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Posted: 4/24/2024 3:41:47 PM EDT
Our esteemed guns762 and his students inspired me to finally get off my ass and start a project I had been thinking about for a few years. Here's their current Viking-themed project: https://www.ar15.com/forums/general/The-2nd-Age-of-Vikings-Student-Project-Thread-2023-24-Update-4-24-Ghost-on-The-wall-pg30/5-2665862/
As a kid growing up, I did the occasional model airplane and tank, and when I was around 19, I made a small Warhammer 40K themed kit-bashing diorama. In college, I made a Zulu vs. British (Rorke's Drift) diorama, which was also a lot of fun. Since then, I have not done any modeling, or made any dioramas. So it's been at least 35 years ... so basically this is me making a complicated diorama without really knowing what I am doing. But a few years ago I started thinking that a Vikings vs. Samurai diorama might be a neat project - and something to spend time on during dark winter evenings. Some nerds might be curious (or argue) about which of them were better warriors, or whether a Viking longsword is "better" than a Samurai katana, and other silly dorky arguments. So I figured it would be funny to make a fictional diorama in which they end up in a fight. So, inspired by guns762 and his amazing students, I decided to actually do this project this winter. I started seriously thinking about it and planning in January, and then started working on it at the beginning of February. This project involved TONS of stuff I had never done before, like sculpting the landscape out of foam, using resin for water, creating water surface and waterfall effects, etc. I definitely watched some YoutTube videos to help me figure stuff out. This took me about two and a half months, working evenings and on weekends. Below are a bunch of pictures. I will follow up with a step-by-step description and pictures of the process of making everything (assuming anyone is interested). Who knows? Maybe this can become a fun thread for those of us who like modeling and dioramas. The "story" is that a Viking longship got waaaayyy off course, and ended up crashing onto a rocky shore in Japan, running into a group of Samurai. |
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Quoted: /media/mediaFiles/sharedAlbum/toast_gif-994.gif That is bad-ass. What is the size of that (LxW)? How tall are the little figurines? Trying to get a sense of scale. View Quote It's 1/72 scale. So each figure is less than an inch tall. The base is 24x24" ETA: Here's a picture on my work bench, showing the scale |
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Very nice! Good pics too and looking forward to more as you continue.
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Now you've done it. Now I have to go on the search for the video of the weapons expert who claimed the Viking Ulfberht sword was far superior to the samurai sword.
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I saw a History Channel ( I think ) years ago did hypothetical engagements like this comparing a one on one scenario.
One episode was a Viking vs Samurai. The Samurai edged out a win , which I disagreed with based on it turning into CQB and the samurai using one of those big studded clubs. I just didn’t see a rather small guy using a heavy striking weapon to defeat a bigger, stronger opponent. Nice work on the diorama |
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Looks great. I used to love building dioramas. I should get back into it, considering a new hobby shop opened nearby about a month ago, something I haven't seen around here for close to 30 years. Having six airbrushes on hand now, I'm running out of excuses.
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Thanks for all of the kind comments!
Of course when I look at it, I see all of the things I screwed up (especially the resin!) and all the things that "should" have been better. That said, I am actually extremely pleased with how it turned out. The final product looks very close to what I imagined in my mind's eye when I first started thinking about it. |
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Quoted: Only if the vikings went off course for about 500-600 years. Eta: damn, I didn't beat your edit! View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Fuck that's cool. Only if the vikings went off course for about 500-600 years. Eta: damn, I didn't beat your edit! The time-line doesn't QUITE line up. These Vikings would be from around 1000-1100 AD, but the Samurai are probably more like 1200-1300. So there's a bit of willing suspension of disbelief involved, on top of the fictional premise of the entire thing. |
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Quoted: The time-line doesn't QUITE line up. These Vikings would be from around 1000-1100 AD, but the Samurai are probably more like 1200-1300. So there's a bit of willing suspension of disbelief involved, on top of the fictional premise of the entire thing. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Fuck that's cool. Only if the vikings went off course for about 500-600 years. Eta: damn, I didn't beat your edit! The time-line doesn't QUITE line up. These Vikings would be from around 1000-1100 AD, but the Samurai are probably more like 1200-1300. So there's a bit of willing suspension of disbelief involved, on top of the fictional premise of the entire thing. Maybe some offshoot of forgotten vikings in the New World survived and discovered the Northwest Passage. |
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Quoted: Do you know the 47 ronin? View Quote That was actually not an inspiration for this (I assume you are talking about the diorama from the movie). But I was definitely reminded of it as I started working . I almost went to watch the movie again, just to look for it - because I was wondering what the scale was. My vague memory of the movie suggests that it might have been a bit larger than 1/72 |
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Definitely the coolest
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Very nice.............eventually i am going to build a diorama, a sort of what if, that has German paper panzers counterattacking Russians in the Seelow Heights........my subjects will be Panther F tanks as well as Maus and E series vs IS-2, 3 and T-34/85..........
