by Peter Fulgoney
1/700 Harbour diorama (Battlefleet Models)
It’s funny how you copy what your friends do, and the harbour dio range from Battle Fleet Models gave me the excuse I needed to follow the lead, and come up with my own version of the busy port scene.
What really helped was the range of ships that BFM have waiting to be part of that composition – everything was available to get started and all I had to do was choose how I wanted to bring these elements together.
My list includes :
I had some spare pieces to make 2 x cranes, and the personnel are the Gold Medal guys. The trucks are from the Skywave beach set.
After a few sketches I came up with the idea of the Hog Islander as the centre piece with everything else going on around it . The HI would be leaving port with the assistance of 2 x tugs, and the oil YO would be docking, the other side of the quay. I wanted a grey, wet scene with men in yellow oilskins going about their various tasks.
The perceived confusion of the hard standing was all about my interpretation of what I think should be included with the help of my friends builds for reference. I have no doubt that the scene is full of inaccuracies but I enjoyed the work, and I’m pleased wit the end result. At the same time as this build, I modelled HMS Kent but as with the observation balloon on Kent, the amount of “animation” that can be included really helps set the scene in motion.
Other ingredients in the build : Humbrol paints, MIG pigments, and 0.1mm wire from little-cars.com, shaped sandpaper for coal mounds. WEM lyrca, and stretched sprue for rigging, artist’s paper for the sea sprayed with Tamiya Luftwaffe grey, and finished in pva white glue, the foam is acrylic mixing white.
See Full History and details on the Battlefleet Models Web Page. You will also find the harbour dio build-up from week to week from start to finish.
Peter F. Chatham UK., July 2007.
