1/35 Churchill Mk IV, AVRE Diorama

[DRUMS01]

Hi Everyone,

Yes, I know its been some time since I had a meaningful modeling post. When we completed our Churchill AVRE bridge layer, we commented on creating a diorama for it, well nows the time.





Like most dioramas, the first step is to have a concept. This will be easy as it is a tank and bridge, so I need terrain with a destroyed bridge on it right? Along with that we need to identify how much "stuff" will be with it on the diorama. So, do I want other vehicles, building remnants, fighting positions, how many figures, what about trees, and what kind of bridge? All of these are good questions which will ultimately determine the size of the diorama.

There are various books and sites out there that speak on how to create a diorama. Based on several years experience and research on those sites and in those books there should be a word of caution. Specifically, you usually never want to put so much "stuff" on a diorama as to take the attention away from the subject of the diorama itself, the tank and bridge.

So Jarrod and I are looking at a somewhat simple diorama with the vehicle, terrain to include a severely used and battle worn road to an all wooden bridge. The reason for the wood bridge versus a heavy stone bridge is based on the nature of the AVRE itself. The AVRE bridge was not meant for heavy tracked vehicles. So in most cases it would look strange with a heavy stone bridge that was going to be used for track vehicles (tanks and artillery and such, though there are exceptions). An appropriate sized heavy wood bridge will work for the diorama. Plus the wood can be brought to life with some concerted detail painting.

Another thought regarding the size of the diorama is that additional vehicles will quickly make the diorama large. But that does not mean there couldn't be a small supporting vehicle like a jeep or a kublewagen, right?
Likewise, it needs more that just terrain, a road, and bridge to draw the viewer into the diorama, do other options may have to be looked at. Some things Jarrod and I are thinking about are bomb craters, trees and shrubs, part of a destroyed very small out building, a street sign, a push cart or plow, perhaps a water well, sand bagged fighting positions that were destroyed beside the bridge, and plenty of figures (but not too many). Perhaps a partially destroyed german vehicle off to the side, and the list goes on. Then there's the delicate and tasteful placement of wounded or killed soldiers or civilians (war is not sanitary). The diorama is limited only by the time, effort, wallet, and imagination.

Orientation is always an important part of any diorama, specifically the "experts" say a modeler should never place the main subject of the diorama square or parallel to the base edges. While there are some exceptions to that rule, it is a rule.

So where are we now you ask? Well I determined the size and purchased a approximate sized 14x20 picture frame on sale that has a sharp and high raised edge. After measuring things out Jarrod and I began laying down the outline of the terrain and water / bridge area.





Next will be the locations of the auxiliary items and then developing the terrain and road.

Stay tuned for much more in our next update.

Ben and Jarrod

[digger303]

Lots of brain storming going into this

[aur0ra145]

Very interesting! Haven't heard that diorama rule before, I'll have to remember it whenever I do one in the future.

[Stokesy44]

Great to see the team back in action again.

A great start to the dio, the bridge remains look cool.

[Kevthemodeller]

Oh yes this is going to be good

[DRUMS01]

I know it's been a little while since the last update, sorry. So, what have we been up to you ask?

Jarrod and I were still waiting for most of the items we ordered for the diorama, and I'm happy to say some of it was delivered:















And there are 10 or so more figures too.

And the base of the diorama is slowly taking shape as can be seen below:

More structural beams on the bridge framework; stone/ground work laid at the edge of the water; road base established


Part of the flooring for the bridge, but I may go with bigger (meaning thicker) post flooring, because I'm not confidant that the thin wood would've been used to drive over versus thicker stacked beams.


We also purchased floral wire thinking we may make an attempt to build some trees. Along with the trees we got more ground cover (bushes, moss, grass, stone, dirt, casting water, etc.). Another thing we're going to attempt is to create a sandbags defensive position near the bridge. With the things we already purchased, I hope we have the ingredients to make a convincing layout; time will tell.

Till next time!

Ben and Jarrod

[digger303]

Starting to look like the projects growing

[Stokesy44]

Looking like some fine additions there. Very nice bits and bobs. The 3d printed stuff looks very cool.

[Tomcat64]

Wow - that's got busy!

