USANC in the Hurtgenwald

[Cadman]

Think it was around the tail end of 2014 when I read this utterly compelling book, "And If I Perish: Frontline U.S. Army Nurses in World War II";

 

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/If-Perish-Frontline-Nurses-World/dp/140003129X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=And+If+I+Perish%3A+Frontline+U.S.+Army+Nurses+in+World+War+II&qid=1618192447&s=books&sr=1-1

 

And I knew right away that I wanted to create something to commemorate the courage and fortitude displayed by the US Army Nursing Corps in the ETO during WW2.

 

 

 

Looking around for available miniatures in 1:35 scale, I happened upon this excellent resin kit.

Unfortunately, I can't recall the Japan-based manufacturer, but I do remember contacting them and ordering two examples so I could include each kit in two different dioramas. One set in WW2 and the other in Korea.

 

 

 

Meanwhile, a movie had been released telling the story of a Sherman Easy-Eight crew as the US Army advanced into Germany in April-1945.

So I decided to include elements of the tank and crew, but set the timescale and location back to the Battle of the Hurtgen Forest Sep-1944 to Feb-1945.

And that's the background as to how this particular diorama came about. (The historical inaccuracies are all mine and I'm calling them "Artistic License".

 

Trouble is, the original photos were lost when I bought a new computer, so I've had to use screenshots from two MP4 slideshows that survived the move to the new electronic abacus, resulting in a loss of quality in the photos.

I really must get around to taking some new shots of this and my Korean War dioramas -- I'm just waiting for opportunity and inclination to occur simultaneously...aka...it's laziness...😳

Anyhoo, here ye go...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers the Noo

[Big Dave S]

Wowzah!!

Smashing work.

I don't know what else to say.

[Cadman]

1 hour ago, Big Dave S said:

Wowzah!!

Smashing work.

I don't know what else to say.

 

Glad you like it.

I forgot to mention;

The E8 is Tamiya

The Ambulance Jeep is Italeri

The other Jeeps are Tamiya

Can't remember who does the Stuart

The figures are a couple of Masterbox tank crew and the rest are resin miniatures from various manufacturers

Wardaddy is from Bravo6

[Cadman]

PS.

"If this is Goodbye", by Mark Knopfler and Emmylou that I used in the Color Photos slideshow was actually written about 9/11, but then again, it just seemed to "fit" so well that I simply had to use it. 

 

"Bang the Drum Slowly" that I used in the Sepia Photos slideshow was written by Emmylou Harris in honor of her late Father, who was a Korean War Vet, and "fits" perfectly into the solemn mood I was trying to put across.

This is a brilliant cover version.

 

Edited April 14, 2021 by Cadman

[Ernst]

Awesome work and stunning presentation. I've never seen this before. It does indeed take more than soldiers to win a war. Cool reference on the barrel. Tour YT channel has been bookmarked for later binge watching.

Cheers,

Ernst.

[Cadman]

4 hours ago, Ernst said:

Awesome work and stunning presentation. I've never seen this before. It does indeed take more than soldiers to win a war. Cool reference on the barrel. Tour YT channel has been bookmarked for later binge watching.

Cheers,

Ernst.

 

Glad you like it Ernst. "RAGE" was hand-painted on the Easy-Eight gun barrel and was actually easier than anticipated.

I do try to be creative in how I present the stuff I come up with. Some ideas work, some don't, but it's a nice sense of achievement when they do...😃

Please let me know how you get on with watching the YT channel, which is under my alternate alias of "Flashcad".

I always use the "BRAVE" Browser and have it set to block ads, so I'm pretty interested to know if YT have included ads in each video clip.

 

https://brave.com/

 

Running a YT channel is completely new to me with a pretty steep learning curve, and it's still very much a WIP, as creating the slideshows is fairly time consuming.

E.g. It took me four days to complete "The Battle of Langside 1568 Rev B" video, which is why there's only 15 slideshows uploaded so far, with at least 25 more to go.

I know I've overcomplicated some of them with backgrounds that are too fancy and certain unnecessary transition effects that detract from the overall presentation of each video clip -- but it's all just part of the learning experience and these issues will be addressed in due course.

