HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS

JohnReid · 27 July 2007, 06:18 PM

I guess I should explain this sudden Bleriot diorama thing.I will be doing this short build after the Jenny but just before the major RAF commission, which I anticipate will take years to build.
The reason I took this on is because this will be my contribution to help promote the 100th anniversary of the Ist air show in Canada in which the Bleriot took part. .It was held in Montreal in 1910 from a field just down the street from where I live. They are actually building a full scale replica and plan to fly it from near where this airshow was held all those years ago.

JohnReid · 27 July 2007, 07:59 PM

Although it looked fragile, the Bleriot XI was structurally strong and had considerable modification potential. It was the first aircraft put to military use by France and Italy in 1910 and subsequently by Britain in 1912. At the start of First World War, the French air force contained eight squadrons of Bleriots and the Royal Flying Corps flew several in France with the expeditionary force. The Italians had Bleriots when they entered the war. A total of 132 were built in five versions.

On July 25, 1909 “England’s isolation ended once and for all” when the aircraft designer Louis Bleriot flew across the English Channel in a Bleriot XI. Lateral control was effected by wing warping and by having the main undercarriage wheels castered so that the aircraft could crab in a crosswind on the ground. This device made all operations on the ground very interesting. The Bleriot XI was the first aircraft used in war when it was flown by the Italian air force during the Italo-Turkish war of 1911.

JohnReid · 28 July 2007, 03:13 PM

Bleriot

JohnReid · 28 July 2007, 03:46 PM

JohnReid · 28 July 2007, 07:04 PM

JohnReid · 29 July 2007, 07:22 AM

JohnReid · 29 July 2007, 07:50 AM

The last few pics give you a good idea of how dioramas can be used as backdrops for pictures.Just by rearranging your subject matter endless story lines are possible.It is a great tool for learning lighting,camera angles,etc...
If you make it so that it could be taken apart and stored between camera sessions ,that would save on the storage problems when dealing in the larger scales.Models and figures could be re-worked and repainted between camera sessions at minimum cost and used in your photographic dioramas .Videos could be used to do your own walkarounds using your own models.Jeez guys,why not give dioramas a go ,the possibilities are endless!!!!! And besides in the end the pics may be the only record of your work that survives.

JohnReid · 29 July 2007, 09:25 AM

JohnReid · 29 July 2007, 02:01 PM

JohnReid · 29 July 2007, 02:10 PM

After spending a lot of time fooling around trying to modify the spark plugs ,I think that they are still way out of scale and just boo ugh ,so I am going to remove the ends and just make plugs (tampons) out of them.
I kind of like the brass valve lifters and may just leave them like they are rather than painting them silver-grey.(a little artistic license)