Betio - July20th 1943 - WIP

[MORIARTY1177]

Hi all,

I haven't really done a WIP before but have been taking pictures on the iphone as I've progressed and thought I'd post them here. The scene is to have a burnt out Japanese gun position, an LVT 1 hitting the beach and a group of marines taking cover / providing covering fire for them to move forward. Everything on the base so far has been scratch built.....more photo's to come.

All comments welcome.

Regards

Chris

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[Guest]

Now thats a nice start, looks very natural Chris.

Thats another diorama underway on here ....i love a good diorama base, either looking at, or building them... best bit of the hobby if you ask me

[papa 695]

Like Colin said a very nice start looks very good Chris. Looking forward to more pictures. How did you make the tree trunks? look so good

[spanner570]

Great start Chris, I do like the water......Any chance of a 'How I did it' sort of thing as you progress?

Also, what scale is the diorama please?

Great to see yet another member having a go at this most fascinating and rewarding branch of our hobby.....The more the merrier, eh?

Cheers,

Ron

[Guest]

uh huh another modeller has got this DIOVIRUS spreading on here like wild fire,though this isnt really a bad thing as the scratch building is all of an excellent quality,very very nice start

mobear

[MORIARTY1177]

Hi Guys

Many thanks for the kind words, and as requested here's how to.

The palm trees/logs are made using bamboo skewers. (to get the bend for the trees just soak in hot water for 10min and bend) These are then wrapped in 5mm strips of masking tape building up layers to get the right kind of thickness. (I had one of the 1/35 marines made up to give me a porper sense of scale) Then wrap a piece of string/cotton around the trunk in a dioganal fashion this gives the classic ringed look. The trunk is then coated with watered down PVA glue and a single ply sheet of tissue paper wrapped around. Once dry I drybrushed in black, then a mid grey finished with a light airbrushing with Tamiya deck tan. The leaves I've cut out of paper but am not yet sure how well they will work. (for a full tutorial go to the Armourama website and search for 1/35 palm trees)

As for the sea I stole the method used by a member here (sorry forgot who) who made a splendid Fairey Swordfish. The beach sand slopes at the shore line (as it would) and I've used a piece of clear plasticard (or genotherm as we call it at work) which has been raised up by 10mm around the back edge, painted on the underside. I then used IPA (isopropyl Alcohol) to wipe some of the paint away nearer to the shore line so you can see the sea bed below. I then applied a fairly thick layer of clear silicone to the top side and levelled this out. Then using a piece of card I dragged form the back edge to the shoreline pushing the card into silicone and drew the card up to form a wave and the repeated this to form the shorline wave. Once I've made the LVT 1 and inserted it into the sea I shall add some foam using a watered down PVA glue and tissue method I've seen used on the tinternet.

I hope this is some use.

All the best

Chris

[mossiepilot]

That is looking smart Chris, nice one.

Is the base painted plaster because it looks very "sand" like.

Tony.

[MORIARTY1177]

Hi Tony, thanks for the kind words. The base was painted plaster but I've then glued sand over the top. Am trying to get a flat section (i.e. where the sea has washed up the beach) and the the forward area with plenty of foot prints.

Regards

Chris

[spanner570]

Chris, thanks for taking the time to explain your excellent methods of doing stuff.....I appreciate it....Notes taken!

Merry Christmas.

Ron

[yak face]

Looks great so far chris , loving the water and beach. Excuse my total idiocy but whats an LVT 1? i presume its either a boat or landing craft of some sort , cheers tony

[MORIARTY1177]

You're very welcome Ron, and a merry Christmas to you too and all of our fellow members of course.

Hi Tony LVT (landing vehicle tracked) is another name for an Amtrac a very clever way of getting men and material from ship to shore. Although as the marines found out at Betio the armour was too thin an having to exit the craft over the gunwales was a risky business.

All the best to you all over the festive period.

Chris

[Guest]

Very nice start, looks great so far chris , loving the water and beach.

Keep the pics coming!

Cheers. Polux

[MORIARTY1177]

Hi Guys,

Here's a small update on my progress (or lack of it) it's taken me forever to get these marines together and to cut the palm fronds but has been quite a relaxing pleasureable affair. For anyone thinking of getting these marines they are nicely detailed but the Tarawa set are insanely more complex to put together than the Iwo Jima set. (each body and head is in 2 halves and the lower portion of tunic that sits beneath the belt is seperate too...that's 6 pieces per body.....ouch!!)

Anyway here's a couple of pics and I'm now ready for the painting.

Regards

Chris

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[MORIARTY1177]

Ok, another wee update. I'd very much like some opinions/ideas here chaps, the leaves on the ground are not final as I think they're a bit much. I'm planning to put some sandbags across the top of the bunker (and across the front of course) with some palm fronds on top as camouflage but I need some ideas on how to produce the right kind of scatter material/debris across the beach. On the whole I'm quite please with the results so far but your comments are always welcome.

Regards

Chris

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[Guest]

If you mean the leaves on the ground are a little "obvious" they might seem a bit more blended in if you cover them here and there with some sand to simulate a bit of wind coverage.

I think the amount of debris on the floor is fine to be honest.

I like how this is coming together.