"Battle Of Berlin"

[grumpa]

Wow, this is right up your street Jim, these were, indeed, the darkest of days, and if half of what we are led to believe here happened, then it's still unthinkable, and beyond most folk's comprehension. However, I suspect that you are the man for the job of depicting a snapshot of this horror. Looking forward to it!

Thanks so much John, you know the more I look at the actual street I'm feeling like scraping the whole damn thing up and making a proper cobble street out of foam board.
Roadway over 30 years old so not up to standards anymore and not very realistic I'm afraidops:

Sidewalks not too bad, can fiddle them a bit I imagine, they are casted in plaster of Paris.

The horrors of the Russian occupation are well documented.
Of all the reasons to hate Hitler the brutal bludgeoning and tortuous rape of Berlin is on top of my list

[grumpa]

UPDATE:.....
Not a lot of time to work on my modeling of late but trying to put in a little work now and then when not too tuckered out at end of day ops:

[grumpa]

Oh! forgot to mention road wheels on IS152 raised up because I will have it crunching over rubble just to add some dimension to vehicle showing suspension articulationo_O

[grumpa]

Here are the Russian figures I intend to use, 10 0r so in kit so they should keep me busy for a while.

[Guest]

There are a few figures there..... you will be busy!!!

[flyjoe180]

Coming along nicely Jim. A good variety of poses for those Russians, should make for an action-packed scene.

[Pikeman]

Another cracking build unfolds on the work bench,looks amazing so far Jim
Great stuff

[grumpa]

Another cracking build unfolds on the work bench,looks amazing so far Jim
Great stuff

Thanks so much Stuart, much appreciated............Jim

[Guest]

"Battle of Berlin" is no small task to recreate when you think of the horrors that took place there on the last days of the Third Reich with the Russians demanding retribution and all forms of humanity went out the window... I've seen a documentary that had footage taken by the Americans, and although heavily censored it was very hard to watch.

It's looks fantastic so far and I'm looking forward to see how it's going to turn out!
Not an easy diorama to recreate for sure thinking on how it must've been there when history unfolded...

[bazers]

Looking good Jim
like the black and white shots.

[grumpa]

UPDATE;...
A spate of rainy weather had me grounded for a bit so got to put in some time on dio.
Figures mostly done except for some last minute fiddling, positioning as good as it's gonna get I guess.
Bit of detailing done on buildings roofing (needs final painting of course) Bit of a void in front left corner, will figure something out.

There are three dead Germans in dio, not really highlighted here cuz much work still needs to be done on them.
Coming along, few more corners to round, think I'll dig up a commander for T34, stills miles from total blending of elements together... hope you like so far.


Jim

[Guest]

You've really caught the nuance of the dirt and grime in what I expect a battlefield must have, where everything more or less just turns into the same grimy colour after months of carnage and destruction. A bit like that pile of Play Doh clay we used to have as kids when all the different colours eventually turned into one large blob of grime colour from being mixed.
First I thought that this type of diorama would really look cool with some added led lights in selected sports, but I quickly realised that there's not going to be much electricity during the carnage of that street corner so it wouldn't look right...

I think it looks very realistic and much more what reality is like, instead of the many scenes we've been spoon fed from Hollywood.
Very nice indeed!

[grumpa]

Thanks Jens, one of the main things in replicating severe battlefield conditions colors must mesh and transition smoothly (I keep telling myself)
Filth and grime can be a bit difficult, a big jar of a dark gross wash all laid in by brush, and doubled and tripled up for indentations and the like to create depth...
very important.
With a very fine dry brush a few hairs and some air to tweak in highlights....repeat and repeat to the point to the point of near neurosis

Jim

[Guest]

Excellent work, and good to see you've upped your game on the photography front. These editing controls in Windows are pretty good now, your shots have plenty of atmosphere!

[grumpa]

Excellent work, and good to see you've upped your game on the photography front. These editing controls in Windows are pretty good now, your shots have plenty of atmosphere!

Thanks John, those fixes do make a tremendous difference but I was a bit careless taking these by not paying too much attention to ambient light thinking oh I'll just fix them in the end, a mistake. Not enough (real) lighting used and insufficient side lighting, but I won't make those same mistakes again when final product is produced.

Jim