This is another of my little dioramas which I had largely forgotten about as it now sits in a box stored away. I haven’t done a great deal of WW2 stuff in my time but although it is not on display it does get an airing every now and then when I go to shows with my club. WW2 stuff is popular and the club typically has a theme running for this period in history. Alas this year it gets to stay in its box thanks to Covid-19 so in some ways it is apt this model should be next in sequence for Memory Monday. Originally this model was posted in three parts but as this is a re-post I have merged all three parts into this single post.
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28mm – WW2 US Winter Troops – Part 1
Tiring somewhat of WW1 I felt the need to undertake something new, not so much in terms of figures so much as terrain.
Until very recently I had only dabbled with snow affects once in the past and that was a long time ago. The result of which ended in the model below.
The model itself, an Andrea 54mm figure based on Robert Redford’s portrayal of Jeremiah Johnson if I remember correctly, came out OK at the time but the snow and my early attempt at a tree stump now look far from pleasing and very dated. It was only when I was dusting it that I thought I wouldn’t mind having another go at some snow based models.
Now before I continue I ought to answer a question that I am sure the previous paragraph has thrown up. Why was I, a product of the male chauvinistic 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, doing my own dusting when I have a perfectly good wife capable of doing such things? A good question for sure but Her who Must Be Obeyed has made it perfectly clear that she will not be held responsible for any breakages and thus the job rests with me. To be fair she has a point. Allow me to digress a little further.
We have a border collie who can open every door in the house. I was once the proud owner of a remote-controlled Dalek which spoke. The dog hated the Dalek and ran from it when it was in use. Her Who Must Be Obeyed in her infinite wisdom thought it would be a good idea to stand the Dalek in front of our bedroom door to stop the dog from going in. A cunning plan but one which led to the dog trashing the Dalek and me calling her a moron. It is against this back drop that she now has nothing to do with my models and collectibles! Hard to blame her really.
Back to modelling.
I had a good browse on the Warlord Games site and found some great looking 28mm US winter troops which I decided to purchase. I then found some snow and ice products produced by Precision Ice and Snow which I also bought. Not cheap but the amount of stuff that came in the bundle I purchased will more than see me through the rest of my modelling days I expect. As for a scene I thought I’d go for a derelict building or part of one to be more precise. The combination of US troops, snow and a derelict building all adds up to something completely brand new to get my teeth into.
A check on my paints resulted in the need to order some new ones, all Vallejo in this instance, and while I waited for them to arrive in the post I started to get my head around the build itself. Initially I did think I could cut some corners given that most of the end result would be covered in snow but I then decided that was the wrong approach. If I was to do it properly I ought to build the thing to look right before adding the snow, in that way what ever might show through would in turn look right too.
The mini project is now under way and the pictures below are of the early stages. I initially cut out some foam board for the two wall sections which were then glued together. Milliput was flattened out and then rolled using a Green Stuff World cobblestone textured rolling-pin and then applied to the foam board both on the inside and the outside. A little tip I discovered. In order to easily pick up the rolled Milliput first lay down some talcum powder on to your flat surface before hand, it lifts up easily that way.
The gate was made from wooden coffee stirrers as was the door and the roof beams. The tiles were made once again using my Green Stuff World tile punch. The fence posts were made from match sticks and drilled to make way for the twisted wire that will be inserted in due course.
Next up will be the complete assembly of all the various bits and pieces, the figure painting and applications of static grass and other ground work but that will have to wait until next time. In the meanwhile a few very unexciting progress pictures.
TIM
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28mm – WW2 US Winter Troops – Part 2
Desk tidied and lists written I am now feeling organised once again. It’s now time to get some things completed and invoke a little more discipline starting with the continuation of this little diorama.
Figures have now been painted and “pre-snow” ground work almost completed. Figures arrived timely as always from Warlord Games and I was pleased with how they painted up. The ground work to date was pretty straight forward but didn’t provide anything significantly new in modelling terms, that will come with adding the snow effect in what will be the third and final part of this little diorama. All in all its gone together reasonably well so far.
The progress pictures below provide a good idea of how the completed diorama would look if I hadn’t decided to go for a snow scene. It will be interesting to see just how it looks when a lot of it will get covered over. Before and after photos should be interesting. Will it look better or worse? No backing out now though. I am committed to the end result so will have to wait and see. Besides I can’t have US troops wandering around in winter gear in the spring!
TIM
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28mm – WW2 US Winter Troops – Part 3
The concluding part of this little diorama. With only the snow to be added I didn’t feel I could justify hanging onto this post until the weekend.
Figures fixed into position, all parts painted and assembled and ground work complete. All that remained to be done was to apply the snow.
I mentioned in part 1 that I had acquired scenic snow materials from a company called Precision Ice and Snow. A few words on what came in the bundle I bought, and before anyone asks no, I’m not on commission!