I've deliberately not monetized the channel either, because to be perfectly honest that would be more trouble than it's worth, but it does mean I can just about get away with using copyright audio tracks.

YT's copyright-free audio tracks suck in any case.

 

Next slideshow will likely be a Rev_B update to "The Frozen Chosin" with a few additional figures, plus some long overdue and improved photos.

 

Cheers the Noo

Edited April 14, 2021 by Cadman

[Pete in Lincs]

Those are indeed awesome pictures. 

[Cadman]

1 minute ago, Pete in Lincs said:

Those are indeed awesome pictures. 

 

Thanks Pete -- but they're just screenshots from the slideshows and I should be able to do better.

The Dragon Lady recently bought me a Nikon D5600 DSLR Camera to replace my old, (and knackered), D5300, so improved photos of this particular diorama ought to be coming up over the next few days.

[Snafu35]

Hello, Cadman.

 

It's too big for me, but it's beautiful!

Well done, the snow is really convincing.

The work on your film is remarkable, too.

I'm going to lift my head from my steering wheel to go see your other videos ...

 

Have fun in modeling!

 

Regards from France,

Eric-Snafu35

[Pete in Lincs]

I recently reread Steven Ambrose's Citizen Soldiers. An epic book. The Ladies get honourable mentions in there for their work.

The battle for Hurtgen forest should never have been, The casualty rates just from the weather were horrendous.

As for Korea. I always enjoyed the TV series of MASH and the film is still a favourite. Bless them all.

[Cadman]

2 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

I recently reread Steven Ambrose's Citizen Soldiers. An epic book. The Ladies get honourable mentions in there for their work.

The battle for Hurtgen forest should never have been, The casualty rates just from the weather were horrendous.

As for Korea. I always enjoyed the TV series of MASH and the film is still a favourite. Bless them all.

 

Yeah, I have "Citizen Soldiers" in hard copy and I'm presently re-reading "If I Should Perish" on my Kindle.

Was discussing Prince Philip with an American friend of mine via email last night and happened to mention that I never used to care much for "The Greatest Generation" tagline...but that opinion has gone through a complete reassessment recently.

They really were THE GREATEST GENERATION.

It's humbling, to say the very least.

Edited April 14, 2021 by Cadman

[Cadman]

3 hours ago, Snafu35 said:

Hello, Cadman.

 

It's too big for me, but it's beautiful!

Well done, the snow is really convincing.

The work on your film is remarkable, too.

I'm going to lift my head from my steering wheel to go see your other videos ...

 

Have fun in modeling!

 

Regards from France,

Eric-Snafu35

 

Thanks very much Eric -- I highly appreciate your kind comments.

The snow is my usual go-to product from Precision Ice & Snow.

I think I built this diorama way back in 2015 and as you can see it went through a few changes. For example, I was short on Jeeps for my "Frozen Chosin" scenario, so the original Jeep at the back came out and the Stuart Tank went in, but I don't think it really belongs there. I'm now toying with the idea of replacing the Stuart with something else that I think will be more appropriate -- and then carry out brand new photoshoots of both dioramas.

Oh, and you'll find this French-themed slideshow on my channel which I reckon you'll enjoy...😉...all figures are white metal in 1:30 scale...😃

 

 

Edited April 14, 2021 by Cadman

[Pete in Lincs]

1 hour ago, Cadman said:

It's humbling, to say the very least.

I'm with you there.

When you also think that of the troops who crossed the Rhine, apparently a fair percentage were still in High School in the USA on D Day!

Roland Beamont was a Wing Commander in charge of four Squadrons of Typhoons and their teething problems at the age of 23!

The list is endless. 

[Ernst]

4 hours ago, Cadman said:

Glad you like it Ernst. "RAGE" was hand-painted on the Easy-Eight gun barrel and was actually easier than anticipated.

I do try to be creative in how I present the stuff I come up with. Some ideas work, some don't, but it's a nice sense of achievement when they do...😃

Please let me know how you get on with watching the YT channel, which is under my alternate alias of "Flashcad".

I always use the "BRAVE" Browser and have it set to block ads, so I'm pretty interested to know if YT have included ads in each video clip.

