Culture & Entertainment
"Drowning wolf". U-boat going down.
There's the guy who is a master at assembling kits and makes our jaws drop with scale models that our eyes can't tell them from full-sized. And there are some other kinds of guys who are a completely different kind of "beast"… they master the dioramas.
For those who do not know what it is, dioramas are the miniature reproduction of scenes. The kits are assembled, modified and even combined with scenery elements that the artist “manufactures” himself using creativity and various types of objects from scrap, newspaper, wire, sawdust to resins and cotton to simulate seas and wave foam.
Dioramas creators' preferences are ofter war scenarios, with destroyed planes (kits are modified to represent the destruction caused by the crash), large ships on the high seas, but we also see many artists building bucolic small towns or villages daily scenes. The creativity in making the scenario is unlimited and there is no way not to be enchanted by the result.
I am particularly fond of dioramas and had the opportunity to grow up watching my dad build incredibly real scenarios for our electric trains using newspaper, glue, sawdust and a lot of creativity. We had tunnels, terrain relief, trees and even tiny figurines populating the railroads. I promise to post the photos here as soon as I find them.
.
- "Drowning wolf". U-boat going down.
This is a work of art - and don't even try to classify otherwise - built by Scott Withers, relying loosely on a WWII photograph.
It took 3 ½ months to make this amazing 1/72 scale scene using the Revell VIIC Uboat kit. I cannot describe all the techniques used, but besides the model's construction and exquisite painting, what draws much attention is the realism in the use of bicomponent resin, white glue and, probably, "still water" to make this big sea seem so real.
Assembling realistic kits already requires tremendous skill and mastery of certain techniques, but assembling such a diorama is at hardcore level.
- Model History: Unterseeboot 625, or U625
The dreaded U-625 was a VIIC-type German submarine that belonged to the Kriegsmarine - German Navy - and was in operation between 1942 and 1944 during World War II.
During this period he conducted 10 war patrols and sank 5 Allied ships, for a total tonnage of 19,880 tons (total internal volume of sunken vessels summed up).
It went out of operation, not by the decision of the German government, after being hit by deep loads launched by a Sunderland aircraft (RCAF Sqdn. 422 / U) on March 10, 1944, causing the death of all 53 crew members.
The U-boats were perhaps the deadliest weapons used against Allied forces in World War II. This type of submarine used virtually the same technology as World War I, but its versatility, reliability, and crew training made it a very lethal weapon of war during the early years of the war. They navigated the surface until the crew saw the enemy and track their course and speed. At night they would charge their attacks, either on the surface or even submerged, using torpedoes. When submerged, they could detect sonar and boat noise through passive acoustic detectors, further increasing the lethality of this machine.
When Allied boats got equipped with sonar and radar, the effectiveness of the VIIC decreases to zero. With a time limit for submerged navigation imposed by low battery efficiency and reduced speed (only 8 knots), the U-boats were losing their private war against Allied vessels.
During the war, more than 1,097 U-boats were built, and about 785 were sunk. It was the most numerous and effective submarine model in the history of wars.
.
Pictures: AtomScales - https://www.facebook.com/pg/atomscales/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1800775393299819
Artist: Scott Withers - https://www.facebook.com/sawithers
Historical facts: Wikipedia
Tags: Uboat, 1/72, Revell