Post by panzerconor on Jan 25, 2014 0:29:31 GMT -5
I've been very quiet on here in the past month or so it seems. But, i haven't been lazy, since Christmas was a success:
IMG_1792 by mullinator7, on Flickr
And, it's all (mostly, except the tanks n' flak gun) for one diorama. What can I say, I plan my projects around Christmas and my birthday
So, now for the historical background tidbit:
"After Operation Typhoon stalled out before Moscow in early December 1941, the Russian counteroffensive threw the entire front line off balance. Not being restored until the following spring, what was left in the wake of Germany's efforts the December before was the Rzhev salient, named for the town it centered around. Being so threatening towards Moscow, STAVKA wanted it eliminated. Also, being so threatening towards Moscow, Hitler wanted it held onto in hopes of future assaults. Thus, the Rzhev salient sucked in thousands of Russian and Axis troops, and spat out bloody corpses. Operation Mars, the Soviet operation to eliminate the salient failed, gaining very little at the cost of tons of men and material. (Operation Uranus, the Russian encirclement of Stalingrad, was actually the diversionary attack coinciding with Mars) The salient held out until finally being ordered to clear out in March 1943, to free up German troop reserves for a little endeavor in the vicinity of Kursk. In terms of casualties and sheer brutality, the area earned it's name as the Rzhev "Meat Grinder" or "slaughterhouse.""
Yup, that done happened. Basically, my plan is a recon unit or probe that gets ambushed by a Russian infantry company or battalion or what have you. Picture, if you will, a country road, raised up like an embankment, with long stretches of fields of marshland on either side. Now I'll have the German unit split in two, one half on either side, with 4 making a mad dash over the road to blunt the attack. The unfortunate side that's caught in the open will be a more or less hand-to-hand scene, while the other group will be trying to cut down the Russian group that's broken through their poorly planned skirmish line. I'm going to throw an Opel Blitz onto the road, the Tamiya kit with the detailed suspension, flip it onto it's side and smash it up a bit. That way I'll have 5 distinct points of interest: The hand-to-hand-scene, the guys dashing over the road, the a little scene at the Opel, the Russians charging up the embankment, and the Germans firing on them. SIMPLE
Anyways, here's this:
Hand-to-hand
IMG_1796 by mullinator7, on Flickr
IMG_1797 by mullinator7, on Flickr
IMG_1798 by mullinator7, on Flickr
IMG_1799 by mullinator7, on Flickr
One's in the painting process...The rest are waiting for Hornet Heads
IMG_1818 by mullinator7, on Flickr
Quite a few different colors and lots of shading/highlights going into the fieldgrey. Here's some of the defending infantry:
IMG_1819 by mullinator7, on Flickr
IMG_1820 by mullinator7, on Flickr
IMG_1821 by mullinator7, on Flickr
IMG_1822 by mullinator7, on Flickr
IMG_1823 by mullinator7, on Flickr
One more defending infantryman...
IMG_1847 by mullinator7, on Flickr
IMG_1848 by mullinator7, on Flickr
IMG_1849 by mullinator7, on Flickr
His right arm/gun are only there for the photo-op, it'll stay removed until he's a certain way through painting.
Finally, my runners. I'm beyond thrilled with how they came out. I can't begin to say how impressed I am with Master Box.
IMG_1858 by mullinator7, on Flickr
IMG_1859 by mullinator7, on Flickr
IMG_1861 by mullinator7, on Flickr
IMG_1863 by mullinator7, on Flickr
IMG_1865 by mullinator7, on Flickr
Casualty! He may go with the runners, or worse, in front of the charging Russians.
IMG_1870 by mullinator7, on Flickr
IMG_1872 by mullinator7, on Flickr
A pic without the helmet...Great head.
IMG_1873 by mullinator7, on Flickr
So, that's it! It's ambitious, but I haven't decided if I'm in over my head yet. Lots of figures though, but somehow this won't end up looking like a cluster of figures if I do it the way I'm planning. But, then again, anything could happen. Honestly, I owe big nod to Tobias since his diorama using the Infantry Defense figures is what made me decide to embark on this bloody crusade.
