HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

I really enjoy doing large dioramas but funny enough it is the up close camera shots that I really love.It is the "slice of life" ,single frame ,movie set look that I am after.Once the diorama is finished and the photos taken, the diorama doesn't interest me that much any more.
I plan to use the Jenny dio to take many pics of cars and aircraft models that I have around here from different eras, before I ship it off to the museum.It is a lot of fun to find different camera anglles and create little vignette scenes within the larger dioramas.I especially like the "looking through the windows views" both in real life and in my camerawork.Looking through a darkened window into a lighted hangar gives me a real sense of being there.
As you can see I am not too good at the lighting aspect yet and a lot of the shots are too bright but that is something I plan to work on in the future.

[JohnReid]

Harley can hardly wait to get this thing finished!

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

Using an old CD case,I broke the edges to get to the flat plexiglass.I then used some low tack painters tape to protect one side from scratches and on the other I scratched on the window pattern.To make the scratches visible I took a soft graphite pencil and highlighted the groove.The plexiglass was then cut out on my jig saw although a handsaw could have been used.Keep in mind that when you are cutting plexi the plastic ,due to the heat being generated,will melt and reattach itself behind the jigsaw blade.Therefore it is wise to make long continuous cuts and break the two pieces apart by hand.
I have just about finished the 3 windows in the engine shop,then it is on to the garage door type doors in which I am also planning to put windows.I will then probably begin furnishing the interior of the shop.

[JohnReid]

You know sometimes even I wonder why it takes sooo long to build one of these large dioramas.Then I remember that every part down to the last nail in the board behind the door in the WC (that will never be seen)has taken its share of the total time involved.Not that I am in any rush,but when you come to think of it I figure that you could almost build the real thing in the same amount of time involved and even then you would not have to build up the cars and the figures.
A skilled carpenter or two and a couple of guys to handle the heavy stuff and you could get it done in about the same amount of time.(I recall when I was a kid ,a carpenter and I framed a large house in a few months)
Thank God that I am working in 1/16th scale ,as I remember when I was working on the diorama of HMS Victory,things took twice as long.I once corresponded with a fellow who had built 2 Victorys ,one in 1/4 scale(1:48) and the other in 1/8 scale(1:96), and the 1/8 took him twice as long to build.But of course he had just as much detail in them both. The difference in time was mostly in the manipulation of the small parts.Imagine all that rigging in 1/8 scale! Mine was 1/6 scale(1:72) and that was hard enough.But I have to admit it was great training for the Jenny.

[JohnReid]