Muchmirth Posted October 31, 2021 Share Posted October 31, 2021 (edited) Operation Veritable was succinctly summarised as being of 'Mud and Mines' and so I wanted to do diorama which summed this up. Took around 3 months of fairly continuous work, my first 1/35 models ever (seems like 'first' is all I ever say but I had started modelling back in March this year, in 1/72 scale.) Its brush painted and mostly scratch built. I built the base, signage, ground works, vegetation, the booby trapped mine and mines, fence, tree stump, scarecrow, some of the carriers stowage (the sandbags, areal with flag, the satchels with the maps, the bag in the back and the roll sacks). Some of inspiration and ref pics below: Ok so obviously not a UC but gave me the initial idea: This is the 9th Camaronians in the Reichswald. Note the general detritus at the road side, including a ripped out door frame. http://ww2talk.com/index.php?attachments/br-offensive-n-holland-27-jpg.186292/ This is taken from Holland but helped with the water effects: Also from the Reichswald (not sure of the unit): The 2nd Argyll's in Normandy (where gecko got their idea for the figures from). Now onto the dio itself: My initial sketch: Barely make out the dropped rifle under the murky water (top right). The bag pipes came with a decal which I would never have been able to fit so I ended up painting the tartan on. Its a difficult balance to strike with regards to the mines as I had to try make them be seen, as they were the whole point and title but also not very obvious to spot which would have been realistic to the soldiers in the piece. Hopefully your might be just able to make them out in the above and below pic (Their was four in total but really only three ended up visible. Played with a cold filter for the pic below: Note the booby trapped mine under sarge sten gun's boot. The link wire cutting across the front of the resin water, in front of the ducks Thanks for viewing. Paul. Edited October 31, 2021 by Muchmirth added pics 43 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince1159 Posted October 31, 2021 Share Posted October 31, 2021 Very nice,love the piper.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted October 31, 2021 Share Posted October 31, 2021 Brilliant diorama 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod484 Posted October 31, 2021 Share Posted October 31, 2021 Great diorama with a lot of thought put into realising it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo1966 Posted November 1, 2021 Share Posted November 1, 2021 Fantastic piece of work Paul, so much to look at and I keep spotting extra details. I really, really like this! I wonder if it would look even better if the sides/edges were painted or would that hide some of the details? Anyway, as i say great work and well done! George 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddiesolo Posted November 1, 2021 Share Posted November 1, 2021 Outstanding piece Paul, lovely set out diorama. Dioramas are not always a easy thing to master, too little it becomes boring, too much and it is overdone, also, the locations of objects placed are crucial to getting a great balanced look. You have achieved that, the water disguises a lot of pieces so it keeps the viewer engage as they seek out other bits, or something suddenly pops out. Nicely done and a fave for me, one to be very proud of. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muchmirth Posted November 1, 2021 Author Share Posted November 1, 2021 2 hours ago, Geo1966 said: Fantastic piece of work Paul, so much to look at and I keep spotting extra details. I really, really like this! I wonder if it would look even better if the sides/edges were painted or would that hide some of the details? Anyway, as i say great work and well done! George Thanks for the kind comments and taking an interest. The edges aren't very neat ,one of the elements I'm not keen on myself. I did edge it with plain black acrylic but the main problem stems from the resin cast with the ground works. I wanted to make sure it would hold the resin without any leaks so I made the whole base to fit a clear plastic box then popped the whole thing into the box and sealed the ground work to the edges. I was so nervous pouring the resin that I made sure I pressed the ground/mud to the edges if the box and so this made a bit untidy so when I did pour the resin it set the odd bit of mud in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muchmirth Posted November 1, 2021 Author Share Posted November 1, 2021 3 minutes ago, eddiesolo said: Outstanding piece Paul, lovely set out diorama. Dioramas are not always a easy thing to master, too little it becomes boring, too much and it is overdone, also, the locations of objects placed are crucial to getting a great balanced look. You have achieved that, the water disguises a lot of pieces so it keeps the viewer engage as they seek out other bits, or something suddenly pops out. Nicely done and a fave for me, one to be very proud of. Thank you very very much. Nice to know people appreciate it....I spent a long time drinking coffee and just staring at the exact locations of the items I wanted to place!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stef N. Posted November 1, 2021 Share Posted November 1, 2021 This is a very impressive diorama. Well thought out and executed. Top work all round.👏 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muchmirth Posted November 2, 2021 Author Share Posted November 2, 2021 13 hours ago, Stef N. said: This is a very impressive diorama. Well thought out and executed. Top work all round.👏 Thanks for the compliment Stef. Much appreciated. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junobeach Posted November 2, 2021 Share Posted November 2, 2021 Good day Muchmirth , great job on the scene. The carrier turn out great and makes a great focal point for the diorama. cheers Juno beach 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted November 2, 2021 Share Posted November 2, 2021 That's a great idea and well executed. Dioramas are really difficul to to design, at least for me, I do appreciate a good one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muchmirth Posted November 2, 2021 Author Share Posted November 2, 2021 39 minutes ago, junobeach said: Good day Muchmirth , great job on the scene. The carrier turn out great and makes a great focal point for the diorama. cheers Juno beach The carrier was thanks to your tips!!! When's the archer gonna be ready? Looking forward to seeing it, love an archer, it's on the wish list for future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muchmirth Posted November 2, 2021 Author Share Posted November 2, 2021 41 minutes ago, Bertie Psmith said: That's a great idea and well executed. Dioramas are really difficul to to design, at least for me, I do appreciate a good one. Thank you Bertie, very kind of you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junobeach Posted November 2, 2021 Share Posted November 2, 2021 The Archer is coming along slowly. I have the lower hull and driver’s compartment done and just finishing the tracks. Started parts of the gun and upper hull. I hope it will be done by December as I have a few things on the go , keeping me from dedicating a lot of time to getting it finished. Also have to figure out the base yet. cheers Juno Beach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRK Posted November 2, 2021 Share Posted November 2, 2021 Great work, very nicely put together and very much like the roads in Lancashire today! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muchmirth Posted November 3, 2021 Author Share Posted November 3, 2021 On 31/10/2021 at 19:12, Vince1159 said: Very nice,love the piper.... Thanks Vince!! On 31/10/2021 at 19:16, colin said: Brilliant diorama Cheers Colin! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muchmirth Posted November 3, 2021 Author Share Posted November 3, 2021 On 31/10/2021 at 21:55, nimrod484 said: Great diorama with a lot of thought put into realising it. Thanks for taking a look!! 16 hours ago, GRK said: Great work, very nicely put together and very much like the roads in Lancashire today! Cheers grk, enjoying argentan at the moment. ...less flooding!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bandsaw Steve Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 I really like that and I really like the idea of the written narrative explaining the scene and the historical context. Great work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muchmirth Posted November 3, 2021 Author Share Posted November 3, 2021 6 hours ago, Bandsaw Steve said: I really like that and I really like the idea of the written narrative explaining the scene and the historical context. Great work. Thank you so much. I tried hard with the research and signage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 Great work Paul you can imagine how cold that water was at the time of year,you've nailed the detailing beautifully. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Posted November 6, 2021 Share Posted November 6, 2021 Brilliant modelling. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanfrandragon Posted November 7, 2021 Share Posted November 7, 2021 Inspirational! You’ve captured the misery of being cold and wet very well. I like the tartan pennant, the rank and unit insignia on the uniforms and dead German. Were you worried about the heat from the curing resin damaging the soldiers or carrier? Just one question, would the water have disabled the mines? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muchmirth Posted November 7, 2021 Author Share Posted November 7, 2021 5 hours ago, sanfrandragon said: Inspirational! You’ve captured the misery of being cold and wet very well. I like the tartan pennant, the rank and unit insignia on the uniforms and dead German. Were you worried about the heat from the curing resin damaging the soldiers or carrier? Just one question, would the water have disabled the mines? Thank you very much for the compliments and appreciation. I was initially worried but when I actually went to do the pour it very strangely didnt get hot at all. I don't know if it was the resin type, being a basic Amazon beginners type or the mass spread or volume I poured (done in 4 pours) but was barely warm. I did warm it myself by putting the plastic mixing cup into a bowl of hot water, to eradicate bubbles. I also stuck the whole thing prior to initial pour into a barely warmed oven (extremely risky and not recommended but paid off as I had no bubbles. I researched the s mine thoroughly but honestly couldn't find out if the water would have disabled the mine. So honestly don't know. If the propellant was enough to pull the out of buried mud to approx 1 Meter of height before it exploded (as also known as the bollock buster) then maybe possible. I would say one other thing about the mine it was particularly vicious as wasn't designed to kill but to maim, the adage goes a wounded man is more of a burden on an advancing army than a dead one. Thanks again. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natter Posted November 29, 2021 Share Posted November 29, 2021 Like. A lot. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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