Logistics, The armor Updated May12, 2021.

[bob letterman]

Logistics, The armor Updated August 11th, 2017.

OK, finished up the minor few things on "Popeye", Tow chain flattened out, the rust streaks now very faint. And the track end that popped loose repaired! I'll set it aside with the other two.

Now to start "Aces High". Here it is with crew and riders. 10 figures altogether.

"Aces High" is an M4A1 76mm, VVSS suspension with armor and armaments upgrade.

It had been "washed" with the Raw Umber artists oils and Artists rectified turpentine. I'll first finish painting the figures and detailing them out on Logistics, "The Figures". Then back here for the final assembly.

Bob

 

[SA Dave]

Logistics, The armor Updated August 15th, 2017.

just getting better and better

 

[bob letterman]

Logistics, The armor Updated August 15th, 2017.

just getting better and better

Not all that sure about that Dave, but that's what I'm hoping for! I'm still not really happy with the figures, I've used every trick I know to keep the quality as high as possible but not lose any speed. I've got about half of them done but I still have another 170 to go, give or take..........

Thanks,

Bob

 

[SA Dave]

Logistics, The armor Updated August 15th, 2017.

I think the perfection is not in the individual parts but rather in the BIG picture and yours is becoming an awesome big picture.

 

[razordws]

Logistics, The armor Updated August 15th, 2017.

I think the perfection is not in the individual parts but rather in the BIG picture and yours is becoming an awesome big picture.

Amen! Though the quality of the individual parts lacks nothing from my perspective. :drinks

 

[bob letterman]

Logistics, The armor Updated August 15th, 2017.

Well, those two comments made my day!

I always knew there was something I liked about the name Dave! :drinks :drinks :drinks :drinks

Thanks you guys!

 

[Jeeves]

Logistics, The armor Updated August 15th, 2017.

There is no doubt you continue to inspire us all here and that's no small thing We are certainly quite lucky to have you here with us posting your work- I sure am grateful for it!

 

[Brokeneagle]

Logistics, The armor Updated August 15th, 2017.

B)
You nailed the moving column look Bob....love all the riders on the tanks, really gives it that extra oomph!

One question though....will you have the drivers standing? Can a Sherman be driven from this position?

Ian.

 

[bob letterman]

Logistics, The armor Updated August 15th, 2017.

There is no doubt you continue to inspire us all here and that's no small thing We are certainly quite lucky to have you here with us posting your work- I sure am grateful for it!

Thanks Mike,

I appreciate your words. It seems we all inspire each other here, God knows there are plenty of inspiring modelers on MA to go around! Like everybody else, I'm just havin' fun! I have loved modeling all my life and the enjoyment I get out of it seems to never diminish! I see inspiration from the works of the Master's forum to the beginners. I can learn something from pretty much everybody!

Bob

 

[bob letterman]

Logistics, The armor Updated August 15th, 2017.

B)
You nailed the moving column look Bob....love all the riders on the tanks, really gives it that extra oomph!

One question though....will you have the drivers standing? Can a Sherman be driven from this position?

Ian.

Thanks Ian,

Good point! Some drivers will be seated, some will barely have their heads out of the hatches, and others will be standing on their seats. Obviously you can't stand on your seat and drive at the same time. I gave the diorama the name "Logistics" because I wanted to portray a massive traffic jam. To avoid looking like a parking lot, I had to create the illusion of movement. My idea was to create the animation with the figures alone. The vehicles will be stalled, as in the morning and evening rush hours in large cities, waiting for the tie-ups to start moving again. Patton will be the central focus with his routine habit of playing traffic cop! I plan on having a couple of tank commanders out of their hatches, standing on top of the turrets, looking forward, yelling back and forth over the rumble of the idling tank engines. I've read about the massive traffic jams in the ETO as Patton's Third army blitzkrieged it's way across France and into Germany.Those stories gave me the inspiration to recreate something like that.

The truck column will be doing something similar. With none of the vehicles moving during this "snapshot" in time, the figures will have to create the simulation of animation to bring the diorama to life. The illusion of movement will be in the refugees walking to the rear lines with their belongings carried by hand or in carts, the interaction of the vehicle's crew and passengers. Then there will be various vignettes here and there that will also help animate it. At least that is the theory! If I manage to finish it, we'll see if I succeeded in accomplishing that! In truth, I usually start these things with an idea that I believe is viable, but never know for certain until they're finished! So far, so good, on the previous ones, but, I never know for certain!

Bob

 

[Jeeves]

Logistics, The armor Updated August 15th, 2017.

There is no doubt you continue to inspire us all here and that's no small thing We are certainly quite lucky to have you here with us posting your work- I sure am grateful for it!

Thanks Mike,

I appreciate your words. It seems we all inspire each other here, God knows there are plenty of inspiring modelers on MA to go around! Like everybody else, I'm just havin' fun! I have loved modeling all my life and the enjoyment I get out of it seems to never diminish! I see inspiration from the works of the Master's forum to the beginners. I can learn something from pretty much everybody!

Bob

That's a pretty good perspective to have Bob- good lesson for all of us. I've been teaching science for over 20 years but still learning something new every day

 

[Sherman 18]

Logistics, The armor Updated August 15th, 2017.

 

[Brokeneagle]

Logistics, The armor Updated August 15th, 2017.

B)
You nailed the moving column look Bob....love all the riders on the tanks, really gives it that extra oomph!

