Vienna 1683 - Blow the mine

Historical background

In the year 1683 the Ottomans started their second attempt to conquer Vienna, the seat of the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and the door to further conquest in Europe. It was a major effort with a huge army (170.000 men at the start of the campaign) - too much for the Emporer, who left the City before the Ottomans arrived. After an epic two months siege an allied relief army (Imperial and Polish troops) reached the outskirts of Vienna and in the final battle the Ottomans were decisively beaten and had to retreat the way they had come.

The moment depicted is the final moment before an Ottoman mine was blown up. Some men are pouring out fine gunpowder out of their the sacks and an officer stands ready to ignite it. An observer is ready too see the impact of the explosion and some janissaries are running to the front to their attack positions. The life in these trenches was certainly not a fine one.

The diorama

The figures are all from Orion. For making some kind of  sappers the figures had to be converted out of fighting poses. Uniforms were not very developed in this period, so each figure has its own colours or colour variations. The trench walls and the mine entrance are made of wood and cord.


Photos (click to enlarge)

Video (Youtube)

Sources

John Stoye - Die Türken vor Wien
Simon Millar - Vienna 1683 (Osprey Campaign 191)
David Nicolle - Armies of the Ottoman Turks 1300-1774 (Osprey Men-at-Arms 140)
David Nicolle - The Janissaries (Osprey Warrior 58)

Iwo Jima 1945

Historical background

In 1945 it was clear that Japan will lose the war, but non of the Imperial Japanese soldiers wasted only a thought on giving up. So as the U.S. Marines landed on this strategic important island they had to discover that each step gained had to be paid in blood and it took them over two months to conquer the whole island (21 square Kilometers) and more than 7.000 men killed in action. The Japanese garrison was completely annihilated (only 216 are taken prisoner).

Clint Eastwood made two really great movies about this battle:
Letters from Iwo Jima (seen from the Japanese side)
Flags of our fathers (seen from the American side)

The moment depicted is the rising of the U.S. flag on Mount Suribachi. It was the second rising of the flag, as by the first time no camera filmed it, so it had to be done again. It is one of the most famous war pictures of all times. The Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia is based on this picture.


The diorama

The whole diorama is from Esci who is based on the monument. The figures had to be glued together from several pieces and they don't fit very well. Also the correct configuration of the figures to achieve the effect of raising the flag is hard to achieve.

My customer wished the monument base in black with gold letters and the rest of the diorama in natural colours. So the sand is black (Iwo Jima is a volcano island) and the sparse vegetation is dry and brown.


Photos (click to enlarge)

  

Video (YouTube)

Sources

Derrick Wright - Iwo Jima 1945 (Osprey Campaign 81)
Philip Katcher - The US army 1941-1945 (Osprey Men-at-Arms 70)
Mark R. Henry - The US army in world war II Part 1: the Pacific (Osprey Men-at-Arms 342)
Gordon Rottman - US Marina Corps 1941-1945 (Osprey Elite 59)