"Dinner in the desert" Panzer II DAK diorama (Academy 1/35 scale model)

WW2 diorama featuring a Panzer II in Afrika Korps markings somewhere in Libya, 1941. At the end of a long day one of the crew takes a break while he waits for his dinner to cook over the open fire.
Ways to support my channel:
Patreon: / modelnerd
UA-cam membership: / @modelnerd
Amazon store: amzn.to/370Fk7H
Ko-Fi: ko-fi.com/modelnerd
Instagram: / model.nerd

[@paulmillard1130]

I have a lot of German tanks but the PzII is one I keep building. A good one to start with.

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks. Yes, I'vd built most of the major ones now, except the Panzer I.

[@danielbritton8588]

Your colors drew me right in. Good job. An egg frying on the tank would be cool .

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks Daniel. A frying egg is a great idea!

[@BrushQuill]

A nice little dio here with the tank and crewman

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks mate!

[@robertjensen1438]

It turned out really good. It's nice to see a diorama as opposed to just a single model. Again, well done.

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks Robert - glad you liked it

[@markedwards4616]

The desert scene looks good.

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks Mark

[@manningjackson2723]

Looks good to me mate, a lovely little diorama. 10/10 mate👍🇦🇺👍

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks!

[@StevenPotts-ij9ue]

Excellent as always, I love your model builds and the diorama is simply inspired, thankyou for yet another brilliant and inspiring video.

[@ModelNerd]

Thank you Steven

[@bernardschnupp5842]

Looks like an actual photo in a book about the afrika korp.great ,fantastic job.please have more in the near future!

[@ModelNerd]

Thank you. Yes, I will! :)

[@JohnSmith-sl1my]

It looked really good . Another great build 👍

[@ModelNerd]

Thank you mate!

[@CAPNMAC82]

The desert can be vexing to model--almost as vexing as living in/upon it, too. The results look good to me.

[@ModelNerd]

Thank you mate

[@robbo1068]

I agree with your comment that the cracked earth was a plus as it certainly detailed a very dry environment. Shame the tank covered it up. The scene is very evocative and creates an atmosphere of solitude and loneliness. Great job, MN!

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks Robbo. I think next time I'll use clay or similar for the tank's position - hopefully that should hold its form a bit better.

[@philRminiatures]

Nice subject and fantastic work, superb scenery!

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks Phil

[@JuanGarcia-up2gz]

Awesome work my friend keep up the good work 👍👍👍

[@ModelNerd]

Thank you!

[@richardscovell6620]

Great result, many thanks

[@ModelNerd]

Thank you Richard

[@lesthiele4921]

Greetings Nerd, that diorama turned out absolutely fantastic, not really a modeller of German armour, but never say never,best regards from a Kiwi living in Australia 👍👍👍👍

[@ModelNerd]

Thank you mate, I'm glad you liked it!

[@lappin6482]

brilliant work on the fire pit 😍

[@ModelNerd]

Thank you! 😊

[@georgebernard8983]

MN, love the "burnt wood" effect, very nice! I have used AK North African dust acrylic as a pin wash on my DAK vehicles as the nooks and crannies are where the dust likes to settle, it does a nice job of bringing out the details as well. Cheers!

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks. Yes, I have some of that wash somewhere - I'm not sure why I forgot about it.

[@bobbyG763]

Great diorama 👍

[@ModelNerd]

Thank you! 👍

[@user-mg4fj7ix8k]

Looks great thanks for sharing cheers Liam. .

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks Liam!

[@led5762]

Thanks!

[@ModelNerd]

Many thanks! Much appreciated!

[@ljscalemodels526]

Looks great thanks for sharing cheers Liam

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks Liam

[@organicpaul]

Love a desert diorama!.......quite difficult to do though......well done.

[@ModelNerd]

Thank you. Yes, I find it one of the hardest terrain types to get right.

[@epicforger12345]

I recently got a book on the afrika corps called “images of war the armour of rommels afrika korps” it’s full of great diorama ideas and interesting photos

[@TheBrengunner1944]

Maybe you can send him some.

[@ModelNerd]

Yeah, I really like using archive photos as inspiration for dioramas and scenes.

[@paulbervid1610]

Very nice

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks Paul

[@paintprofessor4092]

Beautiful

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks

[@JuergenGDB]

Looks outstanding, and very well done, I think it flows very well. I have to get better at my "Pen Washing" you make it look soo easy. Cheers! another First Class diorama!

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks - I'm glad you liked it. I found it easier to get used to pin washing once I realised it is possible to clean up any mistakes quite easily :) Then I was more willing to experiment.