One question though....will you have the drivers standing? Can a Sherman be driven from this position?

Ian.

Thanks Ian,

Good point! Some drivers will be seated, some will barely have their heads out of the hatches, and others will be standing on their seats. Obviously you can't stand on your seat and drive at the same time. I gave the diorama the name "Logistics" because I wanted to portray a massive traffic jam. To avoid looking like a parking lot, I had to create the illusion of movement. My idea was to create the animation with the figures alone. The vehicles will be stalled, as in the morning and evening rush hours in large cities, waiting for the tie-ups to start moving again. Patton will be the central focus with his routine habit of playing traffic cop! I plan on having a couple of tank commanders out of their hatches, standing on top of the turrets, looking forward, yelling back and forth over the rumble of the idling tank engines. I've read about the massive traffic jams in the ETO as Patton's Third army blitzkrieged it's way across France and into Germany.Those stories gave me the inspiration to recreate something like that.

The truck column will be doing something similar. With none of the vehicles moving during this "snapshot" in time, the figures will have to create the simulation of animation to bring the diorama to life. The illusion of movement will be in the refugees walking to the rear lines with their belongings carried by hand or in carts, the interaction of the vehicle's crew and passengers. Then there will be various vignettes here and there that will also help animate it. At least that is the theory! If I manage to finish it, we'll see if I succeeded in accomplishing that! In truth, I usually start these things with an idea that I believe is viable, but never know for certain until they're finished! So far, so good, on the previous ones, but, I never know for certain!

Bob

Thanks Bob, makes sense, I did not realise that it was a Sherman traffic jam :laugh: The whole scene will look fantastic with all of those figures interacting with each other. The scene will come to life - I can almost hear the crews calling out up the column with the noise of the busy street in the background .

Thanks for the update and the reply mate!

Ian.

 

[bob letterman]

Logistics, The armor Updated August 15th, 2017.

That's a pretty good perspective to have Bob- good lesson for all of us. I've been teaching science for over 20 years but still learning something new every day

Thanks again Mike,

Well, Kudos to you for teaching science 20 years. Something tells me I've never had a job that tough. I've actually considered teaching at a couple of stages in my life, but, after consideration, I concluded I didn't have what it takes! Glad there are some that do!

Bob




Thanks for dropping by Jeff!

Bob

 

[bob letterman]

Logistics, The armor Updated August 15th, 2017.

Thanks Bob, makes sense, I did not realise that it was a Sherman traffic jam :laugh: The whole scene will look fantastic with all of those figures interacting with each other. The scene will come to life - I can almost hear the crews calling out up the column with the noise of the busy street in the background .

Thanks for the update and the reply mate!

Ian.

My fault Ian,

It's like giving directions of your hometown to a visitor. You make an unconscious assumption they know what you do and get them lost! The entire diorama will be one huge traffic jam in several directions. I can see it in my mind's eye because I eat, sleep and drink this damned thing! Over the years I've discussed large dioramas with other modelers and what all is involved sometimes leaves them scratching their heads. Two guys that get it immediately are two guys who have built these monsters. Lewis Pruneau, who you all know, and Claude Joachim from the country of Luxembourg. He's the guy who built his entire hometown as a diorama during the Battle of the Bulge. Now that is HUGE! He has published two books on it! You can check it out on the link below. The first couple of photos you see are the real Clervaux, Luxembourg, followed by his amazing diorama. You have to look close to tell the difference!

http://diorama-clervaux.com/index.html

Bob

 

[MrT]

Logistics, The armor Updated August 15th, 2017.

Looking good Bob!

 

[jknaus]

Logistics, The armor Updated August 15th, 2017.

Very very cool Bob. Looks fantastic. I'm really excited to see the whole thing as your dioramas are amazing.
James

 

[bob letterman]

Logistics, The armor Updated August 15th, 2017.

Looking good Bob!

Thanks Terry!

Very very cool Bob. Looks fantastic. I'm really excited to see the whole thing as your dioramas are amazing.
James

Well James, if I live long enough to finish it, I'll probably be as excited as you will be. :yipee

Thanks, Bob

 

[bob letterman]

Logistics, The armor Updated August 15th, 2017.

While paint and glue dry on the locomotive, I finished up the fourth Sherman in the column, "Aces High". I had it washed with the usual raw umber/rectified turpentine mixture and the figures were finished on the Figures thread, so, it was a matter of dry brushing, chipping, rusting and mud splattering, then place the figures in realistic poses on the deck of the tank.

I'm still working the animation of this 8 Sherman column, stalled in a massive traffic jam in a large German city. When all are on the diorama together, I think the effect will be dramatic! We'll see? To start, heres a frontal view of Aces High, a M4A1 cast hull, with the armaments upgrade as well as the armor upgrade from a kit made from destroyed welded hull Shermans and Panthers. The order was given to 4th armored division in february, 1945. As the diorama will portray a German city in April, 1945, all but a brand new arrival will have made the transition. The tank commander is standing on the turret trying to hear the Sherman commander in front of him telling him what is causing the jam.

Aces high, being the oldest tank in the column, is more rusted and beat up than the others. Here it is with the other three completed Shermans. For down, four to go! Now we have Aces High, Popeye, Mama's Boy and Mighty Mouse.

Maybe in this photo you can see more clearly what i am trying to achieve with the animation.

Thanks for looking in!

Bob

 

[lupanzer]

It looks terrific Bob...really amazing

Luiz.