HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS

[JohnReid]

In checking some past posts I realized that it will soon be 2 years since I began building the first Jenny,the Canuck. At the end of this year it will be 3 years since I started this diorama build.I figure that I put in about 900-1000 hours in the shop a year so that means that as of now I have well over 2,500 hours in the project so far.As a rough guesstimate I probably have a year and a half to finish Phase 1.
Just thought that you guys might be interested as I am often asked ,When will it be finished?

[JohnReid]

From my friend Brian over on LSP.

I think it was good to provide a sort of summary and programme for future works. Seems like you have a lot left to do but there is much already complete. I hope that one day we can see the whole finished project. I would not try to add more stuff to the project but complete what you have already started. It is good to have a complete picture. Granted you can stretch it on forever if you keep on adding bits and pices and new minor projects within the main project but I think you need to draw a line somewhere. Just my thoughts mind you.


Thanks for the imput Brian.Right now I am planning to complete Phase 1 and deliver it to the museum.Phase 2 will depend a lot upon whether I can make arrangements with them to build a case large enough to hold both phases while I continue building Phase 2.Because of the modular type system that I am using this could go on for awhile.I am no spring chicken (soon 66) but so far I am free of any serious snags,so that is not an issue at this time.
I was thinking last night that I could still incorporate a 1/16 Camel into Phase 1 if I wanted to, by showing it being loaded on a trailer for delivery to the RCAF .Evidently Camels were purchased by them for use in their airframe school.Reid and Sons could have easily been invovled in such a transaction.I have seen somewhere a picture of a fuselage being towed on its wheels behind a van with the wings and tail assembly loaded on the vans flatbed.This way I could still use the new Camel kit and not build the 2nd hangar.Here again I could just build a skeleton type model and show upclose how the aircraft was put together.
However right now it is back to finish painting my 1:1 garage doors! UGH..... sad.gif
Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

I have added the prop shaft housing ,double bracket,oil pump and sump cover.I recommend not installing the oil fills at this time.They are just too vulnerable to being broken off,there will be lots of time later.Drill one shallow hole in the sump and two shallow holes at the oil pump for locating the copper wire fake tubing.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

From Oct 30/04. 1st engine build.

Jenny dio cont.....
Well I have good news,the engine castings are as good as they looked in the box!Very little deburring,not too soft and they fit together very well.These are the best castings I have used.

The booklet calls for the installation of the fuel tank next but I have decided to delay this installation until I figure out just how much room I require between engine and fuel tank now that both engine and fuel tank will be level and not 15 deg. downthrust.

So its on to the OX5 buildup.Before putting things together I reviewed my references for the various shades of metallic color for the engine.Some color changes are due to the manufacturing process and some to wear and tear.A new engine will definitely be different from an old one especially in areas of heat buildup.Luckily I have references for both conditions.

It seems that the basic block,prop shaft housing etc... has the lightest metallic shade on the engine and is the same on both the old and new engines Also the natural color of the casting seems ok as is ,so I decided to just laquer these parts and not paint them.Later,when the basic block is finished I will spray an acryilic matt medium on to tone down any shine and create a good base for weathering with acrylic washes and pastels.

Prefit all parts together and drill holes where indicated for wiring and tubing before final assembly Fig5-4,-5,-6. I used 2 part 5min epoxy for glueing. to be cont....
Please note:
I varied slightly from the first engine build as I painted the block assembly before glueing on the prop shaft asembly.I find that the block is too dark so I will give it a thin coat of silver.

[JohnReid]

From Nov10/04

Painting of the Engine cylinders:The 8 silver-grey cylinders were deburred and cleaned and sealed with laquer.I experimented a bit with acrylic paint in order to get that nice heat- scorched look to the cylinder housings and came up with the following.I decided to spray paint a very thin mix of matte medium and a little copper over the laquer sealer.It may take 5-10 thin coats to obtain the desired effect.If it builds up a bit around the rings of the cylinders that is ok.Spray and dry(with a hair dryer) over and over.The matte medium will tone down the silver grey color and give the whole thing a more realistic look. to be cont....

[JohnReid]

Nov13/04

Cylinders-there are two different types of cylinders on the OX5, one type has 4 steel rods around the outside of the housing ,actings as hold-downs and the other has none.The kit comes with the no hold-downs variety.So far I havent been able to find out which version is newer however for my purposes it really doesnt matter as both versions must have existed by the mid -twenties.If I was doing a very early version of the Jenny I would want to know.

Prefit spark plugs,exhaust and intake manifolds and water inlet pipes before assembly.Be sure that everything lines up especially the water outlet pipe where it bypasses the spark plugs.

Painting-Exhaust manifold got the copperish, heat scorched look I described earlier.
All the other parts were left as they were from the kit except for deburring,laquering,and several coats of matte medium.There is no point in gessoing and then spraypainting these parts back to the silver-grey color.Matte medium thinned with water gives these parts a nice dull sheen.
Further weathering of the engine will be done after assembly with pastels.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

I have been under the weather for the last few days but I hope to get back to the engine sometime today.At the same time I will be starting construction of the last major part of Phase 1 for this diorama,the engine shop and the engine test stand.The Mercedes engine will go in the shop itself, being worked on, while the OX5 is planned for the test stand.For those who are new to this thread,I will post a pic of the finished carpenters shop just to give you an idea of the arrangement and what things look like in 1/16th scale.
While I am in the planning stages any suggestions or comments would be more than welcome.Cheers! John.