Huge scale-, insane-, won't be done by 11th/11th-, timeline-dio

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Raoul Kunz
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Huge scale-, insane-, won't be done by 11th/11th-, timeline-dio

Post by Raoul Kunz »

So here's some pre-build things about this projected behemoth:

It's going to be silly huge... :shock: :roll: :twisted: :twisted: :lol: :oops: :twisted: :twisted:

It's a ludicrous idea I have been carrying around in my silly mind since the big Barbarossa dio went so well. :idea:

It apparently comes straight from the "not-going-to-be-a-history-teacher-but-I'll-show-them-ALL!" insane part of my brain. :lol:

It won't be done by armistice day in this year, maybe next year, who knows? :?: :!: :oops: :roll: :cry: ;)

So what's it gonna be?
In the tradition of my Barbarossa 38(t) diorama I will (well, I intent to...) build a somewhat abstract diorama that covers the whole war in combined vignettes in a big, segmented for storage, diorama,

Right now I plan to have an initial plate with French in bright uniforms, BEF troopers and pickelhaubed Germans on a grassy field representing the clashes in the intial war of movement, a 1915 early trench with mud but a little vegetation left and troopers sitting in their trenches or raiding, maybe a representative combination. Another frame will dock with the German "back" and contain both clashes between KuK troopers and Serbians in the Balkan if, and that's a big if, I can manage to cobble together Serbian uniforms from others and a swampy wooded Tannenberg segment of Germans and Russians. Continuing the insanity will be a bigger segment representing the Year of Battles 1916 by an apocalyptic Verdun-esque segment as well as a Tommies assaulting a German position along a MkIV tank. The 1917 plate will introduce Stormtroopers while the "eastern" side on it's back will have the collapse of the Russian army and maybe a soldier waving the Red Banner.
The 1918 plate will continue the 1917 theme with Stormroopers and the the a German trench being lost to Doughboys as well as MAYBE a burning A7V while on the eastern side there will be advancing Germans marching along relaxedly as well Red Russians fighting White's and a final segment of "Peace" having a hospitalesque scene of the Spanish flu, free corps fighters harrasing civillians, maybe a red barricade.

This obviously will take TIME... it will be more of an on-off project that may very well take a year or more eventually, but since I plan to have it in segments there will be the occasional "finish" of on or two, which will enable my nerves to relaxe and do something else entirely before I go insane ;).

So here's a list of things I already have as well as might add and get to go with this insane project.
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And here's my modest start of kit's and figures, excluding the tons of trench building materials ;) =>
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Best regards

Raoul G. Kunz, writing from the asylum apparently
~fiat iustitia aut pereat mundus~

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Philipp Gross
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Re: Huge scale-, insane-, won't be done by 11th/11th-, timeline-dio

Post by Philipp Gross »

A project for the ages....! The end result should be more than impressive :D

Philipp
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Raoul Kunz
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Re: Huge scale-, insane-, won't be done by 11th/11th-, timeline-dio

Post by Raoul Kunz »

Important is the term "project"... :lol:

I ordered German infantry for 1914, Russian infantry for 1914 (works for the whole war as well as most of the Civil War if given the occasional Adrian helmet), BEF infantry for 1914 as well as British infantry with gas masks and Brodie helmets... :oops:


Best regards

Raoul G. Kunz who's stacking the boxes for this project ever higher...
~fiat iustitia aut pereat mundus~

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Vincent Power
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Re: Huge scale-, insane-, won't be done by 11th/11th-, timeline-dio

Post by Vincent Power »

Wow! :o That's a huge undertaking Raoul. I've no doubt it will be fantastic when you finish. :D I'm curious how big each of the separate segments will be.

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Re: Huge scale-, insane-, won't be done by 11th/11th-, timeline-dio

Post by Steve Hutchinson »

Morning Raoul

The introduction of the new ranges of WWI figures must have sparked the imagination of many modelers with similar plans

I guess many have now fallen by the way side, mine included, though I shall use what would have been the final piece as my 14-18 GB.

As you said colorful uniforms on a green base for the starting encounters, getting muddier, trenched, and grimmer, with both East, West and Southern fronts represented with the Italian, Australian and Turkish figures, then the "dough boys" landing later in 17.

I think I might add it to my retirement to do list, but look forward to how you progress on you major magnum massive opus.

More soon?