The various bits can all be bought separately or you can save quite a bit by buying a bundle which is what I chose to do. Everything arrived in a nice little draw string bag which contained:
- 2 x 115g bags of Krycell fine (snow) for use with smaller scale models such as 28mm
- 1 x 115g bag of Krycell Extra (snow) for use with larger models – 1/35th upwards
- 1 x 100ml bottle of adhesive
- 1 x 50ml bottle of Ice and Snow wash
- 1 x 50 tub of winter camouflage paint
- 1 x sieve for applying the snow
- 1 x instruction manual
All in all enough to do all the models in snow that I am likely to ever do. The instruction book is great and there are various YouTube tutorials too if that’s of interest so I won’t bother going into greater detail. Just to say that I followed the instructions and achieved the end result as shown in the pictures below.
Personally I like the stuff. Looks realistic to me and goes where you put it. For 28mm it’s really nice and fine and I love the way it has adhered to areas like the top of the fence and to the gate and barn door. There are lots more ways of using this stuff and I’m looking forward to coming up with some other ideas in due course.
TIM
The snow effect works exceptionally well. Great stuff!
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Thank you.
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Great diorama, it was great to see what you used to build it, I am going back to re-read it and take notes..
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It just so happens that my magazine will have a sprue with US marines next month
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Looks to me like the modelling gods are dropping a big hint at what you should tackle next! 🙂
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Nice to see this again Dave, and all in one post! 🙂
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Thanks John.
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Great dio. I always like to see winter settings.
Cheers,
Pete.
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Thanks Pete.
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Me tooooo
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Wow, lots of good stuff. As for the dusting, get to work! Robert Redford isn’t going to dust himself! 🙂
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🤣🤣 Very good. I think I’ll add dusting to my fitness regime! 😉
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If you do it really fast you’ll get your heart rate up and if you do it with you non-dominant hand you’ll someday be a double threat.
For bonus points and to unlock the Whirlwind Wonder rewards title, and I’m sure SWMBO will agree with me here, use both dusting hands at once!
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This sounds like the female training programme equivalent of that employed in the Karate Kid movie. I’m guessing that once I have mastered double dusting you have a few tips and ideas on speed vacuuming and oven cleaning? As for SWMBO I have enough trouble dealing with her as it is without you giving her any ideas! 😉
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Hahah, well, I’m sure that I can help out with tips if that is needed. SWMBO and I are both part of the same Secret Sorority, I’m sure. 🙂
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That Secret Sorority wouldn’t be “Women Stick Together” by any chance ? I might be daft but I’m not stupid and thus I know when I have lost. I’ll mark this one down as a win for you and SWMBO. 😭😉
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I’m not saying it’s WST but it’s WST! 🙂 🙂
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Damn man, that is sweet and I love the snow. I finally bought a green stuff roller, as I had heard you mention their products many a time and I’m now finding a real use for it. Their site mentions using Sculpey, but it sounds like you like to use Milliput. Any pluses or minuses to either?
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Not used Sculpey, only ever used Milliput and DAZ air dry clay. Worked fine on both of those and no real difference but reckon it would be OK on Sculpey too or anything similar.
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Thanks TIM! I think they maybe recommended Sculpey because it can be cheaper and might stick to the roller less. I’ll have to try them both and see.
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If you use Milliput wet the roller first to stop it from sticking.
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Thanks for the tip!
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That first diorama has a really nice base. That extra verticality in the ground really catches the eye and makes it look realistic. I’d love to try and achieve an effect like that in the future so thank you for the inspiration 🙂 The WWII dio looks great as well of course too.
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Thank you. I love figure painting but dioramas, large or small, add so much more creativity.
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Very, VERY nice
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Cheers Matey.
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Just outstanding and really nice to see it all in one post. As here in New England, seemingly “Winter is ALWAYS Coming” (Starks got nuthin’ on us), I can attest that the snow effects are very appopos and accurate. I actually have visited Bastogne twice – the first time was in the nice summer. I was determined to go there in the dead of winter the second time to reflect on the incredible feat of the 101st Airborne and the others in that pocket. As well as the relieving troops of Patton which included an M24 tank driver named Marcus Delaney (my beloved late grandfather).
One other note to share if you’ll indulge me. As I have always wanted to capture memories of veterans that I knew, this snippet I learned stands out. When I was in high school I had a summer job with my former middle school doing maintenance under a guy named Lyle Wheeler. Lyle had been there when I was a student, and always wore green fatigues. Very old school. When I worked under him I learned he had been a WWII vet (this was in 1979) and at Bastogne. On a coffee break, I asked him what he remembered most about that battle, and he said:
“When the weather finally cleared, the sky was black with airplanes.”
A truly powerful image, don’t you think?
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Wow, yes some image but I suspect throughout the war a great many people, soldiers and civilians, saw things on a scale than few of us today would be able to comprehend. Hollywood does it’s best to create such things but If I make a comparison to live sporting events there is no substitute for actually being there.
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