Alright, let the hassling begin- HUGE!!! 1/35 scale dio

Modeling Subjects Dioramas
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First off, I got the idea for this one in my modeling infancy before I learned all the rules about how one makes a dio. Historical accuracy, dynamic story and perspective, minmalistic figures and vehicles and a simplistic base did not come into play. In the mind of my teenage self (I’m 20 now so it’s not much of a difference I supose…)- I went for big, crazy firefight, German Nazi’s vs. a small squad of Red Devils

This is straight out of every video game I grew up in.

I started on this about a year and a half ago, knowing even then that it was too big and too complex- but this is my first dio that’s gotten off the drawing board, so I figured I might as well just go with it, get it finished and move on.

Using the pink foam over the plywood meathod, not sure if thats… really a meathod or if I just kinda stole this from my dad’s model railraod magazines.

Brick work and explosive craters scribed and carved in. The Panzer IV is the Tamiya kit- didn’t come with the side skirts so I added those in with sheet styrene. This was my first 1/35 kit I ever put together (well… once I started putting them together right) basically OOB, few detail upgrades and minimal putty work. The Kubblewagon is Tamiya, OOB just dinged it up and added some serious damage, made the driver a KIA

All the figures are either Tamiya mix and match jobs, Academy mix and match jobs- all resin figures are Verlin OOB

This thing is way big…

Here’s an overhead shot and 9 additional views.

Thanks for checking in- go easy on me! [B)]

An empty crater between the graveyard and the buildings

Half finished grave (dug prior to the battle by locals?)

Over run MG position, MG was jammed/being reloaded

Dying but still fighting

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Here you go- a more indepth look at how this thing might turn out. 20 figures… [:-^] what was I thinking??

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Nothing wrong with the occasional “shoot 'em up” dio… As for big & complex, you got a LONG way to go before you reach that point… I’m involved in a commision-build with 6 M109s, 6 M548s, one Humvee, and about 50 figures (all are kitbashed in form or another) on a base that’s now 8 x 14 feet in size…

I wish I could post WIP-pics, but it’s not gonna happen until the build is complete due to the agreement between myself and the buyer… (it’s a gift and security is a factor)

Anyway, the foam isn’t a problem, I’ve used before and. although it has it’s own special problems with groundwork material, it’s been a terrain-maker ever since my own model RR days…

Other than the casual pose of the TC, I don’t see anything, problem-wise, worth mentioning yet… Looks like an overall smooth job…

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i dont know where you guys find all this time!!! better u than me p.o. looks like a winner though so far!!! enjoy u’r build buddy!!! LOL. [:-,]

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Hey, that’s a nice job thus far psst. I for one don’t really care how big a dio is (and Hans … 8x14’ is getting close!!! HOLY COW!!!). If it tells the story that your getting across, then it’s good. I had a buddy that wanted to do a Gettysburg dio with somthing that a 100 figures in it … I haven’t seen him since, come to think about it!?!

Keep up the good work, I’ll follow this one as it plays out.

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That’s right! I forgot about your monster Hans- 50 figures?! That thing will be a sight when it’s finished.

I guess the size wasn’t my bigest concern, it was really the accuracy of the whole thing. I designed the layout without really looking at any photos of Arnhem, but I know there were a few canals and I’m sure they had a graveyard somwhere next to one. I guess as far as shoot out dios go, this one is very Hollywood. Probably based more on all the war movies I’ve seen than anything real.

As for the tank commander- I agree, I’m going to build up that church to an almost fully errected building (so that from the tank killers view in the crater all you can see is the front end coming around the corner)

The TC was driving from the cupola and now that the bullets are getting close he’s dropping down and pinning up the hatch.

Hopefully that will become more clear as this gets built up so I don’t have to explain it, as that’s usually the number one killer of complex dios- too many words to justify this or that

Camo- as far as the time goes- I wish I could find the time to work on this! It’s been sitting around like this for months while I was at school, I hadn’t worked on it since winter break, didn’t get a real chance to work on it now durring spring break- as I’m finishing the MARPAT figures, and might not get a chance to start up again until Summer rolls around. [V]

Just wanted to get some pictures on here to motivate me into finishing it quicker than my usual snail pase.

Thanks model- telling the story is going to be the interesting part- I’m going to have to try hard with all these figures to get things unified. Also I need to make sure I don’t let the groundwork get away from me, I’m afriad with the size of this I might try and cut corners and the easest way for me to think to do that would be skimming on the detail I put into the ground work.

I already did that a year ago on the brick work, but I’m planning on covering most of that up with gravel and large rubble… so hopefully that wont get noticed.

