Ww1 horror of the trenches

[kpnuts]

Hi all well some of you may know my son bought me some first ww model kits for my birthday then casually dropped into the conversation he would like them in a dio for his school (he's head of history) first problem, I'm ashamed to say I know next to nothing about ww1, second problem the models he bought are from different periods of said war so can't be used together, second problem solved I will do 3 or 4 vignettes showing the start to end of war.
After a bit of research I've made a start on the trench (this is for school 12 to 14 yr olds ) I want to depict how horrific it was but need advice on how far to go I intend to have a shell exploding in the trench so would it be OK to show limbs blown off.
Anyway here's my start, I realise I have to do the step up ledge and started to excavate the dugouts I realise I need to add the corrugated tin above the dugouts, also I need to find a way of making loads of 1/72 scale sandbags.

[kpnuts]

Hi all well i spoke to Mike and he said do what you like, he's shown them pics of the trenches that he thinks are far worse than anything I could portray so here is the next installment.




I pinched the idea of the explosion from Ian W
Obviously his was far better but in my defence I've only just started, there's no colour or smoke I've not attached bits of ladder or other debris (or body parts) 
I'm quite pleased with the outcome so far.

[GTX_Admin]

Wow!!

[Old Wombat]

Woh!

[kpnuts]

H,i all need to cool it down a bit, I think the explosion is still too hot and still have to add debris and stuff but pleased with progress so far. I'm actually quite enjoying this even though it was sort of forced on me and is not my normal genre, maybe I should do more stuff like this.

[apophenia]

Wow, amazing effect with that shell burst!  :)

... maybe I should do more stuff like this.

I should say so   

[Old Wombat]

You're doing amazingly well, so far, &, if you enjoy it for a change of pace/style, go for it! :)

[Story]

Nice work on the blast.

After a bit of research I've made a start on the trench (this is for school 12 to 14 yr olds ) I want to depict how horrific it was but need advice on how far to go I intend to have a shell exploding in the trench so would it be OK to show limbs blown off.

With 1/72nd scale, I'd think it'd be too small to illustrate vaporizing bodies. However, you could have dead and wounded those at the edge of the blast radius.



I think AIRFIX use to have some 1:72nd casualty figures in their WWI offerings (eg: http://www.plasticsoldierreview.com/review.aspx?id=542 ).

[Old Wombat]

That is almost the perfect photo to replicate/simulate! :)

[kpnuts]

Hi all here is the next bit, I remodeled it a little bit, I stuck the smashed up ladder and other bits of debris, then I kept looking at it and thinking what is wrong with it? Then it dawned on me they were broken but unmarked, no scorching or burning, so I've fixed that but it still seems wrong, any suggestions.

[GTX_Admin]

Looks brilliant in my view

[The Big Gimper]

Mr. Nuts, as always your work is of museum quality.

[kpnuts]

Hardly, but thanks for the vote of confidence, hoping to have this one finished by next week, Mike's hoping there're all done by Xmas, can't see it myself but school is not back for another fortnight so I have a little jiggle room.

[Volkodav]

Looking forward to seeing the finished product with how well it is progressing

[Old Wombat]

Possibly the ladder isn't "dynamic" enough. The blast would have tumbled it end-over-end on all 3 axes. As much as it looks good, it looks like it's just been lifted out of the trench. It doesn't really convey that explosive violence & there's a shortage of duckboards & mud.

Mind you, I'm not sure it's possible in a static display to do so, either!

[kpnuts]

Hi all here is another update.

[kpnuts]

Hi all well i think this is finished (unless someone can tell me something is wrong with it) next one will be the start of the war, lots of mortar holes and mud. Will take some better pics in daylight.

[Claymore]

Nice work indeed! Never easy to capture motion in a static model and doubly difficult with explosive motion but you've got it right there. Well done sir!  :)

[GTX_Admin]

That is truly brilliant work :)

[Old Wombat]

Excellent job on the completed Phase 1! :)

[kpnuts]

Hi all made a start on the next one, this will be set prior to the trenches one so will basically be a muddy field.





