When I entered "The Winds of War" in competition in July, 1982, in my first IPMS competition, The IPMS Nationals in St. Louis, Missouri, it created a stir that I never expected. Within a few months, there were articles in model magazines throughout Europe, Asia and America. Of course, I was really excited that many people liked my work. However, there were those that thought I could only build quantity, but not quality.
I set out to prove that wrong. During the following year, I built 52 models, (No dioramas), in every possible category. I entered all of them in the Phoenix, Arizona Nationals. I won several best of categories, many first place awards, but every single model at least placed!
Having put that to rest, I went back to what I liked to do, dioramas. I decided to do a smaller version of the "Winds of War" which was 4 feet by 8 feet. I decided to do one exactly half that size and truly focus on quality. It took a little over a year to complete. I worked harder on that one than I had ever done to that point. There was another reason for building it. Fine Scale Modeler had made me an offer to publish a book based on that one diorama. They also wanted to do articles on vehicles I had built. So, I was in a rush to complete it.
I had started Warwinds International, a mail order company, in my basement in 1983. By 1985, it had grown to the point, the basement no longer had sufficient space, and I began looking for a building. I had hooked up with Verlinden and Stok at the Atlanta Nationals in '84. I was distributing to all of America, Canada and South America. Then Fine Scale had some problems and cancelled all contracts to print books. In July, '85, I met Verlinden at the 1985 Indianapolis IPMS Nationals. He returned to St. Louis with me and spent a couple of weeks there. During that time, he had seen the progress on "Legacies", I had told him about FSM canceling the book and he immediately asked me if Verlinden Publications could publish it. He had, up to this time, published the first three Verlinden Way books. I agreed and we set a deadline of December first, 1985.
I had taken some in progress photos that would become lost over time, but here are a few I have left.
Who is that young 40 something sitting there with an Optivisor on his head???? You can see the base and I had started the stone wall. My little dog ate that wall a couple of weeks later when I had left the dio on the floor. Just one of those little setbacks we all know and love.
In this B/W shot, some of the buildings are coming along and taking shape. The first version was set in Metz, France with George Patton was crossing the bridge canal in his custom M-20, and German P.O.W.s being marched to the rear lines. There was significant battle damage to the buildings and bridges.
This is a shot of the base with the buildings removed.
This is the beginning of the Bakery/Pub bi-level building. The next three photos show the SBS.
This is a little further along.
And this is the finished Patisserie on the upper floor and "Le Coq Hardi", a French pub on the lower floor.
Here is the facade in progress of the cafe, "Cafe de la Paix".
Back in the early 80s, I had been taking a lot of step by step pics as I built models to later put together a book. They were all taken in black & white as magazines back then only printed in black and white! (Hard to believe, isn’t it?). After the “Winds of War” my first huge diorama, had made a stir when it was on the cover of Fine Scale Modeler’s second issue, they had made me an offer to do other articles and to publish a book. A few months later, they had some internal problems, this was in ‘83-'84. They contacted me and said that corporate had blocked all books for the next year. Not much later, I met my future partner and he suggested I let him do the book instead. I agreed and the result was “Superdioramas”. Verlinden was one of the first, if not the first, to print every page of a modeling book or magazine in full color, so, I have hundreds of unpublished B&W photographs that have been in a box for over a quarter century. I had an idea to start a thread using those photographs. If you guys like it, this is kind of an experiment, then I will do more. I will begin with the giant stone railroad bridge in the diorama, “Legacies”.
The bridge is in 1/35th scale, but in real size, it stands almost two feet high, (610 mm). I built this in a similar process as I build most of my structures. I begin with a corrugated cardboard shape constructed with white glue. I buy my own 4 X 8 sheets today, but, back then, I used boxes found at the rear of most supermarkets. BTW, with all materials involved, I probably spent less than $20 on this. That might make a down payment on a layaway plan for a 1/35th tank now! It is a very cheap way to build buildings even today.
Here is the shape I created. I always make the base first, then lay out the streets/sidewalks and alleys. That gives me the dimensions for the buildings.
Then I add the other shapes I want using wood, balsa or bass, and white glue. I also give it a veneer of matt board, available in art stores. This gives the structure a strength that is remarkable. I have built these things as early as 1971 and they still look today as they did back then. They are far more sturdy than any plastic model.
This photo shows how the “stones” are made. I take Hydrastone plaster and mix it with water to the texture of thick paint. Other guys have tried this and took a shortcut and left out the matt board. Corrugated cardboard with collapse from the wet plaster. The matt board keeps the cardboard dry! Then i draw horizontal lines on the mattboard to keep the stones level, and begin “painting” the stones. Some I give three coats, others four and five coats. That creates a realistic texture. I have began to make the RR track base on top. With this and the river wall and the new stone pillar in the Legacies II diorama, there are over 9000 stones! Multiply times 3-5 coats each, I was really tired of making stones!
