Customer Reviews

WWII Dioramas (Modelling Manuals)

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I have read Jerry Scutts' "Advanced Military Vehicle Modelling" in this Osprey series and that one only deserves 1 star. This book "WWII Dioramas" is an improvement but not quite up to standard yet.

This book covers two dioramas and described in detail the making of each component. There are some good advices and some useful basic techniques. However, with over 30 years of military modelling experience, I considered these two dioramas are not yet in the league for publication.

I am not sure if the dioramas are made by Jerry but they are of mediocre quality. The painting techniques mentioned in this book are very primitive and newer ones are not included.

The painting of the 1/32 Matchbox "Citroen" in the first diorama ruins the whole thing. It just looks like a "Matchbox Car" inside a diorama. The painting of the figures are two dull and unlively.

In the second part of the book, a number of pages were used to describe step by step painting of each figure in the second diorama. Poor quality figure painting is well displayed here. Shading is too rough, facial features too rigid and chaotic camouflage patterns.

I have read modelling books from Francois Verlinden and Tony Greenland and their works are still at top ranks at this time. Bill Horan's figure painting techniques is of Masterclass calibre. There are a lot of books and magazines from Japan on military modelling and they are also of very high quality.

I can only recommend this book to beginners in military modelling who would like to build his/her first diorama. More experienced modelling enthusiast don't need this one.

This book claims to focus solely on WWII dioramas. Except for period buildings, and staging the scenes with WWII figures and paraphernalia, some very basic diorama ideas on detailing etc can be gleaned from this offering. The quality of the figures is very poor. I note the very incisive comments by the Hong Kong reviewer on the quality of the car model. Why only two dioramas are presented is another matter, but the whole book feels incomplete and shoddy to me.

The book consists of two examples of diarama building. Unfortunately, both are so and so. There are a few useful tidbits of advice (i.e., artificial grass out of brushes and some very basic priming and dry bushing) but nothing that is really for anyone beyond the beginner. Those interested in something over and above basic should look elsewhere.

WWII Dioramas (Modelling Manuals)
Some people display their models on a shelve or even in a clear plastic box. But if you've been in modelling very long, especailly building 1/32 or 1/35 scale armor, then you'll end up wanting to make the display as great as the model. This book gives you a place to learn how to do just that. My only problem with the book is that it jumps straight into a large diorama. I wish Osprey would come out with another book to help the beginner. Still it has become a reference tool for me.

I have made several of the dioramas Scutts explains. However, I have to add that this book is only for professionals. The instructions are clear and accessible but you will be able to grasp them only if you have had previous experience making models. Otherwise read Modeling for Dummies.