WW2 Diorama – Part 1

Hi everyone,

Today I taken down another piece from the Shelf of Shame.  This is the WW2 diorama at 1/72 scale I had started several years ago.  I always was interested in this period but never got around to it.  When I did manage to start this diorama, I only built the tank and then something else caught my eye - same old story with me!

I eventually rekindled my interest in this diorama when I started getting into Flames of War - to which I am now hooked.  I remember I wanted to start with something easy and cheap before spending money on the bigger military kits, so I opted for this scale.

To be honest, this scale does not really appeal to me as a modelling project - I prefer the 1/48 tanks by far.  This is the same scale as DUST and very close to 28/30mm scale.  Nonetheless, I am determined to finish this project and cross it off from my resolutions list.

As you can see below, it is a 1/72 King Tiger from Trumpeter. The kit is not super detailed like the Dragon kits at this scale, but neither is it as expensive.  I think it is a good compromise for my first go at this modelling genre.
Below is the completed tank.  It is also were I left off to pursue other shiny things that caught my interest.
The next step then was to plan out the diorama.  I wanted something at rest - without any action.  This is because, at this scale action would create extra complications that I do not want to load on to my schedule.  Besides, this is meant to be an exercise in tank modelling and not in diorama building per-se.

So after I came up with an idea, I started shopping for the appropriate figures.  I was very lucky here as I immediately stumbled upon a set of Germans at rest from Preiser.  These are excellent for what I had in mind.  The poses are casual and relaxed and the sprue is full of accessories, besides the fact that for their scale and material, they are probably the best range out there.
The next step was to build an appropriate base that would comfortably fit the scene I wanted to create. I needed the front of the diorama to show the back of the tank, and the front of the minis.  So I decided to divide the base into two different elevations.  The King Tiger, being the centre piece of the diorama, would get the higher elevation, and the Germans the lower.

After I assembled the Germans and I got the positions right, I continued to work on the base giving it shape and several coats of putty and texture.  The bottom picture gives an idea of how the whole thing will come together when ready.

Well, that is all for now.  See you all again next week for another update on this new/overdue project.

Farewell and good health,

        NR