Hello! I wanted to share making of my diorama set in the battle of Stalingrad. I’m really slow and have been building it for 2 months now. I’ve made a factory building from cork and some steel construction and the pipes. I want to fill the inside of the factory with some collapsed steel beams and constructions. I am also considering buying Miniart stairs to put it there.
I think it looks you’re off to a great start. “Start” doesn’t seem the right word as there is a lot of work there already!
Hi I really like brick buildings and this looks really good. You’ve done a lot in two months let it take time (I’m an extremely slow builder)
Love the brickwork and layout of the diorama. Looking forward to seeing this one as it progresses.
Cheers,
C.
Brickwork, my favourite issue.
Real brickwork that is supposed to carry the load of a whole wall and possibly the floors above is NOT built like LEGO-bricks. Bricks used only as a decorative covering on a load bearing steel or concrete structure can be laid like LEGO. Brick walls are more than one brick thick and that requires cross bonding.
Ask Google about: brick bond.
This could be a starting point: 10 Types Of Brick Bonds
Brickwork - Wikipedia
I don’t know which type of bond they used in Russia or the Soviet Union
but a load carrying wall was almost certainly not build with stretcher bond.
I’m not saying that you should change it, that decision is only YOURS
Cheers 
Ruins of the Red October plant:
The Red Triangle factory in St Petersburg (ex Leningrad) was used when filming one of the movies about Stalingrad.
Link to commercial image
Do a Google image search for: Red Triangle Petersburg factory
Yes I know, but i found out halfway through and the bricks are such a pain for me, that i decided not to change it. I also know that just plain brick factories have many ornaments and decorations but I thought it was too hard for my first diorama… But who knows, maybe I will redo it. But thanks for the info
Great job so far, I like it!
Cheers, Dave
Excellent! We haven’t seen a specific Stalingrad dio for a long time as far as I recall, and this looks like a great start. I think that by the time you’ve shot plenty of holes into the walls and piled up the wreckage…
…few will query whether your brickwork is load-bearing. The Diorama police ought to be lenient about this, they’ll only give you a real hard time if you fail to finish it 
It’s just me being a pain in the b*tt
Too few masons around nowadays …
Almost nobody will notice since nobody really notices the walls
Looking forward to seeing this finished 
The following is a generalisation but should hold for what you are doing. The brick bonding in these pictures seems to be generally ‘English bond’. The walls are 9” (215mm) thick, structural wall. A brick is generally 9”x4”x2.5” high (215x100x65mm) with a 10mm mortar joints. The bricks are laid of one course header bond, with three courses stretcher bond (the stretchers are laid in pairs). The header course ties the inner leaf of stretchers to the outer leaf of stretchers. They act like modern brick ties.
The panels of stretcher coursed bricks are usually infill panels. They are non structural bearing and close up door, window and vent openings.
Looks really nice! And reading some of the omments makes me wonder, am I reading a topic on a modellers forum or a professional builders forum no need to go to school, just read a couple of posts and you’ll be able to get a master degree in building walls with bricks 
Hi, if this is one of your first dioramas, I just say wow! I didn’t have that skill building my first works.
Have fun building it. You will learn a lot and you will know how to build your next brick wall diorama even better!
Listen to the info you get here and remember the things to improve, that’s what I do. Sometimes it’s possible to make a change after a tip, but if you don’t want or have the time just go on.
I would suggest that you place the stairs on the outside to the left. For a viewer I think that’s most interesting. The thing is, where does the stairs go?
If you just use the stairs and nothing more, then no one knows how long they are. I see nothing of a second floor, so the stairs must go high up.
Sorry for my English, hope you understand!
Here some examples of “Lego” brick wall sections, same as you have built.
Have fun building, that’s the most important thing.
I will be following your build:) /Erik
Hello and good for you. Our fellow modelers go to extremes to create fine models. Your notes on construction are very good. Other things to consider are what type steel beams did they have at that time period.
I really appreciate your knowledge and your sharing it. John in Wilmer
Welcome aboard John!
As you say, there are many things to consider when making a historic diorama.
Is there a masonry equivalent to rivet-counting? 
Yep!
Don’t get me started on the relations between width, height and length of the bricks from different countries and epochs …
Is that an African or European Swallow, er brick?
Are you suggesting that coconuts… heh… bricks… migrate?
There is no escaping the Spanish Inquisition or Monty Python fans …
And now for something completely different: the original topic…
