Operation Citadel Diorama

[felisbarcinonensis]

Operation Citadel. Part 1. Diorama. YouTube

1. After purchasing Russian Street by miniArt I decided to build a diorama. I loved the looks of it and I thought the final result would look good as well



2. I thought a German Stug III by Dragon would look good in that setting. I left figures for a later stage



3. The action is set in summer 1943 during Operation Citadel. Models, decals and camo have to be coherent with that period



4. I started with the Stug III. The Dragon model is great



5. After painting this piece I have applied gun grey and black acrylic with a dry brush



6. With open hatches an crew poking around you'll be able to see inside the turret just a little bit. I painted it rader rudimentally since details won't be appreciated. I used a combination of white and dark yellow acrylics



7. I left the Stug at this point in order to prepare the stage for the Stug. Once the terrain is arranged I will fit the vehicle with wheels and tracks and I'll paint it



8. At first sight there is a load of plastic. The stage is going to be huge



9. This is an approximation of what's going to look like... I'm going to need to fill this space and tell a story.



10. I purchased a Stug crew (Verlinden), These officers are going to be a bit distracted with map reading



11. Russian anti tank soldiers(Tamiya) will be waiting for them hidden behind the first floor windows



12. The Stug is being followed by unsuspecting German infantry (MiniArt) they belong to Operation Barbarrossa but they will fit OK here as well



13. Once I have removed the worst seams, I polish the offending parts with more detail, alternating a round/flat file



14. I have added doors and windows



15. Seams have been plastered with putty



16. Now it's time to use the files again in order to polish surfaces



17. With a putty knife I reshape brick fragments of the collapsed walls



18. So, that's it. In the following parts I'll go on with the building and finish the Stug

[1001kjk]

Look forward to the rest looking great so far

[Willem]

Looks like a very cool project.

Watch out for the giant cat

Great start.

[felisbarcinonensis]

Operation Citadel. Russian Street. Part 2. YouTube

1. I have primed the whole thing with Vallejo black primer



2. Now I'm dry-brushing the cobblestones with dark grey acrylic



3. I brush the cobblestones lightly, allowing the presence of a darker base



4. I have also applied a base colour for both fence and windows with dark earth 90% and black 10% acrylics. They are going to be severly chipped showing old wood through flaked paint



5. I have airbrushed the bricks with a mahagony acrylic base



6. I have dry-brushed these bricks with a lighter reddish tone. I have obtained this colour mixing flat earth and scarlet red



7. I have painted these tram tracks with mahagony and later I have dry-brushed them with metallic gun grey



8. I'm painting some of the bricks with brick red oil in order to break dull chromatism



9. I use a lighter and brownish tone for individual bricks mixing yellow ochre, Naples yellow reddish and brick red oils



10. I don't want a shiny coloured look and in order to homogenise the wall and give it a more realistic texture. So I'm using sanguine/red chalk. It has a chalky texture and it's basically compacted pigment which comes in reddish and brownish hues



11. these pigments get pretty fixed with a dark wash



12. With a light brown sanguine I'm highlighting protruding elements



13. I pulverise the previous light pigment carefully on top of each bullet hole and fix it with a small brush



14. With this lightening I obtain the effect of recent bullet holes



15. I've taken previous care of the tram poles patching them with mahagony with a glint of gun grey. Now I wet some random parts with Maskol. I have applied different shades of grey, a final metal drybrush and I have peeled the Maskol latex cover to obtain this chipping effect



16. This time I have dabbed inside walls generously. I have specially favoured seams and corners were friction and weathering have taken their toll. I have airbrushed this walls with a mixture of white 90% yellow 5% and earth brown 5%.Maskol has been peeled and this is the result



17. I have weathered it with a mixture of turpentine and black+Naples yellow reddish oil



18. Now... why bother with so much rubble? the fact is that I need an excuse for the Stug suspension torsion. I add white glue over the surface that I'm going to cover with debris. I also added some bricks. All this rubble is going to be refined by adding smaller pieces on top and finally painted, dark-washed and covered with dust



19. There it is. Now I have a defined terrain for the Stug suspension; In the following part I'm going to deal exclusively with Stug III and finish it

[felisbarcinonensis]

Looks like a very cool project.

Watch out for the giant cat

Great start.

Hahahaha!

[felisbarcinonensis]

Look forward to the rest looking great so far

Thanks! I'm still working on Part 4 . I'm uploading here Part 3 ASAP

[FishBowlMan]

Looks great so far, and an excellent "how-to" guide

[felisbarcinonensis]

Operation Citadel. Part 3. Stug III. YouTube

1. I have adapted the track to the wheels and glued suspension in place. I have done the same with the right track.



2. While both tracks and suspension are drying I have selected some elements from the Russian Street box. I have mixed them with the debris in order to enhance realism. I will take proper care care of it in Part 4.



