It Started With a Bike.....1/35 Alsace rest stop with playful kids.

[rtfoe]

Just a little more with adjusting figures. The little girl from MB was pretty much standard but had to twist her head to the maximum and just some minor tweaks to the arm positions.



The skirt ends just needed extra putty so it laid on the stairs better.



Now it's painting time...base colors were painted over all the figures and some highlights too. You can see I roughly painted the colors in at this stage especially the shoes area.



Oooh, the close up is horrible. The wash just creeped into all the porous putty around the eyes.



Goodness me the boy looks like a soft figure that was gotten from a sweet wrapper or cereal box. :tears-of-joy:



The rest were base painted and let cure before I detail or rescue painted them...



Cheers,
Richard

[JR]

Richard no one would see them that large in real life , mine look ok from at least a mtr ! so no worries:smiling2:

[Mini Me]

Coming along nicely Richard. You should have seen mine, when I did the red cross gal, I had to keep her at the back of the pack so she wouldn't scare the paint of the other figs. :tongue-out3: Rick H.

[Airborne01]

This fun thread really tickles my fancy Richard!

[Jim R]

Hi Richard
One thing that I really take onboard from your dios is that for all the elements to fit together everything is brought on at the same time
. Especially true of the figures ....

The skirt ends just needed extra putty so it laid on the stairs better.

Jim

[rtfoe]

Richard no one would see them that large in real life , mine look ok from at least a mtr ! so no worries:smiling2:

Hi John, yes neither should be viewed from such close quarters unless one needs a scare or nightmares. :tears-of-joy:

Cheers,
Richard

[rtfoe]

Coming along nicely Richard. You should have seen mine, when I did the red cross gal, I had to keep her at the back of the pack so she wouldn't scare the paint of the other figs. :tongue-out3: Rick H.

Yup, for mine the sleeping GI kept having his eyes shut and the others around him were just waiting for the shock. :tears-of-joy:

Cheers,
Richard

[rtfoe]

This fun thread really tickles my fancy Richard!

Thanks Steve, glad you're tickled.

Hi Richard
One thing that I really take onboard from your dios is that for all the elements to fit together everything is brought on at the same time
. Especially true of the figures ....

Jim

Jim, yes test fitting just like dry fitting at every opportunity helps with the composition so at the very beginning it has to be worked in the planning. Just like shooting a commercial the Preproduction and Post production take longer than the actual shoot.

Cheers,
Richard

[rtfoe]

The next set of close ups are second passes with the next layer of highlighting and shadows... looking at the images now make me cringe...was I really on a tight deadline?



I even missed out the blouse overhang in the front...



Thank goodness they are viewed from a safe distance. :smiling6:

Cheers,
Richard

[rtfoe]

To relieve you from those nightmarish close-up of the figures I concentrate on the accessories.

The first were helmet and haversack straps made from thin strips of plastic card and thick foil from a Salmon Paste tube. The foil was easily shaped to flop over the stair edge.



The upturned helmets were empty on the inside so straps had to be made for the liner and head support.



The tarp on the floor was made from putty which was rolled flat like making puff pastries using talc instead of flour then cut to shape and as it began to cure just folded to shape.



I composed two rifles leaning on the wall with a musette bag hung from one of the rifles. The straps were again made from Salmon Paste tube foil.



The rifle shoulder straps were also made from the same material. I made punched buckle holes with a sharp needle and strap ends from thin wire.



The Thompson also got the same treatment. I noticed most Thompsons had very long and low hanging straps.



Tamiya flat black was sprayed as a primer and steel dry brushed for the metal parts.



Three shades of brown was mixed from a single red brown with black added for the shading and yellow for the highlight. This helped to create a wood grain and not a flat look to the weapons. Notice I have cleaned up the figure and needs just a matt coat to take the shine off.



All the figures prepped to be matt coated. My pallet was a used pill strip which held very little paint so there wasn't any unnecessary wastage.



The resting soldiers kit came with a pack of printed cards. I had to make the tin rations and enamel cup from drilled rods and thin foil.



They were mounted for easy painting. Bottles were from spares.



Next was piecing everything together...

Cheers,
Richard

[Jim R]

Hi Richard
Figures look great especially the 'home made' children. The rifles, the straps and all the other odds and ends will add immensely to the interest in the dio.
Jim

[rtfoe]

Thanks Jim, I like the sound of "Home Made" just like pastries there's lots more added when made plus it's original and you get all the dinks and odd shapes that they come in. :smiling2: If it looks good in fashion, accessories always enhance the look of anything you put them on so why not dioramas.

The belt straps tbh are a little broad. I found better laser cut paper straps by Kamizukuri when in Japan and used them for my Pacific dio.

Cheers,
Richard

[rtfoe]

Hi, before I fitted all the subassemblies and figures I had to fill the blank wall at the top left corner of the tower and decided on creeping ivy.



Searched my box of lichen and found a suitable bunch which I sprayed in various shades of green and glued it onto the wall. The bunch wasn't exactly proper so I did a little pruning.



I wanted some color to the ivy besides just green so I picked out spots with bright yellow for flowers.



I made drain pipes from hollow plastic rods and strap holds from foil. The pipe is damaged and broken halfway down leaving some straps dangling from their supports on the wall.



Cheers,
Richard

[Airborne01]

Brilliant!

[The Smythe Meister]

Hi, before I fitted all the subassemblies and figures I had to fill the blank wall at the top left corner of the tower and decided on creeping ivy.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1154439[/ATTACH]

Searched my box of lichen and found a suitable bunch which I sprayed in various shades of green and glued it onto the wall. The bunch wasn't exactly proper so I did a little pruning.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1154440[/ATTACH]

I wanted some color to the ivy besides just green so I picked out spots with bright yellow for flowers.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1154441[/ATTACH]

I made drain pipes from hollow plastic rods and strap holds from foil. The pipe is damaged and broken halfway down leaving some straps dangling from their supports on the wall.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1154442[/ATTACH]

Cheers,
Richard

Loving watching all this come together Richard :thumb2: ,
I`m a big Diorama fan,(Can`t really see the point in taking the time to build a great AFV,only to put it on a shelf on it`s own!!),and it`s always great to see other`s approach to scratching buildings..... and if you don`t mind me saying so.......
..... This is a striking piece,worthy of many a show mate ,
Top,TOP stuff !!
Andy