Lasst ihn saussen?

Erwin Leetink
Just finished the signalbox.Let the pictures tell their story...

Olivier
Very impressive ! Will you attach some railcars ?

Erwin Leetink
Thanks! There is no space!! The Br-52 already exceeds the limits of the base with its 88 cm... 🙂

Erwin Leetink
Finished a couple of new doors for the goods department yesterday. The originals did not fit at all!! They are operational and so is the locking mechanism...

Archibaldd Haddock
Hi! Erwin,
Love your diorama, I really love your attention to detail
I'm building the same Custom Dioramics Diorama, full of faults, a really tricky assembly! Mine will have an Trumpeter BR86... 😄
I will save those beautiful images from the sginal tower to guide myself, only for reference, if I may! 😄
Cheers mate
Keep the good modelling
Keep posting

Erwin Leetink
Hi Paolo,

Thanks for your compliments. Construction alone is quite a hassle indeed. I therefore try to do my best to camouflage this by detail and painting. Progress is slow, but I learn to use new techniques every time.
Off course I'm more than happy to share my experience with you. Please don't hesitate to ask me if you have any questions.
I just added some more photos of the wallpaper and the wainscoting

Archibaldd Haddock
Updates will be very welcome indeed!
I will follow your project development with a big smile
Cheers mate

Erwin Leetink
Happy to oblige 🙂

Archibaldd Haddock
😄

Erwin Leetink
Bought some raw and burned umber oilpaints today to aid in painting the ticket counter.

Tim Heimer
Looking good!

Erwin Leetink
Thanks

Erwin Leetink
Just added a few pics of the finished ticket counter, before mounting...

Archibaldd Haddock
Keep going! 😄

Erwin Leetink
Will do, Sir!

Archibaldd Haddock
The stamps are a really nice detail! 😄

Erwin Leetink
Since the Germans were fond of stamping their documents, I figured it might be a good addition to make a couple of stamps....

Archibaldd Haddock
All those details are most welcome! Waiting for more...
Cheers mate

Erwin Leetink
I develop new ideas while working on it, so more will come for sure

Erwin Leetink
Made quite some progress. Not finished yet, but getting there.

Archibaldd Haddock
Have been a busy weekend! What does a rainy day... cheers mate. Keep up

Neuling
Wird super!

Erwin Leetink
Well thanks!! Danke... This is not just from the last weekend though, but the result of a couple of weeks on and off at the dining table/bench

Erwin Leetink
Just added some more photos of the top floor. I am waiting for the materials to finish the main lights, the I can add the roof and put the building in its place.

Archibaldd Haddock
You have been very busy! Good modelling and a happy new year! Cheers mate

Erwin Leetink
Thanks a lot, best wishes to you an every one else too. Today I spent some time on accessories like luggage, a bench for on the platform and lights for the main building.

Archibaldd Haddock
Make an 2019 a fantastic modelling year! Best, mate... cheers

Erwin Leetink
Thank you very much...I wish you and your family all the best for this year and all the upcoming ones!

Erwin Leetink
Some new pictures of th main building added.

Bastian Bäuerle
Great job. Schön umgesetzt. Decals von Peddinghaus? Waiting for more!

Erwin Leetink
Dankeschön. Es stimmt das dass Decals von Peddinghaus sind. Ich fand ihn aber viel zu dik, und unlogisch eingeteilt. Nie wieder für mich....

Erwin Leetink
Yes! The station main building is finished and in place!!!

Xerxes
Stunning work so far. Looks great to me. Keep going Erwin 👍

Is the main builiding scratch build?

Archibaldd Haddock
Excellent! 😄

Erwin Leetink
Thank you for your compliments... No, it is the old Custom Dioramics kit. A big part of the interior and the roof of the goods shed is scratch built, though...

Xerxes
Thx for your Feedback on the building

Erwin Leetink
You're welcome!

