HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS

[DonnyW]

John, could you explain what a diorama actually is. Its a term I wasn't familiar with until I saw the "Most memorable Diorama" thread. Now when I think of dioramas I see Alan's picture, a picture of yours looking through the doors into your factory, or a model sat on a little wooden plinth with perhaps some figures around it. All very different ..are they all dioramas in your eyes? I looked the meaning up in a dictionary and it was described as something like ..looking through an opening into a scene .. originally different paintings hung in 3d .. different lighting effects etc. A proper meaning of the word would help me at this stage .. thanks

[StephenLawson]

For me a diorama must tell a story. An action vignette can be just a mechanic working on an aircraft...but when the serial number or markings scheme is linked to a unique action in history the story unfolds. A diorama can exist without figures but the damage or markings or equipment of the machine must tell a story.

It is better to use figures and show the human condition in war. You link with your audiance. But ask yourself what are you trying to say? Often the two immediate elements that tell your story are the specific action and the title.

[JohnReid]

Hi Donny W.! Traditionally a diorama was a shadow box or three-dimensional picture, however in our modern era it has come to encompass just about anything where objects are positioned in such a way as to interrelate with each other and usually tell or suggest a story.The key is that it must be three-dimensional.The setting can be very realistic or fanciful depending upon your own imagination.The magic of the diorama is that it takes a somewhat static object or group of objects and makes them come alive.In my mind it takes the craft of modelling and elevates it into the realm of art.I think that it is the highest expression of what we do as modellers.The whole craft vs art controversery just slips away and becomes irrelevent and even the kit vs scratch dilemma really doesnt matter because now the focus is on your creative ability to raise an emotional response in your viewer.Let your imagination run wild,contact that 10 year old kid that exists in all of us and you cant help but be a successful dioramist.Cheers! John.

[DonnyW]

Thanks for the explanation. Strangely ..now when I look at the dioramas, they take on a different meaning. Before I just admired the model aircraft. Problem is there is 27 pages of most memorable OK tell me more ......

[JohnReid]

Well,first let me explain about ideas and where they come from.Personally ,whatever artform I am involved in, I strive to add something new.I think that my contribution as a dioramist was to see the possibility of taking what the dollhouse miniaturist does and wed that to the aircraft modelers world.Basically what I do is a miniature dollhouse with a big subject matter change.Instead of viewing a shadow box from just from one side,I opened things up so that it was viewable from 4 sides and the top.Sort of like 5 shadow boxes in one.I took the dollhouse idea and adapted it to airplanes.The added bonus is that the hangar makes its own dustproof box.Another example of where ideas come from was when I was looking for a storyline for the Nieuport diorama.I was just leafing thru some catalogs(filling the well,I call it)when I happened upon a 1/16th Dragon figure of a WW2 German officier pointing with one hand and a map in his other , obviously giving directions.As soon as I saw that figure my whole idea fell into place .The interaction between that pointing officier and the airplane would become the focal point of my diorama.Forever more, the viewer of my diorama will wonder , what is he pointing to and what is he instructing his men?The fact that he is pointing to the airplane draws the viewers eyes and imagination into the scene but the airplane still remains a focal point of the diorama. Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

Originally posted by sperry@Sep 13 2004, 02:23 PM
[b] I'm following this closely. Thanks for the background links Stephen.

Is this going to include the topic of forced perspective? I have had a project in mind using this idea and I'd love to hear other's experiences.

Basically, look at paintings on the rear cover of Cross & Cockade International Vol.33 No. 3 2002. British costal airships over oceangoing ships.

I have a BE.2 vac fuselage from the 1/48 Falcon kit for the SS class gondola, a few photos and a whole heap of good intentions so far.

sp

Hi sperry! Take a look at the work of a guy called matrixone over on www.finescale.com go to forums and go back 3or4 pages.He has done some very fine work with forced perspective.He has actually built a complete airfield and uses various scales of aircraft .He then photographs them in color or B&W.He even ages his B&W pics so that they look antique.Very hard to tell if they are the real thing or not.He seems to be very willing to share his knowledge.Cheers!John.

[karrart]

Originally posted by DonnyW@Sep 13 2004, 10:07 PM
[b] A proper meaning of the word would help me at this stage .. thanks

I think you may have hit the word!...there it is...."stage", although your use of it is in the other sense!
A "stage", like a mini-theater to present a story. Could be a very little story, or a big story. John R's hangar scenes are full of stories!
RK
karrart.com

[JohnReid]

Me again B) Just before hitting the sack last night I thought of a couple of ideas for simple yet effective dioramas(I think)Imagine an aircraft in a field that has taxied up to an old farms outhouse.You could show tracks in the snow leading to the outhouse and not even have to make a figure yet the mere thought of human presence will bring it alive and let your viewer connect the dots.I bet that little scenerio took place more than once in wartime or flying the mail.While we are in the realm of bodily functions ,how about this little vingette that could be made from just about nothing at all.If you want to bring a smile to an old fighter pilots face you could simply create the following scene.Put an aircrafts wheel tracks in the snow where it has just taxied away for take off.Put a little yellow spot in the snow where the aircrafts side would have been and title it , Taking a Nervous One.You see how simple it is when you let your imagination play around a bit.These two ideas may not be everyones cup of tea but the point is the diorama does not have to be big and showy to be effective.I tend to do large,complicated dioramas because that is in my nature but sometimes simplicity is even more effective in telling a stroy. Cheers! John.

[DonnyW]

The thread has certainly got me thinking like a dioramist (is that a word )
I didnt realise it at the time but Ive got my stage already made .. the Caproni cockpit. Before this thread I would just "plonk" a couple of pilots in and have them in a wooden pose looking straight ahead. Now you have given me the idea to have the co pilot bending over the bomb sights and the fore gunner leaning over the front pointing at something on the ground. Should make a more interesting model... right ?? John .. you have set the stage ... whats next

[StephenLawson]

The idea that a diorama can be figureless is one of my favorites. To show the human condition or the results of human interaction around an airframe. One I like is tipped over paint cans.