NEAR MOSCOW DEC41 VIGNETTE 54MM

[STEINER]

Many years ago i saw in a model magazine a fabulous vignette of a German Grenadier leaping into a Soviet trench , made in 120mm or 1/16 scale. This scene stuck to my mind, but at this time i havent the experience to build my own figures so i passed it, hoping that some day i will be able to make a scene like that in 54mm, the scale i am comfortable with. I decided to put my scene in December 1941 during the last efforts of the German Army to capture the Soviet capital. I choose a winter subject in order to give a more dramatic look with muddy and snowy terrain. This time frame sets the uniform patterns of both figures which are well documented. The first figure i made was the dead Soviet mg-gunner by using my own manequinn and then i started building the leaping German on a comercially available manequinn from Friulmodelismo. Some in progress fotos:

 

[AndyFettes]

This is looking great Steiner !! ( Embarkation !! COI great movie )

What`s the stuff that you used to the groundwork ? It looks gritty, did it come like that or have you added some sand etc etc ?

The leaping bloke has great animation the only thing Id say as a comment is that the waist looks a bit wide but thats just my perception and the bloke who has passed over is looking great too ( Im all for having departed people in Vigs and Dios I know its not everyones cup of tea but if youre doing models of war then war brings death and destruction just as long as its done with dignity, shall we say !)

Anyway I cant wait to see more

Best wishes

Andy

 

[BradJ]

Hey Steiner
I like the general idea here!
I'm not familiar with the original concept you have seen in larger scale. Is yours placed similarly?
I echo Andy's sentiments in thinking the Germans' torso is too large. Unless it is just the camera angle, it does appear this way. This could be a result of using the metal body parts which may be hard to add putty to without bulking out too much? Not sure as I've never used them before. You have done a good job with the dead fellow, and his pose looks suitably well 'dead'...
Keep up the good work
Brad

 

[STEINER]

Thanks for the comments Andy and Brad, i have not big experience in figure sculpting, indeed they are my first full scratch figures , till know i was converting or adding parts. My whole idea for the leaping German was to make the clothes loose and bulky, as seen in fotos, propably i overdid it! i really need this kind of scrutinity from you, keep it coming. The ground material is a Velejo product called pumice stone, it comes in plastic jars see in foto, i have not added anything. Its a great material for the basic contours of a base althought expensive for a big diorama. I will try to find a foto of the 1/16 vignete that was my inspiration, its a great piece of modeling. Cheers, Teo

 

[Kreighshoer]

i can't spot anything too big with the torso! to me that dude is packed in thick winter clothing what makes him look more voluminous than in summer clothing!

and the other dude isn't taking a nap on the battlefield? ... oh well ... he does have a nap - a very deep and long nap! :evil:

 

[Jenny Croft]

I love the work so far , the jumping guy does look bulky around the torso but I would reserve comment until I see the sculpt finished , he could be a large guy or he may be bulked out with warm clothing .

Jenny :kiss:

 

[STEINER]

Hello again this is my progress so far, the German infantryman is almost finished, and details are posed on the scene to create a more natural feel. I decided to replace the Maxim MG with a lighter weapon the DPT mg from a Dragon Gen2 set, thanks for watching, Teo

 

[Kreighshoer]

excellent work teo! really excellent!

 

[Robert Crombeecke]

Great work. Very dynamic vignette.

 

[mlp]

Great figures, great vignette - GREAT IDEA!

 

[AndyFettes]

Superb Steiner,

This is really coming together realy well ! The groundwork and trench work is awesome and that Pumice stone is really is becoming a "must get" !

I must say that despite my earlier post the German figure is really looking the part

Andy

 

[STEINER]

Thanks a lot guys, your comments are encouraging for a novice figure sculptor like me, i hope i wont disapoint you with the final result. I want to thank Andy for his earlier remark because he helped me improve, i removed material from the shoulder-armpit area, he looks better now, thanks a lot for pointing out Andy.

 

[TREEMENDUS]

Excellent work so far. I like the way you have created movement in the jumping soldier.
Looking forward to seeing how this progresses.

