Iraqi diorama-River crossing

Sounds good Josh, sometimes less is more. This way it will keep the focus. Generally, the houses in Iraq were at most 2 storey, with flat roofs. This was what I noticed in and around Basrah and As Salman. Have a look at the Fallujah videos on YouTube to get a good feel for the structures.
I like the idea of the downed chopper rather than the Herc. They would typically climb and descend rapidly away or onto the airfields to avoid MANPADS.
Look forward to updates, but don't rush it.

I was really amazed how well these went, and they only took three days. There are two buildings, and a walled compund, the buildings will be inside the walls on the diorama.
This is how I made it:
1) first of all I drew out some templates on paper, then I cut them out and glued them onto the foamboard.
2) Using a sharp stanley knife, cut around the template (Make sure you label the parts, I did'nt )
3) Glue the parts together with a hot glue gun.
4) Cover the whole model with ready mixed filler and scrape downwards over the filler with a wooden lolly stick, this should give a streaky looking effect.
5) When the filler has dried, sand it down so it is not so lumpy.
6) paint it a sandy colour, I used the cheap testor pots from B&Q as you will use quite alot.
7) Finally, drybrush the building with a lighter colour.




















I still have the drybrush the walls on the compund,

JOSH

Hey, that is looking really great! What an effective method you have there, very convincing and so simple too. This is coming on in leaps and bounds now.

Thank you very much,
Although I have still have got quite a bit of work to do, the finished article seems so close,

JOSH

Great work Josh

Regards, Bernard

Thank you very much,

JOSH

Incredible diorama Josh. Very impressed with the ambition of this, saw it on ATF and decided to follow it on here as well. Saw your M2A2 Bradley and Humvee an bought 4 humvee's myself along with a bradley. Great kits, thinking of doing a smaller Iraqi diorama myself. When abouts will this be finished? I'm currently working on a WW2 diorama and will post pics on here when it is finished. Keep up the fantastic work, cannot wait until the final product is ready.

Thank you very much, and welcome to the forum, perhaps you could introduce yourself in the welcome section.
In answer to your question, I really do not know when it will be finished, I'm not setting myself a deadline as I don't want it to be rushed.
I am really looking forward to seeing your humvees and bradleys, may I ask where you purchased them from as I struggled to get them.
If there is anything you would like advice or help on, just drop me a private message and I will reply the best I can,

JOSH

I purchased my Humvees and Bradleys from Amazon, they were delivered in four days and are Revell make. Great quality with fine detail, but quite fiddly at times. Will post pictures when complete.

Oh ok, I did try a revvel bradley, but found the dragon ones were a bit better detailed. I am using all dragon kits mostly, although I do have the revvel ones (not for the diorama).

JOSH

I also did look at the dragon versions of the vehicles, but they were hard to find so in the end I had to settle for Revell

Also, any Idea when this project might be finished, like a rough estimate?

Honestly, I really dont know, it could be in the summer, or it could be next year. I'm hoping to get it done by new year. It is going to be rather large, and I want everything to be done to my highest standard, but it will be worth it. I think the hardest part will be making the crashed chinook look good, I will probably have to scratch build alot of the interior. The figures will be the most time consuming, I paint them in batch of fives, and each group takes about three to four days

JOSH

Josh HERE is a link to a Chinook (RAF) that a friend made. It's his work in progress, so you get a good idea of the inside of the helicopter, even though he was building a MERT (Medical Emergency Response Team).

Thank you for that link Parabat, much appreciated

JOSH

This weekend I painted four of the US troops, they're quite time consuming:




JOSH

They look good though, nice work on the 'Pastel Three' camo.

Cheers

JOSH

Started with the Humvees today, managed to all but glue one of them. I did forget to take a picture of the interior but really its not that special, just some ammo boxes and a few magazines Hopefully I will finish constructing and maybe priming the first pair before Hendon on sunday. Also, I am not going to have the bridge ruined, but instead having two bradleys, two humvees and a stryker halfway across





And here is one to show how small they are


JOSH

Excellent work Josh

Regards, Bernard

Thank you,

JOSH

I've been having some troubles with my laptop so have not been able to upload these pictures.

I finished the Humvee last week, painted it using vallejo acrylics and weathered with AK interactives products. I am really pleased with how this turned out, I'm really looking forward to seeing the finished diorama,













Cheers,
JOSH

This is a great job, congratulations

Regards, Bernard

Thank you for your kind comments, much appreciated

JOSH

Sorry for a lack of updates  

I have finished all of the US soldiers, I will be taking photos later on today.
Also, I have decided just to include two bradleys (the ones that I have not made yet) as I am not happy with the others and four, alongside a few Humvees and a stryker is a bit crowded  

Pics to come soon  

JOSH