I have an idea for a diorama involving a flying Apache helicopter and some iraqi insurgents and u.s. soldiers. My idea is ambitious, but I think that i can make it turn out really cool looking. The only problem is that the helicopter is 1/48 scale, a common aircraft scale but an uncommon figure scale. i can’t find any 1/48 scale modern iraqi figures, except for some wargaming ones, but they don’t look good. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to get these kinds of figures. Or would it be possible to use a different sized figure, since the helicopter is flying, you know, like a forced perspective kind of dio. Any help would be appreciated. i would prefer it too be all the same scale however. Thanks in advance. —Sawyer
You could do a forced perspective dio. That would probably be your best bet since I don’t know of any decent 1/48 modern figures. You could bahe a long dio with the Apache at teh back, and the insurgents in the foreground.
Sawyer,
Gino’s pretty much hit the nail on the head. Another possibility is using 72nd scale figs and putting the Apache in the foreground in a forced perspective dio too.
Jon
I was kind of thinking along one of those lines too, but would i have to build a shadow box kind of thing like i hear about sometimes? I would prefer to do an open dio. And how would i go about figuring out relative distances that the apache should be from the insurgents? The only other options i can think of is either making my own figures (which, considering my relativly little modeling experiance would be a bad idea) or omitting the figures entirly, having the apache strafing a building without the figures inside. Originally i was going to have the figures inside a building, which would be a cutaway view, being attacked by the apache. I wouldn’t be showing any one dying or anything, but i wanted to get the point accross that the iraqis would not be living much longer. Perhaps i can just show the whole outside of the building, and just assume that there are peeps inside the building. Thanks for the suggestions so far. I appreciate your help. I’ll be sure to post pics of the apache when i’m done.
If your really ambitious you could always go for the 1/35 Apache [}:)]
Oy, don’t go NEAR the 1:35th Apache, its a piece of junk!
As far as altitude, we operate rather close to the ground to minimize time exposed to hostile fire, so a 48th/72nd forced perspective would be appropriate.
Here’s a pic one of my buddies took in Afghanistan, hope it gives you some inspiration.
In order to get the perspecticve in the photo above, you’d have to pretty much go with 1/35 figures and a 1/144 helo with the wall to break up the distance between the figures and the aircraft. Take a look at the picture in my signature. The lieutenant (in front) is my height (carrying the national colors) He’s only about 6 feet in front of me and look how much smaller I appear.
The Apache in the picture is 57 feet, nose to tail and yet the guy in the foreground is 3/4 the length of helo.
A boxed dio with forced perspective is really the only way to go.
If you’re looking to focus on the aircraft, I’d go with the 48th scale Apache and 72nd scale figs. We operate close enough to the ground that the figures would be appropriately sized for a forced perspective dio.
Jon