HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS

[JohnReid]

I posted this pic from the old Neiuport 28 diorama to give an idea of positioning the main storyline grouping.While the figures were moved around in the final composition this is the basic idea.The pointing figure pretty much says it all.Everyone can relate to the teacher-student relationship.
This pic also shows the modifications that were made to the figures using the xacto-epoxy method.As far as I can remember all these figures are Tamiya figures from their WW2 series.Most of the mods were done to the uniforms in this grouping.Some later figures were much more extensively modified from standing to sitting positions.These figures are not too expensive and quite easy to cut with a sharp knife.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

People sometimes ask me "where do you get your ideas for a diorama". Well the last two,the Neiuport and the Jenny ,actually started with the figures.
The pointing figure in the Neiuport diorama and the Billy Bishop,thumbs up, laughing figure that will be the central point of the "Memories of Flight School "diorama are both examples of this..All of the ensuing ideas came from those two gestures.
The above pics give you an idea of my style of painting.The commercial "stand on its own style" is overpainted for my purposes.In diorama work I like to let the light work for me.The pic of my figure is taken with a light overhead as would be the case when it is finally installed in the hangar.If I painted it like the free standing model it would appear in the diorama as being overdone ,in my opinion.
The uniform colors were from pictures and museum artifacts so they are debatable.Keep in mind also that in addition to fading over time and the differences in the camera lens,it seems that in those day different dye lots produced different shades of color.So a little licence I think is acceptable here.
My figure is headless because being part of a group I cannot glue down the heads until I determine how they will relate to one another in the group setting.

[JohnReid]

Jim on another forum had a question about lighting.

Jim, what I do is try to paint under the same light that the figures will be subjected to in the diorama.Up until now, because I do my dioramas in a closed ,stage lke setting, it has been fairly easy because I can control the lighting and I know what type of lighting that my dioramas will be subjected to.I learned this during my bird carving days when I would paint my birds at home where I control the light and then display them in another setting and they would look totally different.
A fellow carver friend of mine would alway paint his birds in an impresionistic style using lighting from overhead or off to one side (as in a setting sun kind of idea)and they would look just wonderful, then he would take them to competition and the hall would be lit with flourescent lighting and you can guess the rest.
Basically ,what I am saying is that my style of painting is probably limited to diorama type work or natural overhead lighting.My figure painting so far has been relatively easy to do as I let the diorama or shadow box style work for me and I know that other than the camera, there is little close up inspection of my work.
There are some wonderful figure painters out there.Take a look at this great site for some really good info figure sculpture and painting.
www.timelinesforum.com

As far as highlights and shadows goes I generally use shades of the same color that I am using and later play around with pastels for subtle blending.To subdue a color I generally use the color opposite on the artists color wheel for this.
Hope this helps for now.I will try to do a step by step later but the best thing is to just get in there and play around.
One other thing of primary importance is to use a waterbased acrylic that dries absolutely flat and to which you can add your own mediums and varnish yourself.I keep mentioning this but as far as I know up until now nobody has reported back to me that they have given these paints a try.(Remember use thinned gesso as your undercoat.)
Thi

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

Damn,the camera never lies.Eddie looks like he has something stuck on the sole of his boot. .
Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

George looks a little grumpy today!(you know how we older folks get sometimes)
I will try to put a smile on his face.
Anyway ,there was very little that I had to change with this figure .There was little difference in the uniforms of the doughboys and the flyboys in the US forces in WW1.
I left the riding boots on because in looking at pics of the day I have seen all different kinds of footwear on the pilots, even riding boots.
I dont know about to WW1 guys but I know that fighter pilots of WW2 took many liberties with their uniforms and I suspect that this was even tolerated to some extent in WW1.

[JohnReid]

You know I have been thinking recently about all those artists out there who make guys like me look good.We get all the ooo's and ahhh's for the finished product while they go mostly unrecognized.
I for one would like to thank all those guys and gals for making such wonderful figures(and models of all kinds)that we get to work with.I would not be as nearly as productive as I am if I had to scratchbuild everything(and that is assuming that I could).
As a dioramist ,I am not so much concerned about whether everything I do is scratchbuilt or not, as my main goal is to tell the story.Without the help of all those unsung artists out there,there would be a lot fewer stories being told.
Cheers! John

[JohnReid]

I have heard that a good alternative to JoSonja acrylic paint is Vallejo Acrylics.
Evidently it has all the properties of JoSonja with even better coverage.(more pigment)
Cheers! John.