Dioramas
Do you love dioramas & vignettes? We sure do.
Recce to the Odon !
cheyenne
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Posted: Sunday, May 05, 2019 - 09:14 PM UTC
Hey man , how you makin out , been awhile , camo looks brilliant even if he won't be in this production .
jrutman
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Posted: Monday, May 06, 2019 - 01:14 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Hey man , how you makin out , been awhile , camo looks brilliant even if he won't be in this production .



Thanks buddy. The nice weather for the last week or so has had me outside working on 1/1 projects. Hardly any bench time.
I am doin' OK though. Yourself?
J
jrutman
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Posted: Wednesday, May 08, 2019 - 02:46 AM UTC
This is the project that took almost all of my time since the weather got nice. It's about 95% finished. Sort of a mini tribute to the sadly demised roof of Notre Dame.850 years old and now gone forever.
And also,a message in German about saving the bees. No bees=no food and they are endangered.
OK,soapbox over.



back side.



Have a nice day,
J
jrutman
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Posted: Tuesday, May 14, 2019 - 10:52 AM UTC
Cleaned up and assembled 2 more of the future cast of officers for the command group. Both Miniart. May change the noggins,IDK.


alanmac
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Posted: Tuesday, May 14, 2019 - 11:09 AM UTC
Hi.

Even though you are not going to use him I think you've done a great job on the SS figure. You've "captured" that facial expression of what he must be feeling like really well.

I'm sure you'll come up with a suitable stage for him to perform on in the future.

Alan
jrutman
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Posted: Tuesday, May 14, 2019 - 01:46 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Hi.

Even though you are not going to use him I think you've done a great job on the SS figure. You've "captured" that facial expression of what he must be feeling like really well.

I'm sure you'll come up with a suitable stage for him to perform on in the future.

Alan



Thanks Alan,
I am certain he will find a home somewhere in the future. What do you think about the new Brits?
J
clovis899
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Posted: Tuesday, May 14, 2019 - 04:27 PM UTC
Jerry,
The two Brits look really nice. I'm with you on the heads; they may need some tweaking as they look a bit large to me? Some folks do have large melons but I try to avoid those kind of defensive arguments so I am hoping that you do change them out.

Cheers,
Rick
alanmac
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Posted: Tuesday, May 14, 2019 - 06:36 PM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

Hi.

Even though you are not going to use him I think you've done a great job on the SS figure. You've "captured" that facial expression of what he must be feeling like really well.

I'm sure you'll come up with a suitable stage for him to perform on in the future.

Alan



Thanks Alan,
I am certain he will find a home somewhere in the future. What do you think about the new Brits?
J



I think once you've worked your magic on them they'll look great. They have a brutish look about them which works well as a contrast to the gentility of the officers. It's not the right word but I'm sure you get my meaning.
jrutman
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Posted: Wednesday, May 15, 2019 - 01:10 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Jerry,
The two Brits look really nice. I'm with you on the heads; they may need some tweaking as they look a bit large to me? Some folks do have large melons but I try to avoid those kind of defensive arguments so I am hoping that you do change them out.

Cheers,
Rick



The largeness of the noggins may be having to do with the camera. That happens sometimes. I'll have to check it in real life carefully. I have taken a chance with Miniart heads in the past and they turned out great after paint.
Thanks for the comments!
J
jrutman
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Posted: Wednesday, May 15, 2019 - 01:15 AM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text


Quoted Text

Hi.

Even though you are not going to use him I think you've done a great job on the SS figure. You've "captured" that facial expression of what he must be feeling like really well.

I'm sure you'll come up with a suitable stage for him to perform on in the future.

Alan



Thanks Alan,
I am certain he will find a home somewhere in the future. What do you think about the new Brits?
J



I think once you've worked your magic on them they'll look great. They have a brutish look about them which works well as a contrast to the gentility of the officers. It's not the right word but I'm sure you get my meaning.




Yes,certainly a descriptive word for sure. Heh heh heh. It could be an issue though as these 2 are supposed to be officers in the command group. I was hoping to save some time and effort because they are wearing berets already. I may have to go to the good old Hornet bin and add my own putty berets then.
Thanks for your comments buddy!
J
pgb3476
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Posted: Wednesday, May 15, 2019 - 02:02 AM UTC
Those 2 last dudes look real good. Toss the kit heads....my 2 cents. I think the color of that huge squash is off some.
jrutman
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Posted: Wednesday, May 15, 2019 - 04:42 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Those 2 last dudes look real good. Toss the kit heads....my 2 cents. I think the color of that huge squash is off some.