See another angle here. As you can see the arch stones have been added using Miliput epoxy putty shaped and then carved to simulate the texture of stones.
This is a birds eye view showing the upper deck progressing.
With most of the stones complete, here is a shot of what it would look like from a human’s perspective. The trestle that has been blown was made of the PVC products Plastruct architectural shapes, a very useful product that I have used as far back as I can remember. I have used it to build factories and aircraft hangars.
This is a birds eye view showing the upper deck progressing.
All stonework finished, here I have given it a base coat of paint. A flat medium gray.
Side view. The fancy trim on the top is from a lumber store used for trimming woodwork. Just a bit of nostalgia. Note the stacks of VP products I was selling out of my basement at the time, (1983). The beginnings of The VLS Corporation.
Now, I begin applying the weathering process. That begins with randomly painting the stones about five different shades of the base color. Then a raw umber “wash” using artists oils mixed with rectified turpentine to the consistency of milk. A complete coat of the mixture covers the model and then is cleaned off with a dry, clean cloth using a blotting method, leaving only the dirty color in the cracks and crevices. It also darkens and ages all five colors of paint to an extent. Then using a light gray, I painted the area that had been blown away, which replicated the fresh, unweathered stone, never exposed to the weather. A touch up using the dry brush of only one shade lighter than the stones very subtly adds visual texture. Then streaks are made from various colors of artists oils to simulate wear and tear over a century of use.
Another view.
Still working on the deck. In Legacies II, this deck was extended to 3.5 feet, (Around 1100 mm).
Now with the tracks, fencing and RR signals, weathered and rusted girders added, It is finally complete.
Finally finished, I prefer the this, the human's eye view. Compare the finished model to the beginning!
Unfortunately, the only pic of the bridge in the diorama was taken by an FSM photographer, Paul Boyer about14 years ago. I have lots, but they haven't been scanned. It is somewhat visible, just follow the steel trestle till you see the stone. This is Legacies II, after it was rebuilt into an intact bridge, erasing all the damage. It was rebuilt in 1991, and at that time the trees were green. Over time, they have bleached out to an autumn shade. Hmmmmm! How's that for having seasons in your diorama!
Photograph courtesy of Fine Scale Modeler.
This photo shows the interior of the "Metropole" hotel. The top floor being Patton's quarters with his valet in attendance. The third floor is the "War Room", The second is a mezzanine, and the first floor lobby.
An overall shot of the diorama.
This is a photo of the German P.O.W.s being marched to the rear. Remember the time frame when this was built and there were only plastic figures from Tamiya, etc., and a few metal companies that produced WW II figures, such as Belgo. If I remember correctly, I could only find four German figures that could be altered to represent P.O.W.s. I used those four and altered them to the 17 figures in the column. Lots of converting!
Patton in his M-20. The figure was converted from a Tamiya Generals set. I converted him with a trench coat and worked with several photos to resculpt his face.
I always wanted to see a column of Shermans in miniature, and this gave me the chhance to do it!
In the summer of 1991, VLS moved to Lone Star Industrial Park to our new building I had built specifically for our needs. The movers inadvertently set the diorama on the sidewalk for about 4 hours in a 90 degree heat. The sun melted everything made of plastic, which, of course, included all the vehicles and most of the figures. Also plastic used in the structures and even the streets.
After crying a lot! I went back to work rebuilding. I added another 50% of space to it, all new vehicles and figures, rebuilt all the buildings, walls and bridges, plus added another bridge and another building. I also made a far bank on the river with a WW I monument. I built a French river tug, sculpted a Doberman Pincher to go with the German policemen. It was also backdated from 1945 to 1940.
I replaced Patton with a German General in a Mercedes Staff car, also including the motorcycle escorts.
Here in this overall shot, you can see the additional 50% that was added to the previously square diorama.
The French Gendarmerie was converted to an employment office to recruit Frenchmen to work in the Reich. The POWs in the other version was replaced with a German infantry column ogling a French tart while being watched by a member of the SS security. The only figure to survive the nuclear holocaust was a figure I have always called "Pierre". In the first version, I converted him from a Winston Churchill figure, added a beret, and made him a civilian. I used him in this one as well, he is on the far right, with the white coat, standing in front of the Cafe de la Paix.
This is a shot of one of my favorite angles of the diorama. The water in the canal was made using a flat surface, painting the edges with Matt 29 earth, (Humbrol), then cloud painting with French Artillery Green, also Humbrol. When dry, I gave it a heavy coat of polyurethane clear, then, finally, took a fine brush and painted in the ripples in the water with Humbrol clear!
The interior of the hotel was also remodeled. The top floor being the commanding general's quarters, (The general and a "Friend" are in quarters! Third floor offices, the mezzanine with added stained glass windows made using a fine magic marker and transparent colored acrylic paint.