3. I have removed both tracks and primed the Stug with black primer. Now I'm going to airbrush it with a coat of dark yellow



4. Some black is still visible through the yellow coat mainly in the inferior area



5. This is one of the camo suggestions from the Dragon box. I'm choosing this one because I like it and it's coherent with the period I' m going to portrait



6. The resulting stripes are too vivid and they need to be toned down with a little bit of lightly airbrushed sand yellow



7. So this is the result. I think it looks good



8. I 've painted metal tool parts mixing gun grey with black acrylics and I've pained handles with dark earth.



9. I've primed tracks with black primer and on top of it I have added a coat of mahagony. I've just drybrushed them with metallic gun grey acrylic. Before fixing the tracks I've chipped cog wheels will with gun grey as well



10. Time for decals. I have applied a layer of decal softener over the surfaces



11. Weathering: I'm using a light wash; I have mixed black and yellow oils with turpentine and the resulting mix is not excesively dark



12. I have enhanced corners and hatches with sand yellow acrylic. I have added some chipping effects on corners and hatches as well, dabbing the surface with gun metal + black acrylics



13. I’m going to age the Stug with some rust



14. With a thin brush I have added some random rust streaks (AK) which I'll have to wash with white spirit



15. Here it is. I have carefully brushed the streaks with downstroke movements



16. I have dry-brushed the whole thing VERY LIGHTLY with metallic gun grey. I have enlivened camo stripes with a little bit of dark green pastel colour. Pastels and sanguines belong to the same family



17. This is a approximation of what it will look like



18. I have fixed rust on the pipe with pigment fixer



19. I have fixed burnt umber pigments around the exhaust pipes and the cannon



20. Let's get dirty. I'm going to use light dust and dry mud + pigment fixer



21. I have fixed some parts of the running gear with dry mud and on top of it I have added light dust



22. Finally, I have added just a few oil stains with engine oil (AK)



23. That's it. In the following pictures you'll see the finished model. See you on Part 4…

[felisbarcinonensis]

Teaser.Operation Citadel. Part 4

[youtube]tbi770KsPXg[/youtube]

[Russ72]

Very nice. I'll be checking out your channel tonight.

[Sean]

Operation Citadel. Part 1
8. At first sight there is a load of plastic. The stage is going to be huge

Fantastic build so far !!! I love the step by step, thank you for sharing your knowledge & techniques, very impressive !!!!

Now for my stupid noob questions one the miniart street scene (I love the look of their diorama sets & have fancied buying more than one...more so now I`ve seen what you`ve achieved)

1). do you get all in the photo just for the one scene depicted on the box art ? seems like an awful lot (looks fantastic)

2). The building fronts look like they are all part of one big solid sprue that needs to be sawn out in your photo, is that just me being mad or what ? It looks like one big lump with extrusions for the actual model parts that need to be cut out and trimmed ? seems like a lot of work given to us by manufacturers... ?

Sorry if its a stupid question but when your learning....

[felisbarcinonensis]

Very nice. I'll be checking out your channel tonight.

Thanks Russ!

[felisbarcinonensis]

Operation Citadel. Part 1
8. At first sight there is a load of plastic. The stage is going to be huge

Fantastic build so far !!! I love the step by step, thank you for sharing your knowledge & techniques, very impressive !!!!

Now for my stupid noob questions one the miniart street scene (I love the look of their diorama sets & have fancied buying more than one...more so now I`ve seen what you`ve achieved)

1). do you get all in the photo just for the one scene depicted on the box art ? seems like an awful lot (looks fantastic)

2). The building fronts look like they are all part of one big solid sprue that needs to be sawn out in your photo, is that just me being mad or what ? It looks like one big lump with extrusions for the actual model parts that need to be cut out and trimmed ? seems like a lot of work given to us by manufacturers... ?

Sorry if its a stupid question but when your learning....

Hi Sean!

Thanks for your comments! I really appreciate it!

1) Yes indeed! you get everything you need out of the box and more. There are aditional spuces with extra parts; you get extra doors, tables street lamps in case you don't like the tram poles, etc. There is in fact a load of plastic and it's not expensive.

2) Drawbacks! Yes there is also a lot of work implied if you want a tidy look. But I liked the process anyway. In the video you'll find more detailed explanations:

[youtube]DfUhXXHBDyw[/youtube]

I've been guessing and experimenting because I'm a noob myself! so don't worry, I'm learning a lot from this forum.

Cheers

[Sean]

Operation Citadel. Part 1
8. At first sight there is a load of plastic. The stage is going to be huge

Fantastic build so far !!! I love the step by step, thank you for sharing your knowledge & techniques, very impressive !!!!

