Tank diarama

[deano53]

Hi all I was thinking of doing a tank and military field gun etc diarama so which ones are the best to go for say airfix or Tamiya the only problem is airfix seem to like 1/72 scale and Tamiya 1/35 scale but air fix do a lot of extras like field guns with lorry or supply depots etc as a extra kit to add to the fun I am not sure if tamiya do rhos kind of stuff in §/35 scale to match the size of the scale and tbh I would prefer the larger size 1/35 scale but it’s no good if they don’t do the other stuff mentioned to pep up the diarama and make it look a little more interesting any help would be greatly appreciated especially on air fix or Tamiya build and detail quality

 

[Ian M]

Hi Deano.
Best plan would be to have a picture in your head of what you want it to be. There are more than Just Airfix or Tamiya to choose from so dont let that limit you.
Do you have a specific image as to what you want. WWII, Modern. Desert, Europe, summer, winter.
Which scale do you WANT to build in.
Next step is how big you can go. Do you have room. A dio in 1/72 can be quite small and still have room for a good few things. The same in 1/35 will be huge!
Once you have the scene, and the scale, you can start to find the models. Most diorama have a centre piece. The most important part/model. Choose that and then find things that would fit in with it. I am sure there are more than enough on here that could help with that.
Once you have found the actors for the dio, you can start searching the interweb. Say you wanted a British tank as the central 'focal point', you know where you want it to be; Battle ground and the scale. Google is your friend! So an Image search for Crusader tank. 1/35 North Africa. Will bring up hundreds of images of models. You can see that there are models in the scale that you can then 'look into' by adding review to the search You will find a lot of links to hobby sites that have seen the model and said, or shown, what it is like.
( I now want the new Border Models Crusader MkIII ! lol ).
Having found the star of the show, you can start to find the supporting cast. Figures, Trucks, Towed cannon and the such.

 

[Jakko]

Agreed with what Ian said: it’s best to first decide what you want to have on your diorama, and then see about buying and building it. You don’t need to decide down to the finest detail at first — you could come up with, say, “a WWII German tank parked in ambush next to a building” and then browse available kits of WWII German tanks and tank-like vehicles to find one that strikes your fancy.

Accessories are plenty in 1:35 as well as 1:72, in plastic as well as other materials. Again, it’s mostly a matter of deciding what you actually want to have on your diorama: if you want a tank next to a building, you obviously need a building. You can make one yourself, but you can also buy them in plastic, plaster, resin and probably other materials. Same with other things, like road signs, barrels, crates, furniture, brick walls, street lights, and pretty much anything else you could possibly want for your diorama.

I now want the new Border Models Crusader MkIII !

It apparently isn’t that much better than the old Italeri kit, it just makes different mistakes

 

[deano53]

Hi Deano.
Best plan would be to have a picture in your head of what you want it to be. There are more than Just Airfix or Tamiya to choose from so dont let that limit you.
Do you have a specific image as to what you want. WWII, Modern. Desert, Europe, summer, winter.
Which scale do you WANT to build in.
Next step is how big you can go. Do you have room. A dio in 1/72 can be quite small and still have room for a good few things. The same in 1/35 will be huge!
Once you have the scene, and the scale, you can start to find the models. Most diorama have a centre piece. The most important part/model. Choose that and then find things that would fit in with it. I am sure there are more than enough on here that could help with that.
Once you have found the actors for the dio, you can start searching the interweb. Say you wanted a British tank as the central 'focal point', you know where you want it to be; Battle ground and the scale. Google is your friend! So an Image search for Crusader tank. 1/35 North Africa. Will bring up hundreds of images of models. You can see that there are models in the scale that you can then 'look into' by adding review to the search You will find a lot of links to hobby sites that have seen the model and said, or shown, what it is like.
( I now want the new Border Models Crusader MkIII ! lol ).
Having found the star of the show, you can start to find the supporting cast. Figures, Trucks, Towed cannon and the such.

