lawman56

Positively fantastic work! I've always thought the P-39 was an often over-looked aircraft. I'll be joining others in bookmarking this for a future build! Thanks for sharing!

I was going for the "fresh from the factory" look on the yellow & blue one.

I finally got the time to post the pics of my Vietnam diorama. As I may, (or may not), have mentioned, I'm a former US Army Military Policeman, so I decided to eventually make dioramas of MPs and equipment since their inception during the American Revolution. Not knowing where to start, I stumbled across a picture of a friend while he was in Vietnam as an MP providing convoy security. This is my result. I call it "Saved By Blind Faith" The team in the jeep has been hit and the M-706, aka V-100 Commando Car, has come to their aid. Side view. You see the M60 gunner laying down suppressive fire with help from the twin .30 cals in the turret, as the driver carries his wounded team leader to safety. Now you see where I got the name from. The vehicle belongs to the 16th MP Group, part of the 18th MP Brigade. They eventually became the 16th MP Brigade, of which I was a member of for 10 years, so the bumper markings were deliberate. Side view. What you can't see is the scratchbuilt radio equipment, but it's there. Along with spent shell casings littering the floor. Side view of the M151A1. Although I just realized my wiper blades are missing. Guess I better make more. Overhead of the jeep. The radio mic cord is a strand of copper wire that I first wound around a paper clip, then stretched to the length I wanted, and painted it black. The spent casings are brass rod cut down to scale length, dipped in white glue and then dropped from the approximate height of the M60 ejection port. Feel free to ask me any questions, thanks for looking!

Beautiful work! I can't wait to see more!

Beautiful work! I especially love the chips and scratches. Used, yet not abused.

As I stated before, the M551 was a commission piece for the 73rd Cav Regiment, who trace their lineage back through Korea to the 756th Tank Battalion from WWII. Their first major action was in Cassino, so I depicted that here. Since the unit was made up of 3 companies of Shermans and one scout company of Stuarts, I figured I needed to depict both. A city street in Cassino seemed a good place to show them both working in conjunction. I titled it "Shortcut At Cassino". As you can see, both vehicles are buttoned up. There's two reasons for this. Primarily, I was in a time crunch and didn't have the time or proper figures, (I'm pretty anal about my figures), secondly, I've learned from experience that in a hostile urban environment, tankers would rather stay buttoned up than present a nice downward shot into the vehicle for a sniper. Besides, how else would the Sherman keep the bricks out of the turret? Here's a frontal view of the M5 as it creeps down the street. Just for fun I numbered it the same as the M551 Sheridan so the CSM would get a kick out of it. Here's an overhead of the M4. All the loose bricks are scratchbuilt using plaster of paris. I taped 4 pieces of cardboard to a piece of scrap plywood, leveled out enough material to fill my cardboard "frame", then measured the size of the bricks in the commercially cast building and scribed the lines into the plaster once it dried. Then I tapped them free with a wooden dowel, so as not to damage the brick faces, but to bust them up just enough. The beam was made from some scrap balsa. To put them on the hull, I dipped the bricks in white glue, held them with a pair of tweezers at the upper floor level, and dropped them. This gave a nice hap-hazard look. Next time I'll post my Vietnam diorama. Thanks for looking!

Stikpusher, they're wearing coveralls, very similar to mechanic coveralls. According to a friend from 3/73 Abn Cav, they had the option of normal duty uniform or coveralls. Most chose coveralls since tanks can get pretty greasy.

And feel free to ask me anything at all about my techniques, tools, aftermarket, etc... I love to share my knowledge and learn new tricks!

Thanks for all the kind words! I've just recently started to actually view my models and dioramas as 3 dimensional form of art, which is why aircraft are a challenge for me, as they're out of their element on the ground. However, I have a few ideas rattling around in my skull, so we'll see how that works. As you'll see, most of my enjoyment comes from adding as much detail as possible, which means tons of research. Thankfully, I have a job that allows me to surf the net quite a bit, so I turn into a sponge! I also love to talk to those who may have actually used the equipment. This allows me to find the subtle nuances that make them realistic. As for my train layout, once I'm able to reclaim my garage, I'll be starting to build the framework. Hopefully by fall.

Bear with me, I'm still learning this picture posting system, so the occasional "faux pas" may show up. Anyway, this is a diorama titled, "Calm Before The Storm", and depicts a Sheridan crew the day before Desert Storm kicked off, chatting while waiting for the word to move into Iraq. I built this for the Command Sergeant Major of the 73rd Cav Regiment. The unit traces it's lineage from WWII through Korea and up until the mid 90's when the Sheridan was phased out and the unit deactivated. Approximately 7-8 years ago, they were reactivated, but traded in their armor for up-armored Humm-Vees. He was hosting a Regimental re-union and commissioned me to build this, along with my Cassino diorama, (which I'll post at a later time). I added tons of PE and scratchbuilt details, to include the intercom cords for the helmets, straps for stowage, and rifle slings. Here's a frontal view allowing a better view of the crew. They're all wearing 82nd Airborne Division patches, as 3/73 Cav would actually toss the Sheridans out of aircraft and pray the chutes opened! The gun tube says 'Desert Lizard', as that was the CSM's vehicle in Desert Storm. I hand painted the desert camo pattern, using my own Desert Storm uniform as a guide, (yes, I still have my service uniforms in a closet). The sand came from my grandsons sandbox.

The palm trees came from a company called Woodland Scenics. They primarily make model railroad scenery. Most all of my groundwork is extra material from my railroad.

The title of this is "A Brief Respite". I built it on commission for a friend who fell in love with the earlier Panzers while stationed in Germany. It depicts the crew taking a break while re-arming after a skirmish of some sort. I tried to mix as many different variations of the German desert/tropical uniform as I could. Since I was a soldier myself, I know how resourceful they can be at times. Here's another view. You'll have to forgive my lack of photography skills, as all I was attempting to do was document my work prior to delivery. It wasn't until recently I started to pay attention to my photos. One of the things I pride myself in, whenever I sell a diorama, is that I offer free repair. That's one of the reasons I would take the pics. I knew my semi-functioning mind would NEVER remember all the details! That's all for today, as I'm about to sign off. I'll post more when I can. The dioramas I've built, so far, (and I have pics of them all), is an M551 Sheridan, an M4 Sherman & M5 Stuart combined Cassino diorama, and an M151A1 Jeep & M706 Commando combined diorama. All my armor is in 1/35, and my aircraft are in 1/32. Sadly, I haven't finished any aircraft dioramas yet, due to my recovery, but soon, very soon, I should have my Spitfire done. I also have a 1/48th Me109 dio I used as a test bed for a technique, but that's hardly large scale. Unless you get really, really close to it! Thanks for looking!