Ant

 

[STEINER]

Hello again, work continues on the vignette, i reached the primer stage, here are my basic steps:

pic 1-2-3 gun slings are made with thin strips of white insulating tape, using ABER 1/35 straps and loops. In order to be able to handle the tiny pieces, i cut them with a little piece of their fret and hold them with helping hands (tweezers on solid bases) . After the sling is formed, i trim them from their fret.

pic 4-5 work on the base continues by adding sandbags from epoxy putty, rivets from GrandLine on the wood retainers and corrugated metal patches. The wooden box and its cover are glued in place in order to blend them with the next step which is adding more details, an abandoned gun, a helmet, blankets and rags thrown around. These details will be painted in situ, in order to achieve better color harmony of the
elements.

pic 6-7 everything is prepared for priming and afterwards a primer coat is added to everything by using an airbrush. For priming i used mr.surfacer 1000 by Gunze diluted with cellulose thinner.

pic 8 figures are posed in primed state , several tiny blemishes became visible so they will be fixed carefully before final painting

 

[BradJ]

Hey Steiner
That is some fine sling work with the buckles etc. Looking really beaut...

STEINER wrote:

pic 8 figures are posed in primed state , several tiny blemishes became visible so they will be fixed carefully before final painting

:laugh: :laugh: Don't you love priming for this very reason?! Oh well it is better thsn having to fix them when finally painted up properly huh!
Brad
P.S. I think the placement of the objects against the retaining wall on the duckboards seem too balanced or evenly spaced~ Maybe something else could be added between the crate and it's lid; even something small?

Other than that, I think you have created a wonderful scene here.
Oh and for future reference, with your German's torso I would work out a rough girth when in his bare metal stage and add the belt then. the putty you then add to bulk up and shape out the uniform will then be forced to 'tuck in' to the belt in its' set position giving a good impression of pulling the uniform in with the belt.
Does this make sense?
Brad :side:

 

[tjgehling]

STEINER wrote:

Thanks for the comments Andy and Brad, i have not big experience in figure sculpting, indeed they are my first full scratch figures , till know i was converting or adding parts. My whole idea for the leaping German was to make the clothes loose and bulky, as seen in fotos, propably i overdid it! i really need this kind of scrutinity from you, keep it coming. The ground material is a Velejo product called pumice stone, it comes in plastic jars see in foto, i have not added anything. Its a great material for the basic contours of a base althought expensive for a big diorama. I will try to find a foto of the 1/16 vignete that was my inspiration, its a great piece of modeling. Cheers, Teo

Steiner,
I agree, the Velejo Pumice Stone base is awesome, it is what I started with when basing figures in 1:100 scale and also ran into the problem of needing large quantities. One of the alternatives that was suggested to me was Liquitex Sand Textured Gel. I get mine at the local art store and it comes in a much bigger container than the Pumice for a bit cheaper/same price. One drawback to the Liquitex is that it has a light base color so adding pigments before application tends to require more color, whereas the pumice was very nicely a grey base requiring significantly less color. On the other side of the coin is the fact that the pumice only comes in one consistency that I've seen and it's rather fine, the Liquitex comes in a hand full. If anyone needs I can post a picture of the container.

//Travis

 

[tjgehling]

Steiner,
Where are my manners? I forgot to interject my complements on your work! It looks great! One day I might work up enough nerve to sculpt from scratch... until then, I will stick to badly converting! :laugh:

Really looks good!

//Travis

 

[jknaus]

I keep comming back to this dio and it gets better looking every time. Way cool. Want to send a small portion of your talent my way???
James

 

[STEINER]

Hi again folks, , thank you for looking at my work i am glad you find it a bit interesting, it is my first effort at scratchbuilding figures, so your feed back is crucial. Brad, your observations are very valuable, i will add small details like spend magazines, cartridges, etc. in the emprty spaces in order to break conformity, i understood what you said about the belt, there is no doubt that my figures are very far from perfect, when i started sculpting them i had no idea how to do certain things, i improvised along the way....... i am looking at your efforts, it is obvious that you are "experten" at it, so your opinion is valuable to me, thank you. Thanks also to Travis and James, very encouraging words, i will do my best to paint the scene as soon as possible, so you can have your final verdict

 

[TREEMENDUS]

Steiner

This is looking really good and coming along just fine. I wouldn't worry too much about the spacing of the stuff on the floor. I see the spaces as where the two figures may have been standing shortly before the scene we see now.

Keep up the good work.