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Very good.

Mate, that dog as awesome.

Made my day when I saw you had completed another diorama so quickly after 'Two Bullets'.

Fantastic dude, I love pouring over these photographs. The stories you manage to capture in your pieces are always riveting and magnetic.

Well done!

Awesome vignette! As ever your attention to detail is excellent but it's the story, quite rightly, that engages the viewer. Another great cinematic piece.

I hope you can keep this amazing work rate up because I'm looking forward to the next one!

PS great photography too

Jimsolo wrote:Very good.

Thank you, Sir.

4L Goon wrote:Mate, that dog as awesome.

It's such a fantastic model. I remember buying four of these on Open Day and I wish I bloody kept them now!

firebat wrote:Made my day when I saw you had completed another diorama so quickly after 'Two Bullets'.

Fantastic dude, I love pouring over these photographs. The stories you manage to capture in your pieces are always riveting and magnetic.

Well done!

Thank you so much for your comments. Truly encouraging words here. I believe that the photography requires just as much effort and thought as the dioramas themselves. After all, it's what eternalises the pieces online. For I'm at no stage just yet to be submitting to competitions and the like. I make them for me and for you guys online. Thanks again firebat.

theunrealisticartist wrote:Awesome vignette! As ever your attention to detail is excellent but it's the story, quite rightly, that engages the viewer. Another great cinematic piece.

I hope you can keep this amazing work rate up because I'm looking forward to the next one!

PS great photography too

My good man, thank you. I love stories in all their forms and dioramas and vignettes are right at the top.

I wish I could keep up the work rate as of late, but alas... it may fall away for a bit. That said, my job I was due to start has just been pushed back so there may be time... I already have another idea in mind. It'll be another small three-man vignette.

Brilliant stuff there. That dog scares me

 valkyriePROfail wrote:
Brilliant stuff there. That dog scares me

Definitely one of the best models I've had the pleasure of painting. Great sculpting. Thanks for your comments, Sir

Great work! I love how the solder, cop, and environment all look very realistic and contemporary, and then there's this nightmarish cyborg dog... it makes it seem much more terrifying than it would in a more overtly sci-fi setting. Also, I love how the barrel is cut in two - I generally prefer models and dioramas that are cleanly "sliced" along their boundaries than ones that hang over the edges.

Quarterdime wrote:

Soul Samurai wrote:Great work! I love how the solder, cop, and environment all look very realistic and contemporary, and then there's this nightmarish cyborg dog... it makes it seem much more terrifying than it would in a more overtly sci-fi setting. Also, I love how the barrel is cut in two - I generally prefer models and dioramas that are cleanly "sliced" along their boundaries than ones that hang over the edges.

I'm glad this reached you in the way it did. I aimed to strip back elements of science fiction and have that as the only source of "time placement" I like the juxtaposition between it and the guard - as if to say, "hey, we live in a world where this is necessary. You are a rent-a-guard. You need backup"

Thanks for your comments, really appreciate it.

Hoo boy.

Ok, you did this wrong, that wrong, and no one should ever use that...

Another fantastic piece, very cinematic as others have said. I think you definitely nailed the individual miniatures, and the diorama as a whole looks superb. I mean, even the water in the cut away barrel has little air bubbles in... that's a whole new level of detail in my books. Speaking of which, your dioramas inspire me to write stuff... unsurprisingly, as they all seem to have a little story behind.

Long story short, great work as usual, and thanks for the inspiration

What a beautiful piece of art, the colors and posing really create a certain tension that make the diorama stand out. Keep up the good work!

liquidjoshi wrote:Hoo boy.

Ok, you did this wrong, that wrong, and no one should ever use that...

Another fantastic piece, very cinematic as others have said. I think you definitely nailed the individual miniatures, and the diorama as a whole looks superb. I mean, even the water in the cut away barrel has little air bubbles in... that's a whole new level of detail in my books. Speaking of which, your dioramas inspire me to write stuff... unsurprisingly, as they all seem to have a little story behind.

Long story short, great work as usual, and thanks for the inspiration

liquidjoshi, I never could've asked for such a comment! I'm a keen writer myself, so the idea that one of my creative outlets is inspiring another is fantastic and makes it all worth it. Comments like this really get me going onto the next idea. Thanks buddy. It seems like the inspiration has come full circle.

riverhawks32 wrote:What a beautiful piece of art, the colors and posing really create a certain tension that make the diorama stand out. Keep up the good work!

Two amazing comments back-to-back. I know my post OP replies may seem gushing, but I'm so grateful for people taking the time to comment. Thank you, Sir. It really makes a difference.

Man, I hadn't seen any updates, no idea how I managed to miss this thread. I would love to do something like this but just can't seem to think up a scenario worth making a diorama (like this or iatb). Great work again mate, beautiful to see.

Just... wow. Everything is excellent- poses, painting, shape, size, all of it. I think your lighting and camerawork really draw me in though, very atmospheric. I'm sure this thing looks amazing under glaring hobbystore lights too, but you've kicked it up an extra notch with photography.