Now for my stupid noob questions one the miniart street scene (I love the look of their diorama sets & have fancied buying more than one...more so now I`ve seen what you`ve achieved)

1). do you get all in the photo just for the one scene depicted on the box art ? seems like an awful lot (looks fantastic)

2). The building fronts look like they are all part of one big solid sprue that needs to be sawn out in your photo, is that just me being mad or what ? It looks like one big lump with extrusions for the actual model parts that need to be cut out and trimmed ? seems like a lot of work given to us by manufacturers... ?

Sorry if its a stupid question but when your learning....

Hi Sean!

Thanks for your comments! I really appreciate it!

1) Yes indeed! you get everything you need out of the box and more. There are aditional spuces with extra parts; you get extra doors, tables street lamps in case you don't like the tram poles, etc. There is in fact a load of plastic and it's not expensive.

2) Drawbacks! Yes there is also a lot of work implied if you want a tidy look. But I liked the process anyway. In the video you'll find more detailed explanations:

[youtube]DfUhXXHBDyw[/youtube]

I've been guessing and experimenting because I'm a noob myself! so don't worry, I'm learning a lot from this forum.

Cheers

Thanks for the reply - the extra work doesn't put me off, if anything I like the look of those miniart diorama set more and more.

Great video by the way

[felisbarcinonensis]

Thanks Sean!

[trekfanj]

This scene is looking superb!
Your weathering is exceptional; I especially like how you did the brickwork on the building. Great job!

[felisbarcinonensis]

Thank you Trekfanj! It's really encouraging!

[conradschmid99]

Amazing work!
I just saw part 4 on your channel
that's one of the best dioramas I have ever seen!

[felisbarcinonensis]

Thank you very much Conrad!

[felisbarcinonensis]

Operation Citadel. Part 4. deconstruction. YouTube

1. I have airbrushed this yard with a brown base colour which I’ll cover later with real soil.



2. I have also primed the objects I that I had previously mixed with the debris



3. I painted window with an ugly mix of dark earth and black acrylics; this colour will look like rotten wood under a layer of blue flaking paint.



4. First floor and ground floor are base painted with dark earth acrylic



5. Now I’m dry-brushing wood planks with white + dark earth



6. A dark wash has been applied



7. Using Maskol I have flaked both windows and fences





8. I have also retouched and weathered connecting walls



9. Once the wash is dry I have dry-brushed again wodden planks with a lighter tone



10. I have painted the door with a mahagony base



11. Then I have dry-brushed it with a mahagony+ dark earth+white mix



12. I have dark washed both roof, windows and fences





13. As I did on the façade in Part 2, I’m repeating steps here painting individual bricks



14. And covering them with sanguine



15. Plus a final wash



16. Using Maskol I have flaked some elements in the debris



17. The ragged ends of the collapsed wall have been lightened with sanguine (red and light brown) on top of a previous dark wash and then it has been fixed with pigment fixer.



18. Ok, the basic structure for the setting is done. I’ll have to add more details but I need them to interact with some figures



19. So let’s start with the Russian soldiers



20. I'll be placining the machine gun here next to a fallen tree



21. The other soldiers will be on the first floor stalking the Germans. I've marked spots with blue tag.



22. The machine gun team needs concealment, so I've built a trench with debris. It will be furtherly camouflaged with the fallen tree and additional vegetation



23. Now I'm painting plaster chunks in grey. I'll let tiles and bricks mantain their original colour



24. I'm applying red brick pigments on top of it all and I'll will sprinkle evreything with pigment fixer



25. I've brushed this yard with white glue and added some real soil



26. I've applied red pigments on top of the whole scene



27. and finally I have added light dust and fixed it with pigment fixer



28. I've painted some odd wooden debris and added bricks and pigments on both floors



29. and finally I've added the fallen tree



30. See you on Part 5; the final update of this project.

[FishBowlMan]

This is simply fantastic. Can't wait to see the final part with the stug and figures added.

[felisbarcinonensis]

This is simply fantastic. Can't wait to see the final part with the stug and figures added.

Thank you buddy!

[UKguyInUSA]

Wow....awesome job so far, mate!

[felisbarcinonensis]

Wow....awesome job so far, mate!

Thank you buddy!!

[NeneKirbs78]

Great job looking forward to follow your progress

[Rob]

Top job, it's looking fantastic

[felisbarcinonensis]

Thanks a lot guys! I'm working on it

[felisbarcinonensis]

Teaser.Operation Citadel. Part 5

[youtube]N3kz0p-cIsQ[/youtube]

[warpedcrisis]

absolutely stunning really nice work there

[felisbarcinonensis]

absolutely stunning really nice work there

Thanks bud! Right now I'm working on Coen's GB and the citadel project is on standby, I expect to retake it ASAP

[felisbarcinonensis]

Teaser 2. Operation Citadel Part 5

[youtube]275967dsIc8[/youtube]

[UKguyInUSA]

I told you earlier on YouTube....STOP teasing and just show us the Final Reveal!!!