The depression in the middle will be filled with muddy water .

[kpnuts]

Hi all here is how I did the explosion I got the idea from Ian W I've changed the method a bit but this is basically it, obviously it needs colour and smoke yet but this is the basic start of it.

[kpnuts]

Hi all well since Mike wants these done for after the Xmas break I thought I better have a go at my worst subject the planes, I've started with the easiest and this will be the crashed one, I've done a mock up of how I visualise it, I've borrowed the the battlefield dio base for this, when I do the Base I'm figuring on doing it in a grassy field or corn field with the Victor flying over.

Did they have parachutes then as if they did maybe I will have the pilot somewhere in it gliding to safety.

[GTX_Admin]

Did they have parachutes then

Generally not.

[Old Wombat]

Early parachutes of the era were too bulky & had a hard casing, & were fitted into the aircraft rather than worn by the pilot. They were used in observation balloons &, I think, zeppelins. The Germans used such chutes in 1918 fixed behind the cockpit.

There was also the belief that a parachute would lead to pilots being prone to abandonning their (expensive) aircraft too soon, or at the 1st sight of the enemy. Thereby totally disregarding the actual courage of the pilots who got into those aircraft, in the 1st place, & of the value of the training & life of a pilot, let alone of a skilled pilot.

(Note: Experience has led me to view these kinds of decisions as coming from the core personalities of the people making them, that they are judging others by what they would do. Which leads me to believe that many of the general staff of the period were cowards at heart.)

Because of the above, very little official research & development was conducted on improving parachute design. Post-WW1 a team of Americans designed the 1st practical parachute design, incorporating a soft casing, rip-cord & pilot chute in 1919 using ideas collected from pre-war designs dating back to 1906 & war-time experience with hard-shell parachutes.

[kpnuts]

Hi all I did say planes were my nemesis, here is where I'm at, now, I don't know why I have so much trouble with planes.



This is a simple plane I've no idea how I'm going to cope with the rigging on the tri plane, still trying to get my head round the rigging on this one.

[kpnuts]

Hi all here is the next update,




I may scrap the planes dio (why are planes so blooming difficult)

[taiidantomcat]

Have some of the Rigging attached at the base of where it starts but there is no need to connect it, this is a wreck afterall. Not all the pieces have to fit  :)

[kpnuts]

Hi all here's the next update

[kpnuts]

Hi all well the first one in the series is done I've put the two together since that is how they will be displayed, I'm quite pleased with the outcome so far.

[finsrin]

Your skill with dioramics and depicting the horror of it all is superb.  Impressive  :)

[GTX_Admin]

Great work

[kpnuts]

Hi all, well I've finished one of my nemesis's, the first plane, I know I'm rubbish at them but I think this would be OK in an infant school, hopefully the older kids will take pity on me as the first two dios are OK.

[Old Wombat]

As there are so few modellers out there, I'm sure you'll "get away with it" (not that I think there's anything wrong with it, anyway). :)

[kpnuts]

Hi all well here is the next installment, I was going to do this crashed in a green valley in the summer but then I thought, this is supposed to be showing the horror of the war, so I decided to have it crashed in a cold snow covered muddy field, so here is the revision, personally I think it looks really cold.

[GTX_Admin]

 :)

[kpnuts]

Hi all I decided to put the decals on before I put the wings on or the rigging as I can see it being very fiddly after, I'm figuring that maybe I will rig each layer of wings before I add the next layer, I know nothing about rigging planes, is this a good method or will it cause problems later on.

[kpnuts]

Now I'm confused, the instructions show the crossover rigging in the wings going through them with the middle of the cross intersecting the centre of the wing the box art shows the starting at the inside of the top wing and going in front of the other two and seeming to attach to the undercarriage and crossing below the centre wings, photos on Google are inconclusive, personally it would be easier if they didn't go through the wings, which is correct.