HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS

[JohnReid]

The above pics are the front and rear pit panels.Note the map case door in the front panel.There is also a glove box( not shown in this pic) behind the rear pilots seat in the turtledeck.The compass is located on a shelf just below the rear panel and is mounted horizontally.The wood is American cherrywood and the instrument faces are from the R/C supplier J'tec.They are supplied in 1/12th scale but can easily be reduced in scale with any good copier.You will have a lifetime supply for WW1 & 2 aircraft as well as most cars and boats all in one package.
There will be no cowling covering this area on the Canuck as it is just too interesting to spoil by covering it.I have however fit this cowling on the "A" fuselage which helps to cover up the lack of detail in the scavenged cockpits.
If I had to do it over again I may have considered doing the instrument rims in brass instead of silver.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

On the left in both pics is the Jenny Canuck tail assemblies.On the right the standard assemblies on most other models of Jenny.
As you can see there is quite a difference in their respective shapes.
Important notein the interest of historical correctness) The Canuck tail assemblies as shown would be incorrect on a military version.They should be of metal construction and not wood.All other Jennys were wood.I took a little artistic licence here and made mine in wood as I felt on a barnstormer I could get away with it.Just about anything went in those days before the era of Air Regs.(That is one reason I stay away from military airplanes of this era as I like that sense of freedom when I build)
As you can see these assemblies were built right on a piece of foamboard with a wax paper layer between the plan and the assemblies.I used superthin superglue here as it soaks right in and leaves little residue.As far as the longterm life of superglue ,Ihave no idea, but I made sure that none of these parts were under any tension after being bent.
To bend the tubing I simply bent it around pins that were stuck in the foamboard,a little at a time.(See the rudder assy)

[JohnReid]

I have come to finally realize if you want to be more productive as a dioramist you have to learn where to spend your time.If you insist too much on chasing the perfection genie ,you can get too bogged down in unnecessary detail that will never be seen anyway.( except maybe by the camera lens ).If you want to be more productive and tell more stories, then you have to be selective in your choices of where to spend the majority of your building time.I used to "model for God" (ie:HMS Victory) but it took me 20 years to build just that one diorama.
Well that experience got that out of my system.Now I am more selective.At 65 I have to be.
Yesterday I spent most of the day making a small screwjack for jacking up the axle of the Jenny, where I will be depicting a tire change going on.This is an example of time well spent.Just think of where your viewers eye will be drawn to and that is where you want to spend your time working, not on some piece under the bench in the corner.This all seems quite obviious but it is easy to get lost in the details unless you sit back and ask yourself what is really important from your audiences perspective?Besides, I dont want to be 85 in the old folks home and still working on this diorama.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

Message for James Dietz

Hi James!I was looking through your gallery the other day and came across your painting"Tomorrow Brings the Dawn".It has inspired me to do my next diorama on the Wright Flyer.I want to do a scene much like the one you have depicted in your painting.I already have two models of The Flyer 3 one in 1/12th scale and the other in 1/16th(Model Expo).
I will be using the 1/16th model in this next diorama which I hope to have underway in the next year or so after I finish the Jenny.Anyway it gives me lots of time for research.
I have lots of info on the Flyer so thats not a problem but I want to do a scene in the shack at Kitty Hawk.I have most of the published pics I think but I need info on how the inside of the shack looked.From the angle of your painting it looks like the view is through the rear door(if there was one) of the shack.Did most of the furnishings come from your imagination or were you able to find some pics on this?
Where can I buy a print? I already have a photocopy on the workbench to keep me inspired.Cheers! John.

Sorry I had to post this here as there seems to be no other way.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

The top pic is just to show how the finished assembies look out of the jigs.
The bottom pic of the Neiuport diorama, I posted to give you an idea of how I repeated myself and used the same method of securing the Jenny to the hangar floor.I tried saw horses,barrells,jacks etc... and everything was just a distraction from the model and looked heavy and ugly.These open frame wingtip supports have proved to be the most unobtrusive way of securing the wings to the floor.I made the latest ones from hardwood and of the smallest size possible.The base is actually screwed to the floor and there will be wingtip cross members top and bottom just on the overhanging top wing tip.There will be no saw horses.The other point of support will be at the wheel axle where the tire change is going on and will also be screwed to the floor.
I think that this time I will leave the Jenny resting on her tail skid and not elevated to flying attitude.When looking at her it just strikes me thet she looks about ready to fire up and taxi away and this sense of impending motion would be lost.The tail skid will be weighted down with a couple of old cast iron wheels that I found hanging around the hangar.They will also be screwed to the floor and the tailskid attached with rope.
I think that this should hold the airplane down securely enough as I plan to hand deliver it to the museum and hopefully I will be there for the installation.

[JohnReid]

I have gone about as far as I can go on the airplanes for now.For safety sake I have put Jenny back in her jig ,where she will stay until just before being finally installed in the diorama.There are still some minor things to make yet but all in all she is about 95% finished.
For a change of pace, I think that I will get back to painting figures.I have 14 figures so far for this diorama, whether or not I will use them all or even get more will depend on when I finally realize that enough is enough.
The central WW1 grouping of pilot characters will consist of 4-5 figures.The rest will be supporting cast, passively looking on to this main group.
The pilot group will be assembled near the airplane in the front of the diorama.I plan to extend the front and sides of the ramp area to accomadate the various trucks , cars, and some of the figures.Others will be scattered throughout the office,engine and woodshop modules.All will be looking in towards the main pilot group where all the action is taking place.Basically the idea is to have the main pilot group laughing and joking around, while the others look on in curiousity at the laughter on such a solemn occasion.The idea is to show that the true nature of these pilots cannot be held in check for long.I have spent a lifetime around fighter pilots so I think that I know them pretty well as a group and I wanted to reflect this in my diorama.
The figures consist of 120mm and 1/16 scale,so there is a slight difference (especially the heads) when put side to side.Also there is some difference between manufacters.The main pilot group will consist of mostly Model Cellar WW1 figures and will only be slightly modified as they are all in somewhat passive poses.The Legends and Lore figures , Eduard and Tamiya heads are all about the same size so they will be position away from the main group ,where any slight differences will not even be noticable.There is also the option of mixing and matching heads.In fact heads are available in packs of 4-6 from some manufactures.
Some of these figures will require major modifications in dress,pose etc.. This I will do with my trusty Xacto and A+B epoxy.See Shep Paines and Ken Hamiltons book s on how to modify figures.
My approach to painting is a little different than most as I came to painting from the decorative arts world as opposed to the hobby world.I will explain how I go about painting a figure which is probably a little different than most.Another important consideration is that my painting style may not be acceptable for handheld, up- close inspection of the figure.It is more impressionistic and adapted to lighted diorama type settings.
Yesterday,I stared playing around with the positioning of the pilot group.Model Cellar figures all come with seperate heads which make it a lot easier for getting the group interaction right.It is amazing how only a slight change in position of the head can cast a whole different mood in your piece.This figure positioning is time consuming but a lot of fun and very creative. I just stick a piece of tape to the feet and move them around as need be.The heads are temporarliy stuck on using that putty like post it stuff.At this stage I dont try to position anything in the hangar itself .I work on a small board with just this grouping of 4-5 figures positioning and re-positioning as need be.Later I will work on the positioning of the group relative to the airplane and other hangar furnishings.
Cheers! John.
This

[JohnReid]