C
Calypso
Guest
Hi all!
As you know from my introduction thread, I am a third year student at University currently writing a dissertation on the Normandy landings of 1944. I have also just started to get into model making after seeing some of the fantastic work on this site. As a result, I decided to start my attempts at model making by producing a Normandy diorama.
I realised early on that this was a bit like jumping in at the deep end of the pool, as I was trying to make a whole scene rather than starting with one vehicle in isolation. However, I wanted to try out lots of different techniques to find what worked for me and what didn't and a diorama gave me just such an opportunity. Anyway, here is the finished article, and I have to say that I'm very pleased with it.
The basic background of the diorama is as follows: after landing at Sword beach and fighting up towards Caen, a platoon of the British 3rd Division make a strategic retreat with one of their number wounded and with two German POWs. They are being escorted back towards their own lines by a Churchill VII tank.
The base was a piece of wood approximately 1' x 2'. This was then covered with kitchen towel to give texture, before being painted brown, then green, and then being covered with dried parsley to give the effect of grass. The foxhole was created by using balls of tissue paper, overlapped with strips of card to form a structure which could then be painted onto and garden soil applied. The fence was made from matchsticks, the telephone pole from the bottom rung of a coathanger and the sandbags from Bluetack. The road was a piece of card, to raise it from the level of the grass, painted a grey / white colour to give the effect of a dusty, chalky road. The road and the area around the buildings were then treated to a sprinkling of chalk, charcoal and self raising flour. The buildings were purchased from Fields of Glory, with a second floor added to one of them using card. The troops and tank were both from Airfix.
I learnt alot during this diorama, and can only hope that it is deemed to be a respectful tribute to the men that gave thier lives in France.
Constructive criticism welcomed, and sorry if I rambled too much!
Jamie
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As you know from my introduction thread, I am a third year student at University currently writing a dissertation on the Normandy landings of 1944. I have also just started to get into model making after seeing some of the fantastic work on this site. As a result, I decided to start my attempts at model making by producing a Normandy diorama.
I realised early on that this was a bit like jumping in at the deep end of the pool, as I was trying to make a whole scene rather than starting with one vehicle in isolation. However, I wanted to try out lots of different techniques to find what worked for me and what didn't and a diorama gave me just such an opportunity. Anyway, here is the finished article, and I have to say that I'm very pleased with it.
The basic background of the diorama is as follows: after landing at Sword beach and fighting up towards Caen, a platoon of the British 3rd Division make a strategic retreat with one of their number wounded and with two German POWs. They are being escorted back towards their own lines by a Churchill VII tank.
The base was a piece of wood approximately 1' x 2'. This was then covered with kitchen towel to give texture, before being painted brown, then green, and then being covered with dried parsley to give the effect of grass. The foxhole was created by using balls of tissue paper, overlapped with strips of card to form a structure which could then be painted onto and garden soil applied. The fence was made from matchsticks, the telephone pole from the bottom rung of a coathanger and the sandbags from Bluetack. The road was a piece of card, to raise it from the level of the grass, painted a grey / white colour to give the effect of a dusty, chalky road. The road and the area around the buildings were then treated to a sprinkling of chalk, charcoal and self raising flour. The buildings were purchased from Fields of Glory, with a second floor added to one of them using card. The troops and tank were both from Airfix.
I learnt alot during this diorama, and can only hope that it is deemed to be a respectful tribute to the men that gave thier lives in France.
Constructive criticism welcomed, and sorry if I rambled too much!
Jamie
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