HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS

[StephenLawson]

Originally Posted by JohnReid

I just got word from the Canada Aviation Museum in Ottawa that they will be acquiring my Albatros,Nieuport and Jenny Canuck dioramas for their collection.They will be used in the educational services department of the museum, to educate kids on school tours and summer model/diorama making projects.I couldnt be happier that they have found a good home where kids can appreciate them.That is really why I built them in the first place ,not to be sitting in a basement somewhere gathering dust, or in some museum that doesnt really know what they are or what to do with them.

I just had to share this news with you guys, as it is only my peers who really understand why we do what we do.Makes an old guy happy.Cheers! John.

JohnReid; Bravo old man!!! Thats just where they should go!!! I am very happy for you and all the future generations of Canadian youth! Inspirational is the word!

[Ross_Moorhouse]

Originally Posted by JohnReid

I just got word from the Canada Aviation Museum in Ottawa that they will be acquiring my Albatros,Nieuport and Jenny Canuck dioramas for their collection.They will be used in the educational services department of the museum, to educate kids on school tours and summer model/diorama making projects.I couldnt be happier that they have found a good home where kids can appreciate them.That is really why I built them in the first place ,not to be sitting in a basement somewhere gathering dust, or in some museum that doesnt really know what they are or what to do with them.

I just had to share this news with you guys, as it is only my peers who really understand why we do what we do.Makes an old guy happy.Cheers! John.

To right they should be used in this way. Your work is outstanding John.

[JohnReid]

Thank you Stephen and Ross for the kind words regarding my dioramas.I am very happy that they have found a good home where they will be well looked after.And thank you too for all your help and encouragement along the way.Cheers guys! Model on.

[JohnReid]

We must ask ourselves:why would an otherwise reasonably normal person forsake the pleasures of family,garden,TV,bowling,hunting,fishing,sailing,b arhopping,vacationing,fixing faucets,and playing poker to sit for years at a time,hunched over a cluttered workbench,squinting through an Optivisor,fashioning tiny bits of plastic(or wood)into what eventually emerges as a miniture representation of a long-extinct piece of machinery which few still recall and about which fewer give a damn?

The most rewarding goal is psychic satisfaction:knowledge that the finished product really is good-reflecting the best you had within you.Sure,it was an epic struggle,but it came out well,and now you can rest upon your laurels for awhile.You go out and lie on the hammock all afternoon(or until the bugs find you);rent a few old movies(Test Pilot,Men With Wings,Dawn Patrol-the usual fare);go to the zoo.But before long,the old urge begins to return(no,not that one,this one)and pretty soon you are back at the workbench,happily wailing away on your next masterpiece.

John Alcorn from his book ,Scratchbuilt! A Celebration of the Static Scale Airplane Modellers Craft. Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

All four ailerons are just about finished.The lower are the same but shorter than the top.Luckily I have two kits so I was able to rob one for the other especially because of the small lightening holes in the ribs.The control surfaces of the Canuck I am giving a newer look to ,as though they had been changed.I assume that this would be an area that would most likely be renewed on an extensive rebuilt, as I am depicting in this diorama.

Next step will be to go back and finish the engine, and install it and the various pipes and hoses thru the firewall, and into the cockpit area.

Iwill send in some pics after I take some shots of the ailerons before they are installed on the wings.

At some point soon I will have to put aside the Canuck for a few weeks and concentrate on finishing the Albatros/Nieuport diorama for the museum.They are supposed to be letting me know how they want the cabinetry finished so it is useful for their purposes.I think that the TV cabinet idea may be to low to the floor.If anyone has any ideas on this ,I would appreciate your imput.Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

For an interesting look at the aviation pioneers and especially Glenn Custiss and some nice pics of his aircraft take a look at www.ctie.monash.edu.au/hargrave/pioneers.html

Family responsibilities have kept me away from my workbench for a few days.I will try to get the pics up of the latest progress on the Canuck next week.
Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

The kit info on the run of the various linkages,tubes and wires that tranverse the engine/cockpit firewall are not well described in the plans.The instructions in the booklet for the Albatros were very well organized in schematic form, too bad the same cant be said for the Jenny.So far, from what info I have gathered ,the following have to be provided for;
Throttle linkages
Spark advance/retard linkages
Oil pressure tubing
Water temp tubing
Fuel lines

I cannot find any reference at all for the run of the pitot tube lines for the airspeed indicator .

The kit supplies 2 diameters of copper wire for tubing and a white wire for wiring that must be painted black before installation.I used black telephone cable wire which of about the same diameter. to be cont......

[JohnReid]

It is usually around this time ,about halfway thru a project that I start to think about what I am going to do next.I always wanted to do something commemorating the 100th anniverary of flight.Yes,I know I am a little late but this present Jenny project has evolved into something bigger than I expected.

Anyway ,I have a couple of ideas that I would like to run by you guys, to see what you think.
Awhile ago ,I purchased a 1/16th Flyer from Model Expo( on which I plan to do an in the box review, when I get seriously into it.)

Until just today, I was pretty much decided on doing a diorama on the building of the second Flyer, that Orville was involved in building and that now hangs in the Smithsonian.That was until today when I discovered a beautiful photo of the modern Flyer being tested in a wind-tunnel by NASA.

Wright Flyer-Windtunnel-NASA ,All the right elements are there.If anyone has any info or pics of the NASA windtunnel at Moffett Field in California,I sure would appreciate your help with the research of this new diorama. Cheers ! John.

[JohnReid]

Well ,I dont think that I can avoid any longer finishing and installing the engine permanently.This is by far the most complicated part of the build so far.The information is there in the plans and booklet but it can be confusing and difficult to find at times.You must be very careful to study the proper sequence of installation of the various components ,as well as the positioning all the tubes&wiring.I am hoping I can reach everything without having to remove any of the fuselage cross bracing.If I had to do this again I would provide the fittings for these wires but I would wait to install the wires themselves forward of the front cockpit .Past experience should have warned me of this but I just had to see how the cross wiring looked installed.Now maybe I will have to take it all off.(why do I do these things to myself?)

I will try to post some new pics soon.Its been too darn cold and windy here to go out to the photoshop.After surviving 64 Canadian winters I now chose the days I go out. Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

You know ,the more I get into building this little engine, the more I appreciate what a great piece of model engineering it really is.It is a challanging but fun build.The parts fit well together and there is minimum deburring or re-shaping.Anyone who has had prior experience with these kits will immediately see the difference in the quality of the castings.I hope that they plan to re-work their other kits to this standard.
I am having a lot of fun building this kit so far and would recommend it to anyone who has the time and is willing to expend the effort to see it through to completion.If you expect the kit to just fall together this is not for you, but if you enjoy a challenge ,give it a go.

Yesterday ,I completed the intake manifold (fig 5-8)There are only 2 pieces of piping that must joined together but considerable fitting and bending must be done to ensure a proper fit.I drilled small holes in each of the pipes(the pipes are actually solid castings) and pinned everything together and then glued the joints using super thin CA.
The parts for the cylinder actuating spring/housing&rocker arms, have been cleaned and dipped in laquer in preporation for todays installation.I test fit one assembly last night and everything seems to fit OK.These are fiddley little pieces to work with but I dont anticipate any problems. to be cont.....