The Bishkek 2nd Basilisk: part 1, the start of a big project

For a couple of years I have been wanting to try my hand on a larger diorama with a detachable Basilisk for game play. My ideas have been fairly clear: it's modeled on a 88 mm battery with a large camo net over the whole bunker/trench like surroundings. I went online and found some interesting images of the 88 mm, check them out. Looks a lot like the Basilisk...

Here's an old 'studio' image

Here's a shot of the gunners. They look very, very young...

and this is from 1945. I want to use this as my starting point. I like the cylinders with all the ammo in it and I like how the stabilizers have been buried under plating. That will make it easier to create a model that I can just pull out for the occasional game. This gun also has the protective plating.

and this how I start a project usually..

Hope you all can stay with me on this one!

Mike