Some serious work has been done here (Patreon)
Content
My friends, here's finally some share-worthy progress. Let's start from the end of the gallery!
The cross idea seemed a tiny bit far-fetched to me, but a quick Google search has proven me wrong (or correct). A cross on a battlefield in two different times - check out the bombed and then completely levelled monastery behind it. So I'm totally going with it!
In other news, I laminated the sides with 0.4mm veneer instead of balsa. This thing is super duper hard to cut, but it's worth the struggle. The sides look so much better! Not to mention how I was able to cut it precisely around the terrain, or more importantly, the wicker walls. Cutting such shapes and spending so much time on this little pointless detail felt like madness to me, but on the other hand... I simply like it more when the diorama looks clean and tidy.
In even otherer news, I tried a new fantastic ground product! The coffee-like surface you see on the ground is a prototype VMS Smart Mud 2.0 and... it's the best terrain texturing medium! It's not a paste. More like a foam. It doesn't stick so well, so you have to roughen up the surface first, or work it into it very neatly. But the magic starts right there - you can press a tank into it very easily, no matter how deep, and the model won't stick to it! Being able to sculpt pretty much any terrain feature out of it is just a small bonus. For example - the shell crater was completely sculpted from it with one finger, literally.
In final other news, I'm slaving away on the wicker walls. I've got them done except the damaged portion under the tank. I had to finish everything else beforehand because there's gonna be some overhang and "spilled" earth in the trench, so I'm keeping that for tomorrow. Then I'll be able to focus on the less frustrating parts again, the hill, the cross, and maybe some small ruins!
PS. I'm aware how the trench is becoming narrower towards the opposite side of the diorama. My dumb mistake, but luckily, that section is going to be buried in dirt :)