The "New" Legacies, called Legacies II, Twilight of the third, (French), Republic.
Here is a photo of Legacies II and me.
Bob
I set out to prove that wrong. During the following year, I built 52 models, (No dioramas), in every possible category. I entered all of them in the Phoenix, Arizona Nationals. I won several best of categories, many first place awards, but every single model at least placed!
Having put that to rest, I went back to what I liked to do, dioramas. I decided to do a smaller version of the "Winds of War" which was 4 feet by 8 feet. I decided to do one exactly half that size and truly focus on quality. It took a little over a year to complete. I worked harder on that one than I had ever done to that point. There was another reason for building it. Fine Scale Modeler had made me an offer to publish a book based on that one diorama. They also wanted to do articles on vehicles I had built. So, I was in a rush to complete it.
I had started Warwinds International, a mail order company, in my basement in 1983. By 1985, it had grown to the point, the basement no longer had sufficient space, and I began looking for a building. I had hooked up with Verlinden and Stok at the Atlanta Nationals in '84. I was distributing to all of America, Canada and South America. Then Fine Scale had some problems and cancelled all contracts to print books. In July, '85, I met Verlinden at the 1985 Indianapolis IPMS Nationals. He returned to St. Louis with me and spent a couple of weeks there. During that time, he had seen the progress on "Legacies", I had told him about FSM canceling the book and he immediately asked me if Verlinden Publications could publish it. He had, up to this time, published the first three Verlinden Way books. I agreed and we set a deadline of December first, 1985.
I had taken some in progress photos that would become lost over time, but here are a few I have left.
Who is that young 40 something sitting there with an Optivisor on his head???? You can see the base and I had started the stone wall. My little dog ate that wall a couple of weeks later when I had left the dio on the floor. Just one of those little setbacks we all know and love.
In this B/W shot, some of the buildings are coming along and taking shape. The first version was set in Metz, France with George Patton was crossing the bridge canal in his custom M-20, and German P.O.W.s being marched to the rear lines. There was significant battle damage to the buildings and bridges.
This is a shot of the base with the buildings removed.
This is the beginning of the Bakery/Pub bi-level building. The next three photos show the SBS.
This is a little further along.
And this is the finished Patisserie on the upper floor and "Le Coq Hardi", a French pub on the lower floor.
Here is the facade in progress of the cafe, "Cafe de la Paix".
Back in the early 80s, I had been taking a lot of step by step pics as I built models to later put together a book. They were all taken in black & white as magazines back then only printed in black and white! (Hard to believe, isn’t it?). After the “Winds of War” my first huge diorama, had made a stir when it was on the cover of Fine Scale Modeler’s second issue, they had made me an offer to do other articles and to publish a book. A few months later, they had some internal problems, this was in ‘83-'84. They contacted me and said that corporate had blocked all books for the next year. Not much later, I met my future partner and he suggested I let him do the book instead. I agreed and the result was “Superdioramas”. Verlinden was one of the first, if not the first, to print every page of a modeling book or magazine in full color, so, I have hundreds of unpublished B&W photographs that have been in a box for over a quarter century. I had an idea to start a thread using those photographs. If you guys like it, this is kind of an experiment, then I will do more. I will begin with the giant stone railroad bridge in the diorama, “Legacies”.
The bridge is in 1/35th scale, but in real size, it stands almost two feet high, (610 mm). I built this in a similar process as I build most of my structures. I begin with a corrugated cardboard shape constructed with white glue. I buy my own 4 X 8 sheets today, but, back then, I used boxes found at the rear of most supermarkets. BTW, with all materials involved, I probably spent less than $20 on this. That might make a down payment on a layaway plan for a 1/35th tank now! It is a very cheap way to build buildings even today.
Here is the shape I created. I always make the base first, then lay out the streets/sidewalks and alleys. That gives me the dimensions for the buildings.
Then I add the other shapes I want using wood, balsa or bass, and white glue. I also give it a veneer of matt board, available in art stores. This gives the structure a strength that is remarkable. I have built these things as early as 1971 and they still look today as they did back then. They are far more sturdy than any plastic model.
This photo shows how the “stones” are made. I take Hydrastone plaster and mix it with water to the texture of thick paint. Other guys have tried this and took a shortcut and left out the matt board. Corrugated cardboard with collapse from the wet plaster. The matt board keeps the cardboard dry! Then i draw horizontal lines on the mattboard to keep the stones level, and begin “painting” the stones. Some I give three coats, others four and five coats. That creates a realistic texture. I have began to make the RR track base on top. With this and the river wall and the new stone pillar in the Legacies II diorama, there are over 9000 stones! Multiply times 3-5 coats each, I was really tired of making stones!
See another angle here. As you can see the arch stones have been added using Miliput epoxy putty shaped and then carved to simulate the texture of stones.
