a 1/35 diorama

[jacq01]

  http://www.diorama-clervaux.com/

  something for Marc................

  Jacq

[Chuck Doan]

Good Gravy! What an epic model. Reminds me of Bob Letterman's large scenes.

[chester]

Needs more debris. I do hope some of the veterans of the battle get to see this. The site navigation and operation is very nice.

[RoughboyModelworks]

Holy C..p! That's an impressive piece of work. It's always impressive to see modellers who have the focus and wherewithal to see large projects through without compromising their motivation, vision or standards.  Thanks for the posting the link Jacq...

Paul

[finescalerr]

Let's put aside for a moment the skill and artistry and sheer majesty of that project. Let's think of it in another way:

When I finish a model, no matter how much work it took and how long I spent and how satisfied I might be with it, there comes a point when I realize it was (in the grand scheme of things) a trivial pursuit. By that I mean it served no real purpose; it benefits no one but me and no one else cares about it. It has no meaning other than that which I invested in it. It is of no substantive value to mankind, to the advancement of art. It does nothing to make even my wife's world a marginally better place.

I certainly admire the diorama and the effort that has gone into it. But I wonder how that guy will feel one day ....

Russ

[jacq01]

  Russ,

 

it benefits no one but me and no one else cares about it

  That is the secret of "art" together with the lack of influence of the outer world !! ( Marc's cartoon)

  Actually, the building of the H0 layout was done in that spirit and I fell in a hole when I discovered it was better not to interfere with it any more. It served it's purpose and I learned a huge amount from it. And that, for me, is what is counting.......
After a while my mind's hunger became too large and I started searching for a new challenge. I hope this restless wandering will last the rest of my life, even when it is a "trivial" item like modelbuilding.

Here another link (especially for Marc  ) http://www.themworkshop.com/HOME.htm  particullary the gallery shows impressive work.

  Jacq

[marc_reusser]

I have seen the site in the first link before, as well as other images of this project, and it is an incredible piece of work in regards to sheer effort, size, and quality for such a large project, but I unfortunately have to say, it doe not really inspire or move me. I actually find it quite ho-hum.  I don't know why.......but I do not find it interesting as a whole, despite the detail and methods used.

I actually find most dioramas of this size very uninspiring (the only one that I can recall that really floored me was the TEXEL (?) dio/scene)......it was something I could look at for hours and continue to be awed and inspired.


Thanks much for the second link...I was completely unaware of this site. Now this site has some inspiring work! I see that  Michael Rinaldi and a couple of other MIG forum guys are somehow involved in this...will have to find out what it's all about, and also go back over the weekend and give it a much closer and more thorough look.

Marc

[RoughboyModelworks]

When I finish a model, no matter how much work it took and how long I spent and how satisfied I might be with it, there comes a point when I realize it was (in the grand scheme of things) a trivial pursuit. By that I mean it served no real purpose; it benefits no one but me and no one else cares about it. It has no meaning other than that which I invested in it. It is of no substantive value to mankind, to the advancement of art. It does nothing to make even my wife's world a marginally better place.
Russ

You were in a grumpy mood yesterday...  You are right, it would seem that most individual pursuits of this nature serve no other purpose than to benefit the creator in some way or another. I have not yet met a model-maker who's primary purpose was to produce a tangible benefit to mankind at large. We all derive some level of enjoyment when viewing a good piece of creative work, but the primary benefactor will always be the individual who created it, and in the end when we're dead and gone, these amusements will indeed seem trivial. However, there's a danger that you can look at almost all endeavors in our lives in that way and if you do, you'll find yourself sitting alone in a corner (not my corner though, I'm evidently in permanent residence  ) absorbed in self-pity, regret and likely one or more varied controlled substances.

I believe it safe to say that the majority of modellers here (dangerous to make a sweeping generalization) model for personal enjoyment, satisfaction, relaxation and knowledge derived from the process of creating something from virtually nothing. For me and I'm sure others, it is also a stress relief, a release from the more mundane aspects and interferences of life in the 21st century. If we didn't enjoy it, we wouldn't do it. And by and large, it's a positive pursuit, much better than drinking all day or biting the heads off whippets. As far as your work not making even your wife's world an even marginally better place, I would disagree with that. If you derive satisfaction and contentment from your model-work, then you've made your wife's world a much better place, you'll be a much easier person to live with. That's how it works in my house... when I become more than usually difficult to live with, my wife reminds me that I need to be working in the workshop or that I need to go for ride-about until I'm once again tolerable. I've found it to be a good policy to agree...