No man,that is an exact replica of the growing in numbers"stinkbug squash". Seen mainly on the West Coast but moving inland.
J
jrutman
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Posted: Thursday, May 16, 2019 - 08:15 AM UTC
OK,here are the starting guys again.



The right guy will be a staff major and so I left the kit head but shaved a few pounds off his face and narrowed the shoulders a bit. The left guy will be a young Lt,aid to the General so he got a more youthful head that will have a beret added.

"Hmmm let me see. If I line up this map with the compass,which way is North??



New addition is a young dispatch rider on a Triumph courier bike. His lanky self got a younger Hornet head. He still needs to be kitted out,etc.

"Suh!" Down by that cottage is where I seen Jerries"
"Well Corporal,that will not do. That will have to be sorted".



J

TanksForTheMemory
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Posted: Thursday, May 16, 2019 - 09:19 AM UTC
Nice work on the latest figures Jerry.

Sometimes I think there's a bit of a mania for replacing heads (although I'm not claiming that I'm immune). It's almost as if we want everyone to look like a character in a film - yet in real life plenty of us just look, well, ordinary...

I love Hornet and he's a talented guy (I met him at Euro Militaire a few years ago), but even then I feel that there's a bit of Hornet 'look' to many of his sculptures which can end up almost as generic as the ones we try to replace.

You probably have these already, but Alpine also do a couple of nice British figure head sets - like the one I used for the driver of my Bren Carrier.

Anyway, keep up the good work and I will be coming back at you with some more of mine very soon...
jrutman
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Posted: Thursday, May 16, 2019 - 11:04 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Nice work on the latest figures Jerry.

Sometimes I think there's a bit of a mania for replacing heads (although I'm not claiming that I'm immune). It's almost as if we want everyone to look like a character in a film - yet in real life plenty of us just look, well, ordinary...

I love Hornet and he's a talented guy (I met him at Euro Militaire a few years ago), but even then I feel that there's a bit of Hornet 'look' to many of his sculptures which can end up almost as generic as the ones we try to replace.

You probably have these already, but Alpine also do a couple of nice British figure head sets - like the one I used for the driver of my Bren Carrier.

Anyway, keep up the good work and I will be coming back at you with some more of mine very soon...



Yes,I see your point but thing I like about Hornet is the expressions! Wonderful work. Most kit faces are fairly crappy to be honest. The one in my HJ POW above wasn't bad at all though,right from the box.
J
cheyenne
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Posted: Thursday, May 16, 2019 - 09:46 PM UTC
Looking good movin on Jerry !!

Some kit heads are ok , J.R.'s reasoning on using after market heads though is why they sell so good . Kit heads for the most part have soft detail , so - so expressions and in some cases are a pain in the butt to clean up to make them presentable . A GOOD set of resin heads have depth and character and usually have little to no clean up . It's just my opinion , but they can change an average fig. to an above average fig. all the time .
alanmac
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Posted: Thursday, May 16, 2019 - 10:34 PM UTC
I get what Tim is talking about and to a certain degree Roger (Saunders, of Hornet Heads) is a victim of his own success so to speak. His heads are so good and are so popular that we see them all the time and recognise them.

I've brought quite a few of his and I've also brought a lot of Alpine Miniatures figures which is great because Taesung always includes an alternative head to add to the spare box, and he sells head sets as well of course.

There are alternatives producers like The Bodi, a few old sets from Legend which I've seen pictures of never brought, and a couple of others whose names escape me.

