"Monkey Business" - Saipan 1944 Diorama

My friends, the Pacific Theatre of Operations allows us to explore very different landscapes than we're used to in European dioramas. Each island has a specific scenery, some are covered in a thick jungle, others are more grassy and some, such as Iwo Jima, don't have any palm trees. For this diorama, I wanted to combine tall palm trees, a reasonably thick foliage (so the tank would be still visible) and lastly, local fauna!
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Disclaimer: I have a good relationship with a handful of modelling brands and stores, namely VMS, Michigan Toy Soldier Company, and AK-Interactive. As such, I'm happy to use their products/services, and show them in my work. In return, they support my efforts in this hobby, although my hands are not bound nor am I obligated to push one brand or the other. This was one of the founding ideas of the channel and I will always stand by this.
Music: Quincas Moreira - Scratch the Itch - KZbin Audio Library

[@hansenhenry5438]

never knew I needed to watch someone build and paint miniature palm trees so much 😅

[@vitmir9099]

Just so relaxing😂

[@jeffholt9437]

"Sunny outside? Time to dig up the garden - I need to do another diorama!"

[@alfamike1029]

I just laughed when I saw the Peddinghaus product. It was the first shop I visited when I started modelling. It's 15km away from my hometown.

[@Nick_Tank-Maker]

Always a good week when Uncle Night Shift uploads

[@Panzermeister36]

Great work Martin. I think the overall black primer on the base is effective and important for the cohesive result of the model and base. Reason being: it matches with your high-contrast style of your painted tank and figures. You make effective use of black basing, post-shading, dark washes, and without mimicing that on the base, it would likely not seem unified with the model. Most of that vegetation you buy for modelling is quite light (and muted) to begin with, so repainting it black and then highlighting with punchy colours makes it match the model, stowage, figures, etc. and everything seems like it fits together. Otherwise the ground would not seem to have the same level of dark shadows as the model. That's my two cents.

[@PanzerModel]

With my dioramas I’ve found that a high contrast scenic base and low contrast tank model can each complement each other in a strange way, but a good way nonetheless. Also, you make great models too, panzermeister!

[@TLR_]

Always wanted to be able to do this

[@paulberkebile5562]

King Kong looks spectacular and the Saipan diorama blows me away!

[@davidcole333]

Those palm trees look amazing. Beautiful work.

[@nazca247]

Loving the intro style now with an outside speech

[@woodpecker_4255]

Was it just me, but it look like it was shot on a green screen

[@leonmeekel5486]

It would certainly be interesting to see you make more pacific diorama's

[@paulpsyche42]

I got back into modeling this past month after about 40 years of not as I’m now each 54 I truly love your videos and your great personality. It’s infectious!

[@iain.sm.c]

I'm always impressed that you put almost the same amount of effort and detail into the diorama bases as you do the models themselves. Great work!

[@clouddog2393]

What a great diorama . You are a very talented modeller Mr. Night shift .

[@jensburkhardt4006]

Regarding your last few words there: If I was ever able to produce a piece that beautiful while suffering from a "lack of energy and enthusiasm" I'd give up the hobby and call it mastered. Outstanding job there. Please don't ever stop. Looking forward to your next piece when you tackle it giving your all!

[@garbildabil2259]

Didn't even see the video but I know it's good!

[@tm5123]

You're not wrong. 😆

[@jurassicollie7458]

I love your dioramas so much!! Keep up the great work.

[@pofrof4910]

Very cool that the tank crew are tri-gemini.

[@Maximbaumann]

Night shift upload? Friday? Work finished? Hell yeah!

[@tomtruesdale6901]

You did a great job on both the model and the diorama. I was in a used bookstore the other day and found a book on "Tanks in Combat" and found a black and white picture of the tank King Kong in it and I thought of this model. You did an outstanding job here.

[@90Gunni]

Never clicked like so quickly! Fantastic!

[@fabricedevos4273]

I’m always impressive by the richness of colors and contrasts of your models!

[@ErzgebirgsMoBaHO]

The most beautiful and realistic palm trees I have ever seen in a model. Excellent work. Greetings Tino

[@nimby3846]

Nice, how a few palm trees can make it a tropical scene. Oval is nice, but the coners in a rectangular base can be useful.

[@Hobby0127-ek5hl]

I have been watching you for a long time and recently got into modeling about 6 months ago because of your videos! Thanks for what you do and the inspiration you have given me to get into this hobby!!!!

