WWI Combi Shadowbox /trench dio (pic heavy and a bit long - winded...) Now with replacement pics

[Andy Belsey]

Glad that I can continue to follow your build Steven.

 

[monica]

great work,on this one,Steven, loving the detail,and some think the eye catchers each time you re-look,

 

[BigGreg]

the attention to the details... gives you immedaitely the smell of mud and dirty wet clothes .... i cannot even imagine the horrible living condition that those men endured... WELL DONE

 

[Steven]

Glad that I can continue to follow your build Steven.

Glad that I can continue to follow your build Steven.

Thanks - likewise mate are you joining the WWI GB?

 

[Steven]

the attention to the details... gives you immedaitely the smell of mud and dirty wet clothes .... i cannot even imagine the horrible living condition that those men endured... WELL DONE

great work,on this one,Steven, loving the detail,and some think the eye catchers each time you re-look,

Mon and Greg, Thanks guys I am glad you like it - sometimes i feel like I am adding too many details

 

[JR]

Steven.
Absolutely stunning build, yes keep those boards
Agree with Greg about the trench and the mud, hell, just pure hell .
John.

 

[Steven]

Thanks John - I am watching your Stalingrad - dio absolutely great stuff - coming together very well
will keep the boards - I should have planned better ahead first tommy has his left foot on the edge of the duckboard had I had the foresight I would have placed the two a bit further back on the duckboard allowing me to place the bridging boards more naturally - but, oh well

 

[Andy Belsey]

Glad that I can continue to follow your build Steven.

Thanks - likewise mate are you joining the WWI GB?

I’d like to but doubt that I could finish anything. Time is pretty short at the moment.

 

[JR]

Thanks John - I am watching your Stalingrad - dio absolutely great stuff - coming together very well
will keep the boards - I should have planned better ahead first tommy has his left foot on the edge of the duckboard had I had the foresight I would have placed the two a bit further back on the duckboard allowing me to place the bridging boards more naturally - but, oh well

Cheers Steven , nearly there.
Think we all see thing we would change , but don't you find that a dio grows as you proceed, often resulting in additions that were never planned.
John

 

[Steven]

I thought I would show you how the dio looks with the two halves joined together for a dry run - Front view:

wires will disappear as will the tamiya tape

I managed to make the bridging boards look more natural - now it looks a bit more like he is stepping onto one of them

some glue sheens to dull down and I need to weather the tools next to the Hun but we are getting there....

 

[JR]

Steven.
Board placement looks better. So much to take in on a dio like this, what I enjoy is finding those hidden details, little gems of thought and modelling .Looking fwd to your next update .
John.

 

[Steven]

what I enjoy is finding those hidden details, little gems of thought and modelling .Looking fwd to your next update .
John.

Thanks john I will continue to add those

 

[Steven]

The great "rat go/no go" - dilemma.....

...speaking of details, here 's another Stay/go question you can help me with
I got this little guy from plusmodels, basically sitting on his butt grasping a can
Not completely done - can needs a label and the rat a few touches - tail btw is flexible wire and be positioned to fit the ground.

Pro's:
Rats were a prominent feature on the Western Front, feeding on - well let's not g too much into that...
Adding him would bring the total number of rats up to three - but they are spread all over the dio with different poses so the use is not repetitive
They are a great gimmick
kind of cute and endearing

Cons:
kind of cute and endearing - this is the Western Front - dammit
Maybe I am relying too much on gimmicks....
He is kind of a leftover item from another dio -maybe I am just wanting to add him because he is pretty much ready to go - one has to appreciate convenience. in this game..

There really is only one place where I feel he could go - having a rummage through the grabage:

Spot the rat ....

What do you say?

 

[Steven]

The two sections are glued together and I am in the prcess of sandbagging the topside entrance to the dug - out most of the top section of sandbags will be covered with terrain.
the wire coming out of the foot of the dug out entrance is telephone cables they will be hung on the side of the trench

 

[JR]

Steven.
Great progress
I can see your point about the rats being a gimmick
My thought are that the rats more likely out numbered the men ! where there's any rubbish like a battle field rats would be in large numbers, but .....

the question is do they detract from the overall scene,...... no .
They all add to the interesting story.
Keep it coming .
John .

 

[Steven]

John , agreed, thy did indeed outnumber the men. I might use a different rat form the plusmodel set, less cute and, well, disney - esque, On all four , rather than sitting adorably on its bum. - only thing, I have used it before in the "Deserter To the Rear" - dio:

 

[JR]

Steven .
What I do like is the variation you have acheived in the soil colour. From the dark wet soil on the top of the trench to the soil in the last photo . Can were some from the top shots please ?m.
John.

 

[Steven]

Hi John
Last pic is form this dio http://www.scale-models.co.uk/threa...rear-news-from-home-western-front-1918.30334/ - there are some top shots there

 

[JR]

Top rate Steven, and thank you for re-posting that.
Now sitting waiting for the next posting.
John

 

[Steven]

There are two field telephones in the dug - out ' figured they needed cables - not permanently attached at this point still trying to get the right draping
Also, note the difference between the weathered and newly painted sandbags - same colours