Guys whose work I do like
Paolo Ventura
An Italian guy who did a series of dioramas with Barbie sized figs. He mainly covered the winter 1944/ Spring 1945 period in North Italy. His dioramas are full of shaved ladies, prostitutes, collaborators hanging themselves, murders etc.. It sounds rude it is magnificent. Go and have a look, this guy is the best.
Roy Hunt
Roy Hunt won best of show at this year Euromilitaire with his work "Storm Child" which you can see there.
Now as says one of my friends "I don't model to honour the dead, if you want to honour the dead you buy a bunch of flowers and put them by the nearest monument of the dead near your home"
But then I suppose that nothing like a bit of talent can't make me change my mind :) Now why do I think Roy Hunt is special ? because with a 3 cm wide scene, he summed up the suffering of the people unfortunate to live such times. Simply because he's got talent well beyond the mundane of such shows, because what he does simply gets beyond simple model making and can appeal to anybody.
Here's one of the other scene he did, which is absolutely uncomfortable.
here's his website in full
Edgard Hodges
When i will grow real old, I would like my work to reach some kind of peace. Mr Hodges ' work has got just that. Big dioramas with scratch built boats in 1/48, great sense of colour.
Jim Baumann
The Sinking of Szent Istvan
Now Jim Baumann has got to be one of the best miniaturists of this world. What makes it for me is that he likes old Russian battleships as much as I do. Furthermore, amongst his numerous works, he did one very great diorama: "the Sinking of Szent Istvan".
Inspired by the very well known film footage of the capsizing of this Austro-Hungarian battleship during the First World War. The guys are in the water and there is a gigantic invisible skull above the diorama. Simply *magic*.
Serge from SP Maquettes
I would have first put that link in the "friends" corner, but then I really like some the stuff Serge does. The link I give above directs you to his "Sous la mer/Under the sea" section which is in my mind what he did that is the most striking.
As lame as the subject may appear, his "Titanic under the sea" diorama i think is the best underwater kind of dioramas I ever see. Even best -because of the idea- is the fact that on some of his underwater dioramas, he *plays with the light* including some light and colourful patches on his overall grey marine patterns. Don't miss his Stuka too.
"Erik Trauner's Diorama Dreamland 1/72"
Erik Trauner is an Austrian gentleman who, like Serge above, models for all the good reasons.
His subjects range from Wildlife, to Napoléon to Austro-Hungary Empire stuff. He is right about the way he names his website, he makes us dream in technicolour.
Maza Takahashi
Pictures
Maza Takahashi is a japanese mainly armour diorama builder (and fashion designer apparently!) He did this diorama called "The Racism" which i really quite like because I hope it reminds the people who model little panzers in kits why the Third Reich really was about. More please.
Marijn Van Gils
His "Survival of the Fittest" is gloomy and very intense. i wish i could see such a flame more often in this hobby :)
The friends on internet
Stacking Chairs
I can't say it does not make me something to see my link being added near the ones of contemporary artists!
So here you have a lushly presented kind of blog about various Contemporary artists and events... I wish I could say more but my own tastes in this matter stop with contemporary photographers and American new realism. Anyway much thanks Brian!
Wiener Modellbau Manufactur
I really like the choice of subject of this Austrian model company, but the website itself is errr, not exactly worth what its owner sells.
Peter Plattner
is into the same kind of boats as I am: ie, pre -dreadnought era, and he produces some really rare and handsome 1/700 Austro-Hungarian boats, here is a direct link to one picture of one of the great boats he is producing so you get the idea.
Actually, I began to notice him when he announced he would put out a 1/72 model of SMS Adler, which is in its appearance very close to the Izmail boat that is featured on my own Archangel diorama. the main difference being that the Adler is of british design while the Izmail was of french design (yep, I came out with this only a few weeks ago)
Armorgeddon Deustche mailorder
Surrealismus meets Modellbau schreibts du über meinen dioramem? danke schönn!
Panzerdesign.fr
Links exchange. Plenty of panzers here...
Les colleurs de plastique
Pas très fan du maquettisme à la française, j'ai trop rencontré de gens "bizares" quand je présentais mes maquettes dans des concours (bon d'accord c'était à la fin des années 80!), mais les forums des colleurs de plastique m'ont l'air très bien. Il y a juste les fautes d'orthographe qui m'agacent :)
The links I used for the Archangel diorama
Plans of the Izmail Here are the plans I used to build the ship, despite a few major shortcomings, these provided the bulk of my sources.
Ice again I needed plenty of pics of ice to build the diorama, and here is the most useful I found: the report from some scientifical expedition.
Boevoi/Som A built model by Jim Baumann of that nice looking Torpedo-boat whose design is posterior to the one of Izmail
Strashny The plans of the Strashny, another posterior design of Torpedoboat
Forelle Another torpedoboat whose design is posterior to the one of Izmail.It is apparently a French made one that was later sold to the Russians. Nice pictures.
Hotchkiss revolving canon Great pictures from Saint Petersburg's maritime museum, i know there is a model of the Izmail in this museum. if somebody could send me pics I would be most grateful ;)
Other pics of that Hotchkiss thing
The plans of the Hotchkiss revolving canon!
Pictures from the Saint Petersburg naval museum Great pics, you can smell the dust from here!
*Great* movie by one of my favorite directors: Guy Maddin
Modelling related websites
www.modelshipwrights.com I post regualrly in progress shots of my works, cool people.
www.hfmodeling.com Same here, i now post my full articles whenever i finish a diorama at this nice place.
www.shipmodels.info the guys here are weirdoes from another planet. They build 1/72 Bismarks and Russian aircraft carreers, 1/35 destroyers.. lifetime works it seems. I can't understand them but they're a pretty cool bunch :)
http://www.models-in-action.com/ Very good German site about models and dioramas and stuff. Herbert aus models-in action has translated a good part of my Sokol article, and it's findable there..
SteelNavy message board Looking not so good, but the place on internet if you have a question concerning boats
www.modelgeek.com eclectic modelling website but i got here some of the best feeback ever while posting some of my sci-fi stuff
www.starshipmodeler.com looks like an old timer website but it seems it is de facto the premier website about sci-fi modelling. I have been posting some of my dioramas there 3 times already.
www.ediorama.com
the best Korean site about dioramas; you have to log to view their selection. thanks to Youngbok Choi for having put my Tsushima diorama "diorama of the month" back in august..