Flower Camouflage

Awarded: Silver

By: charles carroll

Manufacturer(s): Ace "Demag" , Modeltrans AAgun

Modifications: Scratchbuilt house, ammo boxes, cart, armor plating, gun mount, folding sides, fender rifle carriers on vehicle.

After-market parts: HO tools, fence, and sunflowers.

Description: CMK and Preiser figures. Model Masters and Poly Scale paints. Pastels for weathering and oil washes.

Judge 1: Bright sunflowers immediately attract attention when we look at this diorama. The vehicle and other participants are seen at the second turn. So, we can see the idea of camouflaging the vehicle with sunflowers works, at least for spectators. The horse patrol also surprised, the first soldier is pointing to the scene. Even the dog is looking in that direction. All the poses of soldiers are natural and this adds to overall realism of the work. The composition is good, though the sunflower field (since it pays the main role in the diorama) could occupy more than a half space on the stand. Placement of the vehicle, the field, the road and the house isn’t parallel any of sides of the stand which is also good. All I’d like to mention is a very low house (I’m not sure a man can stand inside it) and lack of traces of horses’ hoofs and, more important, lack of traces of the vehicle’s tracks on the road and the sunflower field.
Judge 2: Figures and Vehicle: I like this little scene you've created, the sun flowers are nice and bright. It's a pitty the photos don't show your work at it's best, they are not very sharp and in most cases the strong lighting and compression artifacts makes it hard to see the details. You've done a pretty good job constructing the vehicle and I like the additions you've made, especially the armour plating. The paint work is a good colour and generally well applied, it could be further enhanced with some deeper shadows around the smaller details by means of a pin wash. Some general fading and streaking would add some tonal variation and interest as would some subtle chipping and scratching around the access areas and AA gun. I like the figures, both their poses and colours although the pointing horseman seem to be having a discussion with himself? As with the vehicle some darker shading would add some more depth and interest but apart from that they are well done. The dog is a nice touch and he is very well painted too. Overall it's a pity the photos weren't up to the standard of you modeling, have a look at our photo guide for some tips.
Judge 3: Very bautiful hut, with many variation tone and a convincing roof. terrain is very well done and painted. I love sunflowers (I think they are photoetched) very good painted. Excellent!