HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS

[JohnReid]

Jenny's OX5

[JohnReid]

I never did get Jenny out of her jig today as I got side tracked and built a wheeled towbar instead.There was a nice pic of a German towbar from WW1 in a book that I was reading, and it looked like it wouldnt be hard to build, so I took the spare set of Jenny spoked wheels that I had and made my own version.From what I have seen, in my research, these towbars would be made from materials that could be laying around any hangars scrap yard.They were of no particular design and varied a lot from place to place.Tomorrow I will paint and weathered it and then maybe finally get Jenny on her gear.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

I am now in the planning stages of a new diorama based upon the air racers of the 20-30s era.They will be solid wood models in 1/16th scale but in a diorama setting.I will be using a lot of the techniques that I learned as a decorative bird carver in a somewhat new type of construction.I have been mulling this over for sometime now and I have decided to set out in a new direction.
I have always admired the work of Syl Kill and others that I have seen in the book "Scratchbuilt" and at the Smithsonian but I have never seen them in a diorama setting.
I will be using the Williams Bros. plastic kits as reference materials for the aircraft plus whatever other info I can find.If anyone has any idea of the accuracy of these kits please let me know your opinions.
I will be doing a step by step tutorial of all this starting with the research.When the Jenny is finished in the Fall (I hope) I plan to get the actual build underway.
Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

Well I made the modelers fatal mistake,trying to rush to finish something.In doing so I tried to force something and ended up crushing one of the spoked wheels.Now I have to trade a towbar wheel for an aircraft wheel and rebuilt the other and re-paint them both. Jeez,I should know better by now.One consulation is that the gear is still level and I didnt manage to screw up the whole undercarriage.Tomorrow looks like a day of re-building.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

I have received a bunch of 1/16th plastic and resin figures that I will soon be painting with acrylics.I will be offering a tutorial on" how I paint figures" in the near future, when the weather gets a little warmer and I can paint outdoors.My method is based upon waterbased acrylics using artist's type paints and brushes.Dont let the word" Art" scare you as this method is actually easier than most!
Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

Everything is back to normal, in fact the accident helped me to finally figure out how I am going to secure the Canuck to the hangar floor.
I have often seen in pics when an old airplane was in the shop getting the wheels fixed ,they often secured a temporary wooden wheel to the axle.In this diorama, I could show a simple wheel change going on, and use one of these wooden wheels to drill a hole in and thereby be able to secure a bolt through the floor.The main weight of the model is in the metal engine so the U/C will bear most of this weight .
The wing tips and tail will be fastened down with screw jacks of my own design, much like I had on the Neiuport 28.
Jenny looks so good sitting on her gear that it has convinced me to keep the clutter in this diorama to a minimum unlike the Neiuport that was filled with stuff.I will put in enough to make it interesting but nothing to detract from the airplane and main figure group.Everything else will have to go outside around the hangar and ramp area.The future engine shop will have lots of junk hanging around to make up for it and maybe a little junkyard of its own to have fun weathering.
Man I love this stuff.One day your down cuzz ya screwed up and the next your back on top again because the old girl looks wonderful sitting there in her hangar.

[JohnReid]