Real Earth from My Garden (TM) is running out!

My friends, I tried to make something interesting out of this simple scene, but when you have a limited space and the setting is quite sterile (landscaped firing range) there's not that much left to your imagination! 

So I tried to crank up the ground textures - lots of loose earth around the "dig site" and lots of track marks. Maybe tanks played a role in the firing range construction process, or maybe it's from the Munitionschlepper driving around :) 

Also, I added grass towards the back of the scene, where I thought the ground would be more "untouched" by shovels. It definitely adds at least some visual candy! And, after going through my spares bin, I found and stuck two shovels in the ground... because.. subtle storytelling, I guess :D 

Painting was surprisingly quick. I started the usual way - Mahogany primer on the grass, then some Deep Green followed by several highlights using Deep Green and Yellow Green. The last highlight on the grass had some Buff mixed in as well. 

The ground was completely sprayed with Buff, but in that post-shading manner. The same thing I did on the Panzer of the lake diorama - no priming, and the paint was applied very thin, in multiple layers, using the natural dark color of the earth as a base coat of sorts. I also sprayed some of that buff on the grass, especially in those areas where it meets the barren ground. 

And once that was done, I quickly hit it with enamel washes. Earth and Dark Brown Wash from Ammo. They were applied very diluted and mostly around places with texture - grass tufts, tank tracks, piles of loose dirt, etc. This process is super fun and it slowly brings the ground to life. 

My next step is painting the individual rocks and clumps as usual, and then, maybe, some subtle dry-brushing with Rainmarks Effects. 

I've got one figure ready for painting, and I'm waiting on the other figure to arrive. Finding suitable resin figures for this model is EXTREMELY hard! You need artillery crews or standard WH soldiers. Both parties are in very limited supply - all you can find is tankers, SS guys, lots of camo uniforms, but no basic soldiers, or, at the very least, SPG crews! :(