Paul

[finescalerr]

First, Marc and I are in deep trouble. The diorama's builder, Claude, just signed up for the forum! Marc can get away pretty quickly on his racing bicycle but I have a bad knee ....

Now I guess I'd better try to clarify my comment about "trivial pursuits":

As you know, I am an accomplished jazz clarinetist. I practice three hours a day, probably 360 days per year. I perform live or on recordings maybe a couple of dozen times per year. And my audience is only a few thousand people worldwide. Anyone in his right mind would consider that a trivial pursuit.

Yet, as I perceive it, it is less trivial than my model building. (Note, my modeling, not that of anyone else.) The reason is twofold. Creating music has a very positive effect on my sense of well being and it tends to affect those who listen to it in a positive way. Most who buy my music listen to it often because it makes them feel good; it enriches their lives for a few moments. That is one of the few things I can give back to the planet before I cash out.

By contrast, the act of building a model provides me with satisfaction but no particular pleasure. The finished model provides some pleasure ... but only to me. I seriously doubt any of you regularly refers back to photos of my models and feels a sense of happiness! The books I produce (with photos of your models), perhaps, but certainly not my models.

My situation is probably very different from yours or Claude's. Or maybe some of you, upon reflection, will empathize to a small degree. Mainly, I just wanted to explain why I raised the question.

Russ

[Claude Joachim]

First, Marc and I are in deep trouble. The diorama's builder, Claude, just signed up for the forum! Marc can get away pretty quickly on his racing bicycle but I have a bad knee ....
Russ

LOL, my former hobby of Ironman triathlete has a long time passed, so you a probably both save.

Yes, i am Claude, the builder of this Dio.
Thank you Jacq for bringing my dio up here.
I got aware of this post because you guys doped my site statistics the last 24 hours.

Thank you also for the nice comments, they are still the main fuel for my motivation.
Before i continue i should remind you that english is only my 4th language, while it is getting better by the day, there are still a lot of nuances i can't really translate in english (lack of words). For instance, i had to look up the meaning of the word trivial first before posting.

Paul and Russ, you made some terrific posts here.

Let me adress especially two comments. (i partly prepared already while waiting for activation of the account)

@Russ,
How i will feel one day, let's say in a few years when everything is done, i obviously do not know.
But i know that the whole diorama will be on day on permanent exposition in the Castle of Clervaux in Luxembourg, home of different museums.
I am certainly not so pretentious to say that myself, but echoes i got from a lot qualified visitors and the national press after my recent participation in a local model-expo (not talking about the international expos, i consider the local one in this context as the more important) , assures me that the dio is already considered a historical and artistical enrichment for the town of Clervaux and the history of the Battle of the Bulge in Luxembourg. 
So i am keen to say that in my case it has developed in a somewhat not so trivial effort. The followers on the Net are numerous, a Blog on Armorama got recently 50000 views, my website has 11000 unique visitors in 3 months only and my book meanwhile approaches 400 sales, what i believe to be not so bad for our hobby.
This project is now fueled by it's own success and it certainly starts to bring some pressure on me to continue on this level.

Make no mistake, i am the most surprised by the success. My father always told everyone who wants to hear it that i have to left hands. He probably got me the wrong things to do! I started modeling only some 5-6 years ago and after a few small dios quickly started this one.
Had i continued the normal pace of most diorama builders, Jacq would never have linked me here.

I am now confident enough to aim a certain imprint in the modeling world and do something still remembered and perhaps referenced in a lot of years. Does this sound pretentious, perhaps, but it is probably the right thing to do to escape the trivial thing.

I will probably fall into a big modeling hole after i'm done with it, but as i expect at least 3-4 more years before finishing, i have time to think about that.

@Marc,

but I unfortunately have to say, it does not really inspire or move me. I actually find it quite ho-hum.  I don't know why.......but I do not find it interesting as a whole, despite the detail and methods used

I probably can't do anything about your feeling. What i can say is that i am replicating the Castle and the town as good as i can and as the references allow. I am also going to replicate the happenings in the battle as good as i can. This is a replication of a real event.
If the scene is uninspiring for you, so is then the town of Clervaux and the fight for the Alamo of the Ardennes, that's how this battle is sometimes called and costs the live of a lot of GI's.