[@ChristianSchroter]

Do you mean "pin washing"

[@the-creech4790]

Wonderful scene! 👍👍👍

[@ModelNerd]

Thank you!

[@kevinhale9400]

Yes, it was enjoyable to watch, as always, and I think it turned out brilliantly. I am a big fan of the North Africa scene although I doubt very much whether the combatants would say the same, lll.

[@ModelNerd]

Thank you. Yes, there's definitely something about the desert environment.

[@user-uf6zi1qi2f]

I notice so many modelers paint utility items such as shovels or axes or cables when already attached to the kit. Why do you not paint them separately? I think the weathering of the tank model without all the added extras would give a more uniform finish. Utility items that get used would end up looking a fair bit different in color and texture than the tank body.
Just asking because I want to learn more as a new modeler
Thanks for the great video

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks for watching and for commenting. I think both ways have their pros and cons. Sometimes I do mine separately, sometimes I do them on the model. In some stages they are needed - e.g. mud and dirt weathering would also affect the tools. Some vehicles also simply had the tools attached and painted over when camouflage was painted.

[@monsvillerailways5736]

Nice work.
Where is the rest of the crew though?
Shouldn't there be at least 4 of them?

[@ModelNerd]

Crew of 3 in total. The others are out of shot :)

[@ChristianSchroter]

Very nice scene.with sticky greetings from good ol'germany. Christian

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks

[@steve1315]

Didn't know any Panzer ii went to Africa ,good work as always.

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks! Yes, very much a stop gap while waiting for better hardware I think.

[@DutchDaveModels]

Wow excellent, how is this possible, it looks almost too quiet and peaceful for a war scenery 😅 Nice work✨👍✨

[@ModelNerd]

Yeah, I wanted to show a quiet moment in the middle of chaos

[@Cadfael007]

I am pretty sure that the main colour of a German tank in Africa (and beyond) was RAL 1002 Sandgelb (sand yellow). The standard German primer had always been "Rostbraun" (rusty brown), a redish brown.

[@ModelNerd]

The only reference I've seen to RAL 1002 is in the AK Interactive book where they say it was probably only used for a primer under interior colours. I believe the two "tropical" colour combinations I showed are generally accepted as being the only main ones used in those theatres. Yes, primer was RAL 8012 Rotbraun (not to be confused with RAL 8017).

[@Mechmaster0]

A nice little diorama. Two things stand out to me though. Firstly the tank is very clean, vehicles moving through sand throw up a lot of dust, quite a bit of which settles on the vehicles themselves and the model would have benefitted from a light coat of dust and maybe an accumulation of fine sand in the angles of the hull. Secondly the ground doesn't really read as sand due to the lack of imprints, in the second reference photo you showed, the sand around the tank was very heavilly dimpled with footprints and I think an attempt to duplicate that on the diorama would have made the ground look less rocky and more like soft sand.

[@ModelNerd]

Yeah, I think you're right about the sand. I never really decided between sand and rocky dry terrain and ended up with a combination of the two.

[@jasoncook8351]

Awesome work! One constructive criticism; Tarp needs some weathering...dirt, sand, dust...

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks. Yes, you're right - it is way too clean

[@detlevwalter7495]

Very well built. Super idea with the fire pit. 👍

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks! 👍

[@danielcotnoir3363]

Brilliant video! Incidentally, who makes your cutting mat? Thanks. Cheers!

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks. I got mine from the Tank Museum in the UK. I like the image but it is a bit shiny for filming.

[@MikeUSA67]

No need to beat yourself up, MN - that little scene looks very good! Btw, did you enjoy your four days of F1 bliss? And were you involved in the recovery of Magnusson's car?

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks Mike. Yeah, looking again I am pretty happy with it overall. I had a great time at the F1. KMag's car broke down just 100 metres before us on the Saturday, but was in the zone of the previous marshals' post.

[@MikeUSA67]

@@ModelNerd What? He broke down during Qualifying as well? I didn't watch that and was talking about the race 🙂

[@rCory1945]

[@davegiles2344]

👍👍

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks

[@user-zw7gp8xb8f]

🤝🎥👍

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks

[@MVeminor7]

Hi MN, very nice detailing on this one. The cup, the fire tripod and the tarp are all well done. You did a fine job recreating the photo reference. It would seem that the simplicity of the diorama components lend themselves to the solitary feeling that the soldier may have in such a situation. It conveys an emotion. All around fantastic job mate. Thanks, Mikey V.

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks - that's the feeling I was aiming for so I'm glad it came across well. A sort of solitude in the middle of a large desert in a larger war.

[@anjkovo2138]

👍👍

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks