Building
a diorama always starts with an idea: I wanted to combine tanks and airplanes,
and the idea came to me of a tank being transported on a rail car, passing by an
airfield. I chose late WWII Germany as the time and place, and went from there
preparing and gathering the needed elements: the base, kits, train tracks, etc.
A small, relatively simple design came to mind:
"Earth
Meets Sky"
THE
STORY:
In
1945, the Reich was shrinking in size, and more of the Fatherland was
militarized. Airfields were expanded and rail lines were being utilized almost
exclusively for military transport. Here, a Jadgpanzer IV is being transported
from one front to the other through the heart of the Fatherland, passing by an
airfield revetment where sits a revolutionary new Blohm und Vos BV 212.3 jet
fighter.
Click on
images below to see larger images
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A
panzer crew has come in a half-track to make adjustments to the tank.... as
Luftwaffe ground crew do the same to the fighter plane.
Tank
crews and Luftwaffe personnel compare these "wonder
weapons".
THE
KITS:
Blohm
und Vos BV212.3 "Just
Fantasy" brand resin kit -
this plane was partially constructed near the end of WWII and its design was an inspiration
for later "Cold War" era fighters.
Jadgpanzer
IV "Lang" - Bandai Pz. IV Mobelwagon chassis
and resin superstructure(Steve Faxon manufacturer)
Tank
Crew figures - Jaguar
Opel
Mautlier truck: Bandai
Rail
car: "Battalion Bits" resin
Monogram and
other figures.
THE
BASE:
Plywood
with ground cover materials added as dirt, ground litter, and
foliage from a few commercial
diorama products like Woodland Scenics ground cover and a Heki grassmatt.
The dirt was made with plaster
mixed with dark brown acrylic paint. The
planks are coffee stir-sticks; the runway is "Pend Oreille" runway
segments. The railroad tracks are "Allied" brand "O"Gauge,
on slightly raised bed with kitty litter gravel.
The
diorama is finished with a plexiglass case to protect it from dust and breakage.
Steve
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