After a long spell building WWI aircraft, I'm back to some vignette and figure work. This is my current project, a small vignette that hopes to evoke some of the horror of Verdun.

I have had a nice pair of 54mm Nemrod WWI French figures in my stash for over 10 years, and after looking at them again recently I decided they were so nice I had to use them. I decide to do a vignette inspired by Leroux's painting "L'Infer" (Hell) which shows figures struggling in a waterlogged shellhole. So I bought the Tommy's War German casualty and added that to the French figures in a simple setting.

This is a rough layout. I've built the basic structure for the groundwork and clad the sides in veneer to form the base. And no, this isn't a winter scene, the groundwork will be completely covered in heavy mud. But this will give you an idea of where I am headed. I will start on painting the figures first and then move on to the groundwork.

Stay tuned, and do hang on, as this will probably be a slow ride.......:

it's going to be beautiful,that's for sure,a very nice start and see how
it ends good luck

Mario

Great start. looking forward to seeing more..

Good foundations so far. Definitely can’t go wrong with anything from Tommy’s War and the Nemrod figures look really good too. Will be following your progress,

tom

Love it!

Oda.

Nice idea, this has the makings of a very impactful piece.

Cheers Simon

Watching this with interest.

Thanks for the encouragement everyone, I'll keep you all posted.......

Loving the scene you have set, this is going to be great to watch this come to life.
How are you finding the Redgrass lamp?

Malc

Thanks Malc. I think I'm getting the hang of the RedGrass lamp, initially I had it too close to the desk. It's definitely easier on the eyes to work under because there is no flicker, I'll see what it's like when I start painting these figures......

I've set my lamp higher too, its certainly made a huge difference, and as you say its much easier on the eyes.
I like the way you can angle the bars to suit.

Malc

I'm sure between us we can. Will have to tidy my bench first.
I'll post some photos tomorrow.

Malc

My favourite modelling and military history subject.
Am following this one.
Are the figs still around, do you know?

Niiiice!

Very Nice, there is a lot you can do with ground to add to the composition. I'll follow along.

Thanks David, Neil and Mike.

Yes, you can get the figures from Historex/Nemrod in France, see http://www.historex.com/crbst_19.html

You are correct Mike, my plan is to actually have the figures complement the groundwork. The idea is to create an impression of the battlefield with the figures in the landscape. And I have set myself the jeopardy of pouring two part clear resin over the groundwork and the figures, that's always a bit of a journey into the unknown......

Rather than commandeer Nigel's thread, I'll start one in General figure talk with regard to the lamp.

Malc