German machine gun post dio

[dm73]

Evening all, after a long think and a time trawling the interweb for ideas i have decided to do a small dio based around a covered machine gun nest built into the beach rockface, while the machine gun crews are concentrating on the beaches in front of them i'm going to place a few GI's nearby preparing for an assault.

I had a couple of infantry kits in my stash i am going to use, the tamiya german machine gun troops set, an oldie but just what i need and Dragons Normandy infantry set with extra heads and PE straps and belts, lovely sculpted pieces and loads of extra guns and gear.

Wasn't too sure how to go about creating a rockface but a visit to hobbycraft produced a plaster rock mould kit that will do the job.

Will be nice to get some practice on figure painting as it definatly isn't my strong point.

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Cheers for looking

Darren

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[spanner570]

I like it Darren. I have the machine gun troop, it makes up into a very nice group.

The Rangers look good too, with loads of detail. Add these to your rock face and it should look the bizzo'!

Good luck with the build,

Ron

 

[Bunkerbarge]

Reminds me of the opening scene of "Saving Private Ryan". Certainly a lasting image if ever there was one. This should be equally memorable when you've put it together.

I remember making rock faces in my model railway days from pieces of cork bark set in plaster. That used to paint up quite well but I think it may be harder to come by nowadays and probably a lot more expensive.

 

[JFJ]

Nice kits Darren. Im also interested in how the rocks from the plaster kit will turn out. I've never seen that in the hobby store before. Good luck!

 

[rogue-one]

hi darren. good kits and good idea. gonna watch this with great interest!

 

[dm73]

Cheers all, haven't seen the rock forming kit before either but i thought i'd give it ago for a tenner. I cut a couple of pieces of 12mm ply and moved it about until i thought it looked ok, glued and screwed and put on a base of the same material.

I then cut a squarish hole at the top to allow the bunker to protrude from the rock face, a basic bunker shape was then formed from balsa wood, pinned and glued.

Whilst the bunker dried i started to make up the rock casts, very easy to do and i've found out since that they do other separate moulds for different shapes and sizes, once these had set i applied the plaster mesh and applied the rocks.

Once these had set i took a small saw and cut the plaster around the hole in the wood then placed in the bunker again to see what it looked like.

I still have more rocks to mould on to the frame work and the sand on the base to sort but its slowly coming along.

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[Sky Raider]

Hi Darren. Looking great there mate. Perhaps ill join in these GB's when i have had quite a few months experience at modeling. Trouble with me is im so strict that i stick to one job at a time and see it through to the end, not a bad thing really so im told, saves leaving a model that never gets finished. Keep up the good work.

Andy

 

[Ian M]

Looking good Darren. The rocks look fine and will only look better with a lick of paint!

Andy that's a very sound attitude! BUT, what do you do while waiting for the glue/paint to dry. Always fun to have two on the go. (says he that is also on the one at a time diet)!

Ian M

 

[spanner570]

Impressive start Darren. That looks really well, I too have never seen this rock moulding lark, so I will be interested to see the finished article.

Thanks for showing the process...

Ron

 

[dm73]

Andy - cheers mate, thought i'd give this GB a go so i can get some more experience scratch building and figure painting, both of which i'm rubbish at lol, i've still got all the tools and bits and bobs for the tiger to finish while i'm waiting for things to dry on this.

Ian - looking forward to the painting of this but got a lot more scratching to do and may even put some working lighting into the bunker.

Ron - I'd never seen it before but its great stuff to use even for beginners like me, haven't been in the shed for a couple of days so it could be a big pile of plaster dust for all i know lol

 

[tr1ckey66]

This is looking really impressive already! Like Richard the scene from 'Saving Private Ryan' immediately to my mind but now I see the concrete bunker it's taking on a new direction. Great work so far.

All the best

Paul

 

[dm73]

Morning all, just a little update. Haven't been in the shed for a week or so due to other commitments but thought i'd better get out there seeing everyone else's builds.

I have finished the moulding of the bunker and rockface so then gave it a coat of primer then washed various colours down it to try and get the feel of real rock.

The crags and lips where then given a touch of woodglue and grass/moss attached.

I'm halfway through the figures so will post them up soonand the base has got to be finished with barbed wire, sand and detailing in the bunker.

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Cheers

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[Fenlander]

Looking good Darren, that rock stuff is very effective, well painted up to. I like the touch of scale given by driving a car off the top of the cliff in the last two pics Sorry, couldn't resist it.......

 

[andygh]

Shaping up very nicely, the colours of the stonework and the vegetation really bring it to life

I thought I was being good, I've only got 7 kits on the go at the moment :poster_oops:

 

[spanner570]

I like that a lot Darren.

I remember you saying this was your first attempt at rock moulding and I had not seen the process either....It looks really well and with the addition of all the 'Bits' it will be a very impressive cliff.

Cheers,

Ron

 

[rogue-one]

this looking great! very well constucted and painted. cant wait to see the guys all painted up in there blasting away.

 

[dm73]

Thanks all, the rock forming kit is idiot proof luckily lol i will definatly be using it again on other dio's, you can buy different rock formations to spice it up a bit. Still struggling with the figure painting but ordered a DVD from John as well as a few more paints so hopefully will be cracking on with those over the weekend.

 

[Sky Raider]

Nice work Darren, i did wonder how you were getting on with this one, its been a while. Well done.

Andy

 

[dm73]

Ok, my first attempt at painting figures , no sniggering at the back you lot! i tried oil paints for the flesh tones but dappling in the various shades it all seemed to turn into a pink bob, will put that down to my heavy handed technique. The uniforms are Vallejo model colour, thanks John for the great service:thumbs-up: They need a coat of matt varnish after i've touched up a few bits the camera has pointed out.

I have to apologise for the photos, i put the camera on macro but it seemed to only focus on one part of the figure and put the rest out of focus, have no idea how to use a camera so any tips will be gratefully received.

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These are the test subjects before i move on to the Dragon figures which have a lot more detail than the older Tamiya offering.

Any comments good or bad please.

Cheers

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[spanner570]

Darren, as you point out it's difficult to see the figures properly but I do know they make up into a nice set.

Will you be leaving the back of the bunker open so we can see the M.G. crew at work?

The bloke with the field glasses, suitably butchered, is the one injured holding his hand up in my 'Assault' dio.!

I'm not that clever with cameras either, but the orangy ones are to do with the type of light the camera is set at, i.e. outdoors, flourescent or tungsten ect. Look at the menu, go to white balance and and click along the options until you come to the one that suits what lighting you are in.

I don't understand why the Macro is blurred, but I'm sure someone on here will give you a darn sight more of an answer than I ever could, 'cos I just point and click. That does me nicely thank you!

Cheers,

Ron