HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS

[JohnReid]

Hi Chris! great to see you over here on the aerodrome.A lot of good info and 1:1 pics are available at www.wwi-models.org As far as drawings are concerned I would get myself a copy of Scale Aircraft Drawing Vol 1-WW1 from AirAge publishing.When you decide to actually start your build I can email or snail mail info to you (including 1/16th plans).I am glad to hear from you as things are a little slow here on the How to Build ...... thread.I know people are reading the thread as there has been about 2800 hits but so far it has been mostly me spouting off about what I am doing on the Jenny build.Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

its just impossible to predict how long things will take!This is the first time that I have kept a detailed record since my model ship building days.I thought ,looking at the plans that I could have the flight controls done in a day or two,maybe three tops.Well i am four days into it now and still not finished(maybe tomorrow)Part of the problem,if you want to call it that,is running into snags converting the JN4D to a Canuck.I am sure that the Jn4D will go a little faster as there is more info on this version and I will already have had the experience in building the Canuck.I am in no hurry and having fun and I only mention this because it may be of interest to those who like to predict a finish date.(as in dont promise anyone a finished model for their birthday) I will have a detailed report on installing the controls when finished. to be cont.....

[JohnReid]

except for a few minor adjustments the flight controls are finished.Before assembly I painted all metal parts with gesso flat black using the method I described earlier.I weathered all the parts with pastels in shades of grey ,brown and a little black.Try to be subtle and weather in areas where dust and grime would gather.Put scuff marks on thr floorboards where the heels of flight boots would leave marks etc...The joystick assembly was installed as one part(see Fig4-4)complete with floorboards.The elevator bar assembly was glued and installed complete with turnbuckles and control wires.I decided to use the kit supplied silver-grey nylon cord for this.All controls wires were cut extra long and coiled for future installation.I encountered no real problems with the flight controls installation but it does require some patience and forthought as to the sequence of rigging.

I decided that I would go back to step 11 figs 17,18,19&20.These fuselage clips help to hold the structute together and on the real airplane are bolted on.I just used glue as per the booklet as these bolts would never be seen when the aircraft is installed in the diorama.These clips in the kit are supplied as photoetch copper parts.Rather than trying to paint these tiny parts ,I used an old shipbuilders method of coloring copper plates.Heat the copper parts red hot(I used a butane lighter) and then immediately quench the part in cold water.The copper will age to a nice brown-black patina. Bend as required and install. to be cont.....

I am not keeping an hour by hour log of this build as I did in my shipbuilding days but I can say that I devote about 800 hours a year to this hobby based upon past logs.So for those who are interested how long it takes (roughy, in hours)to build a diorama on this scale you can figure it out by the months it takes to completion. I started this project about 12 months ago so I estimate about 800 hours so far.Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

I have revised my plans again.Instead of installing the clips I decided that I should clean up all the hanging fuselage brace wires.But before I can do that I must install the tail skid assembly Fig.6-1.No problems here as long as you install it as a complete assembly.The fuselage brace wires top and bottom as well as the internal brace wires were now installed .Here I diverged a bit from the booklet instructions ,as I am using real wire, as opposed to the kit supplied cord.At the opposite end of the wire from the turnbuckle, I drill a small hole thru the longeron and run the wire through ,pull it taunt and glue with a small drop of superglue.When dry, I snip it off close the the longeron and cover the glue spot and wire end with the copper clip.(when I send in the next set of pics I will show this arrangement.) to be cont....

[JohnReid]

Here is something I came across some years ago on recovering our sense of creativity.

