Jump to content

How much battlefield can you fit in a 12"x10" plant terrarium?


Recommended Posts

spacer.png fit a little After deciding to use up some spare sprues from Armourfast and PSC I found that I couldpiece of Normandy into a small terrarium from a well known Scandinavian household store (JYSK not the other one!). the Armourfast Cromwell was looking forlorn after I used up one sprue for an ARV and decided that it could only go on a diorama on its own due to its overscale appearence when put next to my Revell Cromwells. I had some equally mismatched ESCI figures which are well detailed but also overscale for my other Normandy dios. Many of the 'action' poses are useless for most scenes but I discovered I could cut of their weapons and equipment with a scalpel and add it to other more suitably posed figures (some of them the old Airfix/Dapol railway figures which are ideal 1/72 and too big for 00 Gauge)

 

spacer.pngspacer.png

 

I tried various 1/72 vehicles including the PSC M5 halftrack, a bren carrier, daimler Dingo from a white metal kit and a Humber scout car also from a metal kit. You can see the difference between the huge Armourfast Cromwell and the PSC one in the pics.

Armourfast Cromwell:

 

spacer.png

 

PSC Cromwell:

 

spacer.png

 

PSC M5 halftrack and Humber scout car

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

Daimler & Bren carrier

spacer.png

 

I finally decided on the Armourfast Cromwell and the carrier (but added more stowage since these pics) the diorama roughly represents the actions of !st Polish Armoured Division on Mt Ormel in late August 1944 when they held the neck of the Falaise pocket closed. I was inspired to use this scenario because the hill has an embedded lane on its steep slopes.

Edited by Old Rastrickian
picture won't upload
  • Like 34
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

spacer.pngIt's actually a stony track - made up of....stony soil. The pics don't show it so well as I used my phone because it has a better depth of field. I have tried various techniques in the past to reproduce untarmaced roads and all have their flaws. in the end sieved soil is about the best (make sure you microwave it to kill any bugs!)

 

I tried a spay-on textured paint for the road originally but was unhappy with the result, it was a good rendition of a road covered in stone chippings which would probably suit a model railway but too well-made for a Normandy farm track or lane.

Edited by Old Rastrickian
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the comments guys. Actually this isn't my smallest cased diorama by far. I built others in these little pine boxes with glass front which they sell in Wilkinsons.  They are only 5.5 x7 inches but still ok for a few 1/35 figures or single 1/72 vehicles.  I find dust is really bad for dioramas and once on you can't remove it without causing damage. So before I build stuff these days I think first 'where is this going to go?' The benefit of these little boxes is that you can put them on the wall with picture hooks or angle brackets and they don't take up floor space like display cabinets.

 

spacer.png

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...