KC Dioramas (1 Viewer)

[Warbuff26]

Hello everyone! This is a great site...thanks Treefrog! I am a avid KC collector and I love also building custom dioramas to display my soliders. Somehow just putting them on a shelf just doesnt do it for me....I like to see them in "action". I would be interested in hearing and seeing what everyone else does to display their soliders! If you would like to see pictures of some of the dio's I have built just email me and I will send some. My file size was too big to post them here.

 

[Louis Badolato]

Hello Warbuff, and welcome. I also love to display my figures on Dioramas, but I don't have the time or the patience to do them myself anymore. What I do is come up with concepts, discuss them with Andy Nielson & his brother Gordon, and, over the years they have designed and built me several King & Country custom dioramas. I have also purchased ready made K&C dioramas (which had been made for either flyers or toy soldier shows). Some of my dioramas are depicted on this Website, and on Sagers Toy Soldiers website. I have a Vietnam Firebase, a North West Frontier Fort, an Afrika Corps Diorama, an SAS/Long Range Desert Group Diorama, a Normandy Bocage Hedgerow Diorama, an Operation Market Garden Diorama, a Streets of Hong Kong Diorama and an RAF Diorama. King & Country used to make great wood and papier mache diorama buildings, metal accessories and later polystone buildings and accessories which could be easily combined to make dioramas. These include (in wood, Papier Mache and metal) a four piece Fortress, Silk Road Great Wall Gateway, Zulu War farmhouse, 5 "Backlot" buildings (3-D French or Dutch buildings for WWII, with propaganda posters & excellent painted or printed on details), an RAF Quanset Hut, 8 Streets of Hong Kong 3-D buildings (which can sometimes be mixed with the WWII stuff), Street signs, Lamp posts, benches, barrels, post-boxes, and, in polystone & foamtech, a civil war bridge, a plain grey 8-piece 3-D destroyed Normandy village, a Stalingrad strongpoint, an Iwo Jima mountain top, afghan cave complex, Normandy, Berlin Chancellory, Dickens and Streets of Hong Kong flat building facades, a Roman Triumphal Arch & Fortress, and, most recently, destroyed Berlin Buildings. I use many of these K&C buildings and accessories on my diroamas, and to make little vignettes on shelves which also allow me to display the figures in a more realistic environment. For example, on the Diorama displayed on this website as "a nice diorama", on a Diorama Base custom made for me by Andy, I used the Silk Road Gateway as the gate of a Dutch town with a Medievil Wall, 4 of the Backlot Buildings and one of the Streets of Hong Kong 3 Tiered Houses as backdrop, and some Streets of Hong Kong accessories (barrells, benches, etc.) as fill-in details. It all works pretty well together. I would love to see some pictures of your dioramas up on the website. Regards, Louis

 

[gk5717]

Has anyone else seen the Arnhem bridge that Bill Moore had at OTSN? I believe he said he sold it. Also he has a British Glider that I,ve seen pics of.
Louis didn,t you say there were only 2 made?
Also Moore has a guy build excellent display pieces when he sets up at OTSN.
Gary

 

[CannonFodder1971]

Although I wasn't at the OTSN (I rarely even get to London shows/fairs) I'd suspect that the Arnhem bridge is one of 200 produced by HJB Miniatures. Have a look at the pics on George's Minutemen Toy Soliders website if you can confirm that it's the same one.

 

[gk5717]

No, I,m familiar with the HJB bridge, this I believe was one of a kind. I seen it at OTSN even before I started collecting K&C. In fact it first drew my attention to K&C. Back then (prior to 2002) I was strickly a plastic collector.
I have a buddy who is a plastic collector just built a 1-32 scale Arnhem bridge that measures 15 ft. long.
He sent me pics of it, I,ll see if I can get some more and show you.
Speaking of HJB, any word if he is expanding on his Arnhem set. I did buy the communications half track, which fits perfectly with K&C. I bought one figure, its an eight compared to K&C which is a ten. It is a close fit with K&C, but I will only buy more figures if he does something unique.