This is a birds eye view showing the upper deck progressing.
With most of the stones complete, here is a shot of what it would look like from a human’s perspective. The trestle that has been blown was made of the PVC products Plastruct architectural shapes, a very useful product that I have used as far back as I can remember. I have used it to build factories and aircraft hangars.
This is a birds eye view showing the upper deck progressing.
All stonework finished, here I have given it a base coat of paint. A flat medium gray.
Side view. The fancy trim on the top is from a lumber store used for trimming woodwork. Just a bit of nostalgia. Note the stacks of VP products I was selling out of my basement at the time, (1983). The beginnings of The VLS Corporation.
Now, I begin applying the weathering process. That begins with randomly painting the stones about five different shades of the base color. Then a raw umber “wash” using artists oils mixed with rectified turpentine to the consistency of milk. A complete coat of the mixture covers the model and then is cleaned off with a dry, clean cloth using a blotting method, leaving only the dirty color in the cracks and crevices. It also darkens and ages all five colors of paint to an extent. Then using a light gray, I painted the area that had been blown away, which replicated the fresh, unweathered stone, never exposed to the weather. A touch up using the dry brush of only one shade lighter than the stones very subtly adds visual texture. Then streaks are made from various colors of artists oils to simulate wear and tear over a century of use.
Another view.
Still working on the deck. In Legacies II, this deck was extended to 3.5 feet, (Around 1100 mm).
Now with the tracks, fencing and RR signals, weathered and rusted girders added, It is finally complete.
Finally finished, I prefer the this, the human's eye view. Compare the finished model to the beginning!
Unfortunately, the only pic of the bridge in the diorama was taken by an FSM photographer, Paul Boyer about14 years ago. I have lots, but they haven't been scanned. It is somewhat visible, just follow the steel trestle till you see the stone. This is Legacies II, after it was rebuilt into an intact bridge, erasing all the damage. It was rebuilt in 1991, and at that time the trees were green. Over time, they have bleached out to an autumn shade. Hmmmmm! How's that for having seasons in your diorama!
Photograph courtesy of Fine Scale Modeler.
This photo shows the interior of the "Metropole" hotel. The top floor being Patton's quarters with his valet in attendance. The third floor is the "War Room", The second is a mezzanine, and the first floor lobby.
An overall shot of the diorama.
This is a photo of the German P.O.W.s being marched to the rear. Remember the time frame when this was built and there were only plastic figures from Tamiya, etc., and a few metal companies that produced WW II figures, such as Belgo. If I remember correctly, I could only find four German figures that could be altered to represent P.O.W.s. I used those four and altered them to the 17 figures in the column. Lots of converting!
Patton in his M-20. The figure was converted from a Tamiya Generals set. I converted him with a trench coat and worked with several photos to resculpt his face.
I always wanted to see a column of Shermans in miniature, and this gave me the chhance to do it!
In the summer of 1991, VLS moved to Lone Star Industrial Park to our new building I had built specifically for our needs. The movers inadvertently set the diorama on the sidewalk for about 4 hours in a 90 degree heat. The sun melted everything made of plastic, which, of course, included all the vehicles and most of the figures. Also plastic used in the structures and even the streets.
After crying a lot! I went back to work rebuilding. I added another 50% of space to it, all new vehicles and figures, rebuilt all the buildings, walls and bridges, plus added another bridge and another building. I also made a far bank on the river with a WW I monument. I built a French river tug, sculpted a Doberman Pincher to go with the German policemen. It was also backdated from 1945 to 1940.
I replaced Patton with a German General in a Mercedes Staff car, also including the motorcycle escorts.
Here in this overall shot, you can see the additional 50% that was added to the previously square diorama.
The French Gendarmerie was converted to an employment office to recruit Frenchmen to work in the Reich. The POWs in the other version was replaced with a German infantry column ogling a French tart while being watched by a member of the SS security. The only figure to survive the nuclear holocaust was a figure I have always called "Pierre". In the first version, I converted him from a Winston Churchill figure, added a beret, and made him a civilian. I used him in this one as well, he is on the far right, with the white coat, standing in front of the Cafe de la Paix.
This is a shot of one of my favorite angles of the diorama. The water in the canal was made using a flat surface, painting the edges with Matt 29 earth, (Humbrol), then cloud painting with French Artillery Green, also Humbrol. When dry, I gave it a heavy coat of polyurethane clear, then, finally, took a fine brush and painted in the ripples in the water with Humbrol clear!
The interior of the hotel was also remodeled. The top floor being the commanding general's quarters, (The general and a "Friend" are in quarters! Third floor offices, the mezzanine with added stained glass windows made using a fine magic marker and transparent colored acrylic paint.
The "New" Legacies, called Legacies II, Twilight of the third, (French), Republic.
Here is a photo of Legacies II and me.
Bob
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