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Totally awesome. I love it.

As a fellow modeller (and Londoner) I'm less concerned with the accuracy 'fluff-wise' than I am with the story being told.

If we absolutely have to tie it in to the inexplicably vast mythical universe in which these models are set:

You could imagine Elysians being caught in a 'battle of the bulge' style scenario, encircled by the enemy and hanging on until reinforcements arrive.

Great work, please do more! I'm planning to experiment with dioramas/vignettes myself in the future and this is great inspiration for me.

Kizmet wrote:it gives me a ballache to hear people being negative about your diorama because the pose doesent fit into the 40 bumpf. it a seriously cool scene and top job fella

Haha - fortunately, thanks to some keen readers, it seems it does actually fit into the 40k fluff anyway Thanks for your props, Sir.

SisterSydney wrote:

Can you point me in the direction of some good reading IG material/fluff? Are the Imperial Armour a good place to start? I'm thinking DKOK fluff specifically... Thanks

I think DKOK and Elysians both originate in Imperial Armour, so yeah, those would be the place to go. The Death Korps book I read was honestly kind of dry, much like their real-life inspirations in World War I (and then they attacked --- and it was futile -- and they all died -- and then the next wave attacked -- and it was futile). I haven't read the Elysians one.

I can't stand (i.e. finish) most 40K fiction, but I can testify that the first few Commissar Cain books are fun, and the Commissar Gaunt/Gaunt's Ghost book I've read was pretty darn good -- and those are both Guard-focused.

Automatically Appended Next Post:
PS: Here's my fanfiction take on the Guard, as viewed by the Sisters of Battle....

Amazing. I'm gonna get on this. I'll read your fan fiction too - I'll let you know what I make of it. Thanks a bunch for your help

p.s. I remember reading a Catachan mini-story in White Dwarf years ago... that was a cool story. Very... humid. If only I could remember the title/author...

DarkTraveler777 wrote:Flesh and Iron by Henry Zhou was an entertaining read about an IG regiment fighting a Chaos insurgency. It is very much "Vietnam in spaaaaaace!" but the protagonist regiment is interesting and even the "bad guy" Chaos Marines and cultists are painted in a potentially sympathetic light thanks to the heavy handed tactics of the Imperium. All in all a fun read with some good insight into how both Imperial Guard forces fight and how Chaos cultists/renegade Imperial Guard are organized and fight.

And I love the diorama! The details are simply wonderful and I keep finding new points of interest every time I look at your photos. Can't wait to see your next offering!

You have COMPLETELY sold me with "Vietnam in space". I'm consumed by war history, with the Vietnam war at the top of my interests (controversial!).

In fact, for those that are interested, here is the image from WWI that inspired the entire diorama (you'll spot many references directly lifted):



Thanks for your awesome comments too. Really appreciated

 theunrealisticartist wrote:
Totally awesome. I love it.

As a fellow modeller (and Londoner) I'm less concerned with the accuracy 'fluff-wise' than I am with the story being told.

If we absolutely have to tie it in to the inexplicably vast mythical universe in which these models are set:

You could imagine Elysians being caught in a 'battle of the bulge' style scenario, encircled by the enemy and hanging on until reinforcements arrive.

Great work, please do more! I'm planning to experiment with dioramas/vignettes myself in the future and this is great inspiration for me.

Like the scenario! It's great that everyone has their own take on it - the before, the after. Thanks so much for your kind words, fellow Londoner. Also - would love to see your diorama efforts and flattered this is inspiration for you! That's just... full circle.

I saw this and had to check out the "Lost" diorama as well...

Well. I think they're both fantastic. The paint jobs are excellent, the narrative in both clear, and... I'll be honest, a little chilling. Which is just brilliant.

Kudos to you good sir. I doff my hat to you.

 liquidjoshi wrote:
I saw this and had to check out the "Lost" diorama as well...

Well. I think they're both fantastic. The paint jobs are excellent, the narrative in both clear, and... I'll be honest, a little chilling. Which is just brilliant.

Kudos to you good sir. I doff my hat to you.

Thanks for taking the time to check both out - that's awesome. Thanks also for your comments. I'm thrilled you like them - but more importantly that you find them chilling! I have succeeded.

Just utterly stunning. You painted a picture, and by that I mean you didn't just paint some models, you really gave the scene a feeling.

That's what you get for camping!

Beautifully done, great atmosphere, narrative, and gritty, realistic paintwork

Squidbot wrote:Just utterly stunning. You painted a picture, and by that I mean you didn't just paint some models, you really gave the scene a feeling.

Thanks Squidbot - really encouraging words here. Makes me want to get going on the next one.

Million wrote:That's what you get for camping!

