Matt Parvis

Looks good. Also, a little weird since I am so used to seeing a Redstone with a Mercury capsule on top. Matt

Thank you all for your comments, they are appreciated. Matt

Very nicely done. The various tones and types of rust add a lot of visual interest. The figure with the downcast expression pushing the bike along a muddy rutted road really conveys a bleak mood. Matt

As the others have said, really nice. The details go on and on and for a scene like this, the small details are what brings them alive. Matt

Werner, Looks really good. I like all of the small details. They are easy to leave out/forget but when they are there they make a huge difference. I particularly like the finishing marks on the concrete paving, a detail that is often missed and you showed it really well. The cracks in your concrete are also right on how concrete typically cracks. Matt

Looks great Rob. You must be able to taste the finish line at this point. It looks like the crew might be lagging behind a bit though, tell them to get it in gear! Matt

That looks really nice and the finish is right on from how it looks today, or, at least how I remember it looking last time I was at the Air and Space Museum. Matt

I'm not sure if you have a source for pilots in mind, but, I came across this the other day so thought I'd point it out. I've no association with the maker and while I did order some stuff the other day I haven't received it yet so I can't comment, at this point, on how the prints look in real life. Matt

Badder, thanks for the thoughts. The roof tiles are actually a resin piece from Royal Model that was cut to fit then the bottom edge was carved/filed/sanded to get the proper edge and finally I made some tiles out of DAS airdry clay that went underneath to have something a little closer to how the edge actually looks. (I think.) As far as making molds, that is something I should look at for the future for detail type pieces but for this, I'd worry too much about damaging what I have so far. As I said, the finish line is in sight so I don't want to risk that. Rob, thanks, but I think you got all three of those descriptors wrong! 😛 Matt

So, this project is back on the front burner after having finished the other dio I was working on, seen here, and I have made some pretty good progress, not all of which got photographed. Since my last post the only real change to the base is the addition of the cap blocks on the wall along the street. After that, much of the recent effort went to getting the sides of the base complete. First step was to clad them in balsa as seen here: and here: Also, a thin slurry was added to the road to fill in between the cobbles, as you can see here: After that the balsa was stained and varnished and once dry, masked so painting could begin. Here it is all masked up to keep the sides clean: Then, after all of the needed airbrushing was complete (hopefully) I removed the masking to see if it had done its job and to see how things were looking. There are some minor problem areas, but nothing too bad and here is how it sits now: Lots still to do obviously, but, it is starting to get to the point where I can see the finish line: As ever, comments, criticisms, questions are all welcome. Matt

Looks great Rob! I am looking forward to the end result, should be amazing. (No pressure.) Matt

Very glad you included the reference pictures with this one, otherwise I was going to conclude you were having us on. That is one weird beasty. Matt

John, You are right. Probably should have done that. It would have made more sense certainly and it likely would have made it easier to pose that figure. (He is pretty extensively modified.) Maybe I'll change the title to "Almost ready, sir." Cyrenaica, 1942, early morning. 😁 Matt

Thanks for your thoughts Badder. Looking at the grass clumps I see what you mean. My thought for the dark color was to emphasis that the clumps were hardy, tough, not particularly succulent scrub. Looking at them in place with the rest of the groundwork I think they are a little dark. Fortunately enough, a little more dry-brushing of lighter colors will be simple to do so I will give it a couple of days to settle in my thoughts and come back to it to see what I think. Matt

Pretty much calling this one done. It has been in process for a good while with some starts and stops due to real life getting in the way. It is Eduard's 1/48 Bf-109 F-4 with their resin engine kit along with Tamiya's Kubelwagen, starter cart and bits and bobs. The figures are all Tamiya, with varying levels of modification. Anyway, enough of the boring bits, on to the pictures: As ever, comments, criticisms, thoughts are all welcome. Matt

I'll be interested to see how you go about attaching the leaves. I've got a number of punches myself and have fiddled with them a bit, but have yet to come up with a good way of attaching leaves onto branches. Matt

Looks good. What did you use for the foliage on the trees? Matt

I like all of the action and the painting looks good, in particular the figures are nicely done. I like the MiniArt buildings (I've built several and have more in the stash) and you have done a nice job on this one. The joins at the end of the destroyed walls are always a challenge. One thought I have is that it might have been better served to be smaller. With less space, the figures overall would be more on top of each other which would, to me, increase the tension and emphasize the chaos. Also, more rubble and debris spread around would accomplish the same thing. Overall nice work and I really like the figure holding his head, that certainly conveys the chaos and desperation for all involved. Matt

For the individual inserts have you given any thought to how to tie them in to the main scene? Getting gap free edges around a base is something I struggle with in my dios, so, I'd imagine hiding seam lines in the midst of a diorama will not be easy. Matt

Finding and keeping motivation going in this hobby, especially for large long term projects is often a challenge, I know it is for me, so, if changing back to a winter dio is going to stoke the fires then go for it. Along the same lines, if the passion is gone from the other version forcing yourself to continue will likely result in frustration with the work and annoyance at the end result since it is unlikely to be your best work. Matt

I've never considered building one of these, this makes me want to build one. Excellent work. Matt

Mmmmm, figures... new ideas begin to form in my head... Looks great Rob, looking forward to seeing it all together. What's next? 😜 Matt

Very cool. I noticed the issue with the track marks of the skis as well, but, I suspect that is mainly because I tend to obsess about that kind of stuff with my own dios. Not having read the story in question, I am not sure if this fits, but, how about this: Are the ancient rock wall with strange carvings, the giant albino penguins, and Shoggoth actually there? Maybe the "madness" is just that it is all it the expedition member's heads? (Brought on by dodgy booze perhaps?) That would explain how the wing went through "solid" rock. Dioramas, to me, are all about telling stories, and that makes this one of the best dios I have seen in a long time. Excellent work. Matt

Soeren, I think it looks really good. The growth out of the cracks looks right on to me and the color of the concrete looks good as well, nice and faded. I am not sure if you are done or not, but, for myself, I would finish the sides of the groundwork somehow. I like to have a clear delineation between the groundwork and the sides of the base. Of course, I rarely achieve that, but it is what I shoot for. The T-55 looks brilliant as well, by the way. Matt

I've always really liked the style of your builds, neat and tidy dirt and grime is the best way to describe it in my mind and this one certainly has the same style. Looking forward to seeing this progress to completion. Matt