Blitzkrieg
Historical Context
Following the stalemate fighting of the First World War, a new type of warfare was developed, known as Blitzkrieg. Developed by Hienz Guderian, Blitzkrieg was a combined arms tactic where enemy positions were attacked using artillery, aircraft and armed vehicles, supported by motorised infantry units.
Blitzkrieg proved a highly effective tactic in the opening battles of the Second World War, with many German victories, even when used against seemingly superior opponents. This new battle style contributed greatly to the victories during the invasion of Poland, in 1939 and again during the fall of France, in 1940, however, due to the large expanse of Soviet territory, the tactic proved less effective during Operation Barbarossa, in 1941.
The lessons learned from the opening engagements of World War II are still just as effective on modern battlefields, with the same ideas utilised by the coalition forces during the First Gulf War in Kuwait and Iraq.
Development Process
To begin this diorama project, I was gifted an Airfix 1/76 scale Panzer IV model kit, which I built depicting a tank from the Eastern Front of World War II. With this completed, I then purchased a display case, which would feature the model, and be the initial display style, however, to make this more visually interesting, I later decided to develop the model into a diorama with additional components. These components would be in the form of soldiers and a destroyed Soviet anti-tank gun.
The soldiers that would feature were to be Airfix 1/76 scale German Infantry and the anti-tank gun a Plastic Soldier Company 1/72 scale ZiS-2. These were selected for the diorama as they would accurately represent the period of the war the diorama was to depict.
For the diorama base, I decided to try using tissue paper to create a layer of texture for Woodland Scenics turf blend to grip to as ground texture. Before applying the tissue paper, I used a hot glue gun and placed a semi-circle of glue at one end of the base, where the destroyed anti-tank gun will feature, to create the illusion of an impact crater. I spread some of the glue outwards from the semi-circle also, to enhance this illusion. I then attached the soldiers to the diorama base before using the turf blend so that their base plates would also be covered by the turf upon application.
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| 01. Applying the turf blend |
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| 02. Applying the turf blend |
Leaving a section of tissue paper clear for the crater, the turf was placed placed over all available space of the diorama base. The crater section of the base was later covered with dirt before painting the scorch details on the raised rim created by the dried glue.
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| 03. Finished terrain |
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| 04. Finished terrain |
Once all these elements were dry, I turned my attention to the destroyed ZiS-2 anti-tank gun. This model was completed as if the weapon was intact and usable. Once pieced together, I modified the gun to appear damaged, by snapping off one of the rear supports and using a flame to soften parts of the gun model before bending them into shape. Once the final shape was achieved, I painted the model gun.
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| 05. Destroyed Anti-tank gun placement |
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| 06. Destroyed Anti-tank gun placement |
Once the model gun was complete, this was attached to the the diorama base as the finishing detail of the diorama. The Panzer IV model kit features 2x cannons for use on the same turret, both short-barrelled and long-barrelled versions of the 75mm main guns used for the Panzer IV ausf. F1 and F2 variants.
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| 07. Blitzkrieg (Panzer IV ausf. F1) |
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| 08. Blitzkrieg (Panzer IV ausf. F1) |
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| 09. Blitzkrieg (Panzer IV ausf. F2) |
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| 10. Blitzkrieg (Panzer IV ausf. F2) |
