Leave RONCEY, a 1/72 diorama

[Snafu35]

Good morning.

I wanted to reproduce this picture as a diorama:

source photos: magazine Normandie 44 Number 20, copyright 2016

This photo was taken on July 31, 1944 at a place called La Lande des morts, between Roncey and Saint Denis le Gast, south of Coutances.

 

I went there to get an idea of the place:

The place has changed, and the house has disappeared.

 

here is what the war correspondent photographed with his back to the vehicles:

source photos: magazine Normandie 44 Number 20, copyright 2016

and today:

The apple trees on the left were replanted at the beginning of the 21st century, and the water from a small spring in the meadow on the right looks red, because there is scrap metal buried in the ground.

 

However, one of my friends brilliantly performed this scene:

wonderful, isn't it?

 

I had a Hummel kit, I wanted to reproduce this episode from Roncey's pocket.
And I said to myself: what if I represented the scene BEFORE the battle?

So I looked for information.
This German column was destroyed on the night of July 29 to 30, 1944.
At the head there was a StugIII and a Hummel.
This photo was taken before the Hummel was pushed to the side of the road after the fighting:

source photos: magazine Normandie 44 Number 20 p76, copyright 2016

 

Here is the story:
The Americans launched Operation Cobra on July 25, 1944;
A consequent bombardment upset the German lines (The Panzer Lehr Division was wiped out), then the US mechanized units rushed straight ahead.
The Germans no longer had a front were partially surrounded to the south of Coutances. The remains of several divisions have clustered around a village called Roncey.
During the night of July 29 to 30, three German columns left this village devastated by aerial bombardments. One of them called "Müller" had in mind a Hummel followed by a Sturmgeschutz, and these two tanks were assembled to make a "schwerpunkt".

During the night progression, the stug overran the column to bypass a US road block, then resumed the progression by the planned axis. This explains why it was stopped at the head of the column at La Coucourie a few moments later.
The story is set, here is the construction.
The scene takes place at the end of the afternoon of July 29, 1944; the Germans wait for the night to be able to move without fear of the jabos.
 

I tried to reproduce the camouflage stripes of the Hummel called Klauzewitz:

 

the fern material comes from my garden: bryoflora collected at the foot of a tree. I fix it with white glue and and I paint in Humbrol 80 with an airbrush.

 

Most of the figures are multi poses of Caesar Miniatures. I carve them and modify them with a mixture of cyanoacrylate and talc powder .

 

There are also some Preiser figures, one or two Hasegawa:

There are forty figures in all on this diorama. I wanted to represent the crowd of trapped soldiers. 

 

And the result:

 

the roads are very narrow in the Normandy countryside.

 

 

Garden side:

 

there were SS of the Das Reich, paratroopers, soldiers of the Werhmacht, of the anti-air defense of the Luftwaffe...

more than 2500 men, hundreds of vehicles.

...But the "elite" troops did not mix with the army!

The painting of the figures was a bit repetitive at times, especially the realization of the oak lef pattern camouflages of the SchutzStaffeln. But I'm happy with the result!

 

street side:

 

I "recycled" a Sturmgeschutz III Revell that I had removed from another diorama.

 

 

The motorcycle is a BMW:

 

 

 

this episode of the Battle of Normandy is less well known than that of Falaise, however the entire western German flank collapsed for lack of soldiers and organized units.

 

last for fun:

 

and for those who doubt my sanity, I assure you that my doctor is holding up well!    

 

Regards,

Eric-Snafu35

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sky Keg]

Eric………….in a word, SUPERB!!!!  Your efforts have led to these accurate and outstanding renditions of history.  A round of applause in order for you. 

 

Mike

[JeroenS]

Very, very impressive. Painting all those figures must have been a nightmare at times but it was definitely worth it, it totally brings the scene to life. May I ask, how did you make those trees?

[stevehnz]

That is rather wonderful Eric. I think the way you have caught the look of the Normandy lanes is very good.

Steve 

 

 

[Muchmirth]

Well done, that’s heck of a lot of hard work.

[Stef N.]

That is a brilliant diorama. Great storytelling and modelling. Bravo.👏👏👏

[Homer]

Congratulations on a fantastic piece of work, certainly brings to life the drama both sides had to endure ,well done. 

[ColinChipmunkfan]

Superb diorama Eric.  The attention to detail is amazing and the figure modelling is very impressive. It is level of modelling  I could not get near.

Well done sir!!

Colin

 

[NMLeonov]

Eric, your figure painting skills in 1/72 are some of the best. The camouflage patterns of the SS and all the other variations is so convincingly realistic. I also love the bootprints in the mud and the foliage. Just excellent work.

[Snafu35]

Good morning, gentlemen,

 

And Happy New Year to all!🥂

 

I'm sorry for the late reply, but I was busy uncorking a few bottles of wine with my family!😁

(I hope I didn't spoil my hand too much with all that I drank!🥳 🥂 )

 

I thank you all for your kindly words.

On 27/12/2021 at 08:14, JeroenS said:

 Painting all those figures must have been a nightmare 

It was less frightening than listening to the news!

On 27/12/2021 at 08:14, JeroenS said:

 May I ask, how did you make those trees?

Of course, you can👍

 

 

I use bits of wood, zeechium and parsley:

I collect pieces of branches in my garden. It costs nothing and it really does look like a trunk!.

I made holes in the wood and glued small branches of zeechium with cyanoacrylate glue.

I keep the small bunches of parsley and put them in a blender. I then glue this mince to the zeechium with neoprene spray glue.

I can make two trees with a bunch of parsley like the one in the picture.

I don't grind the parsley immediately after buying it; I wait three or four days for it to dry out a little but not too much.

Finally, parsley is organic, so it can crumble over time. So I airbrush it with different shades of green.

 

On 12/28/2021 at 8:45 AM, Stef N. said:

That is a brilliant diorama. Great storytelling and modelling. Bravo.👏👏👏

Thank you, Stef. I love to tell stories!😋

 

On 1/1/2022 at 3:01 AM, ColinChipmunkfan said:

It is level of modelling  I could not get near.

Well done sir!!

Colin

Thank you, Colin. But I have been training for a very long time! 😁

 

6 hours ago, Pyradus said:

Eric, your figure painting skills in 1/72 are some of the best. The camouflage patterns of the SS and all the other variations is so convincingly realistic. I also love the bootprints in the mud and the foliage. Just excellent work.

Thank you, man! I wanted to show the traces of cows' hooves in the mud, you can also see the dung. I still have some progress to make!😀

 

Thanks again to everyone who came to see my stuff.

Regards,

Eric-Snafu35

[JeroenS]

I wouldn't have guessed the parsley! Thanks for the info.

[IanC]

Hello Eric, 

 

I'm late to this but just wanted to congratulate you on your diorama - a little masterpiece.

 

I like the Then & Now photos too.

 

Ian

[Snafu35]

Hello IanC,

 

Thank you for your note, and I can reassure you about the date of your reply. The content of the forum is very rich, we can't see everything at once. There is always time to write when we are walking around Britmodeller, isn't there?

I have the opportunity to go to the historical site to take pictures and get information, as I live not far away. I understand that it is a little more difficult for an Anglo-Saxon...

 

Regards,

Eric-Snafu35

[Bertie McBoatface]

This is fabulous work. The research, the models, the incredible figure painting, the groundwork, everything is very well done indeed.

[Snafu35]

Thank you for your praise, Bertie.
It's a totally assumed approach on my part, I hope it doesn't sound too pretentious! 

Joking aside, I like to try to make scenes that are rather realistic, or could be. 

 

Regards,

Eric-Snafu35