Continuing to work on my new dio entitled “Counterattack”, which will depict German operations in the relief attempt on Budapest in early 1945—the last major german offensive of the war. This dio represents elements from 5th SS (Wiking) Panzer Division’s recon unit probing Soviet positions ahead of the main element…I chose Wiking because it served exclusively on the Eatern front and is regarded by many historian to be the most feared and effective German Division of the entire war…
I began thinking that I would have two vehicles (a 250/8 and a 259/9)…
…on the base along w/ Miniart’s 76.2 field gun, but after placing the gun on the base relized that the deployed trailing arms take up a LOT of space…I think I may have solved it with the placement (in front) shown in this pic:
Still leaves room for the other halftrack behind the first one (a sdkfz 250/9 Neu)…
Or…I could downgrade the Soviet position to a heavy MG nest:
The bulk of the figs will be outside of the tracks assesing the situation after the firefight with the Russkies…a few will be milling about the destroyed position…I have 2 more figs still undergoing painting…
Thanks, guys…I’m sorta leaning towards the MG…I also thought about having the AT gun limbered, as if there had not been time to deploy it…dunno…of course that 12.7mm MG would have been pretty nasty to deal with as well…
Wow MR, I love the 250!! The camo looks sweet, can’t wait to get started on my /9 after seeing this one!!
I’ve said it before but those are some your best figs to date.’
I agree that perhaps the cannon is too much and will be really cluttered after the /9 is added. Perhaps the mg with a bunch of gear and what not scattered about the area?? Another dead Russian would also kick it up a notch too.
The 250 looks awesome Manny i also have this one to do i hope it comes out as well, as usual the figs are terrific i am looking forward in seeing how this all comes together.
Some great points, guys!..all of them are valid…still working with the final layout as you mentioned…one thing I might do to add some visual interest is to have the 250/9 (2nd track) coming into the scene at a slightly different angle in the center (more head on with the turret pointed in the direction that the figs are looking)…this will help fill out the center of the dio…I also will break up the cluster of guys on the cardboard base. They are basically affixed their right now for ease of moving them around…another vehicle might dilute the number of figs but I will be careful not to overload…
I also have a dude I’m working on looking off in the distance through binocs that I will probably place on the 250/9’s roof or hood…this will add a visual “center” to the dio (because it will be the tallest element) w/ the 250/8 the the left and the AT gun/MG to the right…this will also allow me to move some of the figs forward, some into the area of dead space between the trailing arms of the AT gun…still experimenting a lot w/ the composition on this one—nothing has been decided yet and you guys are giving me some great tips…I also hope to add some ground interest as well…maybe a culvert or a wooden fence…stay tuned !!!
Those of you interested in this dio should do a little research into the “Wiking” Division…I’d hate to have come across these dudes…it was also one of the few SS Divisions never accused officially of atrocities…maybe the only one…most of the members came from Scandanavia, the Low Countries and Finland, with the cadre coming from other SS Divisions…
Critiques well taken…I totally agree…those shots were my first attempt at just putting some of the elements “out there” for exactly this reason—getting some feedback…I plan on taking it just like I did with DITCY…Once I add the other track I think it will break up the scene a bit more…to be honest, those guys in the group were just plopped down because that’s how they are glued to their temp cardboard base…
I already have one new idea of placing the AT gun in the center facing away from the viewer (from the Soviets perspective) and placing a track on either side as if they rolled up on the position after it was knocked out, and the SS guys broken into three groups: one for each track and a small party inspecting the emplacement…the dude (WIP-not pictured) looking thorugh the binocs will be staring right at the viewer from the highest point in the dio (on top of the 20/9)…I need to sketch it out and post for critique…thanks for looking in…
If you go with some Germans milling about the gun/mg position, I suggest one holding, or moving the russkie’s personal weapons off the side, or place the away from the bodies as if they’ve been kicked away when the Germans seized the position. Don’t know for sure if the Germans did this as SOP, but it would make sense that an elite unit like Wiking would do it anyways. That way, no suprises.
Perhaps a dead horse or two could be present in the scene, harnessed to the gun? I know verlinden has a set or two out there. They would also provide some visually interesting material, as well as indicating the sacrifices made by man’s domesticated animals.
I do like that sketch, but if they trails are in tow position, it would create either space to fill, or needed space-breathing room (perhaps lebensraum?) for the dio.
While I consider myself somewhat creative, I have no real dio experince to offer and opinion so I iwll keep it to the modles anf figs… and they are just gorgeous.
In this drawing, is the figure on the left hand side of the gunshield the SS trooper gesturing with his hand? If so, I don’t see how that works - his alert level seems to be relatively elevated, but the guys standing 10 feet away are just kind of hanging out…
Other than that, I think you are more on the right track with this layout. I’d only caution you to avoid being too symmetrical - maybe have the 250/9 a little further forward, perhaps crashing through the wall/fence? Imply that they are checking things out forward while the other vehicle and the dismounts tidy up here…
Manny, I think what you have there is alittle too symetrical…you’re gonna think I’m nuts, but here’s what I would do–
I would cut one of the gun’s limbers.
AFter all, the gun is really a supporting element of the dio. It is “past tense” action–it provides the reason for the focal point of the figures or the vehicles–or both. But your problem is that the trailing limbers are just way too damned big to makeit fit in the dio with everything else.
But hey–why not cut one of those limbers, put the damaged gun–remove the wheel, lay it on its side–and use it as a “corner piece”. That way, it’s not obtrusive, and gives a hint of the reason for the action without taking up half the dio. Having it “damaged” also lends a more powerful impression of the “counter attack” actually having happened.
