This is my 1st dioramas project.... a 1/24 Mini Cooper

Ouch! I hope that the driver was wearing his/her seatbelt. Very nicely done. I am not much of a civilian vehicle expert but I think that you have done a nice job "crashing" this cooper.

BTW, welcome to Armorama.

Very nicely built and arranged model - as a Mini-Cooper (proper one, not BMW fake) owner, I do wish you'd chosen a different subject though - like a VW Beetle or something !!! LOL

Ciao SilentKiller,
Wow, that's impressive. From the looks of it, the driver wasn't wearing his seat belt, though. There's gray matter on the windshield.
Ciao for now
Rob

Impressive! I particularly like the tree. At the risk of being thought sick, this wasn't being driven by Marc Bolan was it?

Rob,
you're right, the driver did not wear the seat belt and suffer a serious injury because tamiya did not provide it.. lol.

Btw.. thanks for the compliment guys..

Good job. A rather strange subject for a first dio. Most people usually just build something OOTB and put a few figures around. What a unique start to a hopefully long modeling hobby career.

this guy sure have talent!

he's an art student! Great dio... the fence look mighty realistic...

i particularly love the tree...well done

Danny,
your works are great too.. hope to see more of your works soon after you have master the technic to use your new air brush..

Maybe we can build a big diorama together when we got the time

Very nice dio.Congratulations.

Ciao SilentKiller,
As a policeman, I have seen some accidents. I can tell you that the driver would have collapsed the steering wheel on his rapid approach to the dashboard and windshield. I do like the way you did the exposed metal, though. Looks very authentic.
Ciao for now
Rob

The force of the crash was mainly act on the side (when the mini hit the fence) and front (when it hit the tree).. As the kerb is the only thing that cause damage to the wheels, the right wheel was slightly deformed and if you observe closely, the wheels are already out of the original poisition. I think it would be too exaggerate if the wheels are knocked off..

Silent.

I too can offer up a professional opinion on your "crash," as I am a police officer and have been an accident recontructionist for over thirteen years....anyway you've done a really nice job on your "mini-crash"...I especially like the way you properly replicated what we call "contact damage" on the passenger side of the windshield...it should have the "spider webbed" effect after someone (the passenger) puts their "pumpkin" into the windshield, just like you've done it. The other type of damage we would see is "induced damage"...that's where the cracks would basically create long jagged lines from the stress on the areas surrounding the glass.
You've done a really nice job. Depending on the dynamics of the crash, there could be any number of things that could occur to virtually any part of the vehicle, particularly to the front.
From the photo I get the impression the "Mini" hit the tree more on the front passenger side...if that were the case, the only thing I would have added would be some indications that the vehicle rotated in a counter-clockwise direction around the tree. The amount of rotation would primarily depend on the speed at impact. (The closer the impact to the center of the car, the less rotation you can usually expect). You may not have been aware of that, but no matter really. You've done a great job I think.
If you (or anyone else for that matter) ever do something like this dio again, get with me and I'll dig up some photo's for you to use as reference.

This would have had to have been a low speed impact as the last mini cooper I saw tangle with a tree. The mini lost BIG! Perhaps the raised curve kept the car from rotating as noted by 11Charlie, in a low speed impact the rotation would be minimal and it's possible the tire caught on the curve.
All and all a very good dio ... good job.

Dave

You Guys give great opinions!

11 Charlie,
I would like to take a look at those photos, can you post it in this forum or just email it to me?
I really feel like taking a look from those professional views after i read your professional opinion.

Marc Bolan (T-Rex) strikes (that tree AGAIN !)

Good job

Seen this site ??

http://www.crashbonsai.com/.....some fun ??

AJ

The seat belt law does not apply to classic cars (I have a 69 Heally 3000BJ8) Classic cars are regulated by the laws at the time of making....so...if you wish to hit your head and become a kidney donner...BUY A CLASSIC....it makes sence

AJ

Hi - for a first diorama this is a gem.
I like the attention you paid to details, the glass on the ground, the leaves on the tree, the extra grass (different colors), nicely done.
A couple of pointers I would like to offer. The tree canopy looks very flat. I believe it would be more visually appealing if it were rounder and had more volume. The canopy could use a bit more thickness too, it is a bit transparent.
Another visiual appeal point is to angle the 'lines' of a diorama vs. the base. Your road runs parallel to the base, if you put the road/curb etc at an angle it makes the viewing more interesting.

Nicely done I look forward to more of your work.

Silent,
Give me some time to get some good photo's together. I'll have to scan them into my computer and email them to you. I have some of a crash from a couple years back involving a BMW that went through a telephone pole at over 90 miles an hour then hit a tree. I'll add a few others as well maybe I'll post a couple wrecked cars here for you and others...nothing insensitive though.

Phantom_Major is correct...speed is certainly a factor in the amount of rotation a vehicle will incur. Vehicles do funny things once "Sir Isaac Newton" takes over the driving.... :-)

We have seat belt laws here in the states also (mandatory in Ohio), but you'd be surprised at the number of people who don't wear them, and even more surprised at the number who don't properly restrain their children.....until someone eats a windshield...if that doesn't convince them, a $100 ticket isn't going to either....I'm getting now so I'll jump down off my soapbox.

:-) :-)
Take your time, Charlie.

Maybe you can get those people to wear their seat belt by showing those photo to them too.. :-) (It would be more effective if the photo are qualify to be post in rotten.com)

Btw, cool site from SlapHead.... (http://www.crashbonsai.com)