HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS

[JohnReid]

I have been told to forget the airliner rebuild thing as it is no place for a wood& wire guy to venture.Evidently ,it is a job for experts.Like restoring antiques the first rule should be, Do No Harm, especially if you dont know what you are doing.

Well,I am well into the billboard sign thing.I have photo shop on my computer and a printer .I am learning slowly how to use both.Actually it is a lot fun making up your own designs.Because my diorama is not based upon an actual historical event(I dont know if Billy Bishop or Rickenbacher ever actually met but they will be talking together in my little diorama world).it gives my a lot of licence to be more creative.My primary purpose is to tell the story of the Jennys history over its useful life, both military an civilian ,and only to that extent is it based on actual history.When I first began this diorama my intention was to base it upon its military life with the RCAF at Camp Borden in Barrie Ontario.But when I realized that to do a good job I may actually have to spent a lot of time at Camp Borden taking measurements and soaking up the atmosphere, I decided that was not feasable for me at this time.(I was actually born in Barrie Ont in 1940, where my dad was an instructor early in his flying career with the RCAF.) Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

Except for the final weathering I have finished the trailer sign.Sorry,but my ego just couldnt resist adding the Reids. I used Microsoft Word to make up the sign along with some artwork I found in the Barnstormers and Speedkings book.My printer is not the best so it came out a little faded ,which is OK by me as that is the way it would look after a summer in the sun.After I was happy with the composition, I printed it on ordinary paper and then sprayed matt laquer out of the can as a fixative.After it dried I glued it to the board with watered down white glue and even left in a few crinkles and air bubbles as you would find on a real sign of that era.Now I will slightly weather it using watery acrylics and pastels.
Now its on to finishing the trailer itself.

to be cont.....

[JohnReid]

The post man brought me a little present yesterday, 2 Harley-Davidson 1/18th scale motorcycles.I really wasnt expecting much for my $5.95 each but to my surprise they are actually quite nice.It will be a good place to start.
First thing I did was check the scale against some photos that I obtained from the Harley website.Although there are no exact dimensions given ,there are pics of human figures standing beside Harleys of the period .They seem to be within the ballpark when I stand my 1/16th figures beside them.The bikes are from the 1909 and 1936 models.The 09 looks good as is but the 36 may be a little small.
I took the 36 apart(very easy to do,as it is only pinned together and not glued)
I will increase the wheel diameter as well as the frame and modify it to look like a racer.The wheel spokes are not very realistic so I will cover them with some brightly colored fabric.I will de-chrome some parts and repaint all the parts.I have some good pics of bikes from the 20s so I will modify the 36 version as need be.I dont anticipate any real problems in doing any of this.I think that it will really add to the diorama when it is done and weathered.One thing bothers me though,do you think a Harley of this era would be capable of towing a sign trailer? If not I will just show it as a stunt bike or racer.

They are amazing little models for the price and I was luckly to get them as they are now out of production although you wont be able to recognize them as stock models when I am finished. to be cont......

[JohnReid]

I have decided to increase the size of the bike by 10% to bring it closer to 1/16th scale.The length and the height only will be changed as it is not worth the trouble to widen the bike as it will never be viewed directly from the top.
I learned a long time ago not to waste time on things that will never be seen.(modeling for God)

Even my Nieuport diorama ,while normally it can be seen from the front only when it is in the cabinet,the diorama itself is removeable .The diorama also has removeable panels so that pics can be taken at any angle.I like taking pictures so I designed it that way, but I could have saved a lot of time making it into just a shadow box.These are design decisions that you have to make early in the process.It is always a good idea to have an idea for the presentation right from the beginning, in fact, I would build the dioramas container before building the diorama.If you decide to build just a one-sided shadow box you can save yourself a lot of time not building or finishing things that will never be seen.
to be cont....

