Hey guys!
This is a dio I finished about a week ago. It is my first dio try, and I wanted to see what you thought. Compliments are always welcome, constructive criticism is just as welcome. These forums are great! I’ve learned a lot since I joined.
Thanks, Jim
This is a shot down, 109 Nightfighter.
Had a rough landing…
Pilot escaped though.
An overview.
I got no beef with the aircraft itself - looks fine. The ground cover looks good too. I have seen a lot of pics of belly landings which would indicate the prop would chew up the ground. It depends on how far the plane slid without the prop turning. I suppose you could get a scenario like this, if the grass were wet and the plane slid for a way. You are still going to need some sort of identatation in the ground to show where the aircraft has slid. It need some figures - a couple of farmers surveying the wreck, a couple of soldiers dispatched to check on the downed plane. One of the better ones I saw was some LDV (pre home guard) who had captured the pilot with pitchforks and a shotgun ! You have plenty of room left on the base for some figures or maybe even a vehicle. You will get told time and again- “a diorama has to tell a story” Yours just need fleshing out a bit. You are off to a good start though !
Ditto above. Your plane looks good, but the groundwork is lacking.
for me, first, its to flat and smooth. If a plane crash landed there… there would atleast be a grove from the belly in the dirt abit, places where the prop chewed it up, etc.
Also, dont use train platform stuff for a dio base, trust me on this, it doesnt work well. ook around at the dios on here for some inspiration.
Deffinatly a good start, i can only really echo was been said above. Needs some damage to the ground where the aircraft slide across the grass, and a few figures and a vehicle. And for me, the base is to thin.
And you will learn plenty on here, and nice to see another dio builder.
I agree. The ground would have been as chewed up as the aircraft. I disagree that you need to add figures. The downed aircraft alone tells a story.
[:)]
Great work! As mentioned the ground work needs to be tweeked a little…A more promenant ditch should be gouged into the earth and the prop would be bent more, maybe even a little debris field with a few smaller parts…hatches, flap, ect. Was this a machanical failure or was he shot down?..no exterior damage to craft…Just a little food for though…Keep it up![tup]
Wow… thanks for all the help guys! sorry hat I haven’t been on for a few days, had company. So, about the ground work needing to be chewed up, I do want to fix it but I can’t, I built it on a chunk of ply-wood, so not really much I can do about that. And no outside damage to the plane! In picture two you can see that one of the wing flaps is missing, and in picture three, (I know It’s kinda hard to see) but half of one of the elevator support beams is gone, and as you can the prop is messed up and there is a lot of bare metal showing. And I didn’t use train stuff for the ground work that I know of, It was woodland scenics. Again, thanks for all your help guys, it was great.
Thanks, Jim
I was wondering why the pilot had to ditch…no bullet holes in the fuze…I do see damage to the prop and flap.
I agree that there should have been some skidding involved. Perhaps some sod bunched up at the nose and leading edges of one or both wings. Other than that, I think it looks pretty good!
rb
MM I hope you didnt take the no damage comment to be offensive…I feel now I was a little sharp, sorry. My first dio was a ditched plane also, it was built years ago. (It is one of the few that I have kept all these years) I remember doing alot of research on damage…those birds are made of NOTHING!! dosnt take much to make them come apart…Pardon the dust and wear but I wanted to share My first dio…I know it sucks…but you may find a gem there somewhere! [swg]
MM: Even on plywood, I think you might be able to build up a small berm of dredged-up earth caused by the skidding…with some discoloring of the ground along the track and a few churned up divots of earth…maybe a puddle of oil seeping from under the engine.
Also, perhaps a pilot seated on a rock in a corner with head in hands either praying, or cursing his luck.
Sorry, just trying to use my imagination in case I ever do a dio!
Thanks guys!! namrednef, I don’t how to do that, with the discoloring, I don’t if you want me to dye it or what?? It won’t take a dye, I know that. And Stern0, cool dio, it has it’s faults but I don’t think it sucks. [;)] and no offence taken, just thought you did not see it[:D]
Thanks, Jim
I don’t have much to add, other than the pilot likely would have jettisoned the canopy (just the center portion on this model 109 though) prior to hitting the ground… Any twist in the airframe resulting from the crash-landing could very likely mean a jammed canopy becoming a “coffin lid” in case of fire, if you catch my drift…
Don’t sweat the battle-damage (or lack thereof) either… Ask any any fighter pilot about “The Golden BB”, and you’ll understand… Dad explained it to me way back in day when he was still flying fighters that, "It’s when some (expletive deleted) farmer with a muzzle-loader comes out his house and takes a pot-shot at you with closed eyes and a hundred thousand-dollar aircraft turns into a glider from a two-cent bullet… Or it misses the airplane, but not YOU… (One bullet ended Von Richtoffen’s career in 1918, remember…[;)])
As for a figure or not, most downed aircraft photos have a couple snoopers around it (someone had to take the picture too, right?), but seldom are there any signs of the pilot or crew… First thing you do after coming down in the bad guy’s neck of the woods is put as much distance between you and the bird as you can, as soon as you can, provided you’re able to move…
I’m working a similar crash with a Spitfire and a Wirblewind, and the only signs of the Spitfire pilot are a 'chute-pack and flight helmet being held up by some Germans… (I changed it to an infantry figure with a camera taking a picture of the Spitfire with the Wirbelwind crew standing on the wing of their latest kill instead of the original idea of some Infantry escorting the hapless pilot to their truck at gunpoint.
Ok… where would I get a semi cheap farmer figure or something?
Thanks, Jim
For 1/48th, check the model railroad O-scale figures… Don’t care what anyone says, railroader O-scale’s the place to look for civilian figures on the cheap… They all need a bit of work, but you can’t beat the prices, especially compared to something like a Verlinden resin figgie… That stuff, you get one or MAYBE two for the price of 6-8 model RR figs… You can find a pitchfork or shotgun there too…
Nice, thanks