Ambush Diorama Normandy 1:35

Post by **Yevgeny** » Wed Nov 26, 2014 3:38 pm

Man this looks stunning, looking forward to see "post leaves" update.

Post by **MikeyKb** » Wed Nov 26, 2014 5:41 pm

How did you do that amazing water? (more in particular, the thick 'clear' border of it. I've wanted to make a dio like that for a while, but unsure how to get a raised clear part like you have (sorry if I'm not explaining myself well enough - but more specifically, the 1/2 inch of clear water/resin that's level to the diorama, yet clear...again, still probably confusing

)

Looks incredible, absolutely amazing!

Thanks!

Post by **andreb87** » Wed Nov 26, 2014 6:01 pm

i know what you mean mikey! well i actually failed on the water, there is a brown line which ruins the effect from the side. i used the wrong product for the water, i used still water effects from vallejo and that was WRONG! i thought vallejo is the better choice because it's cheaper than resin. i was wrong

i used nearly 4 bottles and each bottle costs 11 euro -.- so round about 40 eur for the water. resin would be cheaper. the problems of the vallejo product were cracks in the surface! it is thought to be applied in 1mm thick levels and then rested for 24 hours! well then it takes weeks to build up the water and with every 1mm level you have a risk of cracks in the surface! resin would be a better choice for me ... i could have done the water in one go without cracks etc.
keep in mind that water will be the topic of the next issue of the weathering magazine! i will definetely buy that issue!

Post by **MikeyKb** » Wed Nov 26, 2014 6:04 pm

andreb87 wrote: i know what you mean mikey! well i actually failed on the water, there is a brown line which ruins the effect from the side. i used the wrong product for the water, i used still water effects from vallejo and that was WRONG! i thought vallejo is the better choice because it's cheaper than resin. i was wrong i used nearly 4 bottles and each bottle costs 11 euro -.- so round about 40 eur for the water. resin would be cheaper. the problems of the vallejo product were cracks in the surface! it is thought to be applied in 1mm thick levels and then rested for 24 hours! well then it takes weeks to build up the water and with every 1mm level you have a risk of cracks in the surface! resin would be a better choice for me ... i could have done the water in one go without cracks etc.
keep in mind that water will be the topic of the next issue of the weathering magazine! i will definetely buy that issue!

Thanks for this. What did you line the outside with? Did you need to create a border? Clear plastic?

Post by **andreb87** » Wed Nov 26, 2014 6:09 pm

i used thick plastic card, fixed with tape to the balsa wood, the vallejo product is not thin like water it is more like a gel so there were no problems and i managed to get a relatively clear border, of course the diorama plate was primed and painted before i added the water, a surface not primed may soak in the water effects. you should do the water at the end, it is a magnet for all kind of dirt and you see everything on it

dont touch it with your fingers! marks are the result

Post by **MikeyKb** » Wed Nov 26, 2014 6:21 pm

the info is greatly appreciated. thank you.
again, absolutely beautiful work. That wood grain is spectacular. Did any of those pieces come with the wood detailing, or did you create it all from scratch (with paint strokes and such)?

Post by **andreb87** » Wed Nov 26, 2014 6:31 pm

MikeyKb wrote:the info is greatly appreciated. thank you.
again, absolutely beautiful work. That wood grain is spectacular. Did any of those pieces come with the wood detailing, or did you create it all from scratch (with paint strokes and such)?

thanks mikey! the ladder and the barrels are real wood! i painted them in a light wood shade and then i used a wood filter from ak interactive and at the end their wood wash!

the other items are hand painted, i painted the base wood tone, then a filter from ak interactive, i used the reddish one because i wanted to show varnished wood! at the end i applied wood wash and before it dried i used a flat brush covered in white spirit to blend the wash, thats the actual wood grain you see and it worked out awesome!

i just tried something on my own and it worked! worked far better to me than their painting wood learning book

cheers

Post by **trnkepfc** » Wed Nov 26, 2014 6:52 pm

Fantastic idea and work....

Post by **gustavlekstal** » Thu Nov 27, 2014 12:27 pm

wish i can get to this lvl under my lifetime.

artist and a craftsman creating art.

Post by **andreb87** » Thu Nov 27, 2014 12:40 pm

thanks for all the kind comments! i changed a lot, i wanted the scene in autumn and it didnt look like autumn so i repainted the tree and added about 1000 leaves. i decided to place the cart down the road and not in front of the tank because if i would have placed it in front of the tank it would have looked strange and the tank would have been hidden too much! i fixed the tank to the diorama plate, i have to paint the groundwork around the tracks because the tank is fixed with glue and i had to fill the gaps. next i will paint that and of course the cow is waiting for some paint

Post by **alextheblue** » Thu Nov 27, 2014 1:02 pm

Thats is simply stunning Andre - brilliant work!!

