HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS

[JohnReid]

Sometimes it is a lot of fun just to take a small part of a diorama and create small vignettes from the larger picture.This happens to be a small corner portion of a picture of the larger Nieuport 28 diorama.I plan to do a lot of this with the "Memories of Flight School " diorama when it is finished.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

Are railroaders dioramists? why of course they are!

That is what I love about dioramas,they really defy being catagorized.Do I do airplane dios that happen to have cars in it ,or car dioramas that happen to have airplanes in it ,or figures that happen to have cars and airplanes in it ,or maybe motorcycles or barns or hangars or even 1/16th scale dollhouses?As far as I am concerned I love what the railroders do, especially the pictures of their layouts.If the trains never moved that would be OK by me.The fact that they move is just an added bonus.

I am now posting to about 15 different websites,cars,airplanes,RR,figures etc.. and seldom do I get a complaint, especially after I explain what dioramas are about.Most people in our community are pretty open minded when it comes to craftsmanship and art.There will always be those who take a narrow view on any subject and that is OK too! There are those who approach modeling in a scholarly way and want to document history as accurately as they possibly can ,and that is just great ,as long as they don't try to impose those standards on everyone else.My approach to diorama making is that it is an artform and art is all about emotional reponse no matter what the subject matter.Dioramas are about bridging artifiical barriers.
Just think how far we have come when only just a few years ago dioramas were mostly considered to be a nice wooden bases on which to place your model.

[JohnReid]

Have gone back to the woodworking for awhile and am just finishing up the doors and windows of the engine shop and have begun the interior furnishings.
When the engine shop is finished I should be able to see a little light at the end of the tunnel.The main hanger will then be taken apart for the last time,the lighting installed and the various furnishings added.I then plan on taking a bunch of vignette type pictures while I still have easy access to the inside.The modules will be attached and then the "outside the hangar "enviroment will be completed.I still have yet to build few cars and figures as well as the the Camel/trailer model.
Once I get the modules attached it could really be considered finished as a stand alone unit,the rest will be guilding the lily so to speak.
I am in no rush to sent it to the museum in Ottawa ,as I plan to use the dio as a backdrop for photography using some 1/18th scale vintage cars and a few future figures as the main subject matter.
Thats the plan anyway! (Man plans,God laughs)
Cheers! John.

Note to those English majors out there) in re-reading a few of my recent postings please excuse my spelling and typos .Jeez,I must be getting well into old fart status I guess.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

The above is a picture of a workshop woodstove that a modeling friend has in his shop.I was unable to find a model steel drum in 1/16th scale as in the picture but I have seen homemade woodstoves cut from steel with steel bands welded on.I will attempt to scratchbuild one from memory using the example as a guide.This woodstove is destined for the engine shop.

The following picture is the early stages of this build.I used an old plastic pill bottle of about the right size,sealed off the end and wound it with a band of small straps.I wanted the straps to look as they were a little heat distorted and the edge of the drum somewhat banged up.I then painted the whole thing with white gesso as an undercoat. To be cont......

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]