[JohnReid]

I think that I agree with Shep Paine and others who beleive that shadow boxes are probably the highest expression of what we do as modelers.
Soo,out of curiosity I punched in shadow boxes on the www.It seems that the term shadow box has descended into becoming just about anything that is put into a box and recessed.I have seen pictures recessed into a frame by an inch or so and called shadow boxes.Now take a look at Sheps work ,no comparision right?
At a minimum ,I beleive that a shadow box must have its own lighting system either natural or electrical.While shadow boxes work best in an enclosed setting there is still lots of creative possibilities.Think about aircraft in museums,workshops,being maintained or painted,sitting gear up on jacks or having there guns zeroed or one I always liked, being photoghaphed.Or even with no figures at all, other than indirect signs of human activity, be it oily footprints across a hangar floor or yellow stains in the snow.The idea is to let the imagination run wild.This is your little world that you are creating,so anything goes as long as it pleases you.
How about scenes where only a portion of an aircraft is showing such as an engine being worked on in a makeshift tent or temporary structure like they use in the arctic.
Forced perspective is also something to seriously consider.Here again Sheps book leads the way.Take a look at the " We will always have Paris" diorama by Nick Infield.Think of the possibilities using varitions on that theme.Outdoor night dioramas also offer a lot of creative ideas.Have fun. Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

It seems that we have lost the pics that go with this thread.For those who are new to this thread the same pics can be seen over on http://www.wwi-models.org (go to Galleries) or http://www.largescaleplanes.com (go to Articles,Golden Age) while you are there take a look at the In Progress section and Ken Forans new project(dare I say helicopter?)
Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

The Harley conversion from 1/18th street bike to 1/16th racer is going well.I have put a 10mm addition to the frame where the front fork meets the frames body.This increases the distance between the handlebars and the seat.
I increased the wheels diameters also by 10mm and elliminated the spokes and and made up solid cheerywood discs instead.The fenders were shortened and one of the fender braces eliminated and the other shaped and refined.The rubber tires were stretched and fitted to the wheel discs.The wheel discs themselves have been divided into 8 pie like sections and colored over the bare wood with colored pencils.(red,white and blue)Do not finish the wood before penciling as the color may not adhere properly.Weather as required with pastels.
The added 10 mm in length and height seems to do the trick.Now when I stand a 1/16th figure beside the bike it looks about the same as the Harley pictures.
Next step is to break the bike down into pieces again and repaint,de-chrome,weather and modify as need be. Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

The bike is finished except for some last minute weathering before final installation.I also have a 1909 Harley bike that I was thinking of only slightly modifying, to be either an airport workers mode of transportation to the airfield, or as part of the airshow.The main problem is the spokes on the wheels are not too realistic.I solved this on the 1936 modification by replacing them with wooden discs that represent a sort of fabric covering.For a workers bike I would probably have to respoke the wheels,if I use it as an airshow bike I will probably go with the disc idea again.The reason that I am mentioning all this stuff is to give you guys an idea of how I solve problems as they come up and still try to balance composition ,storyline ,creative modifications etc...Would 2 bikes be overdoing it?(but I really like the 09 Harley) Am I taking away from the main subject ,the airplane? Is there too much going on?Will the viewers eye be too distracted and confused to get the main storyline,that of the history of the Jennys contribution to aviation?The figures will be dressed in WW1 costume and I am thinking of posting a sign welcoming them to the airport on armistic day but is that too obvious?Should I be more subtle and let the viewer connect the dots? It can be more powerful to do so.All these questions must be considered and weighed by the artist/modeler when creating a diorama.Although sometimes difficult this is really the most fun in diorama making.Sort of playing like THE CREATOR in your own little world.In real life we get to control very little,in many ways not even our own health or destiny but in our little diorama world we get to make all the decisions.Fun Huh ? (or should I say Eh?) Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

Hi! me again. Subject this time is 1/16th(120mm) figures.All of the figures that I have planned for the Jenny diorama have been painted and except for one,the 20s barnstromer pilot ,are dressed in military uniform.(all these figures are Model Cellar and are excellent)But I thought that I would like to add one more civilian(actually my wifes idea)to the mix.Sort of an airport manager type.Being Armistic Day, I assume a workers holiday(if not I am making it one)the civilian will be dressed in a suit and tie of the period welcoming the WW1 vets to the field.I decided to use the Legends & Lore figure of John Dillinger available at Greatmodels.com .With a few mods( like removing the machine gun etc)he should make a fine airport manager.They also have a nice figure of BIG AL.(Capone) and even Bonnie and Clyde.For those who would like to have a go at making their own figures ,they also have 2 series of 5 heads only or they could be used to mix and match on already existing bodies.Sounds a little gruesome doesnt it ? Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

I have just been informed that Armistic Day has been officially known in
Canada as Remembrance Day since 1921. Cheers! John.