Erwin Leetink
The first figures are ready. Not bad for a first time.

Olivier
Not bad ? I would go as far as very good.

Erwin Leetink
Gee, thanks for the compliments *blush *

Tim Heimer
Awesome Dio!

Erwin Leetink
Cheers, and more than enough to to, still.

Treehugger
Nice to see this all come together. 🙂

Erwin Leetink
Thanks... I still have quite some accessories and figures to paint, so, though the base is ready, the rest is far from that...

Erwin Leetink
Add pictures of a bunch of figures...

Erwin Leetink
I know it sounds boring, but I added another series of figures to the album.

Olivier
Why should it be boring ?

Archibaldd Haddock
You have been very busy indeed! 😄 Keep up, love it!

Erwin Leetink
@Olivier, because I've been doing figures since March... 🙂
@Paulo, thanks... I'm now constructing the last couple of figures. I think there will be around 10 more to come... Then accessories, and put everything together before I can call this one finished...

Archibaldd Haddock
Having fun just watching it! Take your time, no rush 😄

Erwin Leetink
Well after such a long time, I think it is about time to finish this dio...
Now looking for a spare left hand for a female figure. The original was no good..

Erwin Leetink
Just finished a little nurse from Preiser. Not a brilliant casting, but a subject too interesting not to include. I modified it by making her collect money instead of bringing coffee for the soldiers on Frontürlaub, and added a hood to her greatcoat.
Pictures in album.

Olivier
She looks charming. No doubt she will collect a lot of Pfennig.

Erwin Leetink
Yes, she does 🙂
The painting of the skirt posed yet another challenge for my growing painting skills, as the Vallejo paint tends to dry too fast for longer stripes. Specially the white paint. I used glaze medium to solve this and, while not ideal, this makes the result a lot better.

Holger Kranich
Hi Erwin, what a unbelievable big project! Its lovely to see, how much heart you put in the little details! Really a feast for the eyes! Are the decals included in the kit?

Erwin Leetink
Holger, thank you for your heartwarming comments. I really appreciate them. I finally near completion after I don't know how long. The building of the loc has been at a stand still for 10 years or more, so I don't know how long that took me. The station and signal tower took me more than a year, while I started painting the figures in march. The last ones are nearly done. I have painted 40 human figures, a cat and a dog when finished. Now busy with the last details of the figures and accessories for the dio, like suitcases, crates, a cart, sacks, etc.
As for your question: no, these are Peddinghaus decals. I cannot really reccomend them. Besides the fact that the slogan is from the inside of a bunker of Batterie Todt (found that one out only later: [img1][\img] ) the carrier film is way too thick, and the text is split in half HORIZONTALLY!!!!! I can understand this for the swastika, but this was also the case for the slogan. It is almost impossible to cut it so that there is no seam visible, and on closer observation of the model, this is certainly visible... Having said this, the kit decals ware even worse for their subject, and there are no alternatives. So I had little choice...

Archibaldd Haddock
Keep it coming mate... keep it coming! 😄

Erwin Leetink
The end is near!!! Repent 😉

Holger Kranich
Oh Peddinghaus... Many love ´em, many hate ´em... 😄

Erwin Leetink
I am a bit in doubt which way to go with them... 🤔

Holger Kranich
I am really looking forward your end result. Or cant such a dio ever be finished?

Erwin Leetink
I sincerely do hope so... As stated, it took me long enough... My intention is to have it ready this year. Probably next month or so...

Olivier
Before Christmas ?

Erwin Leetink
Of what year 😄

Erwin Leetink
Finally! Completed... Just uploaded the picture of this (for me) monnumental project. With a large steam engine, 40 figures, a cat, a dog an lots of accessoiries, this project took a long time to finish, but finally it is done... I hope you enjoy the pictures. Questions and remarks more than welcome...

Olivier
So you see. We are not even at All Saints day.

