Marder II - Pak 40/2 Diorama

fly1ngdutchm4n · Post by **fly1ngdutchm4n** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 6:07 am

Birilliant!
I realy love that diorama, Shaving those track marks in the grass is genious

That marder is a top shelf build, love it

HWGuderian23 · Post by **HWGuderian23** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 7:30 am

Outstanding - I'm speechless mate

!

Schoof · Post by **Schoof** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 8:09 am

Wow how did miss this build.......

She's looking so nice

alextheblue · Post by **alextheblue** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 9:23 am

Reelmesh, you sir are an artist - that is fricking amazing!! The tank on it's own is exceptional but the groundwork is equally exceptional. I love the way you have placed the tank on the top of the bank so you get a real sense that it could topple over the edge at any moment - great composition.

And well done with the tracks - I've been in that situation myself a couple of times and it's heartbreaking, but your perseverance paid of as they look really good.

Radzy · Post by **Radzy** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 10:07 am

Wow... the further you go with this build the more amazed I am!
Did I tell this is the masterpiece within masterpieces?

One of the best pieces of modelling art I have ever seen... and it's not finished yet !

JayCub · Post by **JayCub** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 10:19 am

Fantastic build and commentary, along with a great tutorial, i have enjoyed it a lot, can't wait to see more of your work.
Tom

Coen · Post by **Coen** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 10:47 am

Bugger me that's beautiful Reelmesh!!
That base is first rate too buddy. The layering is completely perfect. Masterful.
Where did you get that grass mat that is under the Marder, if I can ask? It's wonderful.

Vilkas · Post by **Vilkas** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 11:22 am

I can only second all of the above, amazing and when the whole thing comes together it is getting to the different level of amazingness

all together.

longlance67 · Post by **longlance67** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 5:18 pm

beautiful !!!

Tiger131 · Post by **Tiger131** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 5:25 pm

wow and wow again stunning work and all counts that terrain is mind blowing and the kit well lost for words how amazing it looks looking forward to seeing this when its finished....BRAVO

rm6239 · Post by **rm6239** » Wed Dec 04, 2013 6:28 am

Great work mate, looking forward to the finishing touches.

cheers

Rossco

reelmesh · Post by **reelmesh** » Wed Dec 04, 2013 1:57 pm

HollywoodModelling wrote:I love it so much I want to marry that tank.... The only thing I wonder about is did you choose too small a diorama or is it on purpose to have it hanging in the air like that?

Thanks mate, I chose this setup to add some drama and highlight the Marder on the elevation, Im basicly experimenting with different types of composition on my dioramas.

fly1ngdutchm4n wrote: Birilliant!
I realy love that diorama, Shaving those track marks in the grass is genious
That marder is a top shelf build, love it

Thanks Frans, I'm still going to add some pigments and effects in the final stages to integrate the whole scene.

HWGuderian23 wrote:Outstanding - I'm speechless mate !

Thanks Markus, glad you like it!

Schoof wrote:Wow how did miss this build.......

She's looking so nice

Thanks mate!

alextheblue wrote:Reelmesh, you sir are an artist - that is fricking amazing!! The tank on it's own is exceptional but the groundwork is equally exceptional. I love the way you have placed the tank on the top of the bank so you get a real sense that it could topple over the edge at any moment - great composition.

And well done with the tracks - I've been in that situation myself a couple of times and it's heartbreaking, but your perseverance paid of as they look really good.

Thanks mate, indeed I've been playing with new compositions and this is the first time I've tried something like this, I like it!

I'm not fully satisfied with the tracks but I'll leave them be rather than risking getting them to a uglier state.

Radzy wrote:Wow... the further you go with this build the more amazed I am!
Did I tell this is the masterpiece within masterpieces?

One of the best pieces of modelling art I have ever seen... and it's not finished yet !

Thanks Radzy, you are too kind my friend!

JayCub wrote:Fantastic build and commentary, along with a great tutorial, i have enjoyed it a lot, can't wait to see more of your work.
Tom

Thanks Tom, I'm trying to convey the methods and process I used in this build but I feel I still am lacking in this aim, been playing around with the idea of doing some videos, maybe that would be better to convey the process, I don't know yet.

