HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS - Page 341

JohnReid · 13 July 2008, 08:46 AM

My idea is to have the wreck look like it was just recently dragged off the field on a skid of some kind, probably horse driven.I want to scar the ground with drag marks.I think with this and Fritz sitting nearby it will be enough.I plan to show just the horses harness on the ground,no horse that would only deflect the attention from the dog.

JohnReid · 13 July 2008, 08:59 AM

JohnReid · 13 July 2008, 09:14 AM

In the pic above of an Albatros accident victim,I find it quite strange that the fabric would burn off of the wings and not set fire to the wood ribs.
Would it be because the fabric burned off so fast that the wood didn't have chance to be ignited.
Was the wood subjected to a flame retardant or preservative of some kind that did not so easily ignite as dope and linen?
This could be something that I could incorporate into my wreck that would allow me to show some of the structure even if it was a little fire damaged.
Did they have some kind of fire fighting equipment that they may have used to spray the aircraft during the initial stages of the fire which would account for the wings not burning?

JohnReid · 14 July 2008, 10:03 AM

It seems that I was correct in my assumption that the fabric would burn so fast that the wood would probably only be scourged.

JohnReid · 14 July 2008, 10:05 AM

JohnReid · 16 July 2008, 08:36 AM

John: The reason that the fabric burned so fast was that it was finished with a celulosenitrate dope that flashed off very quickly. I know from personal experience just how quickly these old finishes are consumed when the Tiger Moth that I was flying caught fire after an accident.

The wood structures were finished with a varnish that contained a high percentage of lindseed oil used to help preserve the wood.

I've been following your build and enjoying every bit of it. Keep[ up the good work

Barney

JohnReid · 17 July 2008, 07:25 AM

It is amazing just how many varieties of dirt that I have found just in my backyard.Different textures ,colors etc... I have found that fine crushed gravel that has mixed with topsoil about some of the best for 1/16th scale work.This happened naturally in my case as the crushed gravel has been there awhile and naturally mixed with the dirt.You could use fresh fine crushed gravel sifted through an ordinary metal household sieve and then mixed with a sandy soil to achieve about the same thing.The idea is to get a natural looking rock-soil mix that you would find in nature in 1/16th scale.For other scales you would need to use a finer sieve or a courser type sand to simulate small stones an pebbles.
I have collected a few different varieties of soil and two types of sand both sieved and non sieved.
I heat it up in my microwave to kill any lingering critters (while my wife is out of course)about 12 mins on high should do.I tried the BBQ a few times but it tends to blacken it too much.You will just have to experiment with the soil and sand in your area.Also keep in mind the environment that you are trying to represent,desert,tropical etc....

JohnReid · 18 July 2008, 11:23 AM

JohnReid · 18 July 2008, 11:31 AM

I didn't make up a large enough batch in the beginning so I obtained two samples from slightly different areas of my backyard.As you can see one is slightly courser than the other and they are different colors.This is of no real concern to me as a bit of blending and all the turf to follow will easily cover this.