Despite the obvious amazing craftsmanship here, I find the figures look like caracatures, not real people! True, they have been rendered with enormous skill and patience, but for my money, that has never been the point - as I have probably mentioned before, I think that a certain amount of Impressionism adds enormously to the overall realism of a diorama. For this reason, give me one of Grumpa's dios any day! I've had this discourse with art students for the past 30 years, some folks think photo-realism is the ultimate goal in painting, whereas others, myself firmly in this camp, prefer space to let our imagination fill in the reality. Great skills, but too clinical!
Oh, and I agree with Polux and Gern, it should never be a reason to give up