Your attention to detail is amazing and all of your effort has really paid off.

I might be mistaken, but is that Moo-chael Wittman I see up on the tank!

Post by **AchtungPanzer** » Thu Nov 27, 2014 4:34 pm

Yes, Really cool

Post by **Nige99** » Fri Nov 28, 2014 6:42 am

Looks stunning mate. The detail is spot on. What did you use for the leaves?

Post by **andreb87** » Fri Nov 28, 2014 12:12 pm

thanks, i used birch seeds for the leaves

Post by **SyntaxModels** » Fri Nov 28, 2014 12:20 pm

Thats a stunning dio andre! I love it!

Post by **Yevgeny** » Fri Nov 28, 2014 12:59 pm

Leaves look great, but you need to put some camo netting on the tactical cow.

Post by **JayCub** » Fri Nov 28, 2014 1:31 pm

Absolutely brilliant, I really love the attention to detail, and Alex im speechless

Tom

Post by **Nige99** » Sat Nov 29, 2014 8:22 am

Thanks for the info

they look superb

Post by **hansolo** » Tue Dec 02, 2014 2:44 pm

Awesome dio!
Great details al round!
I especially love the wood the busshes and the water.

Top notch!

cheers

Post by **UKguyInUSA** » Tue Dec 02, 2014 9:17 pm

Stunning work mate!

Post by **andreb87** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 11:57 am

hello guys,

first i want to say sorry that it took so long for this update! christmas, family, personal stuff and blabla! you know that! well i managed to make a huge step forward! i finished painting the camouflage patterns on the figures! there is still a lot to do! for example i have to add the shadow zones to the camo, outline the details, apply washes and filter the colours so they can blend together! except that i have to paint the accesories, boots, leather stuff and all the small details! also a lot of faces have to get painted (i finished 3 yet). if you see glossy or satin paint, dont wonder! the paint was still wet when i made the photos! the colours will be matt! the camo patterns of the waffen ss are a jewel to any figure painter because they simply look awesome but they are hard to paint! i needed a few attempts but i think the result is pretty okay! if you want to know which colours i used or simply how i painted them, pm me i will explain it or if it's not enough i will explain it via skype. so here are the pics! see you soon with another update

oh yes one thing ... the colours look a bit intense, once they are blended together and filtered they will look more faded and more natural. i alos havent done the color modulation on the german field grey, i still have to apply the lights and the shadows!

i have to build this guy, he will be the mg gunner at the window in the 1st floor of the building

Post by **gustavlekstal** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 12:15 pm

Gonna be angry waffen ss waiting for some shermans to arrive. Looks like its gonna be the best diorama I have ever seen.

Post by **Coen** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 12:17 pm

Holy Molly Andre!!! These are magnificent!!

Post by **andreb87** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 12:55 pm

thanks a lot michael and gustav! but seriously gustav this is my first bigger diorama (my second base / diorama at all) i could easily tell you 10 points where i failed

michael or carlos have done dioramas way better! but thanks man i really appreciate the kind words! =) it's always nice to have a long term project, this one gives me the opportunity to test so many new techniques and simply learn so much! i will keep you updated!

Post by **Hillbilly** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 2:22 pm

Those figures are outstanding

Post by **FishBowlMan** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 2:32 pm

Agreed! The figures look fantastic!

Post by **bobbewieter** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 3:42 pm

Looking very good

Post by **gustavlekstal** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 5:03 pm

andreb87 wrote:thanks a lot michael and gustav! but seriously gustav this is my first bigger diorama (my second base / diorama at all) i could easily tell you 10 points where i failed michael or carlos have done dioramas way better! but thanks man i really appreciate the kind words! =) it's always nice to have a long term project, this one gives me the opportunity to test so many new techniques and simply learn so much! i will keep you updated!

You have over 80 posts. But OK i change to you have one of the best diorama ive seen. With the soliders its gonna build on the story of the diorama.

Post by **andreb87** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 8:28 am

thanks gustav! bobbewieter i answered your message! puh i dont want to paint the faces now ... i hate painting faces but i guess i have no choice i have to paint them to finish the diorama

Post by **AchtungPanzer** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 10:10 am

Dude Its great !