Beautifully done, great atmosphere, narrative, and gritty, realistic paintwork

As a huge fan of Call of Duty, I hear 'ya. Haha. Thanks for your comments, Sir. Most appreciated

Amazing work, I love the water work and the little details

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaait a minute, the ''Lost'' diorama, wasn't that the one with the Sentinel pilot about to go in a bunker?

Celtic Strike wrote:Amazing work, I love the water work and the little details

Thanks for your comments and taking the time to check it out Celtic Strike! Really appreciated

Bobthehero wrote:Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaait a minute, the ''Lost'' diorama, wasn't that the one with the Sentinel pilot about to go in a bunker?

It is indeed, Sir!

Rusty Robot wrote:

Cave_Dweller wrote:Excellent dio, really nice piece man. I love how you rounded the edges and included the water.

The whole piece was "built" inside a large PVC pipe. It's tough but perfect to shape with a Dremel. Thanks for the props!

I love the idea of using a pipe!

 Rusty Robot wrote:

BrotherOfBone wrote:I would absolutely agree, a full board would be stunning and packed with detail.

I might put pen to paper...

SisterSydney wrote:

40K fluff tapdances merrily on the thin line between "insanely awesome" and "insanely stupid" -- but fortunately there is no "canon" so you can pick and choose what you take seriously and what you ignore. My personal approach is to assume everything I'm reading is in-universe propaganda by one faction or another, so if it's stupid, it's the fault of the writers (both real and imaginary), not because the universe is stupid. Just take all the crazyawesome and mix together to taste.

Can you point me in the direction of some good reading IG material/fluff? Are the Imperial Armour a good place to start? I'm thinking DKOK fluff specifically... Thanks

A different feel to DKOK but I loved this series and it conjured up some brilliant mental images http://www.blacklibrary.com/our-ranges-gaunts-ghosts.html

loritheladybug7 wrote:

I love the idea of using a pipe!

I was very lucky to find a large ducting pipe that was the EXACT size of the base I had bought... I recommend it though - it was great to work with.

optometris wrote:

A different feel to DKOK but I loved this series and it conjured up some brilliant mental images http://www.blacklibrary.com/our-ranges-gaunts-ghosts.html

I stumbled across this the other day! I was so tempted. I've taken the plunge with "Flesh and Iron". "Gaunt's Ghosts" will be my second should I fall in love. Thanks for the recommendation!

Stunning. The attention to detail is breathtaking. Great job.

 Rusty Robot wrote:

optometris wrote:

A different feel to DKOK but I loved this series and it conjured up some brilliant mental images http://www.blacklibrary.com/our-ranges-gaunts-ghosts.html

I stumbled across this the other day! I was so tempted. I've taken the plunge with "Flesh and Iron". "Gaunt's Ghosts" will be my second should I fall in love. Thanks for the recommendation!

Funnily enough one of the first stories is about trench warfare and how the ghosts have to infiltrate and sabatoge a chaos heavy artillery battery my old imperial guard army was based on a regiment from that story (the dragoons)

SickSix wrote:Stunning. The attention to detail is breathtaking. Great job.

Wow - thanks for that. Thrilled you enjoyed it

optometris wrote:

Funnily enough one of the first stories is about trench warfare and how the ghosts have to infiltrate and sabatoge a chaos heavy artillery battery my old imperial guard army was based on a regiment from that story (the dragoons)

Oh my, now I feel like I need to buy it right this minute... No, I shall refrain. I need to read one book at a time... This is definitely going to be the follow up though!

Stray thought: maybe the assassin's wearing blue and silver because his suit actively changes to blend in with the terrain, but since he just emerged from the water, it's still in "ignore me I am a school of silvery fish" mode?

(Yes that doesn't explain the red dots I know).

 SisterSydney wrote:
Stray thought: maybe the assassin's wearing blue and silver because his suit actively changes to blend in with the terrain, but since he just emerged from the water, it's still in "ignore me I am a school of silvery fish" mode?

(Yes that doesn't explain the red dots I know).

Love the idea of a chameleonic suit - Assassins would be the first to make use of such a thing.

That second to last view with the water cut out and the trench...

Goodness, that is just inspiring stuff. You've really out done yourself!

 gunslingerpro wrote:
That second to last view with the water cut out and the trench...

Goodness, that is just inspiring stuff. You've really out done yourself!

Thank you so much for this - I could never ask for more than to inspire others.

Quality stuff dude

Indy wrote:
Quality stuff dude

Thanks you, Sir.

Very nice

Masterwantabe wrote:
Very nice

Thanks man

Love the ground shots progression till you finally show the whole diorama. Spectacular if you ask me.

 valkyriePROfail wrote:
Love the ground shots progression till you finally show the whole diorama. Spectacular if you ask me.

Wow, high words here. Thanks so much. I'm glad you enjoyed it