Looking forwards to seeing how this progresses

[DRUMS01]

Wow, I knew its been some time since my last update, but all the way back to screen # 10, good golly miss molly! Jarrod and I better push on with some modeling then, right?

A lot has happened outside of modeling, but that is for another post. So, last update we shown what we bought to add to the diorama. All of it was just a flurry of numerous ideas, with nothing for sure until we finished the layout of the terrain and potential objects.

So my method of building any diorama always starts at the base, literally. With the foam cut and cemented in place now came time to smooth in the terrain and begin adding minor details. While there are numerous methods to accomplish this we chose standard old milliput self hardening clay and just a mild bit of water on the fingers.



Jarrod and I debated whether to purchasing sandbags in kit form or not. So we thought to make it more original and accurate for the terrain, we made them with the same milliput ourselves. While we still want to add one last upper row of bags and details for bullet holes and other damage, this is the first few rows of stacked sandbags. Much more to come from them (destruction or carnage).



As you can see, we also added more rocks to fit "into" the grass, weeds, bushes, etc. by adding more broken foam in places.
Next came the "stuff", at least some of it that we purchased. The first major decision was to determine if the kublewagen was going to fit or just use the old farmers cart. Keeping in mind the space we will need for the remaining figures, we found that we would have to chop the kublewagen in half to fit only part of it in. With the extra detail sets we purchased for it, we thought that would be a waste, so the cart has won out.



While I know it is controversial for some of us, Jarrod and I chose to add some defeated (KIA) Germans defending the bridge. Still not sure how many we will show but here are some options.







Jarrod and I added more of the structural supports for the bridge. We are not going to add anymore until we get a good base color for the water beneath them. The earlier photo showing the thin boards laying on top the bridge will be replaced with thicker beams to make it more realistic to scale to be able to support wheeled vehicles. We plan on adding other items on or around the bridge to include undetonated explosives with det. cord and a proper German detonator to show how the bridge was destroyed.



Thanks for checking in, but we are just getting started. Stay tuned for more coming your way soon.

v/r,

Ben and Jarrod

[Stokesy44]

Great to see you two gentlemen back at the bench

[Twokidsnosleep]

Love it love it love it

[digger303]

Looking interesting.

[DRUMS01]

I think I'm going to try to scratch build some wire tree's of different sizes, just three or five perhaps....

Also thinking of displacing some debris from the bridge material.

At least one sign, perhaps two, bottles, etc.

Should have somewhere between 7-12 British soldiers resting, looking on, trying to figure out whats next, etc.

Might add a couple shell craters and grenade carnage too.

Maybe a couple of fish and lost items in (under) the water.

Then there's shrubs, weeds, live and dead grass, worn areas, dirt, etc.

[Stokesy44]

I think I'm going to try to scratch build some wire tree's of different sizes, just three or five perhaps....

Also thinking of displacing some debris from the bridge material.

At least one sign, perhaps two, bottles, etc.

Should have somewhere between 7-12 British soldiers resting, looking on, trying to figure out whats next, etc.

Might add a couple shell craters and grenade carnage too.

Maybe a couple of fish and lost items in (under) the water.

Then there's shrubs, weeds, live and dead grass, worn areas, dirt, etc.

Just a little project then

[RangerNeil]

I think I'm going to try to scratch build some wire tree's of different sizes, just three or five perhaps....

Also thinking of displacing some debris from the bridge material.

At least one sign, perhaps two, bottles, etc.

Should have somewhere between 7-12 British soldiers resting, looking on, trying to figure out whats next, etc.

Might add a couple shell craters and grenade carnage too.

Maybe a couple of fish and lost items in (under) the water.

Then there's shrubs, weeds, live and dead grass, worn areas, dirt, etc.

Worth remembering the river would have been "fished dry" by any troops bivvy'd alongside for even a day. Any chance to grab fresh rations was snatched with both hands....

[Kevthemodeller]

This is getting really interesting

[DRUMS01]

Small update for the trees....

Here are my first attempt at making the base for some trees. They still need to be painted, have the final details applied to the branches, the base roots added, etc. At least this gives me some idea of how they will look and where they will be displayed. So far so good (sort of)....







I also purchased some resin water, several sizes of ballast, dirt and small stone from my creek, small foliage, stuff from the yard, etc. This is about to get both fun and messy.

