HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

This is a very basic window assembly.Much could be done to dress it up to make it look better.Ex:45deg corners,dollhouse type wood strips etc...but this is basically a big barn type structure.Artisically ,I like the constrast between the crude hangar work and the precise aircraft structure.The old barn and the new looking airplane.The fine fitting joinery of the aircraft tends to be inhanced by its more primitive surroundings.
Now its on to painting!
I have 4 more windows like this to build for the engine shop,2 more in the walls and 2 in the garage type doors.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

I painted the windows exterior with thinned down Pine Green straight out of the tube.The interior is a mix off Nimbus Grey with a small touch of Raw Umber.When doing an old building I find that it is more natural looking, if you put the paint on in transparent coats rather then one opaque coat.You can see on some of the joints where the glue line is very hard to paint over using my technique.That is why I suggest that you paint the boards first.If you inadvertantly get some paint on the plexiglass take it off ASAP with a wooden toothpick and that should not scratch the plexiglass.If there are some small scratches on the glass dont worry about it because when the lights are on inside the hangar they wont be noticable anyway.Large scratches can be treated like a cracked pane of glass and actually accentuated a bit.
When we come back with our weathering pastels a lot of the small defects that you see now will disappear.Believe me!

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

Same idea except the windows are much larger.This was done to allow maximum viewing of the interior at the expense of authenticity.I think that I like the smaller windows better.
Note: at the bottom of the siding where it meets the cement footing ,notice how I have left a uneven bottom with lots of weathering to make it look a little rotted in places.I also put on a faint, green mossy tinge where the wood would come in contact with the ground.The nails were individually rusted by hand with a very small round brush.I used burnt sienna over a burnt umber gesso base on the nailheads and then streaked some of it onto the siding.
The roofline was left warped on purpose after I had seen some pics of the real thing.These were very temporary hangars or sheds which I believe were meant to be moved with the front before they got bogged down in trench warfare.

[JohnReid]

Same windows,inside view.