Super awesome, looking forward to more

kb_lock wrote:Man, I hadn't seen any updates, no idea how I managed to miss this thread. I would love to do something like this but just can't seem to think up a scenario worth making a diorama (like this or iatb). Great work again mate, beautiful to see.

Thanks for your comments again kb. I'm glad you liked this one too. In regards to ideas, this one was born out of what I had around (despite the fact I bought new barrels in the end). I take a lot of inspiration from actual war photos. Particularly Vietnam. Don McCullin's coverage is a big source of inspiration for me.

I'd always be happy to flesh out an idea with you.

GrimDork wrote:Just... wow. Everything is excellent- poses, painting, shape, size, all of it. I think your lighting and camerawork really draw me in though, very atmospheric. I'm sure this thing looks amazing under glaring hobbystore lights too, but you've kicked it up an extra notch with photography.

Super awesome, looking forward to more

Thanks so much for this, Sir. That's really encouraging for me. I debated the shape for a good few days, but I think it paid off in the end. Funnily enough all my photos of the finished piece(s) have been taken under my daylight hobby light. I may make a blog post on the subject given peoples response to it. I've said it before, but I think the photography is just as important as the subject itself.

I would say you are right in that. A gaming piece will have it's good and bad days, but a Diorama like this, the pictures you can make from it are kind of the end result. They're what you will share. I'm sure it looks damn spiffy on whatever shelf/table is currently being graced by it's presence, but you've done some very nice and atmospheric angles.

 GrimDork wrote:
I would say you are right in that. A gaming piece will have it's good and bad days, but a Diorama like this, the pictures you can make from it are kind of the end result. They're what you will share. I'm sure it looks damn spiffy on whatever shelf/table is currently being graced by it's presence, but you've done some very nice and atmospheric angles.

Absolutely. The photographs are what preserve it, digitally speaking, after all. For most of the 'viewers' it's how they will see it - for it'll sit on my desk for probably all it's life now. Thanks again for your support and words. It's really appreciated.

Not a problem at all! Something as cool as this deserves praise Looking forward to the next one

Just put up a post about diorama photography on my site:

http://rusty-robot.co.uk/?p=730

It's very well done, however I can't help but think it would work.better if the cop was looking for something not human. Like a zombie, predator type alien, demon or some other gribbly. Might just add a bit more 'scare-factor' and visual interest, which is what dioramas are all about. Good skills though dude :-)

Dr. Bizarre wrote:
It's very well done, however I can't help but think it would work.better if the cop was looking for something not human. Like a zombie, predator type alien, demon or some other gribbly. Might just add a bit more 'scare-factor' and visual interest, which is what dioramas are all about. Good skills though dude :-)

Interesting notes here. I certainly considered the characters before I made my final decision and in the end I wanted to keep the science fiction aspect to a minimum. The Dog being the only element to provide a hint of sci-fi. The soldier is the centre of the story here, for without him there isn't one. This is what made me choose a human. I wanted to tell a story of how he came to be here in this moment. Also, whilst I absolutely agree that dioramas are about visual interest, I don't think they are all about that. For me, they are about all about story. The details playing a part in the storytelling whilst characters, paint job, basing etc play the other aspects of that story. Thanks for your comments, it's really appreciated

poor doggy. :(
lol.

Absolutely smashing piece.

Comparing this diorama to "I am two bullets", it misses all those extra little details like coke can or kill marks. I know you focused miniatures (and they look great) but I think it would look even cooler if you painted some logos or flammable signs on those gas cylinders/oil barrels, especially that you have those rhombus on them

the shrouded lord wrote:poor doggy. :(
lol.

I think he had a fatal accident once upon a time, but bioengineers saved his life

Usashi wrote:Absolutely smashing piece.

Comparing this diorama to "I am two bullets", it misses all those extra little details like coke can or kill marks. I know you focused miniatures (and they look great) but I think it would look even cooler if you painted some logos or flammable signs on those gas cylinders/oil barrels, especially that you have those rhombus on them

Thanks for your comments, Sir. I do agree with you. There is certainly less detail to pour over than with "I am two bullets". With my freehand skills not level par with my other skills, I didn't want to risk letting the whole piece down by adding them. This explains the absence of labels and the guard's arm patch detail. I have deliberately left them mostly accessible for this to be added when I feel I'm capable of doing so. Thanks again

Amazing stuff Rusty. You're 3 for 3 in my book. Well done!

 gunslingerpro wrote:
Amazing stuff Rusty. You're 3 for 3 in my book. Well done!

Not to dig up an age-old thread, so apologies if it seems as so, but I just wanted to say thank you for your comment gunslingerpro. Really appreciated.

Another inspiring piece pal. Nice work

 Rusty Robot wrote:
Not to dig up an age-old thread

This thread should be stickied IMHO

queen_annes_revenge wrote:Another inspiring piece pal. Nice work

Thank you Sir

kb_lock wrote:

 Rusty Robot wrote:
Not to dig up an age-old thread

This thread should be stickied IMHO

Wow - now this is something. Thank you mate. I'm glad you like it! Great comment to come back from holiday too!