Poppies. 1/16th Renault FT and French Poilu

[China Dave]

Greetings to you all.
It's been quite a while since I posted anything but I have been busy.
I've wanted to do a WWI diorama for a very long time and the Takom Renault FT has been waiting to see the light of day for a long time.
The tank was the first thing to be built as I needed to see it's size, to work out how big the terrain needed to be.

For a change I have more work in progress photos, mostly the landscaping, what we have is a tank cresting a rise, just about to breach a German trench, whose occupants have fled in a panic. In the background, casually smoking his pipe is the Poilu.

I started by cutting a big lump of polysteyrene to shape, then made a styrene box for it to sit in.
The exposed foam was covered with tile adhesive to give me a hard surface and to prevent any paints/solvents from attacking it later.
A layer of VMS smart mud with a scattering of small stones and sand gave it some texture.
Lollipop sticks and coffee stirers made the planks as well as some thin twigs for logs.
I took various sizes of plastic tube, heated them with a mini hot air blower and stretched and distorted them to weave the wattle wall section, the gaps were filled with gravel and fixed in place.

I bought the skull from a French seller but I can't remember the company name.

Enough talk, here's some photos.

 

[China Dave]

The next step was a coat of primer to show me how things were looking, followed by laying down the basic colours.
Sandbags were made from Milliput.

 

[China Dave]

Step three, I started weathering, using Mr Weathering Colour

 

[China Dave]

As I didn't want a totally churned up, muddy landscape, and I want to add some poppies growing later, I needed some grass effects.
Tamiya's grass texture works well for a very short, green foundation and the static grass in a patchy, faded colour was used to give it some volume.

 

[China Dave]

Right now I'm working on all the little items that will populate the trench and give it some scale.
All but the rifle, which Steve at Reedee's Models supplied, everything else is from Jon Smith Modelbau, how can anyone making a WWI diorama not use his stuff!
I have his heavy machine gun, which is a stunning peice of work, so detailed, crisp and beautifully cast (as all of his products are), ammo boxes and lots of beautiful little bits of equipment plus some rats (I think they might be compulsary in a trench scene).
I want to give the impression that the German troops have hastily abandoned their position so most things will be haphazardly dropped and scattered.

It won't be too long before I have those all painted and I'll post some photos soon.

Oh, nearly forgot, the figure (most important to this website really), the French Poilu is from The Lost Battalion. I won it on an EBay auction at a really good price, I'd been looking for ages for a suitable figure and when this turned up it complimented the scene perfectly

 

[Briggsy]

Looks like it'll be a cracking diorama, the tank looks excellent as indeed does the trench section. Looking forward to more progress.

Simon

 

[Malkie]

Like the majority of W.W.1. modellers on here you really go to town on your projects. I am impressed by the amount of hours that I assume you have already put in on this project.

Malkie

 

[NigelR]

That is looking superb so far, lovely work all round. The FT17 looks great and the groundwork is very effective. I find the VMS smart mud is fantastic for creating the basic ground cover.

Question - did you paint your static grass? It looks really effective but I find unpainted static grass always has a slight shine to it which I find distracting. If you didn't paint it, what brand did you use?

 

[China Dave]

Let me start by saying thanks for all of the support, it's much appreciated.
Sorry I don't remember the brand of static grass that I used, it has been dulled down with a good coat of matt varnish, otherwise the sheen is not very natural.
I'm nearing the end of painting all of the add-ons, hopefully it won't be long before I can put them in place and move on to working on the Poilu.
Best wishes to you all.
David

 

[China Dave]

Good afternoon,
I have more photos for you.
Please don't think that I've managed to paint all of these overnight, I'm not that fast. I have been working on all the small items for a while, especially the heavy machine gun, it's quite a beautiful kit and deserves time taken over it.
There are lots of other things that I didn't photograph today, you will have to spot them once they're added to the diorama.
Once I have them all situated I will take some photos and post them, probably next week.
Best wishes to you all.
David

 

[China Dave]

Before I go too far, I must say my thanks to those that have inspired and helped me with this.
First to Andy Belsey, his book Modelling World War I Trench Warfare is excellent and full of invaluable info about building and designing trenches.
Second to Jon Smith, as I have said before, his models are outstanding, both in the quality and precision of manufacture, not only this but he provides detailed information on the construction of his kits, history and painting guides. It was through him that I got led on to my third shoutout.
The Tankograd volumes 1&2 of Trench Warfare are both essential reference material, full of great photos and useful info.
Finally, I would like to say thankyou to everyone that posts on this site, some of the figure painting on offer here is truly magnificent and a great inspiration.

 

[Briggsy]

You weren't joking about the machine gun, it's a proper little gem and very well painted I have to add. Awaiting your next installment with anticipation.

Simon

 

[NigelR]

Oh wow, those are stunning, fabulous work! You are making me want to do 1/16, the JSM stuff always tempts me......

I've just taken delivery of a load of flimsies, boxes and ammunition crates from Plusmodel for my own diorama, I will have a lot of bits and bobs to paint. I hope mine turn out as well as yours.....

 

[Malkie]

If the devil is in the detail, you certainly have it pegged. It will be interesting to see all the constituants come together.

Malkie