I had the pleasure of hosting Keith Rocco and Mark Fastoso today for a visit to the Aquia Line and a discussion about a new project.
Keith is a very well known artist that specializes in military history. He has produced hundreds of paintings of many subjects especially the American Civil War and Napoleonic War that are available as limited edition prints. Many of those prints are also available in compilation books. He also has completed several spectacular murals including some at the The National Museum of the Civil War Soldier, Petersburg, VA. His latest murals are at the First Division Museum, Wheaton, IL. Several of the dioramas I have built have been inspired by Keith’s work.
Mark is an Emmy award-winning documentary executive producer at Alabama Public Television. He also designs wargames and hosts the Youtube channel, Mark’s Game Room. That is a Youtube channel devoted to wargaming and military history. It is know for extremely high production values and detailed historical analysis presented in a fun and engaging way.
We started the visit with a tour of the Aquia Line. Keith is not a model railroader, but is very knowledgable in the history. I think he enjoyed seeing the layout. I was extremely flattered when he said he liked my backdrops.
We are using some of my 15mm terrain and figures
to get a feel for the scope of the project.After viewing the layout and running some trains, we sat down to discuss a new project idea. Keith wants to create several large dioramas depicting the morning of D-Day, June 6th, 1944. The project will be a collaboration between Keith, Mark and his gaming group, and I. The dioramas would be a traveling show to accompany some of Keith’s art work.
After bashing around some ideas we decided we would build several portable diorama sections in 1/100 (or 15mm) scale. The exact details are still in the design phase, but I am excited to participate in this joint project. My job will be the bases, terrain, and structures, Mark’s group will provide the figures and vehicles. Keith will do the design and paint the backdrops. It will be fun to see this develop.
