Ralph Ratcliffe built this small diorama several years ago depicting the juxtaposition of solders from two different centuries at a crossroads. The Oshkosh M-977 HEMTT is a Roco model; the cannon and caisson are from Rustic Rails. Ralph says he had the HEMTT cargo truck finished and when he built the cannon he set it in the back of the HEMTT and thought, "Wow, this would make a great little vignette."
 
The scene depicts a crossroads in Pennsylvania; the signboards point to Chambersburg in one direction and Gettysburg in the other. There is no definite meaning of the scene; Ralph prefers to let the viewer draw their own conclusions about what could be going on here. It could be 1863, or it could be 2010, but someone here is "out of time."

Posted July 21, 2013