Ben

[Stokesy44]

The trees look very organic. I take it they were from the garden too?

[digger303]

Again interesting. I'm particularly keen to see how you get on with the water.
As my first effort wasn't marvellous.

[Kevthemodeller]

[Stokesy44]

Again interesting. I'm particularly keen to see how you get on with the water.
As my first effort wasn't marvellous.

Pee does tend to evaporate over time

[DRUMS01]

Stokesy, you are correct. After looking on line at trying the various methods using wire, they still did not look as good to me as the organic versions do. I still have much to do with these ones, but at least that is how the main branches will look. After all, what is better than organic to look organic in scale?

Digger, I think my challenge will be to make it look like it has depth through painting first. Then the clear resin will be added. I'm not sure if I will color different layers of water up to a final clear layer, or exactly how it will be done. My build strategy will start with the ground work before the water scene. I think it will be something like, terrain, model stuff, water, and last the trees.

Should be able to accomplish some of the stuff this weekend.

Ben

[digger303]

Again interesting. I'm particularly keen to see how you get on with the water.
As my first effort wasn't marvellous.

Pee does tend to evaporate over time

Awe and I thought I was saving money

[DRUMS01]

Digger,

I'm still not sure how the water will go. First I have to finish the terrain before I approach the water.

One thought was to add a rippled (wrinkled) foil as the base. Then paint it various shades of a blue, brown, and sea green mix. As for the transitions to the rocks I would add fine sand in some places and perhaps some moss, cat tails, with the last thing being several layers of clear from dark to light in tone.

Thats where my head is at with it. Currently working on shell craters and such on the terrain.

In the meantime I also bought other tidbits for the ground, trees, and smaller foliage too.

[digger303]

Surface tension around the edge is another aspect.
Foil stretched in one direction to create movement could work.
Anyway glad to see you two still popping in.

[DRUMS01]

I think if I seal it with a water based white glue and then use a water base acrylic water it should not have a problem with the edges (at least I hope).

What did you experience in your last attempt digger?

[digger303]

My only attempt so far
I used a PVA type product pre coloured and I used the foil.
The foil all crinkled up and flattened again produced the wrong effect close to shore. Where it should be clearer/flatter sandy bottom or pebbly. Perhaps if I did it in 2 sections it would be better.
Pva tends to want to level itself to some degree. So you have counter that, but it's easy to manipulate.
I have seen white silicone sealer used to create wave tops.

If I was to re do my attempt in the same setting of a lake and jetty I wouldn't use foil in the same way. I'd keep it relatively smooth and create a landscape before adding the water. Perhaps even some very fine sand like used in a pool filter. I f I was to do a faster flowing water scape, I might put down a thick layer of pva add the foil then mold a sand bank by pushing the pva under the foil as it is still soft or similar behind large rocks for the illusion of movement.

Just some thoughts I don't know if they would work I'm pretty much in the same leaky boat as you.

[DRUMS01]

Surprise, surprise! After many of life's trials and tribulations the prodigal modeling son has come home with an actual update on this diorama.

Since the last photos Jarrod and I added a couple exploded grenade holes in the terrain, shrapnel and bullet holes in the sandbags, more foam rocks, weathered cracked and dry rotted some of the wood on the bridge, laid a small amount of "sand-like" material against the bank, cut and shaped the top deck of the bridge, and laid down the base coats on the terrain and the water.

We used Vallejo terrain cover in dark earth and some left over nautical gray paint for the water base. We still plan on adding numerous more layers of dirt, grass, worn or dead grass, rock, bushes, shrubs, debris, build up the trees, the trunks, and the root base, various tones of water, moss, and much more.

Here is where we finished today (base coats).

[Stokesy44]

Great to see you two back, forum's not been the same!

Base is looking good, some nice detail being added.

[digger303]

Ya back ya back

[DRUMS01]

I found myself thinking of the sequence of painting and dropping landscape material. For instance, if I want to show rock embedded into the ground it should be added and painted prior to any other dirt, grass, or plants. likewise, if I want to add some of the modeling items to appear as laying in the spot for some time and not "on top" of the terrain, they need to be painted up and ready to add when the wet application of dirt and grass is done, not after.

