Hey All, Well this is my first post to the forum and hopefully it'll be a great learning experience for me! Just thought i'd post my newest completed project and hopefully get some feedback from yall. After seeing some dioramas set inside helmets or other creative enclosures, id thought i'd try my hand at it. Using a cheap but good enough reproduction, I scratch built the groundwork (bricks, debris, Building) out of xps foam, popsicle sticks, and plaster. I used some of Jeff Shius FANTASTIC figures from his Stalingrad series and I was very happy with the results! Again i'd love to hear any pointers or tips from the figure building community and hope you guys could give some feedback!

I’m not much at figures, but I’m love that I can feel the moment when I look at it.

Well done!

Great piece, not so sure about the wallpaper. Keep up the good work.

Welcome aboard James.

You've made a cracking job there. Personally I would add more dirt/mud to the knees, elbows and cuffs, of the coats and perhaps add a touch of mud, to the snow on the boots and long coats.

Thanks so much for your kind words! Really the figures themselves straight out of the box are fantastic so Jeff shiu definitely gets credit there lol.

Thanks a bunch man! I tend to agree with you in home decor lol!

For sure! I tried to be a little conservative with the mud because late winter in stalingrad was a dry bitter cold (something that living on the northern plains of north dakota I have good reference for lol) but in hindsight it's a little to conservative :/

Welcome James ! This has to be the most original way of displaying a vignette I've ever seen ! Shiu's figures do do a lot of the work for you(IMO) but it's up to the painter to bring them to life and you did a pretty good job! I agree with Jesper about dirty elbows & knees. A feature often over looked on troops in the field dioramas.
Thanks for sharing and what's your next project ?

Thanks! I may have my problems with Pinterest (don't ask lol), but its great for inspiration! I definitely agree with both of you on the brick dust and mud, but weathering has never been my specialty on figures. Tanks have a large margin for error, but figures will eventually just look like a walking pile left to my subtilty!

Great display, outstanding work on the figures.

Awesome work on the figures and "base"!! Looks almost like it's real.

But what are you referring to with the German title?

Cheers man! With the title I'm trying to refer to the ninth circle of hell from Dante's Inferno. Appropriately the ninth circle of hell was a frozen lake of bitter cold furthest away from God's guidance and warmth.