The First Diorama I ever did..
This started out with a built 1/32 Spitfire I purchased on eBay for an unheard of $4.99. The original builder had simply assembled it and put the kit decals on, with no paint or other work done.
For years, since I was a young child, I loved watching the Battle of Britain with my father (I really grew up watching all the classic war films: 12 O'clock High, A Guy Named Joe, God Is My Copilot, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, etc.). As a college student I delved into book upon book detailing the phases of the fall of France and the eventual aerial battles over Britain; in one of the books I came across a picture of a Spitfire that had crashed after combating the Luftwaffe during Operation Dynamo (the evacuation of the BEF from France at Dunkirk). This sparked an idea, to recreate a diorama of it, using a “junked” eBay purchase.
The project lasted several months and in an effort to try to learn and put new skills to use I dived head first into it. I scratch-built a rear mirror for the aircraft to match the one used on the real aircraft, ordered several different decals to match them to N3200 and tried to read what happened the dogfight that led to her landing on the beach.
I found that the airframe was on her first sortie following delivery to the squadron and as such had little wear or tear. The pilot did down a Ju-87 before an Me-109 caused damage to the engine.
When I rebuild this, I'll be doing it in 1/48 and making use of skills I have learned since.
A fantatic looking diorama, Peter @pcontario
Hard to believe this is just your first ever.
It looks just like the scene on the original picture, you might try to shoot a black/white photo of yours as well.
Wel done.
A magnificent diorama, Peter! What an awesome way to revive an already started kit!
Welcome aboard!
That's quite a save, Peter @pcontario. A diorama that tells the story perfectly.
Of course, the really neat thing is that 25 years ago the waves started exposing N3200, and it was recovered, brought back to England, restored to flight status and now is seen all over Europe at air shows.
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.
What a stunning diorama telling both the stories of a repurposed AND a crashed Spitfire!
Well done 👍
Welcome aboard my friend @pcontario! Very nice diorama- way to salvage that old kit. Looking forward to more of your work!
Excellent work on this project ! Great save on that old Spitfire model !
Nice save and a worth-while project - well done!
I agree, nice work on salvaging an old kit and saving it from the trash. I've considered trying my hand at a restoration like this someday. It is certainly a cheaper way to get some kits. And the type of work needed is not all that different from building a new kit.
Cool as! Nice one.
Impressive work on saving this old kit, welcome to iModeler.