Stalingrad factory diorama 1:35

Just a small update. I started working on a new building. I have ordered a thinner cork sheets because those 4mm were hard to cut for me. I will try to make some “decorations” like pillars between the windows



Taking photos in the middle of the night and my talent for photography is not a good combination

@DIOWORK I do not think I can stuff the stairs on the outside on the left. But when the Miniart stairs arrive I will definitely try the composition you suggested. I was thinking I will use the stairs to make some ruined walkway on the inside of the factory. And I have seen your new project. I really like the composition and the looks of it!

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I can give you this review of the MiniArt stairs, they did the job for my purposes a few years ago…

:tumbler_glass:

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Ni, there is no escaping us. :wink:

Hi, stairs on the inside will be fine, please just make sure that the viewers understand the function of them. (Even if it’s broken on the ground)
I think you will end up with something great:)
I have not yet finished any stairs myself, I have used the Miniart stairs in a mockup. Maybe this could give you some inspiration:)
But in my mockup the stairs have an dominant role, in your build they will just be a cool detail.
Anyway, have fun building, I like it and it inspires me :slightly_smiling_face: /Erik

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Progress on the building:

Should I put the “pillars” on the inside too?

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A good listen to about Stalingrad-

Pillars on the inside.
This would depend on how large the pillar is on the outside, what kind of load it is carrying and how wide it is. If the pillar is only a decorative element (architects have been known to do that …) then it doesn’t need to be visible on the inside.

My opinion: The pillars in your diorama should be visible on the inside.
The walls are relatively thin → can’t carry much load → pillars need to carry the load instead
The pillars are relatively thin on the outside → the rest must be inside the wall and on the inside of the wall.

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Hi, here is my personal opinion: If you want to show the diorama in 360 degrees, (both front and back of the building,) I assume you want that, then I think you must “continue building every thing that you show on the outside, on the inside as well”.
Hope you understand what I mean?
Personally I don’t build 360 degrees any more. On a model show the viewers see the diorama from the front, as on a stage that I mentioned in other posts, the backside “is of no use”.
I also save 50% of the time by just building the front, then I can build two dioramas instead of one:)
But if you want to have your diorama at home and show friends sitting at a table and look at it all around, then a 360 build is great:)
You do as you like, I support you anyway:) /Erik

Hey there, after 1 year I finally got to post some of the small progress I have made. I apologize to everyone that it took so long but I had to take som time.
I made new gear for the germans because I did not like the original one.



I made new building too:



What do you think? Could it stay like this?
This is was my first time working with a styrofam. The windows are bit uneven but I think that the bricks will cover it up.
I have a question. I would like to add some steel beams /possibly for the roofing/ like this (the red thing on the picture):
img
What are your opinions at what should i put above it (green on the picture). Should the ending be broken and ruined or? What do you think?

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did you scribe the bricks into the foam? freehand?

I made lines and the first couple of rows with ruler. Then I did it only by my hand. I calculated something wrong so I had to adjust some of the bricks so it would fit in there.
There are many tutorials online for making brick walls from styrofoam.

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I think you should put the steel beams on top of the buttresses (green). This gives them a load bearing purpose. You could also put a crane or hoist of some sort mounted across the buttresses to emphasis the industrial aspects. As to damage, your choice.

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Small update:
I have built the miniart stairs. Unfortunately one side of the railing got damaged during the shipping so it barely stays together when glued. I am thinking about removing the one side of the railing. There was an idea that the stairs could be used in the exterior of the factory. I tried both. Whats your opinion?
I had some spare steel construction so I tried to use it as the load bearing steel beam. Later I will try to connect the roof construction to it. What do you think about it? I think that more construction like this adds to the feeling of industriness. I also did the window arch. I don’t feel confident about how it is looking. What do you think?

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I had the same experience with the step railings, I seem to remember the right side was unusable. But the left side wasn’t much better, you can see it had fallen off all by itself sometime between taking the first and second photos I posted here in Feb 2021. At that time (2016) I didn’t even notice until I uploaded them but decided it looked OK on the ground.

According to the box art the steps are supposed to be external, but in a factory setting just as plausible inside. I guess it depends what you can (or want) to show of where the steps are leading e.g. to an upper walkway or a whole upper floor? In other words avoid putting in a stairway to nowhere. Another consideration is placement of figures – what you want them to be doing will probably dictate where the steps should go.

I think the brickwork looks great including the arch – but to be sure why not test-paint a small section before you go any further? I would suggest that if possible you paint the mortar while the wall is in a horizontal position, so that the paint settles in the channels evenly. For that reason I’d also suggest you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by completing and painting all brickwork (internal and external) before you do any more construction, it’ll be easy to touch up later where necessary :tumbler_glass:

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but to be sure why not test-paint a small section before you go any further?

That is a good idea. I do not have any paint right now so I will have to wait till my local model shop opens or I will have to buy it online - in that case I will buy som spare plastic profiles.
Here is a rough idea how I imagine the interior:


I plan to do the interior with a plaster on the walls. So the brickwork will not be visible. Some plaster will be peeled of course. Any idea how to make the plaster? I heard about a toilet paper with a PVA glue or glued fine sand.
The inside will be painted like a typical soviet industrial 2 colour walls. A lot of old buildings from the soviet era in my country are still painted like this.

Even in the real Red October factory you can kinda see it:

I have another question. Should the wall end before the balsa frame or should it be cut in a line with the frame? The same goes for example with the walkaround. Should it end just as the balsa frame starts or should it be cut in a line with it?
Have a good day :smiley:

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I think it is looking great. What country is that?

I think that is up to you, I would just be consistent once you decide.

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What country is that?

Do you mean what country am I from? If that is the question I am from Slovakia. Typicaly many old schools are painted that way - so practically I see it every day :smile:

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If something is broken you show the break inside the edges of the diorama.
Think of it as taking a picture. The photo has stright edges, objects reach the edge
and then they disappear over the edge. If you cut off the picture there will still be a
straight edge. We don’t know ANYTHING about what is outside the edge.

If something isn’t broken, such as a wall going up one more floor you would see
the wall all the way up to the edge of the diorama and it should end with a straight edge.
Compare with how a museum shows a cut-away to display an interior.

Nice clean edges painted in some deviating colour

In the picture with the three soldiers aiming guns we know that the top of the right window is
still there since we can see the shadow. The ceiling is probably there but that depends on how high the wall is above the window. The sun shining through the broken window could be illuminating an area just outside the photo. If we cut off the photo just above and behind (two cuts) the soldier by the wall we would be unable to tell if the top of the window was still there.

image

What is the purpose of the pipes running along the floor?
They are an obstacle and hazard in a factory. They should come straight up through the floor, maybe with a raised frame around them OR be lifted up so that the workers can walk beneath them (this is the more interesting design since it requires supports et.c.

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Very intersting! Thanks!
Do you think that the this construcion could continue in the interior?

I already thought about the realism of this construction. The pipes are insulated so they are even smaller in reality - they do not weight that much. Is it realistic that these 2 small pipes have a whole big consturction around it?

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A heavy pipe with insulation would support itself, a smaller pipe with insulation could/would be subject to wind loads and could get twisted by strong winds.
My opinion is that the support structure is relevant.
The pipes running along at ground level need protection.
The insulation could get damaged by some Soviet factory worker with a snow shovel
or a tractor driver with a snow plow. Raise them up a bit, concrete supports and maybe a fence.