If anyone has another question while i am here  ,  you are more then welcome. I only discovered this site now, i will certainly take the time to digg more into it the next days.

Greetings from Luxembourg

Claude

[mobilgas]

Claude,   Welcome.. looking forward to seeing more of your modeling.  Craig

[Ray Dunakin]

Welcome aboard, Claude!

I think it's great that your diorama will end up in a museum. I wish that more people's models could be preserved that way.

[marc_reusser]

Claude,

Welcome to the forum, It's great to have you here. I do hope you will continue to participate.

I guess much to the amusement of the others here, I should probably try to pull my feet out of my mouth.

I think my comment may have come off harsher than I meant it to be......to make sure, and as mentioned, it had nothing to do with the amount of effort, work, quality of work, the detailing, etc.  I actually considered buying the book, in hopes that it had some SBS's of the techniques you used in it. I also thingk (as I am sure you are aware) the representation, character and feel  of the architecture is wonderful......and it is absolutely something I could never do. Where my somewhat less than flattering comment was mainly aimed was as part of a generalization/opinion I have about large dioramas/scenes/displays as a whole.....I am just a small scale, focal, detail oriented guy, that doesn't do well with large scenes....anywhere....by anyone. One of the same reasons I almost always am unimpressed and uninspired by, and dislike RR layouts......which I generally consider an excercise in banality.  I think the only large scenes I have ever been awed with are the TEXEL one, and the scale wooden architectural model of the entire city of Barcelona....so you can see I am a bit wierd and disjointed

I think it is a wonderful feat that this model will end up in the Museum. You should feel very proud.


Marc

[finescalerr]

I think if I ever built a model that a museum wanted to display I would feel very differently about that model!

Claude, you really should spend some time on this forum. Some contributors are superb -- not merely excellent -- modelers. Many others know things you or I would find very helpful. Not just techniques but sources for special tools and parts. Some can make you special parts because they are expert in the use of specialized tools and machinery. Many will change the way you think about modeling. And, compared to many websites, the contributors here are more talented, more intelligent, more honest, and more willing to help. In fact, I can't believe my luck in hosting a site where such people participate.

Marc is everybody's worst critic, including his own. (Refer to his most recent post about a 1:35 caboose he is building.) He happens to be my friend but that never stops him from noticing every imperfection of my models and even my books. On the other hand, he also is one of the first to help me fix them. Sometimes I think his criticisms result from looking through a microscope but, so far, I have never disagreed with him. You may find that Marc can help you to improve even your magnificent diorama.

I could say equally good things about at least a dozen other people here. But you will meet them yourself and each will teach you something.

Russ

[Claude Joachim]

Good morning everyone

Thanks for the warm welcome, Ray , Craig, Marc and Russ

Russ, i was not offended by Marc's critic, as he clearly separated the work aspect from his overall visual impression. You can ad to his credentials now being the only one in the world finding Dio Clervaux "ho-hum". I am not used to it, but someone has to be first and i just would like to learn from it and know more exactly why it is so ! LOL, no problem guys, all is good.

the representation, character and feel  of the architecture is wonderful......and it is absolutely something I could never do.
Marc

Knowing your work Marc, i absolutely do not believe the above quote :-)
To the contrary, i am jealous about the details and realism you, Chuck and probably others on this board (sorry, i do not yet know all the participants here), are able to put in your builds. In the end , i do never have enough time to really focus more into one specific technique, the ones you practise so easily. Building entire houses, including covering them by thousands of slates is a timeconsuming occupation and i am willing to admit that i could probably to a bit better regarding wheateringof my builds.
Ok, to my excuse, i am modeling an active rural village, so i can not overdo it with visually interesting rusty, rotten and whatever other elements. Also i will have the problem now of a village emptied due to the attack so there is a real challenge to keep it interesting for the viewer.

Regarding the big dios, ( i absolutely need a link to this Texel dio and the Barcelona city one), your opinion is not wrong. My castle will probably fit into what you like as it is full of details while still being very big. The village now is, as i said above, a challenge to keep interesting and avoid to much "ho-hum".

Russ, i will defintely check the site and try to be a regular. I have a bit of problems with a slight overkill of message boards for myself. As i speak also german and french and most boards are happy to have Dio Clervaux as a feature, i must start to do a more torough selection.

I admire you guys work (seriously, which serious modeller hasn't bookmarked Chuck's site), so i will be here. Thanks a lot

Have a nice sunday

Claude