Ambush! 1/24 US Special Forces in Syria

[theaa2000]

Evening everyone,

 

I am finally ready to call my WIP dio complete. It's been a really long (far too long actually) build that has ruined my build plans for the year and made me late for the F-15 GB, but I think I am finally done (apart from a name plaque or sign, so any suggestions are welcome!) so, before the final photos, here's a summary of what I used:

• DG Artwork Miniatures 1/24 figures - I saw these years ago and have been thinking about building them ever since because of their excellent action poses. I finally bought them, painted them up in Multicam and then thought about how I should display them (not how anyone should compose a scene for sure). This led to...
• Aoshima 1/24 Toyota Hilux Surf - Couldn't find a Tacoma which would be more appropriate for US forces, so a Hilux had to suffice. This was a typical 1/24 car kit with a minimal interior and moulded shut doors, so surgery and scratch building was required to open it up and detail the interior.
• DioArt Afghan signs - a 1/35 item intended for.... Afghanistan but I am not an Arabic (or Pashto) speaker so these were fine with me
• 1/24 Doozy Models soft drink cans, Coca-Cola crate and bottles
• 1/24 MAIM crushed water bottles
• 1/24 MAIM Plastic chair
• Various 1/35 & 1/16 Master turned brass rounds
• Various 1/24 3D printed items ordered from Shapeways of which the best was the bull bars, and the worst ended up in the bed covered by a tarp - Remind me to actually get a SLA 3D printer!
• Polyurethane Foamboard, cork, plaster, sheet & strip styrene, brass rod & tube, lead wire and a lot of reference images to scratch build the base, the building and pretty much every other detail - note for anyone reading, don't try to build a military dio in 1/24 scale because nothing is available commercially

 

For anyone interested, the WIP thread is here:

 

So, if you've read all that, time for your reward... the photos!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So that's it with this one (and big dioramas for a while tbh) - thanks for looking!

 

Anirudh

 

 

[stevehnz]

Nicely done, I like your figures, very well finished in dynamic & what I would take to be realistic posses. The building has a suitably grotty appearance. It works on every level . 👍

Steve.

[nimrod484]

Excellent diorama with a lot of well-thought out and we’ll-executed detail. Very impressive.

[speedy]

What an outstanding amount of details. This model really puts you in the moment. 👋

[Matt P]

superb modelling, and brave to tackle in 1/24 too 👍

[Sarawakia]

simply superb.

 

[theaa2000]

On 10/13/2022 at 12:26 PM, Matt P said:

superb modelling, and brave to tackle in 1/24 too 👍

Thank you Matt! I didn't originally plan to do anything this big, but I liked the poses of these figures ever since I saw them so I got them, and things spiralled from there

On 10/18/2022 at 5:03 AM, Sarawakia said:

simply superb.

 

Thank you!

 

On 10/9/2022 at 11:47 PM, nimrod484 said:

Excellent diorama with a lot of well-thought out and we’ll-executed detail. Very impressive.

Thanks @nimrod484 - I always struggle with composition with a diorama so I'm glad you like it

 

On 10/10/2022 at 6:55 AM, speedy said:

What an outstanding amount of details. This model really puts you in the moment. 👋

Thanks speedy!

 

On 10/9/2022 at 10:06 PM, stevehnz said:

Nicely done, I like your figures, very well finished in dynamic & what I would take to be realistic posses. The building has a suitably grotty appearance. It works on every level . 👍

Steve.

Thanks Steve - appreciate the kind words!

 

[Remus389]

Your diorama is like from an action movie.

 

Wow the air conditioner and the other details, just wow.😎👍

[JohnT]

One of the best dioramas I’ve seen in a long time. You have the figures in dynamic poses that work and that’s tricky to do. The buildings are well nigh perfect in their detail with damage from normal wear and tear and also from the fighting all well portrayed. Weathering is spot on down to rusty metal, haphazard electric cables and some clever juxtaposition of global marketing (the Coke bottle crate) with more local items such as the carpet and shop signs. The whole scene works together so bravo 👏 

[Pete in Lincs]

You get a superb from me too. Plus wot @JohnT said about the figures etc. I've seen buildings just like that (minus bullet holes) in Saudi. Marvelous.

[theaa2000]

21 hours ago, Remus389 said:

Your diorama is like from an action movie.

 

Wow the air conditioner and the other details, just wow.😎👍

Thanks! If only it made the same money as an action movie  

 

 

21 hours ago, JohnT said:

One of the best dioramas I’ve seen in a long time. You have the figures in dynamic poses that work and that’s tricky to do. The buildings are well nigh perfect in their detail with damage from normal wear and tear and also from the fighting all well portrayed. Weathering is spot on down to rusty metal, haphazard electric cables and some clever juxtaposition of global marketing (the Coke bottle crate) with more local items such as the carpet and shop signs. The whole scene works together so bravo 👏 

Thank you John - very kind, and glad you like it! I'm very pleased with how it all turned out and although there are details I couldn't add due to time or not finding a satisfactory way to build them (definitely need a 3D printer), the overall look is what I had in mind.

 

13 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

You get a superb from me too. Plus wot @JohnT said about the figures etc. I've seen buildings just like that (minus bullet holes) in Saudi. Marvelous.

Thanks Pete - I didn't base the building on any particular building but really just took inspiration from various buildings I saw in references of Syria/Iraq.

[Bertie McBoatface]

That's a lot of work in such a big scale. Well done.

[Fred piket]

I'm gobsmacked.. You've spend your time really well. The level of detail is extra ordinarily.

[ErikT]

Beautifully done!  The whole scene is so well made, painted, and detailed, that I don't know where to look first!  And I sure couldn't decide what part I liked best.  Amazing.

[Muchmirth]

All round brilliant diorama. Love an action scene with plenty motion involved as opposed to relaxed/resting poses, makes a nice change. The scratch built items such as the sat and air con unit are brilliant too! 

[Michael_55]

Beautiful Work!!!