 

https://brave.com/

 

Running a YT channel is completely new to me with a pretty steep learning curve, and it's still very much a WIP, as creating the slideshows is fairly time consuming.

E.g. It took me four days to complete "The Battle of Langside 1568 Rev B" video, which is why there's only 15 slideshows uploaded so far, with at least 25 more to go.

I know I've overcomplicated some of them with backgrounds that are too fancy and certain unnecessary transition effects that detract from the overall presentation of each video clip -- but it's all just part of the learning experience and these issues will be addressed in due course.

I've deliberately not monetized the channel either, because to be perfectly honest that would be more trouble than it's worth, but it does mean I can just about get away with using copyright audio tracks.

YT's copyright-free audio tracks suck in any case.

 

Next slideshow will likely be a Rev_B update to "The Frozen Chosin" with a few additional figures, plus some long overdue and improved photos.

 

Cheers the Noo

 

I'll keep you updated on the YT experience using brave which is one of my 3 browsers, thanks for the tip👍. I used to do some video editing with Vegas (owned by Sony back in the days) and steinberg Nuendo and they both act like linear audio/midi sequencers. Once you get the hang of it the process will speed up. There's probably a lot of freeware that can do the trick. I'll have to get myself reacquainted with what's out there for some upcoming timelapse projects. Concerning copyright, if I'm not mistaken it applies to audiotracks younger than 70 years but legislation might differ across countries. It's indeed better than most stock music .

Cheers

Ernst

[Cadman]

5 minutes ago, Ernst said:

 

I'll keep you updated on the YT experience using brave which is one of my 3 browsers, thanks for the tip👍. I used to do some video editing with Vegas (owned by Sony back in the days) and steinberg Nuendo and they both act like linear audio/midi sequencers. Once you get the hang of it the process will speed up. There's probably a lot of freeware that can do the trick. I'll have to get myself reacquainted with what's out there for some upcoming timelapse projects. Concerning copyright, if I'm not mistaken it applies to audiotracks younger than 70 years but legislation might differ across countries. It's indeed better than most stock music .

Cheers

Ernst

 

I'm using Openshot, AVS Video Editor and Audacity -- all open source apps.

It's processing the photos that take up most of the time, plus I'm pulling together various slideshows that I originally did on Powerpoint several years back.

So it's all a bit of a mish-mash at the moment, but I'm gradually getting them cleaned up and done in much the same format.

I really must fix the transitions for the final couple of slides in each presentation though. All in due course -- of course...😉...😃

[noelh]

I haven't come across your work before. I was duly impressed with this subject but then I checked your 'back catalogue' so to speak. Now I'm officially a fan. 

 

Really it's modelling as art. If I had too much money or even a bit money I'd commission something from you.

 

Keep up the good work. I look forward to your next contribution. 

 

[Cadman]

On 4/16/2021 at 4:47 AM, noelh said:

I haven't come across your work before. I was duly impressed with this subject but then I checked your 'back catalogue' so to speak. Now I'm officially a fan. 

 

Really it's modelling as art. If I had too much money or even a bit money I'd commission something from you.

 

Keep up the good work. I look forward to your next contribution. 

 

 

Wow, thank you for the kind comments and vote of confidence.

I don't do commissions, but have been known to give several examples of my small dioramas to my Son-in-Law and Old Uncle Ho -- my nickname for the Patriarch of The Dragon Lady's extended family, who has them on display at the back of the reception area in the 3-star hotel he built on his spread out in the sticks. By all accounts, they both experience oohs & aahs from nationals who see the displays, which is all very nice as far as I'm concerned.

Is it art? I dunno, but we had visitors to our condo recently who have never seen scale modelling before, and I made the mistake of describing my Hobby Room upstairs...

 

 

 

...as my "Studio", to howls of derisive laughter, as you can imagine.

Even though it was really meant as a joke, it certainly taught me a well-deserved lesson -- don't come across as being so pretentious Dumbo.

Served me right.

😳...😢...🙄

 

Next one is coming up just as soon as the upload to my YT Channel is finished.

 

Cheers the Noo