Latest Diorama - "Looking for Ivan"

Starting a new piece. Think Kharkov, PzIII, panzer riders, snow, mud and Russians! Thats all I got for now.

Getting a little closer. Improvised roadblock has been laid down along with rubble, shell hits and primer. Will be filling in the rubble painting and other details as i go.

Little more progress before i muddy it up, add snow and slush.

Here is my german lineup for my kharkov dio. Some are converted, some slightly more than others. 3 tankers for the pzIII are there also. Some of these may not be included in the final scene as i always like to have a plethora of figures because it gives me many options. Will keep you posted as i go.




























This will be my pz.iii setup for my kharkov dio. Model was built graciously by brian tears and will be finished by me. Figures are a mix of Tank and Evolution. Headphones were from the Tank set and the wiring is stretched sprue. This will probably represent a pziii M from eithe Das Reich or Totenkopf. I still have not decided whether i will go with the standard open guide horn 40cm tracks or the osketten. Ill keep you posted.

 

 

Here is the start of my worn winter whitewash for my Pz.III ausf. M for my Kharkov dio. Rave 4X MEGA hold hairspray used (pump not aerosol). Tomorrow I will start the weathering process.

Managed to deal with my paint disaster on the pzIII. It's a bit more worn than i had planned but it's growing on me. Got a lot of work done on the turret but got a ton to do on the hull. I think once i get done with the weathering, add pigments, mud and snow it will look the part. I was looking through my reference photos in books and such and by the end of winter those whitewashes were pretty mangy looking. I'll post up more photos tomorrow night

 

Gettin her nice and dirty in the kharkov mud!

 More progress on the pzIII. Left the track pretty loose so i can articulate the wheels a bit.

Gettin some work done on the tankers and tank riders.

Little more of a close up. Sorry for the quality, fucking i phone cam blows.

Few more tank riders completed since last update. Few more to go.

Quick overall shot of how this is panning out. Finished with the germans and am now onto the russians. Three more to go.

Latest Diorama - "Shell Shock"

Here is my latest diorama titled "Shell Shock". It depicts a bunch of British WW1 infantry toward the end of the battle at the Somme. it is titled "Shell Shock" because the young private in the overcoat has lost his nerve as the platoon readies to go over the top. It was very difficult to manipulate his face to make him look like he is in deep distress. In the end I even added tears to his face which are a little tough to pick up in the pics but with the naked eye they are very visible. The figures are a mish mosh of sorts since there are not an abundance of Brit WW1 figs available in 120MM. They include figures from the Jaguar range, David J. Parkins, Oz Models (Phil Walden sculpt), Victory Miniatures, The Lost Batallion as well as some trench sections and accessories from Jon Smith Modelbau. Some of the figures are slightly converted and others are stock. I had only 2-1/2 months to get this done due to my client picking this diorama up at this years annual MMSI show so I basically worked day and night from start to finish. Also I'm not really a WW1 guy so my knowledge is very limited on the subject but with some references and help from friends I tried to adhere to basic accuracy. As always the figures and all groundwork are done in Vallejo Acrylics, Citadel metallics, AK Interactive and MIG Productions products.

Most Recent Update: Latest piece I'm working on...

Here's Fig#1 I'm working on for the trench dio. This is a Jaguar figure basically stock. Should have him finished up in a day or so. 120MM, btw.

Fig #1 temporarily in place.

 

Fig #2 (Lewis gunner) in progress. 

British dude #2 ready for the trench.

Onto figure #3. Really gettin in a groove now!

Little more work on the Phil Walden figure who is actually an anzac but I've concerted him to a Brit. His helmet cover is done and the uniform is base coated and outlined. Will have more progress in the next couple of days.

A little more work on the Phil Walden WW1 fig.

Here is the finished Phil Walden figure. I will temporarily place him in the trench dio. Now onto figure #4.

 

Face done on fig #4. Man this dude is ugly! For you hockey fans this guy could be Lanny McDonald's twin brother.

 

 

Quick i phone snap of the overall diorama. I finished fig #4 tonight. 4 more to go...

 

 

 

Fig #5 on its way. This one is from the Firing Line range from David J. Parkins Models. Will post more progress tomorrow.

 

 

UPDATE 5: Latest piece I'm working on...

First weathering stage of the trench. Plenty more to come.

UPDATE 4: Latest piece I'm working on...

Here is the trench base with the base colors laid out. Will start the weathering process of the mood and corrugated metal tomorrow along with the tweaking of the ground work.