I've been working on my first scratchbuilding project and gotten to a point where it looks like I've accomplished something and wanted to hear from you guys with any comments and/or criticism.

It's the German observation bunker at Pointe du Hoc during the assault on D-Day. It's going to be a part of a dio sooner rather than later hopefully.
Most of the plaster has been laid down.
Just need to sand up a few areas, paint and add a few tweaks like protruding bars and air/water pipes.
The top half and bottom half are not yet glued together....still need to put together the figures and gear/equipment for inside.
There's more in progress pics in my gallery, but here are a couple of them.

Oh, I almost forgot, I know it's supposed to have the 'shuttered timber' effect, but I failed miserably at trying to replicate it. Tried it on one section and most of the plaster came off with the popsicle sticks I was using, so I need to practice some more on that tactic.

let me know what you think.
thanks.


[img]

Wow! it's a big mother!
Like it allready, can't wait till the guns and figures are in it!! (of wich you'll be needing a LOT I guess...)

Keep us updated please!

Very nice - I strongly urge everyone to check out the gallery - LOTS of scratch building on the INSIDE.
I would touch up the round part, even up some of the seams.
At this point of the project it looks good.

Howdy PeaceMaker,

I just love your Bunker! And I agree with slodder, some nice pics of his progress in his 'Photos' section.
He's done a lot of nice work to the inside, and I'm not quite sure why he didn't include at least one of them in this thread, but with his permission(?) I will.



Good work PeaceMaker....keep us informed.

Tread.

That's great!! Why did you decide on an observation bunker rather than an MG or artillery bunker? That kind of work deserves some firepower!!!

Ciao Peacemaker,
Wow, that is some impressive build you got going there!! I can't wait to see all the hardware and troops you are going to have running around it. Where are you going to put that monster?
Ciao for now
Rob

Very impressive. I hope that you will be making the top removable so that the interior will be seen. This is going to be one great Dio.

Jurgen - Have to be careful about guns at Pointe du Hoc the Rangers found they were gone on D-Day, no artillery, just MGs and small arms.

PeaceMaker - Just a couple facts you probably already know. The OP was attacked by two elements of E company 2nd Ranger Bn. from either side. After 4 grenades and a Rocket launcher hit (all through the gun slit) the German firing stopped, and the enterances were guarded by Rangers to await the Germans exit and surrender. The whole area was badly shell marked, so much so that all the time spent be the Rangers to memorize the area was of no use.

Great build can't wait to see the Dio.

Thanks for the comments guys. Glad you like it so far.
About where it's going to go, haven't the foggiest idea....didn't think it would turn out this big, but once it's done, it's going to be delivered to my wife's former commander as a gift.
As far as why I chose this bunker over the other ones, while doing research on the assault at Pointe du Hoc, and Chuck explained it in previous post, all the guns were moved back out the bunkers and the whole landscape on top of the Pointe looked like the moon surface after the bombers had gone through earlier.
After reading through a couple of books and papers during my research it looked like most of the action took place around the observation bunker, around the AA sites and firefights all around the area.
I really wanted to try my hand at trying to scratchbuild a bunker, so that's why I chose this one.
Eventually I'll build a gun bunker.

I've toyed with the idea of making the roof removable because it would really be a shame not to be able to view the inside since I've spent so much time on it, but I just can't seem to figure out a way to do it. That, and I really don't know what the inside looks like.
I've never visited the Pointe so I was forced to work from various pictures that I've found off of internet sites. Very, very few pictures I found show off the inside, unfortunately.

Besides what it looks like inside, from what I can gather, about half of the bunker is covered with dirt/ground cover on the top sides of it.
Guess I could take some 'artistic license' and not cover it, but I'm not sure it would look that great. I imagine that there was rubble and dirt everywhere due to the bombing runs previous to the assault.

If anyone can think of a way to do this, I'm open to suggestions though.
Again, thanks for the feedback.

Hey guys-
an update on the new turn of events. After thinking about it over the weekend (and staring blankly for quite some time) I decided to perfrom some minor surgery to the bunker.

Part of the roof is now removable, or will be once I sand it up a bit to make it a smoother fit.

But here's the pictures of the result.





It's kinda hard to figure out what's what, but just wanted to show the new direction I'm taking by being able to see the inside. Still gotta build the crew room on the right hand side and add the other stuff.

It creates a lot more work and poses some more challenges, but that's part of the hobby.

Very impressive bunker Peacemaker. Can't help you much with the interior layout but as a suggestion for topside viewing is to include sections of perspex or glass (heavier though) with your roof to show off the cool interior.

As for your plaster and stick problem, I've experienced similar problems of adhrerence. You might want to try making the plaster a bit thicker and applying some undiluted PVA glue to the sticks before attaching the plaster. Just a suggestion.

I would plaster the whole thing first. Good layer with loads of white glue. Plaster has a habit of falling off the polystyrene .. even when hard. Score the polystyrene with your knife so the plaster gets some grip. When its all plastered, smooth it all of nicely with a damp sponge .. not wet just damp. When dry you will have a smooth hard base with no gaps.
Then i would spread out another thin layer of plaster on top. Smooth it again with a wet sponge. Wait for an hour or two until it starts to harden. Then using a popsicle stick as a tool .. with a shaft on it, slightly imprint it. If the stick is slightly damp, the plaster will not stick so much. If any plaster does stick .. wipe/wash it off.
The plaster I used was the ready made in a tube type, for holes in walls. Hopefully this helps a bit.

thanks for the tips guys.
I hadn't thought of adding glue and the layering and the sponge technique.
Gonna try these out.