With the telling tag line “Realism to Scale,” this aftermarket company began its life in Winnipeg, Canada, as a partnership between Bo Kaufmann and Dave Pomarenski. As their name implied, CD produced an array of plaster, resin, paper and acetate diorama products, from ruined buildings to military gear, posters and clear windows. Their products, in 1/35, 1/6 and 1/72 scale, got consistently high marks for quality workmanship. Then, after only a few years, they ceased operations.

Fortunately for diorama modelers, VLS bought the brand and the molds and reestablished Custom Dioramics under its aegis. Not only did they reissue much of CD’s earlier product line, they also expanded the range of items considerably include figures and “Superdiorama” sets: large bases with multiple buildings and accessories, including a train station and a full urban intersection.

Custom Dioramics also boasts the work of some of the best creative craftsmen in the business, including sculptors Brian Stewart and Bill Chilstrom and diorama accessory designers Ben Jakobsen and Dave Pomarenski.

Some CD’s figures are cloned into new poses. Each of the two soldiers in “Chow Time” and “U.S. Recon Team” have the same torso and legs as two figures from “WWII US Tank Crew #1”. The arms and heads are changed to suit the actions of the subsequent sets. And the both running figures in “U.S. Infantry Battle of the Bulge” have the same legs and torsos, with slight changes in equipment. The similarity is not so apparent in the box photo, but the effect when positioning them side by side makes me shake my head and wonder what they were thinking. For the premium prices these fine figures command, let’s hope CD gets back on track and offers originality for our money, and leave the reconfiguring to us.

It appears that some of these figures are being shifted to the Lincoln County Line line.