"Into the Motherland," Zvezda 1/35 Tiger I Diorama

[trekfanj]

Just for starters, this is NOT affiliated with the Tiger SIG going on right now, although I was working on this kit when the SIG was first announced last summer.

But anyways, this is my third diorama and my favorite one so far; this is the most scratchbuilding I've ever done on any project. I'm really pleased with how the house turned out, too, though it seems a little too tall and I know those windows are WAY too high; let's just say a really, really, REALLY tall family lives here.

I made the house wedge out of 1/4" foam board. I used Liquitex Ceramic Stucco texture gel to create the stucco surface on the walls.
I used jute twine to make the thatched roof; basically I laid out a strip of masking tape and cut two-inch sections of twine, which I untwisted and stretched out on the tape strip. Once the strip was completely covered with twine, I laid another strip of tape over that, then cut the entire strip in half lengthwise, trimming the end of the twine to equal lengths. I then trimmed the strips to fit the house's roof. Once the strips were in place, I filled the gaps with extra bunches of the twine.

I got the tree from a model railroad store close by; they had a big box of them that they were selling for .50 cents each so I picked out 8 or 9 of the "healthiest" looking ones for use in my dioramas.

The tall grass is just Woodland Scenic's field grass
This scene was inspired by the boxart for the figure set, also made by Zvezda:



Basically this scene is supposed to take place in the early days of Operation Zitadelle and depicts a Tiger I crew stopping to figure out where they're heading next. This was the first time I tried painting eyes on figures, and although it took several attempts, especially with the guy standing in front of the house's door, I think they turned out pretty good (in other words, not like this ). I also used Alliance Modelworks "1/35 German Tank Crew Uniform Insignia and Devices (set number LW35050) for the markings on their uniforms.

The empty shells are from Tamiya's Tiger I tank ammo rounds set, and the jerry cans are from Tamiya as well.

Constructive criticism is welcome and much appreciated.

Enjoy!































Thanks for looking!

[eightfooticeman]

Fabulous looking Dio, thanks for sharing it with us mate! I love the B/W photos, adds a serious amount of realism to the project.

[Coen]

That's some pretty cool work trek. I love that roof. That's freaking wicked, and the weathering on the tiger is excellent.
The dirt caught in the track teeth is really well done.
A fine job.

[PaulAyrey]

Superb work, you've done a great job with some well executed techniques and skills on show.

[trekfanj]

Fabulous looking Dio, thanks for sharing it with us mate! I love the B/W photos, adds a serious amount of realism to the project.

Thanks, Jermaine! I'm glad you liked it!

[trekfanj]

That's some pretty cool work trek. I love that roof. That's freaking wicked, and the weathering on the tiger is excellent.
The dirt caught in the track teeth is really well done.
A fine job.

Thanks for the praise, Coen!

[trekfanj]

Superb work, you've done a great job with some well executed techniques and skills on show.

Thanks, Paul!

[AchtungPanzer]

I likie this Dio mate . Great work

[trekfanj]

I likie this Dio mate . Great work

Thanks!