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| Subject: | [Chapter] Starting the Diorama |  |
| Date: | Aug 3, 2007 |
| From: | James Wechsler | |
Starting the Diorama
I really debated about including a photo in this chapter. The reason is that to begin a diorama, the first thing needed is imagination. Fortunately, between the lingering effects of college, two daughters, and the stress of employment, my mind is a vacuum just waiting for some thought to enter it. And that’s how I get most of my ideas for dioramas and settings.
So what’s the plan for this one? Well, my first thought was that even though I’m happy with the results of the Firefly build, it’s not terribly unique in my rather large stable of Sherman builds. I wanted a way to differentiate it.
With that thought in mind, I couldn’t help but notice that the Firefly is basically green, so to add variety I needed something that would be in a different color. In most cases there is a simple option, cities. But, I’d also built a Firefly IC Hybrid, also in green, and put it in city setting. So cities were out. But what else?
Water!
Nothing is more eye catching than water. Plus, it’s glossy so it immediately distinguishes itself from the flat colors of the land and the tank. Considering where this Firefly was operating, a river scene seemed like a good choice. So how about the tank driving over a bridge spanning a small river? Great idea! But wait, I did that with my Polish Sherman. Problems.
Then I got an idea. What if I had a knocked out German vehicle in the river? Oh wait, I had a Kumbelwagen partially submerged along a river bank in the setting for my Sherman Jumbo.
And then it hit me. What if I could have an almost completely submerged German vehicle in a river of nearly clear water so you could actually see into it? Wow! I haven’t done that yet. To be honest, it one of the toughest things to do with water and that’s why I hadn’t tried it. But I figured that I’d done some partially submerged work in my USMC beach landing diorama so why not give it a shot?
And to be even more dramatic, I decided to have the Firefly driving right over it on a temporary bridge. Sort of a symbolic image of the allied victory. Now that is a plan!
For the temporary bridge I chose to use a Treadway bridge. This might not be completely accurate since I’m not sure if the Commonwealth forces used this type of bridge (I think it was mainly US). The submerged vehicle is going to be a Panzer I command tank. This may also not be completely accurate since most of these were retired some time earlier than 1945. But I read that as the allies moved deep into Germany they encountered all kinds of strange vehicles that were still in use at training schools and local garrisons. So I took a gamble on this tank. If I’m wrong on the bridge and/or the tank, please forgive my historical mistakes.
Up next: The Base – Initial Construction |
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 | [BLOG] Firefly IC Diorama - James Wechsler - Jul 15, 2007 |
| . . . [Chapter] The M4 Conversion - James Wechsler - Jul 15, 2007 |
| . . . . . . Re: [Chapter] The M4 Conversion - Martin Dogger - Jul 15, 2007 |
| . . . . . . . . . Re: [Chapter] The M4 Conversion - James Wechsler - Jul 19, 2007 |
| . . . . . . Re: [Chapter] The M4 Conversion - Michael Bedard - Jul 15, 2007 |
| . . . . . . . . . Re: [Chapter] The M4 Conversion [IMG] - James Wechsler - Jul 19, 2007 |
| . . . . . . . . . . . . Re: [Chapter] The M4 Conversion-James [IMG] - Michael Bedard - Jul 22, 2007 |
| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Re: [Chapter] The M4 Conversion-James - Jim Wechsler - Jul 27, 2007 |
| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tasca Firefly - Michael Bedard - Jul 28, 2007 |
| . . . [Chapter] The hull from the front - James Wechsler - Jul 16, 2007 |
| . . . . . . Re: [Chapter] The hull from the front - Rob Stout - Jul 18, 2007 |
| . . . . . . . . . Both - James Wechsler - Jul 19, 2007 |
| . . . [Chapter] The hull from the rear - James Wechsler - Jul 18, 2007 |
| . . . [Chapter] The Turret - James Wechsler - Jul 20, 2007 |
| . . . [Chapter] Painting - James Wechsler - Jul 22, 2007 |
| . . . [Chapter] Markings and Detail Painting - James Wechsler - Jul 27, 2007 |
| . . . [Chapter] Weathering - James Wechsler - Jul 27, 2007 |
| . . . . . . Re: [Chapter] Weathering - Martin Dogger - Jul 28, 2007 |
| . . . [Chapter] Figures - James Wechsler - Jul 27, 2007 |
| . . . . . . Re: [Chapter] Figures - Andrew Herbert - Jul 28, 2007 |
| . . . [Chapter] Putting the Firefly together - James Wechsler - Jul 28, 2007 |
| . . . . . . Re: [Chapter] Putting the Firefly together - Ronald J. Lopes - Jul 31, 2007 |
| . . . [Chapter] Starting the Diorama - James Wechsler - Aug 3, 2007 |
| . . . [Chapter] The Base – Initial Construction - James Wechsler - Aug 3, 2007 |
| . . . [Chapter] The Treadway Bridge - James Wechsler - Aug 4, 2007 |
| . . . [Chapter] The Panzer I Command Tank - James Wechsler - Aug 16, 2007 |
| . . . [Chapter] Shaping the Base - James Wechsler - Aug 17, 2007 |
| . . . [Chapter] Boxing in the Base - James Wechsler - Aug 19, 2007 |
| . . . [Chapter] Groundwork - James Wechsler - Aug 20, 2007 |
| . . . . . . Re: [Chapter] Groundwork - spencer - Aug 23, 2007 |
| . . . . . . Re: [Chapter] Groundwork - Glenn Bartolotti - Aug 28, 2007 |
| . . . [Chapter] Preparing for the Water - James Wechsler - Sep 2, 2007 |
| . . . [Chapter] Pouring the water – part way - James Wechsler - Sep 2, 2007 |
| . . . [Chapter] Pouring the water – completed - James Wechsler - Sep 2, 2007 |
| . . . [Chapter] The Surface - James Wechsler - Sep 2, 2007 |
| . . . [Chapter] Attaching the Bridge - James Wechsler - Sep 2, 2007 |
| . . . [Chapter] The Final Steps - James Wechsler - Sep 2, 2007 |
| . . . . . . Fantastic as always, and yes I am inspired - Hans Haase - Sep 2, 2007 |
| . . . . . . Re: [Chapter] The Final Steps - Christopher C. Tew - Sep 3, 2007 |
| . . . . . . Re: [Chapter] The Final Steps - Glenn Bartolotti - Sep 3, 2007 |
| . . . . . . Re: [Chapter] The Final Steps - John Geigle - Sep 3, 2007 |
| . . . . . . . . . Re: [Chapter] The Final Steps - James Wechsler - Sep 4, 2007 |
| . . . . . . . . . . . . Re: [Chapter] The Final Steps - Christopher C. Tew - Sep 4, 2007 |
| . . . . . . . . . . . . Re: [Chapter] The Final Steps - John Geigle - Sep 4, 2007 |
| . . . . . . Re: [Chapter] The Final Steps - Andrew Herbert - Sep 3, 2007 |
| . . . . . . . . . Re: [Chapter] The Final Steps - James Wechsler - Sep 4, 2007 |
| . . . . . . Re: [Chapter] The Final Steps - Trenor Scott - Sep 10, 2007 |
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