Erwin Leetink
True that... Mind you, I even managed to finish it this same month! Now I tumble in a deep hole...

Olivier
I love the gentleman with his so well pressed brown suit reading the krant.

Erwin Leetink
This one is from Stalingrad. I replaced the Zeitung with a paper sample from ETA though..

Tim Heimer
All I can say is wow! I've been watching from the beginning! Nice work!

Chris Greathouse
What an amazingly crafted Dio. Lots of details and figurines.

Erwin Leetink
Thank you very much, gentlemen!

Victor Scale Hamster
This is awesome! I want to do something similar with my BR-86

Edward Turner
WOW!! Amazing me Son!! I started to look for some inspersion tonight since I could only find a few dioramas on line, then found yours! looks like what I had in Mind!
Outstanding work Erwin!! from the ground work, figures, weathering and BR-52.....etc etc! I have the BR-52 and a few cars! I am planning on turning two of the small flatbeds into a couple of passenger cars! Question: do you have any info on the small passenger cars used by Germany? and could you tell me where did you get the decals for your BR-52, I've seen so many modelers with the black/red and camo versions, not sure if they are accurate for the early war years. But your Engine looks the most realistic so far!!

Thanks

Eddie

Erwin Leetink
Gentlemen, I thank you. @Edward. I am humbled to hear that I am an inspiration to you. What I basically did is make up all, kind of small stories around the combination of station and Br-52, to depict the real world. Everyone has his/her own motivation to be somewhere and to go somewhere else. A station is thé place where these stories come together, albeit for a short while.

The type you commonly encounter in those days is the so called Donnerbüchse. If you search this, you are bound to get enough information.

As for the decals, they are from Peddinghaus, though I do not recommend them. The design is awful, with the text split in two horizontal,. That is, the actual middle sentence is split!
Plus the carrier film is very, very thick! Getting them on is a hassle and it is impossible to hide the edges...

Edward Turner
Thank for the help Erwin! your right about the small stories, that is the basis for most Dioramas we as models build!
I looked up the Donnerbuchse and yes; I found the info I was looking for, so thanks. as for the decals, I found them on the Peddinghaus web site and they look crappy, but you did a very good job of placing them on your BR-52!

Well take care and stay safe!

Thanks

Eddie

Erwin Leetink
My pleasure. On hindsight I regret using those decals, yet, on the other hand: a really viable alternative is lacking, since the kit decals are so bad, subject wise...

Guardians Bane
Hi, thank you for posting this amazing kit! It looks freaking awesome! I have been modeling for years. I've been into old steam locos since I was a kid. Is was thinking about doing this kit. I read an old review on Fine Scale Modeler. The reviewer said this kit is a hassle to put together. I am wondering if there were any major issues that you ran across.... I am also looking at the Revell 1/87 Big Boy kit also. But it doesn't look like it's very detailed.

Any suggestions for someone just getting into train building? (I do have experience in other genres, so I do have some skills building already)

Erwin Leetink
Thanks for your kind words. I still look at this dio on a daily basis and am still happy with the results...
As for the difficulty of the engine: I can't remember any big issues with it (though it has been a couple of years since I finished it) . I did build it OOB, with only the real black coals and aforementioned decals added.
Handling the kit for painting was perhaps the biggest problem.
One thing : if you intend to do it as a war loc, paint it dark grey. The black over red livery is post war only.

I have no particular tips, but do try to think logically when painting. If you first assemble the kit completely, you wouldn't be able to reach every nook and cranny with paint. And study pictures of the real thing for weathering. Though there are no locomotives in this livery running these days, the placement of grease and soot isn't any different on the surviving samples as it would be during the war.

Pietro De Angelis
Wow, amazing big dio,
great details and charming locomotive,
congrats!

Erwin Leetink
Grazie Pietro!

Mr James
What a lovely dio. Great amount of detail everywhere you look.

Erwin Leetink
Thank you so much for the compliments Mr. James!