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Two Stunning Vintage 1950s USMC Combat Dioramas.


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world war I nerd

If you look closely at the Mexican War diorama, all of the architecture on the right & left sides are two-dimensional, i.e. painted on a flat surface.

 

The only three-dimensional architectural pieces are the right & left hand gate facades. I also suspect that most of what lies beyond the gate's opening is also two-dimensional, with the exception of the prone soldier and possibly the barricade in the distance.

 

In "shadow-box" dioramas such as these, a three-dimensional effect is easily achieved by painting the sides and back of the diorama on a flat canvas and then bending it into a gently curving horseshoe shaped backdrop. That technique was particularly well handled in the Mexican War diorama.

 

Quite amazing work given the fact that literally everything had to be sculped, built, and painted from scratch.

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If you look closely at the Mexican War diorama, all of the architecture on the right & left sides are two-dimensional, i.e. painted on a flat surface.

 

The only three-dimensional architectural pieces are the right & left hand gate facades. I also suspect that most of what lies beyond the gate's opening is also two-dimensional, with the exception of the prone soldier and possibly the barricade in the distance.

 

In "shadow-box" dioramas such as these, a three-dimensional effect is easily achieved by painting the sides and back of the diorama on a flat canvas and then bending it into a gently curving horseshoe shaped backdrop. That technique was particularly well handled in the Mexican War diorama.

 

Quite amazing work given the fact that literally everything had to be sculped, built, and painted from scratch.

Yes indeed, and DIO is like 60 years old too.

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Yep it's at the National Muesum of the United States Marine Corps.

 

 

Here it is in color. On one blog, a contributor estimates it's 1/16 scale.

 

attachicon.gifphpiKqPKhPM.jpg

 

It's smaller than 1/16....probably more like 1/35 or so. It is actually rather small and is a small display built into the wall. I just saw it again last week.

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It's smaller than 1/16....probably more like 1/35 or so. It is actually rather small and is a small display built into the wall. I just saw it again last week.

Thanks for that update.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 years later...
On 1/20/2017 at 7:17 AM, warroom1 said:

I found out when I bought the book about 1 year after, collected military miniatures and belonged to the military historical Society The Late, Peter J.Blum

was it founder and President, worked on 5th Avenue and 19th street many Military Patch makers were in that part of town and I started collecting insignias .

WHAT A RIDE

Peter J.Blum, he also owned The Soldier's Shop in NYC, went there several times in the late 70s 80s.

 

https://obits.dallasnews.com/obituaries/dallasmorningnews/obituary.aspx?n=peter-joseph-blum&pid=736943&fhid=2058

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Many thanks for the upate, he was special to me and many others are numbers from good old New York are getting down

to a hand few, GAIN WHAT A RIDE, SINCERELY bob Bumbolow

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  • 1 year later...

I remember seeing those dioramas in a toy soldier book a long time ago. They are amazing. Thanks for posting on Mr. Blum. I remember his Toy Soldier Shop. When my school would go to the Museum of Natural History, Metropolitan Museum or the Planetarium I always without fail snuck out to go to his shop. I don't remember having enough to buy anything, but no one every kicked me out for looking. Years later when I was older I tried to go back (with money now!) but it had closed. I had long forgotten about that store and the memory made me smile.

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2 hours ago, jerseygary said:

I remember seeing those dioramas in a toy soldier book a long time ago. They are amazing. Thanks for posting on Mr. Blum. I remember his Toy Soldier Shop. When my school would go to the Museum of Natural History, Metropolitan Museum or the Planetarium I always without fail snuck out to go to his shop. I don't remember having enough to buy anything, but no one every kicked me out for looking. Years later when I was older I tried to go back (with money now!) but it had closed. I had long forgotten about that store and the memory made me smile.

Yes I believe they closed up in the mid 90s, I know they were still open as of September 1993, because I had some time to kill one late Saturday morning as I waited to meet some friends at the Von Steuben Day Parade, we were meeting at E86th to watch the parade and drink LOL, the store was still there, but not opened yet for the day, but I was able to window shop it LOL.

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  • 1 year later...

John Fleming Scheid was a maker of model dioramas in the 50s and 60s from Easton PA.  I'm told several of his dioramas are/where on display at the West Point Museum.  I'm not sure if this is his work, but it is in the right time frame.  Jack was a member of the the PA National Guard before WWII, then, before the US entered WWII, went to Canada and ended in the Canadian Black Watch.  After WWII, he again joined the PA NG and was an officer in the 213th CA AA.  He worked out of his home building military dioramas and was founding member of the Forks of the Delaware, gun shows.

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