The same can be said with the rocks and sand at the edge of the water, they need detailed before the top layers of terrain and water. Then I want to create a secondary road like path going along the left side of the river. If I want to leave tracks in the dirt for tires or the cart, that will need to be prepped prior to the final applications of "stuff".

Then there's the other items like road signs, aged applications to the wooden bridge, etc. I'm thinking of scratch building a German WW2 detonator with wires going to the bridge and possibly a failed charge on the area of the bridge that's still intact.

One things for sure, I did not anticipate this much time and effort applied to a diorama. My problem is that I want it to have a sense of realism and that includes details. So now I'm finding that details take research and time......

[digger303]

Yes there's a lot to do in diorama's if they are going to be done well and they take up a lot of display space too. On the flip side they are well worth it. I'm particularly pleased still with my last attempt where as my first attempt not so much, because I know it didn't really gel well and the figures were so so.

[DRUMS01]

Over the years I've done around 25-30 dioramas. The problem is exactly what you say, many times they are too big or are not easy to display in a home. And if you do not have some kind of glass cover for them, they eventually get dusty which is the fatal blow for dioramas. I've found that the two most difficult dio's are military terrain and ships at sea. The ones for racing and general land transportation are easy as are the ones for aircraft (mostly runways).

I do have two rather large glass cases, actually they are two previous glass vending display cases. That brings up the next problem, I currently have around 100 die-cast cars in it, with no room for the dioramas. I know eventually that I will sell off many of my die-cast. That will make room for the models and give me some funds to make more display space.

Then there are my other hobbies of music composition and playing, shooting, and motorcycling.

I guess its all about the priorities, right? Right now I think I'm just going to focus on getting this diorama done.

[DRUMS01]

Here are some of the photos I picked out that give me some ideas on style and the colors of wear and rot of the bridge. Notice the black and green moss and rot near the water, the gray and weathered exposed wood, splits, warping, and open wood grain on exposed areas, etc. I also need to add the nut and bolts used to fix the lower beams in place. And lets not forget about the nail/spikes used to attach the wood road surface to the beams. And then there will be the guardrails, debris from the exploded parts (on the bridge and in the water), dirt and grass between the wood road planks, etc.; and that is just the bridge...











I also think we are going for more of the green color of the water (like the first photo). Perhaps some darker gray near the center to simulate depth.
The gray base coat just made a good sealer that was a good color regardless of the direction I was going.

Anyway, more on this in a few days.

[digger303]

That bridge from the photo stock is pretty clapped out, but the weathering of that pylon timber is much the same as I've seen anywhere for hardwood.
Yeash I forgot the dust and diorama's.

[Stokesy44]

Fascinating stuff. It is, as they say, all in the details!

[DRUMS01]

Little baby steps..... Yesterday and today Jarrod and I added the second and third layers which were nothing more than more terrain compound and paint. Most if not all of it will not be seen as it will be under dirt, grass, rock, shrub, bushes, and more.





If you think it is glossy, it is because it is actually still wet. I found that mixing the Vallejo terrain fillers while wet works much better when you want to blend them. Rest assured that the shine will be gone after it dries.



Needing to see how the wood weathering is coming along, we decided to add some dark wash to the wood to get a better look at the wear.



Here is a look at the clean and new appearance versus worn and weathered look on the wood. As you can see, the weathered look is very intentional and adds a level of realism over the regular fresh cut wood (IMHO). I think it needs just a touch of gray and then one last wash on the verticals then a stronger fresh wood look where the explosion caused fresh breaks as well as the newly open horizontals.



So much more coloring on the bridge, sand, rocks, and water areas. We also need several more layers of terrain to bring things to life. I believe the next two steps will include coloring the rocks and adding the tree trunks and roots before we go much further with the ground.

Next time we will begin to look at the various plants, bushes, grass, and stuff. I think it will also be time to introduce some of the allied figures to the mix as well, at least to get a sense of placement.

Till then....

[digger303]

Watching with glee
Pin heads make for good cup head bolts and you can get them in slightly different sizes.
Your blending technique works well it's very believable and the water has levelled very nicely

[Stokesy44]

Really like how you've blended the colours on the ground, the mud versus grassed areas, very good work.

