Afrika Korps Diorama-1942

September 11, 2019

Afrika Korps Diorama-1942

This was my first diorama attempt. I used the Tamiya pak40 (L46)and Tamiya sdkfz. 251/1 kits which I built in 2017.

Photograph 1.

Photograph 2.

I planned scenario as reaching of a team to aid to a pak40 crew which pinned in an emplacement in a ruined house.

When I started to build the diorama, I had already built the kits. Only the figures from sdkfz. 251 were unpainted. But the pak40 crew had different colors on them than Afrika Korps (they were painted german field gray). So I painted all the figures with correct colors.

First, I started with the base. I used a foam that I bought from a construction market. I carved the foam by the shorter side to make a base for a road. Then (nearly after finished the diorama) I decided to add some height differences. So, I added a small slope on the road.

Photograph 3.

I had never thought about this blog while I was building this diorama, therefore, I don't have much of proper photos of the building process. In photograph 3., you can see that the basement is finished without the slope but walls and rubbles are added.

To make the height differences smoother, I covered the foam with wet paper towels. Then, I coated the surface with Vallejo Earth Texture-Desert Sand with a single, thick, mudlike coat :) But later, I figured that it is better to apply in several thin layers instead of one thick coat.

Photograph 4.

I applied yellow pigment and made modulation with several kinds of washes.
To make walls, I cut the foam in the desired shape, then, I coated it with plaster. After it dried, I painted the walls yellow, then, I highlighted sharp edges and cracks. Finally, I applied pigments and washes. I used some references for the painting process of the walls.

Photograph 5.

Photograph 6.

Reference photograph 1.

I cut several blocks from the foam to make rubbles. I carved cracks on the blocks and painted in the same process with the walls. I used toothpicks to replicate the framework of the building.

Photograph 7.

I sanded a bunch of toothpicks and gave a plank shape, glued them together with superglue to make a door and a shelf. I painted them with Tamiya XF-64 (I don't remember any other color codes), applied wash and pigments.

Photograph 8. (the slope on the right haven't added yet.)

Later, I made sandbags with milliput standard and filled the gaps on the walls. I Added different kinds of equipment and weapons to create more saturated scenery.

Lastly, I tried to make a net over the emplacement but it hid everything. so, I removed it. But I took a photo of the net for those who wonder how was it looks like.
It has been a year since I made this diorama and has been 2 years since I built the models, I have improved myself since then. There are lots of mistakes even I can spot. But I think, results are quite good except the figures.