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The above pics are of my first diorama the Albatros ,the Red
Knight or Red Baron's ,(as he has come to be known), airplane.He has always been associated with the triplane but he actually had most of his time and victories in the Albatros.
The hangar is a rather flimsy looking affair but from my research that is the way they were.I think that maybe it had something to do with mobility and range of aircraft in those days.As the front moved I think that these airfields were designed to move with it.Nobody expected it to bog down into trench warfare.These were little more than aircraft sheds.
The first pic is of the hangar buttoned up .The hole in the roof is for viewing purposes only.Note the roof patches and wooden battens.The roof line is warped and overall it is a pretty miserable looking structure.
The 2nd pic shows a interesting hangar door arrangement where the center panel becomes a ramp of sorts..The little pile of wood you see near the R/H swinging door are planks that would be used as a runway to be placed over the central door in order to roll out the aircraft.
The r/h side of the hangar is plexiglass for viewing but in real life another hangar(#3)
would be joined to the side. Each aircraft had its own shed.
The aiplane is a modified 1/16th kit ,as are the figures.Most of the rest is scratchThere is nothing very difficult here.If you can build a wooden box you can build this hangar.I used mostly tongue depressors and coffee and popsicle stiks.The signs I got off the internet.
Where this piece is a little different from most is that I had the idea of bringing together what the dollhouse miniaturist does and the modelmaker and making a large scale diorama, that tells a story, in a historical setting.
Please give dioramas a try.Yes they do take a little longer but they are fun and interesting to do and the whole world and its history make unlimited subject matter.
Cheers! John.
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