Coen wrote:Bugger me that's beautiful Reelmesh!!
That base is first rate too buddy. The layering is completely perfect. Masterful.
Where did you get that grass mat that is under the Marder, if I can ask? It's wonderful.

Thanks so much Coen, you are too kind. The mat is really nice indeed, it was one of those lucky finds, in one of my scavenge expeditions to a model train shop, there it was all alone, so I snatched it! It was quite expensive at the time, but absolutely worth the money.

The mat is from a brand called Noch, here is a link to the item itself: http://www.noch.de/en/produktkatalog/ar ... ategorie4=

Vilkas wrote:I can only second all of the above, amazing and when the whole thing comes together it is getting to the different level of amazingness all together.

Thanks Vilius!

How is that Elefant coming along mate?

longlance67 wrote:beautiful !!!

Tiger131 wrote:wow and wow again stunning work and all counts that terrain is mind blowing and the kit well lost for words how amazing it looks looking forward to seeing this when its finished....BRAVO

rm6239 wrote:Great work mate, looking forward to the finishing touches.

cheers

Rossco

Thanks guys! Stay tuned.

AchtungPanzer · Post by **AchtungPanzer** » Wed Dec 04, 2013 2:01 pm

3 x YES

reelmesh · Post by **reelmesh** » Wed Dec 04, 2013 2:11 pm

AchtungPanzer wrote:3 x YES

Thanks mate!

Just a small update:

I've assembled all the figures and gathered all the items I want to scatter around the scene.

Here's how I'm planning the layout:

Mind you that the guy walking on the road is not displayed here but will be a part of the scene.

I like it, but I felt something was missing in the scene...

So I got some tamiya epoxy putty, and using some baby powder and a roller over a sheet of glass I made myself a tarp. The method I used is expertly displayed in a tutorial from Storm22tpt that you can watch on youtube.
Storm's tutorial

The tools:

The result:

I'm leaving it to cure for now, then I'll prime all the items and start the painting process.

garywintin · Post by **garywintin** » Wed Dec 04, 2013 2:23 pm

Sick... it's just sick ... love everything you are doing to this

NorthernSwede · Post by **NorthernSwede** » Wed Dec 04, 2013 8:34 pm

Ok i´m speechless .....

Seriously it´s a work of art. that dio made me think you grown real grass on it in preparation for this build. Amazing work.

T3hGuppy · Post by **T3hGuppy** » Wed Dec 04, 2013 9:54 pm

Fantastic work dude.

Love the composition on this and the top quality paintwork.

reelmesh · Post by **reelmesh** » Thu Dec 05, 2013 12:33 am

garywintin wrote:Sick... it's just sick ... love everything you are doing to this

Thank you Gary! it's been a true labor of love.

NorthernSwede wrote:Ok i´m speechless .....

Seriously it´s a work of art. that dio made me think you grown real grass on it in preparation for this build. Amazing work.

Thanks Stefan, this grass is indeed wonderful, I'm almost out of it so I'll be ordering some more soon.

T3hGuppy wrote:Fantastic work dude.

Love the composition on this and the top quality paintwork.

Thanks Guppy, I really like this composition too, it's growing on me more and more.

Coen · Post by **Coen** » Thu Dec 05, 2013 2:17 am

AHHHH!!!! You keep making it better... I ... Can't.... take it.... AAAAA

longlance67 · Post by **longlance67** » Thu Dec 05, 2013 2:49 am

oh wow, once all the clutter, ammo and other crew's items really bring to life, really like how the ammo tubes are thrown everywhere really gives it that before battle feel to

bravo !!!

Shane

reelmesh · Post by **reelmesh** » Thu Dec 05, 2013 4:33 am

Coen wrote:AHHHH!!!! You keep making it better... I ... Can't.... take it.... AAAAA

longlance67 wrote:oh wow, once all the clutter, ammo and other crew's items really bring to life, really like how the ammo tubes are thrown everywhere really gives it that before battle feel to

bravo !!!

Shane

Thanks Shane, it is exactly what I want to convey, a break before the battle.

Another small update guys:

I was preparing all the parts for priming when I noticed something that I had forgotten.

In the tamiya box art for the figure you can see the machine gun sling, when I looked at the tamiya sling I realized I had to do something about it.