Post by **andreb87** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 2:45 pm

thanks eryk! i haven't been that active the last months, i just discovered all the little 1/72 builds you've finished in this period! great work!

Post by **brickfan8** » Fri Jan 30, 2015 10:17 pm

Those figures are awesome

Post by **andreb87** » Sun Mar 01, 2015 11:49 pm

hey guys first of all sorry for the slow progress, had a lot of work to do and no time for modelling. i decided to change the water and test a new product.
the diorama is meant to play in fall so i thought the wind might be blowing and the water shouldnt be so damn still. my idea was to use water effects applied with a brush. i will upload photos tomorrow when it dried =)

Post by **UKguyInUSA** » Sun Mar 01, 2015 11:57 pm

Fabulous looking dio so far mate. Looking forward to seeing the completed effect and the dried water effects.

Post by **andreb87** » Mon Mar 02, 2015 8:24 am

UKguyInUSA wrote:Fabulous looking dio so far mate. Looking forward to seeing the completed effect and the dried water effects.

thanks a lot!

so the water effects dried transparrent as they should and i'm really happy with the result! first of all it looks way more realistic but the second and most important feature is that the water effect killed some errors i did. there were some bubbles in the water and now these are not visible anymore! i would recommend this product to all of you out there, it is simple to use, dries within one day and you can do amazing stuff with it. for example you can stretch a clear sprue with a lighter and then add some water effects on this tiny clear sprue and you get for example a water fontain or if you do some more you can build up a waterfall. really a lot of possibilities with this product.

i also assembled the last missing figure, it is the machine gunner who will be positioned in the 1st floor window, he is from verlinden and is made of resin. #firstresinfigure

take care guys, see you next time

Post by **fly1ngdutchm4n** » Mon Mar 02, 2015 11:43 am

holy cow!
That's amazing stuff.
Real well done with the water efects

Post by **gustavlekstal** » Mon Mar 02, 2015 12:31 pm

Super! Alles gut! It grows and it grows! Really well done with the water and the machine gunner is gonna lock menacing in the window.

Post by **UKguyInUSA** » Mon Mar 02, 2015 1:40 pm

The water dried out nicely and looks amazing, mate. I love the interior of the derelict building, too. I'd love to have the tools, resources and space to attempt a diorama!

Post by **andreb87** » Mon Mar 02, 2015 2:57 pm

another update

i just finished the LAST camouflage jacket and now i can finish all figures. this means i have to paint a lot of equipment, faces, weapons and leather parts ... hurray

also i have to do the light and shadow effects on the camo patterns and of course on the feldgrau parts! after painting so many ss camo patterns in the last months i`m kind of used to this now. the painting of the jacket took me round about 25 minutes (drying between the paint layers included). for the first ones last year i needed a lot more time

Post by **Coen** » Mon Mar 02, 2015 11:43 pm

Perfection Andre!

Post by **kiwi37** » Tue Mar 03, 2015 12:14 am

WOW!

Very nice Andre, loving that water!!!

Post by **andreb87** » Tue Mar 03, 2015 9:37 am

thanks a lot guys, i`m glad you like the water, it was really satisfying to test a new product and get a nice result. i`ll try to work faster so you guys dont have to wait so long for updates!

Post by **localjedi** » Sun Mar 29, 2015 1:53 pm

I agree with all the previous praise: Your dio will look awesome!!! Keep us updated! It's nice to see it come together.

Post by **andreb87** » Mon Sep 07, 2015 8:07 pm

SOOOOOO the diorama is finished! i only have to paint the black base again and seal it! i will add a plate with the name of the diorama and the vehicle type after that! i hope you like it! im so glad that this huge diorama is finally finished! sorry for the light, its already dark outside!

Post by **demarcation** » Tue Sep 08, 2015 9:56 pm

Einfach absolute Spitzenklasse!!! Fantastic work mate!

Post by **andreb87** » Wed Sep 09, 2015 8:23 am

vielen dank =) ich bin einfach nur froh, dass es endlich fertig ist

/// thanks a lot, i`m simply happy that the dio is finally finished

Post by **zeffJeffsky** » Wed Sep 09, 2015 8:51 am

Thank you very much!

Post by **angPanday** » Fri Sep 11, 2015 6:13 am

poor cow... you'll be ambushed by the troops

Post by **Homerlovesbeer** » Fri Sep 11, 2015 7:13 am

Mind blowingly AWESOME!

Post by **GangsterNo1** » Fri Sep 11, 2015 3:09 pm

Loving all the little details that make up the stunning whole. Cracking work.