Hi Ian thanks for your reply I have enough room to do almost whatever I want I was asking really and using Airfix & Tamiya as a example as Airfix predominantly use 1/72 scale & Tamiya 1/35 scale but wanted to know what scale offer more in the way of actual tank kits and then feild guns people extras like that to fill out a diarama regardless of size , also I take it that 1/35 scale are better detailed but is it a massive amount or just only noticeable? I understand that there are plenty of other manufacturers doing this as well but do modellers tend to go for a part scale or is it evenly matched ? I just don’t want to go for one particular scale then fine out I am struggling to get other kits to fill out it’s surroundings also I may include some buildings if I do say a small french town feature so again does that have a say in what scale to go for . Again thank you for your help I am sorry for all the questions but I have terminal cancer and take a lot of medication so this impacts my thought process and being able to express myself or understand other people sometimes so please bear with me especially my spelling I just cannot remember sometimes how to spell even basic words and get frustrated when I find out how I couldn’t get it I do tend to beat up on myself a lot and hope to hear from any of you soon

 

[rtfoe]

I'd go for 1/35 scale as the variety is huge across all major military subjects for diorama amongst the brands. Tamiya, Italeri, ICM, Svezda, MB, MiniArt, Trumpeter, Meng, Hobbyboss, Airfix, Academy, Plus Models, Fine Molds...have I missed any?

Cheers,
Wabble

 

[Jim R]

I think that the best 1/72 kits have better detail and are more accurate than some 1/35 kits. The availability and the choice of subject is excellent for both scales. Generally 1/35 is more expensive.
I like dios and usually include a figure or two. With figures as part of a dio the painting does not need to be up to the standard of dedicated figure painters but they do add a lot to the scene. Dios can be very simple or very involved - its really just a case of time to make and overall size.
Have a look at some of the completed dios on the forum and any that take your fancy look at the associated build thread to see how its been achieved.

..... take a lot of medication so this impacts my thought process and being able to express myself or understand other people sometimes so please bear with me especially my spelling

Do not worry yourself at all on that score Ian. This forum is quite simply the best. Everyone is friendly, helpful, supportive and kind. We pride ourselves on this and our moderators ensure it stays that way.

I look forward to your dio.

 

[rtfoe]

Ian, from the group these four brands Tamiya, Italeri, Dragon, Miniart and Trumpeter cover most genres from armour, soft skins, support, artillery, troops, civilians, buildings, flooring and bases for either Axis or Allied forces. Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Wabble

 

[Jakko]

wanted to know what scale offer more in the way of actual tank kits and then feild guns people extras like that to fill out a diarama

The choice in both scales is large enough that you will never, ever have to build the same thing twice if you don’t want to. Unless you have very specific things in mind, you can buy pretty much anything you want in terms of vehicles, figures and scenery in both scales.

I think your best option is to first decide how big you want your diorama to be, approximately. If you want, say, a single tank with a building and some figures, you can do that nicely in 1:35. If you want to show half a French village with a dozen vehicles and a hundred soldiers and civilians, 1:72 is going to be the better choice because everything will be half as big as in 1:35 — meaning you can put four times the models on the same size of base. Or, of course, that if you were to build two identical dioramas, one in 1:35 and the other in 1:72, the latter would be half the length, half the width and half the height of the other.

Another factor that could be important is the length of time it takes to build a model in the first place. A 1:72 model typically has a lot fewer parts than the same subject in 1:35, so the 1:35 scale kit will take longer to build, possibly much longer.

 

[deano53]

Hi all I’ve been watching some videos of tank diarama’s over the weekend and come to the conclusion that 1/35th scale is just too big , don’t get me wrong if I had the space to store it then yes it would be my preferred scale and I do have the space to construct one just now to keep it after it’s done , they are massive in size when you see them in the real world and not on a box or in a photo so 1/72nd scale is going to have to do me as it would be more manageable anyway and if I need to I can store it in the loft but tbh I would rather sell it for the same price it owes me to construct it so I can finance the next one is this a possibility or are they difficult to sell I mean are diarama’s we’ll sort after by other modellers ? Anyway any comments on this please feel free to contribute as I do read a replies and appreciate your input .