Regrads

Steve H

Super photos Raoul
""I need to be creative, to feel ALIVE!""

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Raoul Kunz
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Re: Huge scale-, insane-, won't be done by 11th/11th-, timeline-dio

Post by Raoul Kunz »

Thanks Vincent and Steve! :D

Size of the segments will vary, probably the something between A4 and US legal for the width with something like 2 A4 in length to accommodate the facing trenches and a representative ~40cm of no man's land.... though this is subject to change as I figure out how to do this and what works. As for scale I think I should keep to the "first ETA" and involving Germany in some form or the other because if I include the Straights and the Gallipoli landings, the Desert War and the Arab Revolt, the Ottoman clashes with Imperial Russia in the Caucasian mountains the Africa campaigns including von Lettow-Vorbeck's masterful guerrilla campaign I will be busy for the next decade at least with this project ;) .

As someone who happens to be rather learned (not to the same degree, especially given the "degree" :lol: , as Philipp though) in German history, both social and military, I think I will hang it on Germany as a hook and the "spine" of the setup. I'm thinking of ending with a scene involving Freikorps and barricades. With elements already including the collapse of Russia into civil war I think this would be an appropriate end for the whole thing since, to paraphrase Sir Edward Grey, the lamps stayed out out for the next 30 years.


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Raoul G. Kunz
~fiat iustitia aut pereat mundus~

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Raoul Kunz
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Re: Huge scale-, insane-, won't be done by 11th/11th-, timeline-dio

Post by Raoul Kunz »

All right... an updated list and more (hopefully not) Babylonian tower building... :oops: :lol:
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Best regards from the bright side of insanity

Raoul G. Kunz
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Shawn Ramsey
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Re: Huge scale-, insane-, won't be done by 11th/11th-, timeline-dio

Post by Shawn Ramsey »

Raoul

THis will be one epic build for sure.

You are certainly more of a man than me attempting something like this. Or maybe just plan crazy. ;) :roll: :lol:

Looking forward to it for sure.

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Raoul Kunz
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Re: Huge scale-, insane-, won't be done by 11th/11th-, timeline-dio

Post by Raoul Kunz »

Or maybe just plan crazy.
That's more like it, yes :lol: .

Okay, let's get this one going here... I will need to get more and slightly different dio bases of several kinds and while I have most of the things I will need for the trenches (lot's of cork e.g. that can be layered, glued and then cut and drilled and carved) as well as the layout graphs for both initial and later Entente trenches (spoiler - both where crappy, only intended as jumping off points for breakthroughs... for 3 years...) as well as German trenches of several kinds (stayed pretty much the elaborate same) I still need lots and lots of sandbags. I have some in mind but they are not in store currently.
Also: I've already spent way too much on this dio this month so I'll let the reserves recharge for a bit before buying sandbags for ~50+ bucks :roll: :lol: ...

So I'll start with the tank that is already here - the Mk IV ♂ by Takom - a beautiful kit and of course this is a monster and huge part of the mythology of The War - not surprising, I mean it's a bullet breathing dragon crawling through otherworldly clouds of deadly gas over apocalyptic scenes of devastation under an umbrella of a cacophony of artillery ;) .

I already started this kit a while back,
actually before
I started the Whippet,
and then "lost" the front glacis...
by being a chump
and glueing it on the back
and then not finding it...
So
let's sweep
this under
the rug and
leave
it there....

Aaaaaanyhow - that's why it has the glacis plate of the Mk IV Tadpole... the Tadpole will have the grey on of the Mk IV.

It has a lot of interior in the gun sponsons as well as the hyper-elaborated hey-my-bike-works-like-this-transmission in the track runs... :lol:
The build was quite quick , completed it in roughly five hours to the point where it's now awaiting a base coat ;) .
It's an awesomely archaic, super maritime in layout, metal box!

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Best regards

Raoul G. Kunz
~fiat iustitia aut pereat mundus~

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Re: Huge scale-, insane-, won't be done by 11th/11th-, timeline-dio

Post by Steve Hutchinson »

Wow
5 hours :shock:
Super progress Raoul ;)
Your plan sounds very complex but intreaging.
Makes me feel guilty about starting the 14-18 GB :roll:
Wouldn't green stuff be good for sandbags?
Seems like you will be a busy boy for awhile....

Regards

Steve H
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