HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS

[JohnReid]

Wood sanding tools
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]

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

The above 2 pics are the before and after of many hours of sanding with a rotary burr.Normally I would use sandpaper but I wanted to retain the artwork.Although this is an aircraft maintenance truck the same basic procedure would be used on car or aircraft diecasts.As far as I know they are all painted with enamel.I will continue this process on all the metal diecast parts.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

John,

You lost me here. I don't see any difference in your two photos. How are you using the sanding burrs?


Hi! the change is quite subtle ,as I am only taking the shine off of the surface and creating a roughened surface that my pastels will stick to.
If you look closely at the engine cover you can see that one side is newer looking than the other.(I have since removed the handles for weathering.)The idea here is not to make this truck look like the barnfind Dussy but more like the airshow car.
On the large roof area,the forward part I left shiny and the rear portion has been sanded so that you can see the difference.
I want this truck to show some wear and tear but not so much that any self respecting company would not want to attach their logo to it

[JohnReid]

You know the last post got me to thinking just how important subtley is in making a believable diorama.If you put a diorama together leaving everything new and shiny just as if it came out of the box it invariably looks toylike.But add just a little subtle sign of age or wear and tear and it suddenly becomes much more beleivable.The secret is not to overdo it unless you are depicting an extreme example of weathering.Sometimes the hardest thing is knowing when to stop and say enough is enough.
Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

Weathering rubber tires

Those nice new white rubber tires will require a little weathering to bring them up to standard which by 1925 was a greyish-black ,I think.
The top 2 tires have been worn down using a ruby burr and polisher in my rotary tool.The same thing can be accomplished using sandpaper but would take a lot longer.
Now I have a choice of either painting the tire with black gesso and then lightening with grey pastels or painting them with grey gesso and darkening with black pastels.In this case if I paint the tires black and then lighten them with various shades of grey pastels it should give me more options of coloration.I can even drybrush a little acrylic on the treads for emphasis.

[JohnReid]