The sling looks too thick and clumsy, a bit of scale I think.

So I thought about it for awhile

and finally decided to make a sling using a technique that I had seen the old school aircraft modellers use when they wanted to scratch build seat belts.

I used masking tape and copper wire to make my own sling.

I think it still is a bit big, but not as thick and clumsy as the original part. You can see the difference here

I think it still is a bit big, but not as thick and clumsy as the original part. You can see the difference here.

Finally I got around to prime all the parts.

I'll let them sit through the night.

Coen · Post by **Coen** » Thu Dec 05, 2013 9:03 am

I haven't used masking tape for straps before, I've always been using lead strips.
I find that they hold their shape better and CA glue sticks to it like .... Well like glue haha.
I like the look of that strap though. Maybe it's the kind of tape that makes the difference.

reelmesh · Post by **reelmesh** » Fri Dec 06, 2013 2:24 am

I see what you mean about the shape....

I hope I don't have a problem with that.

I will try and get some of those lead strips for future use.

I used a thick masking tape, not a top quality one. We will see if it holds up in the painting stages, so far the primer has been behaving well.

Thanks for the tip Coen!

longlance67 · Post by **longlance67** » Fri Dec 06, 2013 12:05 pm

nice work so far mate on the figs

keep it up

Shane

HWGuderian23 · Post by **HWGuderian23** » Fri Dec 06, 2013 2:26 pm

Nice progress brother! I like the tarp alongside - very inspirational

I'm very curious to see your paint job the figures mate...

reelmesh · Post by **reelmesh** » Fri Dec 06, 2013 3:04 pm

Thanks brother! The tarp was inspired by the tutorial I saw on storm's channel.

I had heard about the technique and tried it once, but the result wasn't very good, but after looking at storm's video I knew I had to try it again, really nice video.

This way the model looks less boring I believe.

Paul · Post by **Paul** » Fri Dec 06, 2013 3:05 pm

Awesome work, the base is superb

reelmesh · Post by **reelmesh** » Fri Dec 06, 2013 4:13 pm

Thank you Paul!

Vilkas · Post by **Vilkas** » Fri Dec 06, 2013 10:47 pm

Simply wonderful, showed a photo of your work to my wife and even there was straight forward - WOW!

Seriously - WOW!

rm6239 · Post by **rm6239** » Sat Dec 07, 2013 10:15 am

This is looking superb and I'm going to borrow that sling idea for future use mate.

cheers

Rossco

Andyman23 · Post by **Andyman23** » Sat Dec 07, 2013 3:57 pm

This has to be one of the best models I have ever seen

There has to be something in the water on the Iberian peninsula that makes all you guys awesome at modelling lol

Nige201980 · Post by **Nige201980** » Sun Dec 15, 2013 1:05 pm

Amazing work buddy

ludicrusmaximus · Post by **ludicrusmaximus** » Sun Dec 15, 2013 11:00 pm

Excellent, realistic detail on the tank killer; but I can't get past the terrain!

reelmesh · Post by **reelmesh** » Mon Dec 16, 2013 9:31 pm

Vilkas wrote:Simply wonderful, showed a photo of your work to my wife and even there was straight forward - WOW!

Seriously - WOW!

Thank you so much mate, and to your wife as well, you are both very kind!

rm6239 wrote:This is looking superb and I'm going to borrow that sling idea for future use mate.

cheers

Rossco

Thanks Rossco, you might want to have a look at Coen's method, seems more solid and easy to work with. I haven't placed the sling on the figure so I don't know if it will all go well with that.

Andyman23 wrote:This has to be one of the best models I have ever seen

There has to be something in the water on the Iberian peninsula that makes all you guys awesome at modelling lol

Thank you for your compliment mate, but I don't believe there's is something in the water we drink!

You can see great modellers from all over the world right here on this forum and to speak of one of my favourite, a guy called Adam Wilder... Not from Iberia I believe

Nige201980 wrote:Amazing work buddy

Thanks Nigel!

HollywoodModelling wrote:I am waiting for the finished product.. I guess Mesh is busy..

Yes my friend, I'm indeed very busy with work at the moment, so not much time to model...