For anybody wanting to use Hornet heads I'd stock up because, and I should make this quite clear that I'm only assuming because of his age , Roger will be wanting to retire sometime and unless someone steps in to buy Hornet and replace Roger as the sculptor, and maintain the moulds etc. then Hornet heads will be something we will all miss being able to buy.
jrutman
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Posted: Friday, May 17, 2019 - 01:19 AM UTC
Thanks Cheyenne and Alan for weighing in. Both make good points here.
To add to Alans' conjecture about Hornet,I have seen him comment a lot in the recent past on FB about the severe pressure he is under from rip-off casters in the Far East pirating his products. Also some from Eastern Europe. If you are like me and want to keep having access to these wonderful assets,don't buy these cheap copies. Buying them will have the result that kind of thing always has no matter what the product. New products from the original producer will go away!
What Cheyenne said about other heads being available is also very true. I have a good stock of Alpine and Bodi heads as well. Not only Hornet plus I do occasionally use kit heads because some are pretty good right from the box.
It's exactly like what we diorama freeks have always done. Constantly being on the look-out for the best stuff to use even when looking at the dirt in your back yard,etc. The quest never ends!
J
Dioramartin
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Posted: Friday, May 17, 2019 - 05:16 PM UTC
Nice figure progression JR, re your last point how true, I just bought a couple of bottles of Tempranillo with ultra-fine brass wire netting around them which can be unraveled. Not bad wine either
cheyenne
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Posted: Sunday, May 19, 2019 - 09:25 PM UTC
Funny , no matter what object or things you look at where ever you are , the first thing that comes to mind is , can I use this for a build ?
jrutman
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Posted: Monday, May 20, 2019 - 01:20 AM UTC
Tim and Cheyenne yep, I have been doing a lot of outside yard work for the past few weeks and every plant or bush gets a thorough perusal before going in the recycle bag.
Texture of the soil doesn't escape my notice either.
J
Vierville
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Posted: Saturday, May 25, 2019 - 04:34 AM UTC
Mr Rutman, your incredible dioramas are an inspiration.

I recall your fantastic Falaise diorama and now this one...both set in Normandy...

As a huge enthusiast of the Normandy campaign it is great to see your dioramas set there. Have you visited Normandy before?

Most people think immediately of the beaches when they think of Normandy but there is a significant array of scenery and terrain...thick hedgerows, intensely green fields, hillsides and dense woods...great material for dioramas!
jrutman
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Posted: Sunday, May 26, 2019 - 01:10 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Mr Rutman, your incredible dioramas are an inspiration.

I recall your fantastic Falaise diorama and now this one...both set in Normandy...

As a huge enthusiast of the Normandy campaign it is great to see your dioramas set there. Have you visited Normandy before?

Most people think immediately of the beaches when they think of Normandy but there is a significant array of scenery and terrain...thick hedgerows, intensely green fields, hillsides and dense woods...great material for dioramas!




I have only recently been fascinated by the battles in Normandy and so have rapidly become familiar with the whole region by using Googleearth to "fly" over the areas. Lots of wide open fairly flat terrain covers the battle areas west and southwest of Caen,which most folks don't know about. The GIs fought in the hedgerow area,for the most part and so we in the USA got to read a lot about that from our guys writing after the war.
I just got to know lately the fantastic efforts of the Commonwealth troops fighting on our left flank around Caen. The Brits Canadians and Poles fought like tigers there against an enemy that at one point,included four SS tank divisions as well as at least 5 army tank divisions I can think of off hand.
I did visit Normandy in person back in the late 70s as a young soldier and saw the beaches and area where my Regt,the 39th Inf fought.
Thanks for your interest and for your comments. I appreciate it!
J
jrutman
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Posted: Sunday, May 26, 2019 - 01:18 AM UTC
Began work on the Triumph M/C to be used in this dio. Jewel of a kit from Bronco but it does try my patience with the umpteen million fiddly bits that challenge my arthritic fingers.
Case in point. Here is the kit wheel on the right which I buggered royally. I had to use a ungrade kit a friend kindly sent me,which is on the left. I didn't build that perfectly either but it is way better.


After a few hours yesterday here is what is done on that bike. My young Lt. has received a beret and looks like he is writing the bike off as a loss.


This is a beauty of a kit though,really. The box includes 2 complete bikes and 4 figures.


Richard_E
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Posted: Sunday, May 26, 2019 - 03:36 AM UTC

Quoted Text

My young Lt. has received a beret and looks like he is writing the bike off as a loss.




Or....

Thinks: "So, it's attach sub-assembly A to sub-assembly C with bolts R, T and V and then attach part J with bolts F, G and K ?"

Inspirational work Jerry.