I've got a good feeling about this one...
IMG_1866 by mullinator7, on Flickr
-Conor
IMG_1792 by mullinator7, on Flickr
And, it's all (mostly, except the tanks n' flak gun) for one diorama. What can I say, I plan my projects around Christmas and my birthday
So, now for the historical background tidbit:
"After Operation Typhoon stalled out before Moscow in early December 1941, the Russian counteroffensive threw the entire front line off balance. Not being restored until the following spring, what was left in the wake of Germany's efforts the December before was the Rzhev salient, named for the town it centered around. Being so threatening towards Moscow, STAVKA wanted it eliminated. Also, being so threatening towards Moscow, Hitler wanted it held onto in hopes of future assaults. Thus, the Rzhev salient sucked in thousands of Russian and Axis troops, and spat out bloody corpses. Operation Mars, the Soviet operation to eliminate the salient failed, gaining very little at the cost of tons of men and material. (Operation Uranus, the Russian encirclement of Stalingrad, was actually the diversionary attack coinciding with Mars) The salient held out until finally being ordered to clear out in March 1943, to free up German troop reserves for a little endeavor in the vicinity of Kursk. In terms of casualties and sheer brutality, the area earned it's name as the Rzhev "Meat Grinder" or "slaughterhouse.""
Yup, that done happened. Basically, my plan is a recon unit or probe that gets ambushed by a Russian infantry company or battalion or what have you. Picture, if you will, a country road, raised up like an embankment, with long stretches of fields of marshland on either side. Now I'll have the German unit split in two, one half on either side, with 4 making a mad dash over the road to blunt the attack. The unfortunate side that's caught in the open will be a more or less hand-to-hand scene, while the other group will be trying to cut down the Russian group that's broken through their poorly planned skirmish line. I'm going to throw an Opel Blitz onto the road, the Tamiya kit with the detailed suspension, flip it onto it's side and smash it up a bit. That way I'll have 5 distinct points of interest: The hand-to-hand-scene, the guys dashing over the road, the a little scene at the Opel, the Russians charging up the embankment, and the Germans firing on them. SIMPLE
Anyways, here's this:
Hand-to-hand
IMG_1796 by mullinator7, on Flickr
IMG_1797 by mullinator7, on Flickr
IMG_1798 by mullinator7, on Flickr
IMG_1799 by mullinator7, on Flickr
One's in the painting process...The rest are waiting for Hornet Heads
IMG_1818 by mullinator7, on Flickr
Quite a few different colors and lots of shading/highlights going into the fieldgrey. Here's some of the defending infantry:
IMG_1819 by mullinator7, on Flickr
IMG_1820 by mullinator7, on Flickr
IMG_1821 by mullinator7, on Flickr
IMG_1822 by mullinator7, on Flickr
IMG_1823 by mullinator7, on Flickr
One more defending infantryman...
IMG_1847 by mullinator7, on Flickr
IMG_1848 by mullinator7, on Flickr
IMG_1849 by mullinator7, on Flickr
His right arm/gun are only there for the photo-op, it'll stay removed until he's a certain way through painting.
Finally, my runners. I'm beyond thrilled with how they came out. I can't begin to say how impressed I am with Master Box.
IMG_1858 by mullinator7, on Flickr
IMG_1859 by mullinator7, on Flickr
IMG_1861 by mullinator7, on Flickr
IMG_1863 by mullinator7, on Flickr
IMG_1865 by mullinator7, on Flickr
Casualty! He may go with the runners, or worse, in front of the charging Russians.
IMG_1870 by mullinator7, on Flickr
IMG_1872 by mullinator7, on Flickr
A pic without the helmet...Great head.
IMG_1873 by mullinator7, on Flickr
So, that's it! It's ambitious, but I haven't decided if I'm in over my head yet. Lots of figures though, but somehow this won't end up looking like a cluster of figures if I do it the way I'm planning. But, then again, anything could happen. Honestly, I owe big nod to Tobias since his diorama using the Infantry Defense figures is what made me decide to embark on this bloody crusade.
I've got a good feeling about this one...
IMG_1866 by mullinator7, on Flickr
-Conor