[@jameskelley2186]

You did really well with the island's texture - the palms are very accurate looking with the brass leaves. You might have been able to cut similar leaves out of paper or thin plastic on a Cricut machine. This came out great, considering how different the plants are in the Marianas Islands from the "standard" ones that most modeler are familiar with. I used to live on Saipan (Guam, too), so I'm speaking from experience - we used to swim out to that one famous M4A2 that was abandoned in the shallows near the beach it was headed for. My grandfather was one of the Marines who were sent to take the island, so that steadfast rusty hulk has always had an added significance for me. There was also a park with the remaining intact Japanese tanks that weren't among the large number bulldozed into and buried in a hole somewhere on the island (or so the story went). At that park as a toddler, I wandered into the bushes and came upon a big monitor of the species you chose for the diorama. It looked pretty damn big to toddler me - I remember that I yelled "CROCODILE!" and went running back toward the tanks. That said - there aren't any monkeys natively on Saipan, although there are some photos of Marines hanging out with monkeys that they found during the battle. When I lived there in the 80s, there were no monkeys in the jungle. There were coconut crabs - oh so many coconut crabs. Someone put about a dozen into our car once as a prank.

[@DakotaofRaptors]

Do coconut crabs taste good?

[@jameskelley2186]

@@DakotaofRaptors I've never tried them. I hear that there are places that they eat them, but it's not common. In a lot of places where they live they eat "Sea Mangoes" which are a poisonous plant (not a real mango) that makes their meat poisonous when they eat them.

[@tjenahoj]

Westernkind is amazing and talanted all over the world! And some, like Mr Shift, doubly so!

[@theend1555]

Love this diorama! The uniqueness of the tank, the pacific landscaping, very cool!

[@dexecuter18]

Great looking stuff dude. As a funny aside. Your dioramas seem to have sparked a mini revolution in the US model Railroading scene. Since a few of your vignettes have shown up in RMC there is a sudden interest in "Vignette" style layouts.

[@Nyllsor]

Palmtree looks fantastic! Very fitting The diorama The way you made it look. Also i like that King Kong meets its little brothers :)

[@brianstarr1272]

Great work Martin! The palm trees in particular are amazing!

[@Barbarossamodels]

Beautiful model Martin, the tank alone looks amazing, but then added to the jungle track…..😯🌴👌The groundwork & vegetation look fabulous, & perhaps with the specialised products aside, it shows what great effects can be created with some simple modelling materials! Love the shades & colours that bring it all to life 🟢 It’s good to see also how you decided you weren’t happy with the original base & made another, instead of persevering with the original & perhaps not being happy with the finished model. Sometimes it’s best for a rethink, even deep into a project😖! Great work as always….☺👍

[@aaroncureg3696]

Always a good night when papa night shift uploads

[@ScottysScaleStudio]

Always amazed by your work, Martin, and one of a handful of scale model channels that always get a like from me, regardless of how far into your video I am...brilliant work in this diorama!! Leaves me asking KZbin, "Where's the double like button?"😮

[@fhbooker]

Excellent! Brilliant job

[@ramonperedo2751]

Awesome work as usual, really so enjoyable process from the begging to the very end. At last part of the video when the whole diorama is spining the moving palm leaves give such a great motion and all comes to life.

[@michaela3274]

Looks awesome. Another dio worth waiting for 😃

[@modellbauatelier]

Wonderful Martin! I love your Palm Trees. Looking forward to your next video! I love it.

[@bobholmstrom786]

Stunning!

[@cerisekappes580]

Absolutely awesome!!! Love the change in location 😊

[@vinnywelsh]

Awesome work as always mate!

[@ducatisti]

Your videos always make me smile, your voiceovers are perfect and of course your work is absolutely amazing. I recently ordered a bunch of AK-Interactive goodies based on your recommendations and I love the Wet Ground texture so much that I'm always making up scenarios that require it's extensive use!

[@user-ec7dz2zz3c]

Beautiful. Your work and tutorials never disappoint. Thank you for sharing your talents with us.

[@briankennedy4851]

Those palm trees are awesome!

[@MrEriksweet]

Really atmospheric for such a small diorama.

[@Oakeeper]

Excellent as always.

[@rolfgall9495]

Really awesome job! Tank is perfect, Diorama is perfect, thank you very much for sharing it!

[@stanislavkicin4324]

Super, těším se na další kousek.

[@renoir4964]

That’s absolutely beautiful!

[@BoydBrownIII]

What a great build and dio. I always love to see your process and your results. As a little bit of an "FYI", you are right, your "monkeys" need tails. Without them, they are apes, and there are no apes species (other than humans) on Saipan. But, as a bit of artistic story telling, it's a brilliant addition to the scene. I can't wait to see you next "rusty" project!

[@herostrate]

Outstanding and instructional as always

[@ashpitcher3]

Outstanding!

[@dukewellington9308]

Amazing work. Absolutely love the palm trees

[@Kneon_Knight]

That looks fantastic! You are a true artist.

[@flick_shot_5625]

looks amazing, ive always been more of an aircraft builder, but watching these videos is so much fun, been watching for a long time and im loving it.