About School:

He always wanted to say things.But no one understood.He always wanted to explain things.But no one cared.So he drew.
Sometimes he would just draw and it wasnt anything.He wanted to carve it in stone or write it in the sky.He would lie out on the grass and look up in the sky.It would be only him and the sky and the things inside that needed saying.
And it was after that ,that he drew the picture.It was a beautiful picture.He kept it under the pillow and would let no one see it.
And he would look at it every night and think about it.And when it was dark,and his eyes were closed,he could still see it.
And it was all of him.And he loved it.
When he started school he brought it with him.Not to show anyone,but just to have it with him like a friend.
It was funny about school.
He sat in a square,brown desk like all the other square,brown desks and thought it should be red.
And his room was a square,brown room.Like all the other rooms.
And it was tight,and close,and stiff.
He hated to hold the pencil and the chalk with his arm stiff and his feet flat on the floor,stiff,with the teacher watching and watching.
And then he had to write numbers.And they werent anything.They were worse than the letters that could be something if you put them together.
And the numbers were tight and square and he hated the whole thing.
The teacher came and spoke to him.She told him to wear a tie like all the other boys.He said he didnt like them and she said it didnt matter.
After that they drew.And he drew all yellow and it was the way he felt that morning.And it was beautiful.
The teacher came and smiled at him.Whats this? said she.Why dont you draw something like Kens drawing? Isnt it beautiful?
It was all questions.
After that his mother bought him a tie and he always drew airplanes and rocket ships like everyone else.
And he threw the old picture away.
And when he lay out alone looking at the sky,it was big and blue and all of everything,but he wasnt anymore.
He was square inside and brown,and his hands were stiff,he was like anyone else.And the thing inside him that needed saying didnt need saying anymore.
It had stopped pushing.It was crushed still.Like everything else.

Anonymous

[JohnReid]

The fuselage between stat.6 and the sternpost is now 99% finished.The booklet suggests that the turtledeck should be installed next.I will wait till later because this item is very fragile and I like to handle my models as I build them.

After rigging the aileron control sheaves and cables fig4-6 ,I will begin installing the seats and their supports.I think that I will paint the seats a sort of olive drab color with brown leather upholstery.The seat cushions will be made using my kleenex/thin white glue microwave oven method as described in my Albatros article.Well thats the plan for now. to be cont.....

[JohnReid]

For those who would like to make a set of cheap sanding tools that will last for years.Buy some cloth backed sandpaper in various grits,the kind they use on power sanders.This cloth backed sandpaper is very strong and does not lose its grit.Epoxy glue this to paint stir sticks ,tongue depressors,popsicle sticks etc... or to round or square dowels of different diameters.I have used these for years both for wood sculpture and modeling.Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

I need info on American lap straps of the WW1 or 20s eras.

Installing seats and rail cross struts:Fig4-7.
the kit supplies the seats as laser cut wooden bottoms and aluminium frame backs.I stained and laquered the bottoms and laquered and painted the frames olive drab.The seat back and arm rests were framed using leather strips ,epoxied on.The seat cushions were made from kleenex tissues about 1/4in thick,soaked with a thin mix of carpenters glue and water.I then put them in a microwave oven for about 30 seconds until they puffed up and were dry.They were then laquered and painted.I used brown gesso and then a biege acrylic paint put on in thin layers and rubbed with my finger until they had a leatherly look.Then I subtlety weathered the whole assembly with brown,grey and black pastels.
to be cont....

[DonnyW]

Hi John, your way of making the cushions is a new one on me and sounds interestion. Is there a picture of something made this way anywhere ?

[JohnReid]

After finishing the internal brace wires at stat6 I have decided that i cant go much further with the fuselage until I build up and install the OX 5 engine.I have very good references for the engine on the wwi-models site, both in what looks like new and used condition.I will be building 2 engines for this diorama one new and the other used.The decision that I will have to make soon is, where I want to put the new engine.I have a few choices,put it on the Canuck,put it being taken out of a shipping crate or on a hoist being installed on the Canuck.Another consideration is, do I want the tail of the Canuck lifted level or with the tail skid on the ground?Maybe someone could answer a question here for me? When they installed engines in those days was it normal practise to have the tail raised to level or resting on the tailskid? to be cont....

Originally Posted by DonnyW

Hi John, your way of making the cushions is a new one on me and sounds interestion. Is there a picture of something made this way anywhere ?

Donny,take a look at the pics of the Albatros (looking down from the roof )over on wwi-models or L.S.P. I will be sending in more pics soon and I will take some of the cushions for you.Cheers! John.