Congratulations to a great diorama. I like it a lot! It’s an unusual scene and a 88 in a diorama is always something extra I think.
As you say the rigging could been more straight and maybe it could have been more personal on the dock to take care of the equipment being unloaded?
But done is done and it’s a very nice build.
I am glad to se more dioramas being showed at the forum.
/Erik
Absolutely brilliant… Top marks Ralph.
You get a real dock side feel looking at it … Great detailing throughout
Yes true , but his reference pic. is of an 18 .
Like I said , I could care less about what model he used . The 36 was also used in N. Africa . I only mentioned it because I did the same thing many years ago , showing a 88-18 in a ref. pic. for the build but used the Tamiya 88 .
Fantastic build and brilliantly executed
It’s not a Flak 18. The old Tamiya model is a Flak 36/37. It has the two piece barrel and the SonderAnhanger 202, which has the dual wheeled front bogie. The Flak 18 tended to be delivered with the earlier SonderAnhanger 201, which had single wheels on the front bogie. The Flak 18 also had a one-piece barrel and it is the ordnance itself which defines the nomenclature of the gun, not other features. The main difference between the Flak 36 and Flak 37 was the electrical targeting system, for use when being deployed in a fixed position and controlled by a predictor (the dials on the right side of the gun). There are plenty of photos of Flak 36s in North Africa so none of this is a problem. Note that the newer Tamiya kit with the DAK crew is exactly the same gun.
Edit: I now see someone else has picked up on this, so apologies for being pedantic. The photo is of course of a Flak 18, as Cheyenne says, but the only kit I can think of is the AFV Club one, which is good but hard to come by nowadays. The diorama on the other hand is excellent!
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Thanks guys for the education on the 88.
It brings up an excellent point. I was not trying to represent the activity, or the specific gun in that particular photo.
In all of my dioramas, I try to depict a scene that is truly representative of the time and situation. Both the 88mm Flak (in several versions) and Rommel in several uniform configurations were iconic aspects of the war in the desert. I designed my diorama based on that fact, and the availability of the kits best suited for my scene. I always try my best to depict would-be reality - as shown in the photos from that era.
That said, I’d love to find a period photo that I could model, but I’m not sure my skills would be up to it, even if I could find the appropriately accurate subjects in kit form.
Thanks,
Ralph
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Ralph, I am very impressed with your dio. It very much resembles the well known picture indeed, and for me is 100% realistic. The fact that you can only view it from one side might call out for a shadowbox. If you do that, you might also be able to represent the harsh African light…
Where did you get the stencils on the crates?
Hi Golikell, Thanks. A shadow box could be fun, but it was enough labor for me designing the support system and the ship side…
The stencils come from Archer and old Verlinden sets - They’re dry transfers, as I hate having to work with decal film. - I’ve always loved dry transfers, for all of my models, but now sadly, Archer is shutting down those product lines. In general, even aircraft stencils can be used on 1/35 crates, as they’re more or less illegible if scaled properly - but they look great!
Don’t know 100% but doesn’t the Dragon 88’s kits have options for the 18 , 36 and 37 ?
At least the gun tube options in Dagon’s kits are in the one kit , don’t know about the rest of the gun though .
Yes , also the AFV 88/18 is hard to find , put off buying it back in the day cuz I had already used the Tamiya kit . Had a few more chances to buy one when they were plentiful but kept putting it off . I’ve since learned to grab kits when readily available from that lesson . lol
Thanks for the information
An absolutely beautiful diorama! And that on 30 cm, super effective use of space! Great idea for using the piano strings between shiphull and gun, very clever. And your figures are great as well! I am just wondering, would it have added anthing if you had used Rommels Mercedes instead of the kubelwagen?
Thanks. You’re right, Rommel would probably have been riding in something grander than a lowly Kubel.
But, I didn’t want anything so large that it would block the view or distract from the 88 - the most important component of the scene. So, I felt the little car was best - and, as an added bonus to that approach, I had one in my stash.
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Beautiful build Ralph, and in fact I couldn’t care less if it’s a Flam 18, or a Flack 36, as it is the story you tell with your diorama that counts, to me at least.
So, I like it very much and a good setting of a shipside scene.
I did a search and the only combo I could find of Rommel and a Kübel, is in model form 
His default car would have been a Horch 901, or KFZ 15. Not too big a vehicle, and available in Kit form from Tamiya 
Huh? I don’t see any problem, where does this diorama say Rommel drove right up to the unloading area in that car, or that it belongs to him? 
It doesnt, ir wasjust a question, thats all.
It could the staff officer’s car. I can picture him rushing over to the docks in a panic after hearing that the General was wandering around inspecting his operation. 
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You will have to add sweat on his forehead… and trembling legs… 
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Masterfully done!