 

[stillp]

I just searched completed ebay listings for "tank diorama" and there are a few sales, at prices that vary wildly fromr £1 to nearly £300! Postage and packing will be the biggest problem I would think.
Pete

 

[deano53]

thanks for the info Pete , I managed to get to my local hobby store today access models in Newark and they have tons of tank kits available mainly 1/35th scale plus all the extras like men and guns etc etc its incredible the amount of range catered for 1.35th scale but I thought after watching videos on YouTube all weekend it was too bid for me to do a diarama with but having seen the kits in the flesh which was my purpose I dragged my carcus out of bed and made a unusual treck outdoors is to see stuff in the flesh to gauge it in the real world and see if its something I can work with , and in my opinion I can work with 1/35th scale the nk god because it opens up a world far better in again my opinion to giving me more options to do a really detailed diorama or a mediocre diorama its all up to me and the bank balance but when I have done one the problem is as much as I would love to keep it I don't have the space to store it safely so I would be inclined to sell it especially if its a really good quality one for someone else to admire or even take to shows to exhibit it to the public ( not saying I am that good or the diorama would be good enough for this ) but you never know until its finished , some of the diarama,s ive seen on YouTube are just top notch I mean really good the attention to detail some modellers go to so they achieve this kind of Finnish is incredible but I would love to be able to sell them even just to recoup the money back it cost me to do it in the first place to finance my next project as I can no longer work because of my illness meaning money is tight at the best of times , either way its something I want to do and can do even when I am bed ridden as I have one of those hospital type tables that goes under my hospital type bed so I can do some modelling when I am at my worst. that in itself is a god send to me as it takes my mind of my illness for a while and relieves the boredom which can get overwhelming at times but if I do have to do it from my bed then the diorama has to be a small scale one so it will fit on the table I have at hand but again the 1/35th section gives me that range to do anything I want so its definitely the way forward for me now and I am glad I made the effort to go to the model shop and see for myself what was on offer to convince me that 1/35th was the way forward plus the more expensive kits about £50 upwards the detail and movement of the tanks was brilliant too giving me a extra dimension to what I want to achieve I am in just awe of the level of support this one discipline holds.To finish of I do have some beans new kits for sale or swap in the swap section on this forum if anyone is interested in doing a deal otherwise I am going to sell them on Facebook or eBay to off load them , there is nothing wrong with them as I said they are al brand new I have just change my mind on what I want to do in modelling that all so please pm me if you are interested and keep up the good work everyone bye for now Ian

 

[deano53]

forgot to say I I did manage to pursued my wife to part with a little cash on my visit to my local model shop and I purchased my first 1/35th scale tank kit a Tamiya panther kit @£15 so it dandy break the bank and its a relatively easy kit to do so a good introduction into military tanks to start me off and I am looking forward to doing it when I can finish off the 1/6th scale Honda cb750f I am doing for a friend of mine but as soon as that's done I am on with the tank , I go to the local hospice once a fortnight for some restbite and a change of scenery for me and I have a Revell harrier 1/32nd scale plane I am doing there as a project so I have enough on at the moment to be getting on with I just hope I live long enough to Finnish them all off lol . I have attached a photo of the tank I purchased today let me know what you think

 

[Airborne01]

Have you considered splitting the difference and considering 1/48 scale? Increasing amounts of personnel and material!
Steve

 

[deano53]

Have you considered splitting the difference and considering 1/48 scale? Increasing amounts of personnel and material!
Steve

Hi Steve yes I looked at 1/48th but again it wasn’t nearly as well supported as 1/35th because 1/35th has so much scope it’s frightening the choice I have at hand so I am going to go with 1/35th but thanks for the suggestion though

 

[The Smythe Meister]

Blimey Deano... You can talk eh?!!
...
.. dozens of posts and no build yet .. ..a man after my own heart !!
I shall watch the,(non),progress