[DRUMS01]

by digger303 » Sun Feb 16, 2025 11:09 pm

Watching with glee
Pin heads make for good cup head bolts and you can get them in slightly different sizes.
Your blending technique works well it's very believable and the water has levelled very nicely

I agree digger, but most of those pin heads are still loo large. There are some very, very small nails for ship building that would be almost perfect to scale for the top boards. The water still has a couple more layers (and colors) before we add the gloss resin. Before we do that we need to get the foliage and moss ready for it.

by Stokesy44 » Mon Feb 17, 2025 3:53 am

Really like how you've blended the colours on the ground, the mud versus grassed areas, very good work.

Thanks Stokesy, there are still several more layers to add to the terrain but it is a decent start.

Today we worked on more rock and blending. Up next update will be the bottom half of the tree trunk and tree roots. I think I'm going to try and build up the tree trunks and roots with milliput and , well.... root. That way I can add the upper trunk and branches to the parts built up on the base later.





And we also started getting some of the terrain altering stuff out to play with. Lots more on this later.





I thought I had all the types of static grass but evidently not (dark and medium green, yellow grass, and dead grass). I'm also lacking some of the dirt I like from outside, but that will be easy to gather. The last item I thought I had but need is sea foam to detail the trees.

Till next time

[Stokesy44]

Lots of bits and bobs to play with! Really enjoying how this is progressing.

[DRUMS01]

Stopped at the local "Hobby Lobby" (not a full modeling store, but close), to get some grass and sea foam. Got the grass but they did not carry sea foam. I need it for detailing the trees. I found something close so we will see how it works (or not).

Got band practice tonight so we are not going to get much more done today.

Talk soon!

[DRUMS01]

Hi Everybody,

We've been working on the base more by adding the base of the trees so we could create the tree roots. Our goal is to have it all painted before we lay the grass and other stuff. We also added the base layers for the dirt and grass over the other areas of the base not effected by the trees. Another thing we have done was start weathering the first staining of the bridge basics.

We still have a few more layers to add along with washes and the rest of the shrubs, trees, and small stuff. The trees will be a whole other thing as they have their own multiple layers of build. Here is where we are at the moment (keep in mind that much of it will be blended and earthier (if thats a real word).

Tree roots built up with milliput.


Bridge basics


Overall

[digger303]

[Kevthemodeller]

Fantastic work

[Stokesy44]

Fantastic work

What Kev said!

[DRUMS01]

Thanks digger, Kev, and Stokesy, but there is still much, much more to add or build-up on the base alone, not including the plastic parts.

On another note, I've been real busy lately with learning new music and practicing with my bandmates in our church praise team. This is contemporary christian music with complex percussion, base, acoustic, and electric guitars, keyboards, auxiliary percussion, and multiple vocalists and harmonies. It seems we've been learning whole new songs and different arrangements every week, which has taken some of my modeling time. My officers position as Post Adjutant in the American Legion is also very time consuming, but also rewardable.

I hope to finish up on the tree bases and building up more detail on the bridge this coming week. Soon Jarrod and I will have to start building up the figures and painting the modeling details so they can be added while the top layers are being added on the base.

I also notice, when handling the Churchill AVRE and SBG bridge that it needs more wear, especially on the bottom and track lines of the bridge where contact and use should be more apparent. Then there should be just a slight bit of wear and tear on the AVRE, but not too much. It needs to look more used, but not abused...

Then there is another separate moment working the waters edge with plants, moss, etc. before pouring the top coats of clear resin. And the trees will also be done with multiple updates, especially when it comes to adding the smaller branches, the leaves, airbrush painting over the layers, etc. I think it will be a relief when we can finally focus on the plastic stuff and figures because then I will know the ending will be near.

Dioramas are fun, but they are also time consuming at this level. The details have to be researched, correct, and balanced; not enough and it looks too empty and not believable, while too much and it looks overdone and also fake. The overall scene needs to convey a message but also not take away too much from the main model itself. That is the direction we hope we are going, time will tell.

Ben and Jarrod

[digger303]

Your a busy fellow who is retired.

[Stokesy44]

Fantastic work and more great posts.

I know what you mean about how dioramas can run away with you. For me to do a diorama I have got to be massively invested in the subject or its nothing more than a tank on a base.

I have a few kits in the stash that would be great for a dio, chief among them is a Dragon 88 flak gun with a full crew. I would love to create a gun pit diorama for it but it would be a massive undertaking