Fellow Modelers,
Below are photos of my 1/32 scale diorama showing a forced landed BF-109F in a desert setting, built in 2023. The models used on the project consisted of the Hasegawa kit for the airplane, the Tamyia kit for the vehicle and Master Box LRDG set for the figures. A description of the diorama setup is listed below:
The location is somewhere in the North African desert and the time period is set around February 1942. A Gruppe III/JG27 BF-109F-4 Trop airplane has been damaged in air combat with RAF P-40s and made a forced landing deep behind the British lines. The unfortunate Experten Luftwaffe pilot has been captured and taken away for processing to a POW camp. A lull in the ground fighting has allowed several curious British 8th Army infantry soldiers to borrow a utility transport vehicle to make a quick trip to “officially” look for valuable maps or other documents but “unofficially” gather war spoils to carry back to their basecamp.
On the last photos, a desert scene poster was used in the background to create a realistic forced perspective. I have always wanted a diorama of a BF-109 shot down in a desert setting, as it is such an iconic image. I hope you enjoy the photos.
Phillip11
11 Likes
Superb diorama, Phillip, very nicely done 
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ancoron109-Thank you very much!
Phillip11
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Love this! So many little details to pick out, and still the overall impression is striking. The 109 looks great – cleanly built, and the colors appear particularly authentic. The figures too are painted expertly, and looking at that LRDG set from Master Box, you did some serious sculpting. Lots to study!
Thanks for sharing this awesome build!
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Toimi_Tom-Thanks for the great compliments and comments! They are appreciated! I did modify the poses of three of the four Master Box figures used in the diorama, but the biggest change was using one of Hornets replacement head sets which provided great faces and WW1 type brodie helmets. The British army was still using these until 1943. Having those helmets really gave it an “english” feel. I do NOT like painting figures and it was probably the most difficult part of the build.
Phillip11
2 Likes
So well done, Phillip. The background you chose gives the whole scene its necessary context and the figures really bring the diorama to life.
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fotofrank-Thank you very much! I looked at a lot of desert background posters before I found what I thought would blend well with the diorama.
Phillip11
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Nicely done. Those wide brim helmets sure to scream British. For a guy that doesn’t like painting figures you sure do nice work. Just for fun I asked chatGPT to blend the lighting on one pic.
5 Likes
keavdog-Thanks for the compliment. There is a modeler called Nigh Shift on YouTube that has posted some fantastic figure painting tutorials. I literally watch some of his videos dozens of time which really helped me painting the figures. The modified lighting picture you posted looks FANTASTIC! Thanks for that.
Phillip11
2 Likes
Excellent diorama. Your figures are very well done and the background pics really add to the realism of this dio, and put over the top.
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Wow brilliant!, love the photos with the backdrop really sets the scene nicely !
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TigerII/jasransm-Thank you very much for the kind words!
Phillip11
2 Likes
