"City of broken glass" diorama

by Michael Rieß

This diorama shows German troops in an occupied Ukrainian city in summer 1941. The tank model is a Panzerkampfwagen Mk IV, 744(e) (A13) from Bronco Models. The kit is quite nice, but some large parts were twisted and it required many nerves to assemble the model. Most parts are very small and thin, so there was always the danger of breaking parts. Usually it takes me 1 week to assemble and paint a 1/35 scale tank, this one took me 4 weeks. Therefore the kit is good for long dark winter evenings, but it is bad if you want a fast result.

The diorama from MiniArt had the usual quality. The details are nice, but the walls of the house have a very bad fit. Thats not a big problem, it is only a matter of filling the gaps. Overall i´m very satisfied with the MiniArt houses, they are beneficial (compared to other house kits) and they offer a large variability.
The soldiers are all from Dragon, taken from different sets and dog is from Tamiya.

I painted the models with acrylic paints from Revell and Lifecolour. Oil paint washes and MIG pigments were used for the weathering.

"Onwards" diorama

by Michael Rieß

The diorama shows a German Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausführung G driving towards a Russian trench. The last defender is unhesitant and is looking for a weapon to stop the tank, maybe there is something in the wooden box right next to him?

I used the Dragon "smart kit" for the Panzer IV G. The whole Panzer IV series from Dragon is amazing! The level of detail is stunning!

I painted the model with Revell acrylic paints. MIG pigments were used for the weathering.

Sturmpanzer IV "Brummbär"

by Michael Rieß

I truely enjoyed to assemble this superb kit from Dragon. The mold of the grey plastic parts is great and the added photo-etched-parts really improves the detailing of the kit.

The model is painted with Revell acrylic paints Aqua color (Matt16 and Matt37). I used black oil paint for the dark wash in order to weather the model a little bit. Some MIG pigments and earth from my garden gave the model a muddy look.

The tree branches on the vehicle are dried herbages from MK35 production.

Twisted Fate - Diorama of the Day

by Kasper Fischer

This amazing diorama is called 'Twisted Fate' and was done by Rick Lawler for Military Modelcraft International. This 'Bulldozer on a Panzer graveyard' diorama was published last year in the Septembers issue of the the magazine.

I'm really blown away by the sheer amount of details, especially the rust and weathering of the metal parts. The way Rick has twisted and ripped the scraped German armor looks completely out of this world.

Panzer IV ausf D in Poland 1939

By Francis Lee



Diorama background:
Invasion of Poland, 1939. The German 14th army with two Panzer and one light divisions attacked towards Kraków. The German troops inital objective was to drive from Silesia towards Warsaw (8th and 10th armies), and to destroy the Polish forces around Krakow.

Models:
1/35 Panzer IV ausf D----------Tamiya
1/35 Kubelwagen type 82------Tamiya
1/35 German figures------------Tamiya

The Panzer IV was the third most numerous German tank during the invasion of Poland, although the 211 available represented only 7% of the total German tank force (1,445 Panzer Is, 1,223 Panzer IIs and only 98 Panzer IIIs).

"Counterattack" diorama 1/35 scale

by Michael Rieß

I finished the Normandy-diorama yesterday.
The ruin and debris were painted with an airbrush. I used some MIG and Vallejo Pigments to give the debris a realistic look.
The furniture is from Verlinden, other details, like rain pipes and shutters are from MiniArt.

Dragon 1/35 Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. H

by Kasper Fischer

Another episode of the Japanese TV show, Plamo Tsukurou Custom. This time it's the Panzer IV and a bunch of scratch-build, hand-sculpted German figures. The last couple of shows have been quite weak but this time they really returns to centre.

Enjoy fellas...