HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS

[JohnReid]

As you can see each module is completely detachable from the main structure,thus allowing the whole diorama to be taken apart, if necessary, in the future.
The brass screws that are shown here are temporary only ,for fitting purposes,eventually the modules will be screwed down from under the base.The use of sand mixed with carpenters glue for landscaping is a great idea as it is rock solid when dry and ready for whatever you plan to put over it.I thought of airbrushing raw umber acrylic and then drybrushing on lighter earth tones for contrast and then adding a bit of vegetation using pastels or using pastels exclusively and staying with mostly shades of gray.I am a little bit worried about getting the whole thing too dark and muddy looking using umbers.Grays would be more appropriate for compressed sand and crushed stone with a little umber showing here and there for the vegetation and I think it would be more pleasing to the eye.Any comments or suggestions are welcome!!!

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

1920's era pinup of Mary Pickford,a silent screen actress ,actually born in Southern Ontario .I don't think that this pic would be considered too daring even in conservative old Ontario of the era.Anyway ,Reid & Sons always liked a little spice in their life!!!!!

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

Someone send me this pic just in time ,as I was starting to question my references on the window heights, especially the engine shop area.They looked a little high off the ground but this pic confirms they were meant for light not to be looked through.The roofing material is also interesting ,it looks like wood with tar covering the seams.
Other than a small area beside the road ,the other three sides of the hangars looks like a compacted material of some kind.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

This is a really interesting pic from 1917 and shows just how well these hangars were constructed.I was surprised by the lattice type braces in the roof trusses.The only other construction of this type that I have seen is in the UK which is probably what was copied here.The floors are extremely well built for the era, when dirt was the norm.Of course here in the GWN getting wood was not a problem.It is also interesting that it looks like the construction was all done with backbreaking labor(not a crane in sight!)

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

Still working on the office entrance area.I have decided to keep the vegetation to a minimum.I read recently that Ottawa Uplands airport was actually built on a sand hill and was a pretty dismal -looking site.I have worked some earth tone pastels into the compacted sand.