Reportedly, the Germans called the KV-1: “Russischer Koloss” – “Russian Colossus”.[
Tamiya’s new 1/35 Pak 38 gun kit is another gem. A beautiful little kit with a perfect set of crew figures included.
I had to find a diorama to display it.
After some thought, I decided that another ‘forced perspective’ diorama was in order. And for that, my vision called for a gunner’s view of the battle. We don’t often build our projects from that viewpoint. It’s difficult to show off the model from the rear.
But I went for it, anyway.
The Germans were shocked by the size and power of the KV-1, when they encountered it during the early days of Operation Barbarossa. The Russian monster was 45 tons of thick steel, impregnable to the standard 3.7cm antitank gun and narrowly defeated by the newer 5cm PAK guns that were the strongest weapon for many of the Wehrmacht units.
A side shot, from close range did have a decent chance at success. The Russian tank crews could see little from inside their tank, and a small, well camouflaged gun was easily missed.
So, that’s what is depicted here.
The Kv-1 in the background is a 1/100 scale kit from Zvezda (no idea why it exists, in that tiny scale – wargaming?)
The figures are all Tamiya. The crew from the gun kit and a couple from Tamiya’s relatively new German Infantry (late war) set. All very well done. Tamiya’s new generation, plastic figures are probably the best in the marketplace.
As the gun crew would all be facing away from the viewer, I used the kit’s heads.
Only on the Infantry figures did I use Hornet heads, as I intended them to be looking toward the viewer.
The base, as always with any diorama that plays with depth perception, took a lot of work, imagination, and time.
As is my norm, the base itself is under 30cm (around 11½ inches) square. I added two arched walls to the base. At the back I ‘wallpapered’ a sky & horizon photo pulled from the internet and printed on my computer printer.
In the foreground I added another wall, similarly papered with a forest photo.
The ‘woods wall’, was then covered with trees, branches and foliage to give it a more realistic, three-dimensional look.
I love the AK Filigree Bushes for this. They’re expensive, but I think they’re perfect scale leaves and branches.
I used the same technique, to some extent, on the jungle background for my ‘Bad Ass and the Turd’ diorama, a couple years ago.
I framed (and restricted) the viewer’s sight-line with the woods, and the small opening around the gun, so the observer could only just see the KV and the background. You’re looking through the same opening amongst the trees and underbrush as the gunners are.
In physical reality, the gun and the tank are only 7 inches (18cm) apart.
Black and white to compare to period photos.
I think it works. It was a fun and challenging project – as they all should be…
Bonus Material:
Again, just sharing some of my tips & techniques.
In this photo you’ll see two (pairs) of my favorite handy ‘tools’.
In the back you can see a pair of ‘1-2-3 blocks’. In effect they’re heavy paperweights, but perfectly square and 1-inch by 2 inches by 3 inches, hence the name. Great for bracing parts you’re working on…
In the foreground are two ‘trays’. I keep a dozen of them around to segregate parts, hold sub-assemblies or just keep stuff organized on my often chaotic workbench. I must confess these are actually the trays that frozen ‘mac and cheese’ dinners come in – saved and washed, of course.
And here, you see my current solution for storing paints, at least the older AK and Vallejo bottles.
They’re plastic drawer organizers, with two built-in dividers. In each square I can squeeze 16 bottles, three squares to a tray. I set them at an angle on my workbench, to save a little horizontal space on the desktop. $8 on Amazon
At one point the paints were organized by color, but…
Also note, that every time I open a new bottle, I dip the cap into a droplet of the paint. It makes it easier to locate the color I need. (This may be nothing new to many of you. In fact, the caps may be designed with this approach in mind.)
Ralph