100 figure Gettysburg dio? Haven’t seen him since?! Maybe he’s still working on it…

Thanks guys for the suport, I’ll try and get back to this was as soon as I can [:)]

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yet another kid like me who has grown up on too much COD 5 and violent war movies[:D]

nice dio[tup]

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Well, I had to depart from the “story” aspect, which rubs me wrong, but the money’s good, so…

It’s just a howitzer battery in a firing postion during an FTX at Fort Hood, but the guy I’m building it for is a former Battery Commander of mine (around 1985/86) who’s retiring, and his wife wants it to have all six guns, ammo tracks, and FDC… (I’m surprised she didn’t want the BOC, Commo, Ammo, and Maintence sections) As such, I’m making 6 “little stories”, one for each gun, but they’ll probably come off as “You had to be there” types… He can tell 'em though…

He’s currently an FA battalion commander and since he won’t make it to DIVARTY commander and a Full Bull, it’s time to get out, she says…

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I dunno, IMO those are some of the better stories anyway. I like that idea, one little memory/story per gun crew. Good call

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hahaha too true! Thanks jadgpanther[:)]

I hope my Spring semester can hurry up and be over with so I can get back to this. I enjoy school but this semester’s been all around rough. COD 5 will probably help out… assuming my xbox’s little red ring stint is fixed [B)]

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Nazi zombies is the BEST, especially with the ray gun

Btw looking forward to seeing this project “hopefully” finished.

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Yeah- I like the concept- I just wish I was better at it, I never make it too many rounds. I need to go co op I guess.

haha I’m hopefully looking forward to getting back at this one too- thanks [:)]

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I like where your headed Chris…The armor is awsome!..a little underweathered to my dirty nasty tastes though![(-D] but the design is KICKN! Are your buildings going to be full size or rubble? I love the bullet holes in the wind screen…very nice! I think you have alot of potential here…lets see more!!![tup]

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Thanks a lot Stern0! As far as the weathering on the armor- because it’s in an urban environment I wanted to keep the dirt and mud down, but added as much rust and rain streaks as I could. After I get the general color of the rubble painted, I’m going to revisit the Panzer with some pastel dust and a few rubble chunks and try and tie it into the base- so maybe it’ll get a little dirtier for you yet? haha
I think they’ll all be around the size of the half wall you see, maybe 1 and ½ story- the church and the other building will be half blown out though- corresponding to the crater (hey I finally spelled it right!) by the graveyard.
The church is going to be interesting… I’m going to try and build it up like it was made from large stones (kind of in a brickwork fashion) and it might be featuring some stain glass.
Thanks for the kudos on the windscreen- it was a few pokes with the Xacto and then a lot of scribing/sanding work.
I’d love to show you more! Hopefully this spring semester finishes up quick and I can get right back into this one. I’d love to post updates like the doog but I’m sorry to say this one’s going to be a few months on the backburner, just wanted to show what I’ve been working on.
Thanks for checking it out!

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Wow! I love it actually! That last pic in your first post looks like it was inspired from Private Ryan, am I wrong? Very neat, it looks real enought to me! I can’t wait to see it finished! [:)]

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Thanks Boba! Actually it was hard to make a wounded infantryman continuing to fight without thinking back to SPR, but as he’s a German infantryman, it’s at least not a direct copy, I’m glad you thought of it in a positive way. Actually, what I needed was a figure (or something!) on that one little triangle of roadway at the bottom right. At first it was going to be a British paratrooper flanking around and shooting across the canal, but I liked the idea of the dying German (and put the British figure behind the Kublewagon) and I liked the idea of him “shooting” off the edge of the dio- I felt it made the idea of the British moving up the canal on both sides more of an implied idea.

Thanks again Boba for stopping by- glad you like it so far! Can’t wait to get back to it.

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hey man, havnt been on here in a while, but you may remember me from WAAAY back a couple years, still buildin (or tryin to).

The dio looks killer. with dios you cant always get things exactly as the military performs em. you’re tryin to tell a story, and I think its workin well

one thing: the church area looks kinda small. what if you combined it with the building behind it? you could even wreck both walls to keep that passage way where the small street is right now.

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Now there’s an idea, I wanted a very small suburban church, but I think I might expand it with a covered walkway or something?

ie: take the church, build it up as if it was a single stone structure, but then have it attached via “new construction” to the other building, like it was an original church that then expanded and bought up the the neighboring property as it’s mass size increased? Does that make sense?

I like the idea of one larger building, but I want to make the church as if it was stone mortar work… but I can’t see myself doing that to the whole area, so I’m a little torn…

Thanks for the feedback gringe- I definitely remember your avitar!

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thatd be different. I think itd add some more interest to the scene man.

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Cool- good idea to get things moving a little- will definitely incorporate it!

Glad to see you back on FSM btw