy camper soon :-) :-) :-)

I needed to go to Antwerp today for a job interview, and when I drove home I spotted a gun shop, I thought "what the heck"and went to see the owner, and believe it or not he is a modeler also, modern tanks (mostly IDF) but no dio's. I talk about my idea and he totaly went for it! turns out that he also repairs guns and he believed that he has a modern K98 replica somewhere beyond repair.

He is going to look for it and send it over to me FREE OF CHARGE, man I love this hobby :-)

tnx for the input, there are still millions things to think about, fixtures, danger for tipping over (need a lot of counterweight - auw my back ) and the scope itself, this will be scratchbuild witn no actual lenses but with clear plastic scribed with the cross hair. This will be a project for several months, I don't think for building it but moslty for planning it

Hi Ronny,
Really neat idea, and that's pretty lucky about the gun shope owner being a modeller! Good luck with this one, what's going to be in the actual diorama? To bad about the dummy tanks, I saw the pictures a while ago and though they looked really good...

-Steve

One question. What are you going to light it with or is it open on one side?

Ronny... you don't want to know. Trust me. ROFL !

Sorry about the dummy tank. Good thing you didn't have dangerous toys laying around on your worktable.

Try a B-B gun stock. B-B guns are cheap and it will still work after u take off te stock.

Tnx Jan, I appreciate it #:-)

Slodder, yes you are right looking thru it is not for everybody that evident, but I am counting on the curiosity of mankind :-) , it is not really so that I would like people to actually hold the stock, because I don't believe that it would survive that long , the picture of the box and the stock is a bit misleading, the stock would be without the trigger so I must place the scope a bit higher then it actually is, but that should not be a problem.

The scope will not be a real scope but homemade and also its viewing glass would be a bit bigger that the real thing, this got get a good view on the dio (no actual magnification).

There is indeed a problem with the size of the box, this will be big in comparison with the scene (because of the stock and the counterweight problem, but I think that this also can be an advantage, when people would see a huge box that automatically assume a big scene, but when they look inside then they are confronted with a snipers view of the world which is very narrow, so that effect could be nice

Howitzer The light would come from the top (see first drawing) - Plexiglas - but it would be lower than the height of the box so that people are not able to look from above.

On another note: I am starting to get envious at all of you, it seems that I have another modeling problem , something my wife was so kind to point to me, I am still a novice modeler and I have a few of armor boxes on my shelf, but it seems that I can't get myself to build these, I seem to go for the unusual subject instead of doing the "normal"way, aaaah I wish that I was normal #:-) #:-)

Steve,

here is a picture of the basic scene



It is not exactly what I have in mind, but I can't sketch (not like Envar, that is a real artist)

Here is a adjusted storyline I made for the dio, hope you like it

The title for this dio would be: “Ending the game”

A wet day on the European front, the German sniper has concealed itself in a building overlooking the main street, alone and waiting ….

Suddenly he spots movement in the streets and he looks thru his scope, was he mistaken?? No there it is again, a enemy soldier walking carefully thru the partially destroyed street, and the he spots a second soldier behind him ….. yes they are in range.

He wets his lips and, again, trying to calm his nerves knowing that he will soon ad another mark to his rifle.

He aims ……….. holds his breath …….. and …… fires!

Hit, the soldier went down …. Did they spot me? No it seems not. Damn the other soldier is out of view, where is my kill? There he is. Still moving …. Blood gushing out of his side, he sees him calling to his comrade in agony.

The sniper sees the comrades arm thru the rubble, trying to reach the fallen GI, he looks back ad his victim, who is trying to move, full of pain and fear.

He makes a decision, slowly he points his rifle at the soldier hiding in the ruble, looking thru the scope, slowly aiming …. Moving the crosshair towards the visible helmet (A) …….

…. BANG …

Why am I laying on my back looking at that dirty ceiling? Why can’t I breath? God, am I hit? HOW???

I remember now, in the corner of my scope, the other sniper (B), God he was fast!

Ohwel, this game is ended for me …………………………
:-[ ]

EXCELENT IDEA

ROBERTO

Ahh yes but Ronny the secret of modelling is showing action without words so Im eager to see how you fit all of that scene into this remarkable idea of yours.Good luck.

Zach,

Trust me, so am I

This will be very good !!! I love the idea. Very, very creative without becoming too glossy !!

You also talked the gun merchant in visiting Armorama ?

Thanks for the answer.