"Eagle Scout Project- D Day Diorama" Topic

I am the Committee Chairman of a Boy Scout Troop and one of our Scouts is creating a D Day Landing Diorama for a Veterans Museum as his Eagle Project. We need advice on sources for miniatures, landscape, etc.
Of course he is also interested in donations of appropriate items. If you can help contact me kcronk@mac.com

So a basic question to answer would be what part of the landing (a specific beach, part of a beach, the entire thing, etc.)?

And a related question would be the scale of the recreation (usually expressed as the hieght of a 6' man in millimeters (so 6mm has a 6' guy being 6mm tall).

Bob in Edmonton

I would suggest a couple books. Spearheading D-Day will give a lot of general information on uniform and equiptment that was carried and thier colors. If you plan on doing Omaha beach then the book Beyond the Beachead has a schedule that shows when landing craft were to hit the beach and what unit was in the craft. I used both of these to make my game of Dog Green sector of Omaha.

I have more information at home, but again if i can help depends on the beach. I will contact you off board.

I hope that he makes it. Wish him luck from this Eagle Scout.

Keith Y.

For miniatures, I'd suggest 1/72 plastics. Pegasus just released a great set of rangers on D-day (I assume you mean d-day of Operation Overlord). You can see them here:

link

Depending on where you are there are many references available. The 29th Inf Armoury in Baltimore as a very nice layout of the division landing. Look at the website for the D-Day museum in New Orleans. Also there was a hobby guy that did a book on his miniatures that he used to recreate D-day. I did not get the book but remember he did a seminar at Cold Wars or Historicon three or four years ago. Check with On Military Matters I think they carried the title. Dennis should be able to help.

As for figures I would recommend 54mm plastic as the best bang for the buck. Check the dollar stores.

VR
James Mattes

Well…. 54mil and 20mil are kinda nice for individual figures.

If you want 3 guys and a tank trap on a bit of sand then these'd work.
If you wanted to convey much more you'd need a smaller scale or a huge table.
Even with a compressed groundscale I would think 6mil would have difficulty encompassing waterline to german machine guns on omaha.

On the other hand. Perhaps he could get creative in a saving private ryan kinda way.
I'm thinking of the over the side part.
Clear resin water tinted with ink. Bullets tearing through water round a few figures in the process of jumping over the side and embedded in the water.
Quite a modelling challenge though.

Hmm yes, well I don't see how you could actually do this without Spearheading D-day…

As to figures the ONLY figs I know of that are actually correct for the assault troops are the Victory Force 28mm ones. Which are way cool. The only thing they are missing (grump) is a 60mm mortar team.

Seeing as hwo the actual landing would be far from shore- you probably would not have any germans or forticiations- but if so there is a French company that makes exact replicas of specific emplacments.

There is a guy in the National Capital Scale Modeling Society that is doing a 1/35 diormam of the 146th Engineers (SETF) landing- and doing an amazing job if I do say so myself.

Of course, I am kind of a nut about this thing and think there should be a special place in hell for people who think Saving Private Ryan was at all "realistic."

Another teacher I know (or should say knew) did a class project and made a D Day "generic" type diorama using 1/72 plastic figures.
The figures were given a minium paint job…more like just dry brushing in a few colors…brown, flesh, etc….
The terrain itself was made from styrofoam and looked really nice…
Overall size of the display was 4 feet wide by (I think) 8 feet long.
You might want to contact the D Day Museum in New Orleans and see if they have any suggestions.

"I am the Committee Chairman of a Boy Scout Troop and one of our Scouts is creating a D Day Landing Diorama for a Veterans Museum as his Eagle Project."

Interesting project. As one who has been in the same position [Troop CC], may I ask whether the scout demonstrated in his project write-up how he was involving others and showing leadership in the excution of the project?

That sounds like a fun project. Mine was overseeing other Scouts build 10 small tables for my church while having college football on in the background.

Of the film as a whole I think the first 10 minutes of SPR were probably the most realistic.
The terror and confusion of real battle and the randomness, "unfairness" of it all….

Not a barrel of laughs jumping into waist high water whilst someone with an mg 42 blazes away from a few hundred metres away.

Maybe you could do two small dioramas. A tobruk with a jerry in it and a landing craft with 30 yanks in it.

Water effects can be very effective if you can get em right.