Still a bit far from finished, the figures will take a long time to paint, I'm wrapping up the props first.

ludicrusmaximus wrote:Excellent, realistic detail on the tank killer; but I can't get past the terrain!

Thank you!

reelmesh · Post by **reelmesh** » Mon Dec 16, 2013 10:32 pm

Well guys, as stated in the previous post I've been very busy and haven't had much time to model lately.

Nonetheless, I managed to work on a few props and thus I bring you a very, very small update.

On with it:

I first painted the tarp with Vallejo Model Color German grey for the base coat, I really wanted some contrast in the marder and that's why I chose this colour.

After it dried I realized that it became to flat and dark, I thought of the usual wash/drybrush combination but being such a smooth dark surface I chose another, more time consuming method.

I painted it in the same way I paint my figures, using a wet pallet I built up the tones slowly until I highlight all the creases and folds using a faux lighting paint scheme.

Now I know this is unorthodox, but I like the end result, anyway, you be the judge.

Here are the colour I used:

In this photo you can see how it looked before, I know it is the back of the tarp but I forgot to take the "before" photo, so I believe this illustrates the example.

Here it is painted.

Placed on the vehicle:

I really need to improve my figure painting skills, but I'll leave as is for now.

Next the empty shell casings using Vallejo silver and gold in 1/1 to make a more "brassy" tone, after that I applied a light wash.

After that, I applied a light coat of matte medium and stippled a bit black pigment to the tip of the casings.

Then I applied a rub of gun metal from a tamiya weathering master set.

That's all for now guys. I hope to get some more time soon, I miss my modeling hours.

T3hGuppy · Post by **T3hGuppy** » Mon Dec 16, 2013 10:59 pm

Great paint work on the cloth buddy.

JayCub · Post by **JayCub** » Mon Dec 16, 2013 11:18 pm

i like the tarp and the shell casings, looking great overall
Tom

garywintin · Post by **garywintin** » Mon Dec 16, 2013 11:55 pm

ooh man... your build is just so inspiring ... I have no words to describe it

Coen · Post by **Coen** » Tue Dec 17, 2013 3:29 am

That tarp is wonderful Carlos.
Great colour choices on that and the casings.

HWGuderian23 · Post by **HWGuderian23** » Tue Dec 17, 2013 9:08 am

Fabulous work Carlos

!
I like the shading on the tarp and the soot on the brass.
Very well done buddy

alextheblue · Post by **alextheblue** » Tue Dec 17, 2013 9:53 am

Just keeps getting better Carlos - love that tarp!

cantara · Post by **cantara** » Fri Dec 20, 2013 12:22 pm

Hi Carlos,

I am following your work for quite some time now. Great job and lots of thoughtful details, hope you don't mind me to borrow some ideas.

That tarp though makes me think of a technique that might enrich the cloth, and given your attention to details you might want to consider it.

Is called pointillism and you could find fairly easy some good tutorials and videos on the net, usually by big scale 1/16 figures painters.
A toothpick edge and a fair amount of time, maybe not all over it, only in the most visible areas.

Just a thought, hope it helps...

Cheers

Tiger131 · Post by **Tiger131** » Fri Dec 20, 2013 2:48 pm

that tarp looks quality adds even more to your superb dio

Quinto · Post by **Quinto** » Wed Dec 25, 2013 2:27 pm

This whole diorama is incredible, such amazing detail and weathering and really beautiful scenery

Modelcrazy · Post by **Modelcrazy** » Wed Dec 25, 2013 8:11 pm

WOW - what a build. Not only a cracking piece of armour but that groundwork is amazing. If I can produce anything a quarter as good (no, make that an eighth as good) I will be a very happy man.

Regards Dave.

reelmesh · Post by **reelmesh** » Thu Jan 09, 2014 3:49 pm

T3hGuppy wrote:Great paint work on the cloth buddy.

Thanks mate!

JayCub wrote:i like the tarp and the shell casings, looking great overall
Tom

Thank you Tom!

garywintin wrote:ooh man... your build is just so inspiring ... I have no words to describe it

Thanks Gary!

Coen wrote:That tarp is wonderful Carlos.
Great colour choices on that and the casings.

Thanks so much Coen!

I was really uneasy about that at first, especially on the casings, I guess it turned out ok in the end.

