Hello all. New member here looking for some guidance. A little about myself.. I was an Infantryman in the Marine Corps from 2005-09. Afghanistan twice in some terrible cities. Currently a Police Officer with a big city. I been into history and specifically military history my entire life. I read books, documentaries etc.
Recently I have been interested in this modelling of military battles. Now here comes the guidance part...

I have never tried to do any of this. It is brand new to me to the point that I dont even know where to start.
My goal is to make a model scale of different battles. IwoJima, Dday, Tarawa etc. I want to make this a hobby of mine during my off time from work.
I Dont think I have the skills needed to pain individual soldiers yet, but Im willing to try to paint tanks, landing craft, etc.
Essentially I have no idea where to start, (Do I buy a table first of the size I want the model?) Do I buy soldiers/Marines?
I have no idea what size models to get based on whats easier to work with and YET something that is easy to find at these online stores. (It does me no good to start with a size that I cant find numerous sets for,)
I dont know how to make a foundation IE: DIRT, GRASS ETC, (A base to put the figures, and trees etc.)

These are some of my many issues. I am so new to this I dont even know the right questions to ask. But this is something I really wanna get into, without spending hundreds of dollars needlessly. Money is tight so I also need some options of stores that are not very high priced, especially as a new guy to this, I dont wanna spend lots of money on something to see it doesnt fit the model or I break it.

I know this is a lot of questions, but I need to start somewhere. Any help will be helpful. Also, if you know of other forums in which I could get answers and help.

I should add, My Screen name "Nightstalker32" Was our call sign while in Afghanistan. I was in 3rd platoon 2nd squad hence the 32. Needed to add that otherwise ppl tend to run the other way.

Sounds like you're trying to run a marathon before you've learned to walk.
I'd suggest learning basic modeling skill on some easy kits. Early Tamiya kits would be a good start. Build a few tanks, put them on a simple base with ground work. Move up from there.
When you say battles, how much are you trying to portray? Omaha beach was 200 yards from low to high water marks. That's a lot of space even in small scales.
If you really want to show big battles, 1/285 wargame style vehicles might be the way to go from folks like . GHQ.

Agreed. running before learning to walk. Lets take omaha for instance. I would like (In my mind) to show landing craft at water mark of beach. Show the beach itself, a few pill boxes and bunkers, and maybe a small battle/firefight behind the pill boxes in the trenches. I dont want models that are "too" small. I thought of a whole layout that is prob mpossible to do. Basically I was going to start with buying a cheap table (maybe 5 or 6 ft in lenght and 2-3 3 ft in width.) This would allow me enough space to show a narrow part of any beach, a decent area at and beyond the shingle, and then the outlying grasses, (jungle for pacific campaign.)

I wanted to start with lets say a team (4 Marines on the beach) and build from there. Since Iam familiar with military units and organization, the layout of the men would not get overwhelming.

Once again though, this is new to me. And I think Im more into the grand scheme of making a full battle scene rather than the full on painting idea. I will never own a paint gun, etc. Paint brushes and such are possibility though.

Also, I noticed a lot of these websites are orientated towards "table top gaming'. Im trying to avoid that. I have no interest in playing war games with the figures and objects. My end goal is to make numerous battles and keeping them forever. It will take up space in the basement but the wife wont mind.... lol.

Well I guess my first point would be painting is basically fifty percent of the game. With building being the other. If you don't have a good appetite for it then you may want to go another route. There are companies that make pre-painted little figures and vehicles.

If you don't mind getting painting then start out with some -cheap and easy- 1/72 theatre vehicles and men. 72 being small enough that you could accomplish a little battle on a reasonable sized table. But big enough to start with without going crssseyed. Search the armorama for build logs to learn the techniques. And pretty much embrace that sooner or later you'll be buying an airbrush. They are absolutely indispensable to my mind.



Remember, to make a battle scene you need soldiers, vehicles, fuel and ammunition containers, foliage, obstacles etc. And they all get made individually. Each little project one step closer to the goal. But it's very much going to be a piecemeal operation.

Hello David, try to find out if there is a model club in your area. The best way to learn techniques is to talk to other modelers. Seeing what they've done and asking how they did it. I would also recommend attending any model shows in your area, it's another great way to get ideas, meet people, and learn. Don't be afraid to ask questions, most guys are more than willing to help out any way they can, whether at a club, show, or here on this forum. Al

Awesome help guys. For real. Im gonna take the advice and start small. I will be buying a mini set (a tank with some men ) and start there. What do you guy use to build upon? (meaning the ground/terrain?). If I wanted to show a firefight what would I use to be the base? styro foam sheets? etc?