[@jaykaramales3087]

Your tropical setting looks very authentic. Thanks for the tips and the great video!

[@YellowAvalanche3800]

No matter what topic you tacle, it's gonna be incredible. Thanks for all the inspiration! :)

[@2ndhendrix631]

This is just next level. The very best on KZbin!

[@DoktorSEBMAX]

This smart mud looks super effective.

[@ziyorge1280]

Beautiful work ❤❤❤

[@alaincourriol5046]

Bravo, encore une très très belle réalisation

[@ISAACBATENBURG]

Great piece of work! I loved how you create a realistic landscape on such a small area

[@Ironworx_ScaleModels]

This is amazing, love the palm trees, the floor fauna looks very lifelike I think, well done as usual Martin.

[@andybennington637]

Amazing.

[@terriandpetemcclure9156]

A genius at work.

[@goonerlara]

Love your work, inspiring to keep modelling, 💪💪

[@perrycooper7460]

Stunning

[@JohnSmith-sl1my]

Really liked this well done .

[@C.Brown5150]

Brother Nightshift , after watching your videos for a couple of years now... You always manage to amaze me with the things you come up with.. I don't know how many of your dioramas builds I've watched over the years.. But each one you come up with something new. You have such a great eye with the smallest details.. And those or the details that make your projects " POP ". This project looks great , love the work on your trees. Thanks for sharing your build with us. Until the next video, may God continue to keep you Safe and Blessed. 👍🇺🇲

[@michaelnaven213]

High level tier modeling at its best, outstanding sir.👍👍👍👍

[@thatotherguy7596]

Very cool 😎 Conveys lots of drama. Thanks Uncle Nightshift.

[@un7ucky]

fantastic

[@peterwright217]

top build with the palm trees. 👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@that_crazy_serb]

Dude, the plot twist with the diorama base... :D

[@chrisjordan4210]

Martin, it did work, another great (small) diorama.

[@ModelAirplaneMaker]

Well done with the dio. I really enjoyed seeing how you did the palm trees and I hope I am able to do them in 48th scale. Thanks for showing this!!

[@RubyMarkLindMilly]

Palm trees 🌴 look amazing 👍

[@nickyjohns3602]

Nice work

[@JedenSiedemDwa]

Perfectly done. All the best for You! ;)

[@-paaschburg]

I really enjoy watching you work. Seeing the full scene put together, a cool detail that could have been added would be a tattoo on the driver's arm. Keep up the good work!

[@vagabundolino6582]

We need to get this man to 500k subs ASAP!

[@markc7002]

Your diorama creating skills are exceptional!!

[@stephenbridges2791]

Very cool. Looks like Saipan. I've actually been to Guam which isn't too far away. Looking forward to your next project.

[@raziel3726]

Amazing Craftsmanship 👍🏻👍🏽👍🇬🇧🇬🇧

[@chrisburzenski2317]

nice job!

[@WizSlater]

My first action after seeing night shift made a new video was to try to make enough excitement that somehow he would know that ......................................................i was excited but a comment is more effective

[@PierTa-pi5kd]

Sei il numero uno!!!

[@Vincentschneider007]

Great work sir. Learned many meth from you. Just tried to finish an Abrams, and almost threw it out, due to the disappointment of my methods, but kept it to remind me that modelling is all about making mistakes and learning from them. Model on dude.

[@christiancarlocandido5932]

Fantástic Job!😮😮😮😮

[@goforitpainting]

Looks cool 👍and this is very inspiring to me because now I am working on some Shermans from the new Achtung Panzer starter set.

[@noqualitydioramas]

Nice work! Something new for you) And i like to see how you find new idea with plastic sprue))) No leftover in modeling)))

[@goldmanjace]

Excellent Job in the Base!

[@lowenization]

another banger video

[@apathtrampledbydeer8446]

It looks really good

[@michaele1407]

GREAT BUILD, AND THANK YOU FOR SHOWING STEPS

[@tarikarifhodzic3334]

Great video! I think a great idea for a diorama would be one of those big ass french hedges

[@orsonincharge4879]

Listened first time while painting uniforms on 30+ british ww2 1/72 , now a cup of tea of course and watch it back :D

[@grismor1884]

That bow gunner looks jacked, i want his arms

[@mortisangelica]

The one thing I noticed on tank dioramas is the tracks always seem to be in the nicest fine sand and mud. There would be some large stone and small rocks under there some times. I mean it would be normal for it to displace small fist sized stones or at least run over chest sized rocks. I'm sure some rocks would be cracked or pushed down, but some might survive and a track slip on it. it just seems to often it has two perfect track impressions behind the the tank.

[@Thelastdon85]

Bro your work is to good and it’s forced me to quit as the standard you set knocks my confidence big time 😢😢😢😢

[@highlandrab19]

Like the stained veneer much more than the black paint