This ninth chapter of my terrain build for said diorama will be the longest one I will post because it comprises various important steps I took to refine and more accurately depict this area. I will also reveal what materials and pigments I did use to make it appear more realistic to the eye. So please, be patient and brace yourselves, since it is divided in seven parts plus showing the actual landscape and some historic pictures of Rommel’s various inspection to the Normandy defenses.
So let me start with part one which is the basic laying down of the first ground work and the further painting and weathering of the Bunker and tank turret.
In this picture you can see a rougher version of the terrain. I discovered that Woodland Scenics produced a product called “Mold-A-Scene” which as the word implies, usually serves for molding shapes and items required for a diorama. It’s a special granular plaster which I immediately recognized as being the ideal product to give the terrain the necessary roughness and show a kind of wilderness to it. Its granular nature suits well to depict tiny pebbles. Also note the Tank turret which has by now received an irregular metallic wash with AK Interactive Extreme Metal Steel…
This next picture shows how I placed this material a bit everywhere, including on the road leading to the parking lot and in the trench leading to the Bunker. I then once again covered it with Gesso and Modeling Paste and let it thoroughly dry.
Here You have a better view of the road leading to the parking lot.
This is the trench in its initial phase. By this time I also added another hand of AK Interactive Acrylic Terrain Light Earth to both the trench and the road.
Another view of the trench from directly above.
This is the frontal ledge where Rommel and his staff will be observing both the Channel as well as Omaha Beach. This too was covered with the rough material and then fixed with an application of AK Interactive Light Earth acrylic terrain.
This instead is the small passage that ties the parking lot to the frontal ledge. For now I ha left is as is.
This is probably a more clearer view of the entire area. Notice that the Light Earth terrain application is still rather wet.
I painted the logs for the camouflage net in Vallejo New Wood as a primary color.
Here you can see the Tank turret fixed to the Tobruk emplacement more clearly. This though is only the first step to depict it.
The frontal cliff received a general application of Mold-A-Scene especially applied where folds in the rocky face are more prominent. This is where some tiny vegetation will be placed once I start the flocking and planting of bushes and small trees.
Another view of the Bunker with its repainted poles and the Somua turret.
The other side of the cliff with the same material applied as well. Notice that the dunes, or terrain mounds have been somewhat elevated to more accurately depict the protection of the Bunker and its dissimulation in the terrain.
A frontal vie of the Somua tank turret. Having noticed that resin gun barrel was a bit crooked, I detached it, put it under warm running water and then slowly straightened it. I then repainted it in AK Interactive Base Black, followed by Extreme Metal Steel and then added some Gun Metal.
A further view of the side cliff encasing the Bunker. from a distance It appears that Mold-A-Scene plaster makes the dunes and the cliffs appear more uniform in shade and color.
The fences surrounding the trench leading to the Bunker were found to be a bit to dark for my liking, but for the time being I left them like this. As said , they were fixed with Power Glue and inserted into previously drilled holes holding them in place with masking tape. They are crooked on purpose, since such protections were rarely regular constructions and usually made in a hurry with whatever kind of wood one could find.
A further view of the side cliff in its detail. Notice how Mold-A-Scene helps to contribute to tie in with the rest rest of the landscape.
And once more a rear view of the compound. At the far end I have already fenced the parking lot with what will become a set of hedgerows separating this scene from an imaginary continuation of the terrain.
