The title could be a hint?

Like "My son" or "Fallen Family"

Just a idea

Hola!

Yes, I have had this problem in mind also. Either by a suiting title like The Loss of a Son . . . A Final Reunion...The Last view...Fare Thee Well Son... Or by adding a brass plaque with the story line on in on to the base. I don't know how to be able to get the idea behind it without writing it. Any ideas from our clever diorama builders?

Anders,
This would be hard to interpret without a background explanation. What would tell the viewer the dead soldier was her son? The viewer might assume it was only her sensibililties that were shock at the sight of any dead soldier. It would make a compelling scene, but your seminal idea might not get across.
Al

Hola!

Plasticbattle,

Have you tried this method? And why would it not work? If you paint a scale of lets say red, highlights midtone and shadows, and then transfer it to b/w, would this not be a good way to get the right shades of gray's?

JimF,

I agree that the figure would have to be rather subdued in color as other wise she would stick out like a sore thumb. Also, to paint her in color would be to bring the attention to her, just like you said.

Little more ideas,

I have been thinking a little more about this dio, and have came up with some more detail.

As the german soldiers body is shown on the screen there would be like 3-4 younger boys, to young to be soldiers yet and all sitting next to each other "cheering", with poses like half standing up and with hands in air and "applauding", others just sitting there, and even a wounded veteran in a wheel chair in one of the aisles. All to bring the emotion these types of film would bring to different types of people.
Any ideas on this?

I might give this a go in january when things will settle down a bit. We'll see we'll see

The idea is very compelling, and the technical problems (lighting, etc.) present an intriguing challenge. There was a theatrical company here that used to do live plays in black and white; all the costumes, sets, makeup, etc. were in shades of grey. The plays were spoofs of 1940's detective movies, and the illusion was so well maintained that when the director came on stage for a bow at the end of the show, wearing a brightly colored shirt, it was quite a shock to the ol' eyeballs. Depicting the mother in color while the rest of the dio is b &w would be a good way to focus the viewers' attention, using very subdued colors to avoid garishness.

If only that were true. Ive had lots of theories, only to find out when I tried them it didnt work out quite as simply as I thought. The things one puts oneself through! Great idea though.

Keith Forsythe´s (Doc´s dios) dio of Jews being rounded up and forced into wagens ready to be transported to gas chambers has made lots of "headlines" recently. An excellent dio, he portrays this so well and it makes such a statement! Maybe you should reconsider this dio idea! If you could pull it off (and Im sure you could) you would surely make a name for yourself. Dios like this appeal to a lot more people than us military modellers.

Hola!!

LOL Jan...I don't think I wanna touch that subject for a model dio...now...in real life...

As far as why not doing this?

1) I have to many things going on at the moment
2) Hate to start a project like this and not finish it because #1
3) Not so good with special effects and lighting stuff

What I would do to get the black and white correct is to paint on a piece of paper the colors I want to depict in b/w and then scan it and change the color to b/w so I know what shade of gray it would be in! Simple eeh?

Anders,
In the sixties, movies from Sweden were quite popular around these places. I only remember they completely lacked any form of storyline or scenario. (they were cheap on costumes, too, now I think back of those). A scenario talent like you would have made a fortune back then !

One of rhe guys in the club has begun a series of kits in B&W. His first was a bust of Bogey. His second is more ambitious, Andrea's Frankenstein's Monster. In this one, he has a dropped torch in front of the monster which provides the lighting from the front and below so that the front of the creature has many stark white highlights while the back is pure shadow. To increase the effect, he has put a shadow of teh creature's head and shoulders on the archway above and behind him.

A Black and white dio??

Hmmm maybe this can bring you in te mood.

Completly painted in grey's

http://www.archertransfers.com/Bracketed.html

A real masterpiece

#:-)

Hey Spielberg,

That idea sounds good ! I'm impressed with the way you "sketched" it !!

Why aren't you gonna do this dio ?? I think it has enough potential to really shock the dio world as we know it..... Working in black 'n white .... I certainly have never seen it before.

I'd say "have a go at this". Marvelous idea !!

Sounds like you´re on your way to Hollywood my Swedish brother.
Definitely a nice idea and a ww2 era movie theatre would be a terrific setting to build! With a clever layout you could actually show more of the room that you have to build...
The screen would be great to show with backlight. Use some white semi-translucent paper and print the picture on that, bright light behind it...cooool!
I was thinking a movie theatre scene some time ago whn I found a picture of Finnish soldiers watching Mickey Mouse!


Toni

Hola!

First I'd like to say that I wont do this idea, atleast in the next 10 years, but its a very nice idea I belive.


The story I was thinking about was born driving home from my girlfriends house, they were playing the sound of an old roll of film that was shown by a projector. I think this is what its called anyways, like the films used for news reels etc.

I have two different settings with the same story in mind, I will explain both;

The idea is of a woman, who fled to the states when the war broke out in Germany, she left behind a son who refused to go as he was in the waffen ss and was a loyal soldier.
She have not heard from him nor her husband in over a year now, and she frequently go to the news reel shows where they show the war as it progresses.
One day she see her son laying in a ditch, face up and lifeless, shes terrified and burst into tears.

Setting #1

An empty theatre (cinema) show room, with all the seats empty except for the one she is sitting in, she's leaning forward with her elbows on her knee's with her hands covering her face, having a hankercheif in her hand. The cinema would be seen from the side and have the projector on the left wall and the white screen on the right side. On the white screen it would be either completely white, or a line that says -THE END - .
I would use partial lighting on the walls, like the ones they turn on after the show is over. As this would be a shadow box, other lighting possibilites are there.

Setting # 2

Same as above exept this would be the moment she see's her son. The theatre is full of people, all would be painted in black and white except for the lady in tears. Her pose would be almost the same, but she would sit straight up and covering her mouth like she cannot believe what she is seeing.
Also, I would try to use lighting effects to depict it as the show is acctually going on. On the white screen there would be a picture of a dead Wafen SS soldier, dead in a ditch, face up, and lifeless...


I think this would show the fear a lot of people felt when watching the news reels, with out knowing where their beloved sons and daughters were and if they were safe. I think it would be a very emotional diorama with a lot of feelings tied into it, maybe thats why it makes such a good subject?

So what you think?