[felisbarcinonensis]

It's the last one! Still working on it. I have to start building the resin Stug crew.

[Paips]

Great project looks great

[mincemeat]

Wow. Top notch man. I can't wait for the next installment!

[patrickroos]

Awesome!!

[felisbarcinonensis]

Thanks for your kind comments guys! They really spur me into "action mode"!!!

OPERATION CITADEL PART 5 & FINAL REVEAL

The Final Reveal at last! Watch it in HD at maximum volume.
MUSIC IS BEAUTIFUL, WAR IS NOT

[youtube]d6L72sTaPDc[/youtube]


PART 5: FIGURES

We left it here. Let's start with the Russians



I added some putty in their joints



Then I painted them with khaki brown



I added more colours and their weapons



I darkened wrinkles and lighted surfaces



After a dark wash this is how they look



I needed some ammo crates to hold the anti tank gun



My first experience with resin



I cut and polished the stuff wearing a protective mask; resin may harm your lungs



Two of these crates were enough to hold the gun



However, I added some more crates on the scene



These Dragon Germans have an excellent quality



No problems with their build



I had to empty the inside of the helmet to add straps



I primed the figures



and used a mix of field grey, light grey and German grey



I painted those helmets with blue grey



I also added helmet markings with a small brush





I painted their equipment



and added shadows and lights on their uniforms



I gave them some flesh tones



and a dark wash; I used AK diluted grime



Then I added weapons and straps



Finally I covered them with dust pigments



Cool!!



Resin officers



Perfect Verlinden quality



I just took the aforementioned safety meassures



I added some milliput in order to give that poor man at least a leg to stand on before priming



I used a slightly darker version of field grey on their uniforms



I added shadows and lights



and finally a dark wash



to make things a little more realistic I added a ladder for the Russians



It was included in the Russian Street kit



That's it. Everything is ready...




FINAL REVEAL



































































































































































































































































































































































THAT'S IT. THANKS FOR WATCHING!

[Willem]

Cracking job mate. A moment frozen in time that packs a punch and tells a story. You've created a palpable air of tension in the scene and I really don't fancy the chances of the German troops.

[wappynutter]

Felis, this is damn sweet buddy!!!
Absolutely fantastic diorama telling a story really well!
Tank, figures and every element of the diorama are top class and superbly finished!!



Well done again my friend, this is truly stunning work!
Stay safe and well... Happy Modelling..

[MarkVerploeg]

Excelent work Felis
It looks stunning

[felisbarcinonensis]

Thanks for your comments guys I'm glad you like it

[rodrant]

Very nice diorama ! Like the idea of the ambush , and really is frozen in time !

Like all details and the way you paint the small details on the figures , they are very nicely painted and weathered !

Again like the photos on the outside

[Yevgeny]

WOW! Well done for shooting in the day light, looks real!
Amazing really. Really looks/feels like all hell about to break loose.

[Joesdad]

Brilliant mate. What do you think happened next?

[felisbarcinonensis]

Very nice diorama ! Like the idea of the ambush , and really is frozen in time !

Like all details and the way you paint the small details on the figures , they are very nicely painted and weathered !

Again like the photos on the outside

Thank you for your kind comments. Fortunately, I could take my time to work with the details; a GB deadline is a Damocles sword, it may spur you, but you must make choices and sacrifice some aspects of the dio. On the other hand, he communal aspect of a GB is incredibly rewarding and addictive- in a positive sense-. Anyway...I think it's no bad to have a personal dio project from time to time. Cheers mate!

[felisbarcinonensis]

WOW! Well done for shooting in the day light, looks real!
Amazing really. Really looks/feels like all hell about to break loose.

Thanks buddy! Just took advantage of early autum light, it gives a special atmosphere. Cheers!

[felisbarcinonensis]

Brilliant mate. What do you think happened next?

Trouble? I guess...
Cheers mate!

[Russ72]

Well done Felis, stunning work mate. I'll be giving the vid a watch tonight.

[felisbarcinonensis]

Thank a lot Russ!

[UKguyInUSA]

I had to look at this again and show the wife in the process, she was blown away by it just as much as I was.....awesome work Felis....the story unfolds in front of the viewers eyes with every image. The guy with the machine gun behind the face...hidden by the brush, the Russian with the hand grenade at the window, along with the other waiting and armed Russian soldiers.... those German soldiers won't know what has hit them.