For the base, places like Hobby Lobby, Michael's, or any other arts & crafts store, sell different sized and shaped wooden plaques. You just have to stain and/or varnish them. They also sell different sized plastic 'boxes' used for displaying photos that can be used as a base. I've used both, depending on what I'm trying to accomplish. Styrofoam can be used to build up ground work, if you're looking for uneven terrain, or a hillside, trenches, etc.. Wherever you might need depth to your groundwork. For flatter terrain you can just build on the base using plaster, or Durham's water putty. Both are powders that you mix with water to the consistency that you want. I prefer the Durham's because it is harder than plaster and less likely to chip. It can be found at any hardware store or Home Depot. Check out the model railroad section of your hobby shop for different scenic materials also. There are several books available on doing dioramas, vignettes, and groundwork, you might want to look on line for one. Al

Thanks again. That is a big step for me. I am going to get a few basic models as stand alone items. Then in a few months start to buy models for a bigger battle. Is there any specific way you go about your bigger or even smaller models? What gets you motivated to make one from one battle as opposed to another?

Using foam for a diorama base I feel the best option is to go to a builders merchant and ask about buying damaged foam wall insulation sheets.

Ill prob try foam then. Im thinking of starting small by maybe doing something in a shoebox. Is this practical? Maybe start with a few Marines on patrol through a japanese jungle. Is this a good start?

I think a good start is to goto your local hobby shop and pick up something that seems interesting.

I'm not sure what you intend to use a shoebox for.

There are as many reasons for choosing subjects as there are modelers. Some, like me, build whatever interests them, aircraft, armor, figures, ships, even sci-fi. Some guys stick to one period, some several different eras. Some prefer one scale over another. I knew one fellow who just liked to build 1/48 scale Messerschmidt Bf-109's. There were enough different variants and color schemes to keep him happy for years. Pick something that interest you, or that you're familiar with. Being a Marine, you might want to do a F4U Corsair, or a F-4 Phantom, or a F/A-18 Hornet in USMC markings, or maybe a WW2 Marine Sherman, or Vietnam Patton, or an M-1 Abrams. It's really up to you. Al

Yeah, Im thinking of sticking to WW2 for the time being. My end goal is dioramas as opposed to individual models.( But im now realizing it takes one model at a time to do so). To make the larger firefights and such, is it just a combination of many previous models you have completed in the past? or do you start from scratch and buy /paint specifically for the larger diorama?

The shoe box idea was something to get me started. Painting a model plane itself does not interest me as much as painting a tank and many men and then specifically using them to portray a specific battle or firefight. Many of the helpful members here have said to start small. So I was thinking instead of trying to build a 5 foot by 5 ft normandy invasion, I would build a small patrol of soldiers/Marines. I would need a box or somesort of rigid platform I thought to create this. Then add the terrain,etc inside of it. So when I was done (months from now) I could literally pick the box up and walk it around to show ppl etc.

Typically, people use a simple bottom base without walls/ceiling instead of a "box". Not that it can't be done, but it's likely easier to just start with a base. Many people use picture frames as a decent base, and build up their groundwork there.

Also, a jungle is a bit complicated as far as vegetation and whatnot. You may want to 'start' with something a bit more... "sparse". Think field/grassland/desert as those are likely much easier for a first try.


As far as what to use, either starting new or using old stuff... it depends on what your final goal is.

Some thoughts.

1) In the first few years, you're learning curve is going to be rather steep. The difference in quality between your 1st model and your 5th model will be quite a bit larger than between your 15th model and your 20th model.

2) Once you have a plan for a specific battle, you'll likely be doing some research on the specific units that were engaged. Each unit may have different markings, or the tanks used may be a different version, or whatever. That will also let you figure out exactly what you want/need as far as groundwork and whatnot. Example, a diorama of Marines on Iwo Jima is not going to look the same as Marines on Tarawa.

Right, I can name almost every unit in every island invasion against the Japanese. Good idea on the grass/barren landscape first. Do you guys normally use real dirt/sand and such for ground?

For sand go to an art shop as not all sand is yellow depending on what you are depicting' for what I loosly term desert sand I usually use Chinchilla dust.

You can use soil straight from the garden/yard but again soil is different colours depending on location. The soil would need to be cooked in the oven to kill any bacteria, moulds or fungus and then crushed.

most modellers colour plaster and then use any number of products from diorama stockists such as pigments. I like the Earth powders availble from Treemendus

Where do you guys shop for your models and kits? Looking for 1/72 as suggested. Looking to not pay an insane amount for kit/s

With you being an American most seem to use the internet shoping mostly in China from Lucky Models and the like, however it is worth checking out the local model shop if one is reasonably close.

ill look for a local one. Only thing near by for sure is hobby lobby. Ill try to avoid shopping from other countries as Im sure it will be expensive.

Well, for example...on Iwo Jima, each of the 3 Marine tank battalions used a different type of Sherman tank, and each had specific modifications, paint schemes, markings, etc.

I think you should buy this book:

http://www.amazon.com/How-Build-Dioramas-Sheperd-Paine/dp/0890241953

:)

Iwo was pretty sparse by the looks of photos I've seen. I imagine us naval bombardment made the areas around that Hill look more like the moon than a Pacific island. The aleutians are a great place to start if you want something really barren for a first try. Sort of a forgotten campaign up there but worth modeling imo.

Buying it now. thanks again. The book will help ppl like myself with ZERO experience in this line of craft?