 

[Warbuff26]

FYI....I'm the guy who builds Bill Moore's displays for the show. I'm glad you like them. I think they really add a lot to the soldiers.

 

[gk5717]

Re: KC Dioramas Warbuff

I emailed Bill about this board, he would have a lot to contribute.
Gary

 

[Louis Badolato]

Bill Moore does have a King & Country Arnhem Bridge Diorama, which comes with about 10 Backlot buildings. It is quite an impressive piece, but Mr. Moore, who paid about $500 for it in 1997or 1998, quoted a $10,000 purchase price for it, which is, even by ebay standards, a tad too pricey for my blood. I hav several photographs of it, and, if anyone is interested, I will get them to Shannon to put up on the site. Mr. Moore used to have a Horsa Glider, but I bought it from him just before last year's Chicago Show. He also has a small Diorma of a destroyed SS Headquarters in a French town, with a pill box and a ruined church, which he bought at the Chicago show 2 years ago for about $250. He also wants several thousand dollars for this diorama.

 

[Fullyautomatic]

Good stuff

Welcome WarBuff.I met you last year at OTSN to with Gk and your work makes Bill Moore look good.Sorry Bill.I might get some flak for this comment to but B Moore is pricey but he is the go to man if you want a hard to find piece.I really liked the extended Pontoon bridge you had at the show last year.You Rock!!!

 

[jazzeum]

I think I probably mentioned this before but George has some very nice dioramas and when I saw him at a show at Somerset, NJ recently, he mentioned that he likes to vary his dioramas show by show and I think he plans to have Berlin suitable dioramas at Valley Forge. As a relative novice to this hobby, I don't know Bill Moore but I would expect that most dealers who might have retired pieces are pricey since they're all probably watching ebay. I had the fortune to buy a Pak 40 from Sierra and I had to pay what Mike of Sierra called "ebay prices" to get it.

So from what I see here, is Bill Moore the one to go to if you're looking for something?

 

[Warbuff26]

Here is one I did for the new Rangers...D-day Omaha beach. I used normal playground sand mixed in with lighter Woodland Scenics yellow grass for contrast. The water was done using Woodland Scenics Flex Paste and then painted. Sorry about the size...if youd like to see the entire Dio just email me and I will send you the bigger picture.

 

[Louis Badolato]

Warbuff gave us a terrific Battle of the Bulge diorama to raffle off at the New York Symposium. I have watched the development of his dioramas over the past couple of years, and he is fast becoming a master modeler. If you are going to the Valley Forge Show this week, be sure to stop in at George Guerrero's table, and you will see some of Warbuff's work on display. I really loved a Normandy farm house with adjacent hedgerow he displayed at the Chicago show last year.

 

[Warbuff26]

Thanks Louis for the kudos...I am having a good time doing it...but nowhere near a "master" title. Building the dios is just an extention of my love for the soldiers. What a great hobby we all have picked. One that takes care of the "collector" in all of us but one that also celebrates historic events. My biggest joy so far has been building Dios for actual veterns of WWII and using the K&C figures. Boy the stories I've been able to hear from the guys who were actually there. These soldiers and any dio that I may build and display honors the memory of this truly "Greatest Generation!" It's neat how it takes on more than just a hobby feel to it. When people come over to my house and see the displays its almost like they are in a museum. You don't get that feel if you have them displayed sitting on a shelf. Since my collection has grown over the years I do have some displayed in a cabinet and it kills me that they are not on a diorama. I just need more room!! Oh P.S. I joined the White Tiger club...and the Winter Stug Club! I'm so happy!

 

[Hoot-n-Toot]

Thought you might like to see a display base I made for myself. It’s not King and Country but I am an equal opportunity collector. I buy what I am interested in and what I think will make a nice display or diorama.

Toot

 

[Louis Badolato]

Dear Hoot and Toot,

That is one nice diorama!! Between you and Brian, there is some real talent on this website. I wish I had the time, patience and skill to do work of that caliber, but don't, so I just buy Andy and his brother Gordon's stuff.

Regards,

Louis