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I too was a 40k and WHFB nerd at the very beginning (1989ish). I commend your work and you certainly gain +100 credits for the clear epoxy pour for the water scene. Bravo!
-87 points for obviously omitting the naked pearl diving Japanese female that should obviously play a critical role in the Viking landing party's selection of bays to land. |
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So , the guys carrying lumber to the boat. . . are they trying to fix it underfire ? Cause I don't think they can fix that. |
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You should sneak in an Easter egg of some kind. Like a single Warhammer figure or something.
Edit: I figured it out. A Darth Vader figure painted like a samurai. |
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Awesome!
Definitely channeling your inner Michael Lonsdale. How's your beard and mane looking these days? |
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Very impressive.
Can't say I have ever seen a movie where Vikings battle Samurai. Perhaps there is the makings of a script here. "Some nerds might be curious (or argue) about which of them were better warriors, or whether a Viking longsword is "better" than a Samurai katana, and other silly dorky arguments." Sir, you are student of steel so the fact that you are mocking men who would debate what steel and tactics are better is deeply troubling. The Riddle of Steel is not something to be mocked or trivialized. Everyone knows the speed of a Samurai with his katana trumps the brute force of the Viking with his longsword. |
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Quoted: Very impressive. Can't say I have ever seen a movie where Vikings battle Samurai. Perhaps there is the makings of a script here. "Some nerds might be curious (or argue) about which of them were better warriors, or whether a Viking longsword is "better" than a Samurai katana, and other silly dorky arguments." Sir, you are student of steel so the fact that you are mocking men who would debate what steel and tactics are better is deeply troubling. The Riddle of Steel is not something to be mocked or trivialized. Everyone knows the speed of a Samurai with his katana trumps the brute force of the Viking with his longsword. View Quote |
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Quoted: So , the guys carrying lumber to the boat. . . are they trying to fix it underfire ? Cause I don't think they can fix that. View Quote They are gathering salvage to allow them to build either shelter, or perhaps repurpose wood/planks into some kind of raft or smaller boat? They're still in the early stages of planning. As indicated by some of the shields and weapons on the beach, they are also salvaging weapons and equipment. If the Japanese hadn't shown up, they'd presumably start cutting down trees soon. |
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Quoted: The time-line doesn't QUITE line up. These Vikings would be from around 1000-1100 AD, but the Samurai are probably more like 1200-1300. So there's a bit of willing suspension of disbelief involved, on top of the fictional premise of the entire thing. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Fuck that's cool. Only if the vikings went off course for about 500-600 years. Eta: damn, I didn't beat your edit! The time-line doesn't QUITE line up. These Vikings would be from around 1000-1100 AD, but the Samurai are probably more like 1200-1300. So there's a bit of willing suspension of disbelief involved, on top of the fictional premise of the entire thing. Kind of like the Final Countdown, but the Viking longship goes forward in time. |
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Pretty damned cool! I’m sitting at my modeling bench right now working on some 1/32 Nazi shit.
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Awesome! I love it. 9.98 out of 10. A floating face down Viking on the resin "water" surface with an arrow in his back would have been cool!
Edit: Oops I forgot Samurai arent using bows here... doh! |
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I'm still in awe of how well your resin pour went and how ot turned out. Really cool.
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Nice job. If you wanna make more grass, I HIGHLY recommend investing in a static electricity grass applicator. Basically you spray PVA glue onto your surface and shake a hopper with your grass blades over it. There is a 9V battery that makes the grass stand up as you shake it and it dries in place. You can get extremely realistic looking grass with it.
Attached File And yea nice job with the resin pour. The characters are well positioned (they don't look like they are drowning) and the edges are clear with minimal bubbles. |
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