Ambush - Historical Context & Design Development
Historical Context
As the fighting of the Second World War continued, Germany found themselves on the defensive on all fronts. Building many defensive positions and fortifications, they soon became masters of ambush tactics, concealing all manner of weapons in as many ways as possible, sometimes utilising the natural terrain of the area they are defending.
With a constant threat of air attack, this forced the Germans to develop highly effective methods of concealment, often surprising advancing Allied units. Some of the best examples of this type of fighting occurred after the D-Day landings in 1944, as the Allies attempted to breakout from the newly established beachheads. They found themselves up against hardened troops from the Eastern Front using the Normandy hedgerows, known as Bocage, to perform ambush attacks on unsuspecting Allied forces.
These experiences allowed the German soldiers to become masters of ambush which proved invaluable during their retreat back to Germany towards the end of World War II. This style of combat has since been used in many conflicts, including Vietnam, and most notably as Guerilla warfare.
Diorama Base Development
To begin this diorama, I used an A4 size piece of paper and sketched a possible layout for the model. This was created using pre-purchased model kits of the vehicles, artillery and soldiers that will feature on the diorama. I also noted key landmarks and the type of terrain that will feature on the model.
The model kits that will feature on this diorama are Armourfast 1/72 scale Jackson/Wolverine, Revell 1/72 scale PaK 40 gun with crew and Airfix 1/72 scale German Infantry. With these models already assembled, I drew around these to design the layout of the base on the piece of paper.
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| 01. Rough layout sketch |
Using the layout sketch, I cut down a piece of MDF to match the A4 diagram to use as the base and glued a piece of polystyrene foam cut to the same size onto this. An offcut piece of polystyrene foam was glued on top of the A4 section at one of the corners to create a ridge for the PaK 40 gun to sit. I decided to change the layout of the diorama as the initial design felt unnatural for the type of scene that was to be depicted. This was changed to a more natural layout for the model components.
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| 02. Applying the turf blend |
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| 03. Polystyrene foam ridge with duct tape |
To create a gradual slope for the ridge section of the diorama, I used some duct tape and attached this to the top section of the polystyrene foam of the ridge and onto the lower section of the base. Once this was attached, I marked out the elements that will be used on the model, placing a dirt road along one side and the anti-tank on the ridge section. With these positions marked out, it was time to apply the turf blend and dirt onto the base.
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| 04. Model position experiments |
When the turf blend and dirt had dried in position, I tested the locations the models on the base to make sure these were placed in the best positions on the diorama. As well as the ridge for the gun, this was to feature some bushes to conceal the gun position so that the weapon appears to have ambushed and destroyed the tank travelling along the dirt road.
To make the bushes, I decided to use cotton wool balls and coat them in hairspray before dipping them into a tub of turf blend. The turf stuck to the cotton wool balls and dried in place. I did this with each ball until they were covered all over with the turf blend. The same technique was used to make a tree that is also to be used on the diorama, except this is held above the ground using a toothpick.
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| 05. Cotton wool ball tree and bush |
