Hi everyone,

As its summertime and I actually have some time for modelling I'm going to try to do a simple RAF desert diorama with a Hurricane Mk. IIc and Spitfire Mk. Vb.
I've never tried a diorama like this before so any help/advice would be great.
The kits are the Italeri Spitfire Mk. Vb and Revell Hurricane Mk. IIc, both in 1/72 scale.

Here are some progress photos:



Cockpits, Spitfire on the left, Hurricane the right



Instrument panels, Hurricane on the left, Spit the right.



Main wings, fuselage and tail put together, some minor filling/sanding needed. Spitfire parts in the background.



Tail section: Cut off the rudder and elevators and assembled them in slightly turned positions. First time doing this and I think it looks ok ...

Mike

Looks good Mike, what did you use for the seat harnesses/seat belts?
Thanks,
David

Hi David,

I used some metal foil which was cut thinly, painted and stuck on with super glue.

Mike.

Figure out the layout of the aircraft in relation to the base. And decide what equipment, personel you need. Best to figure out what you will need early in the build. The interiors look real good.

Well done on the interiors, it looks a lot better than my one did!

Any help you need on the diorama, just ask and I'll help as much as I can.

Chas

Thanks guys,

Any advice is much appreciated, will post some pics soon.

Hi,

Here's an update. Almost finished the Hurricane as I decided to do them one by one instead of both at once - too much sanding and filling









Just need to give it a flat coat and a little weathering and then it's time for the Spit.

Finished Hurricane.

You did an excellent job on the Hurricane.Good luck with the Spit and looking forward to the Diorama Bob

almost a month after my last post, here are the finished pics.

Let's start with the spitfire:











And finally, everything put together: Hurricane, Spitfire and my first attempt at a diorama ...









Thanks for looking. Any opinions or words of advice would be really appreciated,

Mike

Hi Mike,

Really nice job on the two aircraft, they really do look impressive.

Since making my own Hurricane diorama which you may be familiar with, I have learnt from a great artist on this site, 'JBA', that a diorama should be built above the level of the frame or border, to avoid looking like a 'kitty litter' box. A diorama doesn't look as good when built/confined within borders, so the modeller should try to make them less prominent.

Also, my tip to you would be to reduce the area of dead space where there is just groundwork and no activity taking place. Watch out for scale issues, imagine how massive that log would be in real life, it is probably not the size you would typically find in desert regions.

You are getting there mate and as I said, impressive job on the aircraft!

Chas

Hi Chas,

Thanks for the advice on the diorama, the log is actually to scale as it was to be attached to one of the planes and dropped on the enemy
As I said earlier it was my first go at a diorama and I had no idea how it would turn out. It does look a bit bare in the middle and the idea of having borders below the surface level makes perfect sense
These are things I'll definitely think about next time,
thanks again

Mike