HWGuderian23 wrote:Fabulous work Carlos !
I like the shading on the tarp and the soot on the brass.
Very well done buddy

Thanks my friend!

alextheblue wrote:

Just keeps getting better Carlos - love that tarp!

Thanks Alex!

cantara wrote:Hi Carlos,

I am following your work for quite some time now. Great job and lots of thoughtful details, hope you don't mind me to borrow some ideas.

That tarp though makes me think of a technique that might enrich the cloth, and given your attention to details you might want to consider it.

Is called pointillism and you could find fairly easy some good tutorials and videos on the net, usually by big scale 1/16 figures painters.
A toothpick edge and a fair amount of time, maybe not all over it, only in the most visible areas.

Just a thought, hope it helps...

Cheers

Thanks cantara!

Please borrow any and all ideas you want! I've learned all these techniques from other modellers too and I believe in sharing them completely, that's the amazing thing with ISM we can all learn, share and admire each other's work.

I must say that all I knew about pointillism was the original artistic movement from the end of the 19th century, I had never thought about applying it to figure painting in any way.

But then after your suggestion I watched a couple of videos on youtube and got my mind blown away! I love it! It got my juices flowing on the figure painting side of my modeling.

So I thank you again cantara, it might take a lot of time but I believe it really improves the look of the cloth.

Tiger131 wrote:that tarp looks quality adds even more to your superb dio

Thanks Tiger!

Quinto wrote:This whole diorama is incredible, such amazing detail and weathering and really beautiful scenery

Thanks Quinto!

Modelcrazy wrote:WOW - what a build. Not only a cracking piece of armour but that groundwork is amazing. If I can produce anything a quarter as good (no, make that an eighth as good) I will be a very happy man.

Regards Dave.

Thanks Dave! I think the best way to work is to aim to the best of our abillities without minding too much about expectations especially towards other's expectations, this is a process and one we shouldn't rush. It's supposed to be fun, not frustration, improvement will come for sure in every model, never be afraid to make mistakes!

You can do as good or better than me or anyone else, if not today then with time and effort. Just keep working on your skills!

Small update:

This time I have an update of a different nature...

Being overwhelmed by work, going through the holidays and never having time for modelling made me think about improving my workbench so that I can optimize my modeling time.

So I did just that, and spent the last week after work building and arranging my modeling area.

: 2014-01-09 03.41.35.jpg (199.92 KiB) Viewed 3154 times

: 2014-01-09 03.42.09.jpg (207.53 KiB) Viewed 3154 times

Now I know it's not great but I feel I finally have a proper place for my modeling and that makes me happy.

Thanks to all!

Paul · Post by **Paul** » Thu Jan 09, 2014 3:53 pm

Great workspace, nice and organised makes it so much easier to work.

HWGuderian23 · Post by **HWGuderian23** » Thu Jan 09, 2014 4:15 pm

Wow ... what a cool workshop Carlos

!
Looks like your works itself ... very professional and greatly organised - I'm really impressed my friend

!

Vilkas · Post by **Vilkas** » Thu Jan 09, 2014 5:21 pm

Seems like you just have a touch...what ever you post here just gets WOW from everyone

Does this mean that your future masterpieces have a chance to be even better! (that was not a question

)

Eagerly looking forward to stuff coming out of this very neat looking modeling station.

reelmesh · Post by **reelmesh** » Sat Jan 11, 2014 12:56 am

Paul wrote:Great workspace, nice and organised makes it so much easier to work.

Thank you Paul!

I must say I was inspired by both yours and Lee's workspaces,

indeed it makes my life easier to have at least part of my stuff at hand!

One piles stuff like a hoarder in this hobby.

HWGuderian23 wrote:Wow ... what a cool workshop Carlos !
Looks like your works itself ... very professional and greatly organised - I'm really impressed my friend !

Thanks Markus!

It's a small workshop but at least now I can work without the usual mid-build clutter that delays and takes away from the fun.

Vilkas wrote:Seems like you just have a touch...what ever you post here just gets WOW from everyone

Does this mean that your future masterpieces have a chance to be even better! (that was not a question )

Eagerly looking forward to stuff coming out of this very neat looking modeling station.

Thanks Vilius, you're too kind my friend.

What about that buddy build?