HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS

JohnReid · 22 July 2009, 02:53 PM

This is boring stuff ,no doubt about it.It is one of those jobs that separates the men from the boys (or should I say wackos from the normals.)

JohnReid · 25 July 2009, 05:39 AM

JohnReid · 25 July 2009, 03:53 PM

JohnReid · 26 July 2009, 04:23 AM

The outside window sill is made from a piece of wood ,covered on three sides with glue and then sprinkled with very fine sand.The window frame I will paint an off-white and the bricks red or red-orange like in Victorian days.
When finished, I plan to treat the facade like a canvas and have some fun using acrylics,pastels,brush and airbrush to see what I can come up with. It will have to be subtle though not to compete with the main subject for attention.I want the viewer to first see the airplane,then the storyline and later pick out the details in the diorama.This is a large diorama and I have thought at times of cutting it back a bit, and probably would have if I hadn't built a 1/48 mock-up to keep me on track.I could really stop with just the one backyard and tell the basic story but I feel that by including the other backyards it will convey a sense of the builders priorities and enthusiasm for his airplane.His messy yard as opposed to his neighbors well kept grass and garden .I think that it will be springtime before all the flowers come out as I want to keep this aspect of the story subtle as well.
I also like the stepped down effect as if the row houses were built on the side of a hill as it helps to distract the eye from all the 90 deg angles.Also the piece will be placed at an angle to the base which will better allow me to put the airplane straight on as in the picture.

JohnReid · 27 July 2009, 08:00 AM

JohnReid · 27 July 2009, 08:17 AM

I love this pic!( I know only a modeler could get excited about bricks) Anyway,it gives you a great palette of brick colors to work with and the wall itself is so very interesting.
I can see an artist getting lost forever in this detail , being able to practice every technique in the book.It will surely be a case of knowing when to stop.By comparison modern brick walls are so very boring.
I don't yet have any idea of how to achieve that rough cement grout work look but I am working on it.I think my challenge will be to restrain myself and not to make my wall too old looking.
I love the way Andi builds a history into his brick walls but I wonder if that would be appropriate here.The row houses in my reference picture look fairly new in 1913 and the residents fairly well off ,judging by the way the lady with the dog is dressed and the fact that our early EAA type could even afford all the materials to build his airplane.
I can hardly wait to start the painting of this piece .It is as close to 2D picture painting that a 3D guy can get....

JohnReid · 28 July 2009, 06:11 AM

JohnReid · 28 July 2009, 06:42 AM

Working out the color scheme.
The window frame will be my favorite dark green color.(see my photobucket for an example)I have put on a light green base coat over the raw wood and over that the darker green.When I get to the weathering I will lightly sand the surface to get a wear and tear effect,two tone green and in places raw wood, which then could be washed a light gray.
I am looking for a neutral shade for the bricks and light beige,the first half brick from the top in the pic,seems to look good.There has been one watery coat applied at this stage.The full brick above has two watery coats.I like to start with the light shades and work to randomly darker them when using washes.The edges of the brick have been painted now so that any overlap of colors will be the green trim and not the brick.
This watercolor paper is great to work with as it does not swell when water is applied thus preserving the texture of the brick.

JohnReid · 29 July 2009, 07:31 AM

JohnReid · 30 July 2009, 09:06 AM

Man I wish I had a camera lens that didn't create so much distortion.Anyway,here is where I am so far.The upper right bricks above the sill are as dark as I plan to go.The lower right is a little lighter and to the left of that lighter still.I have used JoSonja acrylic gouache paint.It is their Gold Oxide straight out of the tube, mixed only with plain tap water to a consistency of 5% milk.You could thin it out to about 2% but that is not necessary here as my base color is quite dark.The key here is to not get too dark too quickly,it is better to err on the side of leaving it too light and then darken individual bricks to the shade you prefer.(like the bricks you see on the left in the pic)You want contrast between individual bricks.I have always worked from light to dark to take advantage of the transparency factor afforded by gouache acrylics.It can be a little time consuming painting individual bricks darker but it saves trying to lighten them later.
When putting on your first coat be sure to paint the white brick edges that have not been already colored with a small round brush.Don't worry about getting it on the foam board as it has a surface that does not readily absorbed the paint, which is a real advantage here.(saves you having to grout the spaces between the brick) Any space that remains too white can be dealt with by applying a second watery coat.
The reason that I do the spaces now is if your do it later the edges may turn out too dark and spoil your work.
Pick a shade of color that you like as your base coat (which will end up being the lightest value on the wall)and randomly darken the rest until you are happy.Don't go too dark right away as acrylics will darken naturally as they dry,much like house paint.In fact I will let mine dry over night and do the finishing touches the following day.
If you plan to do dry brushing now would be the time to do so,I haven't yet decided myself. I may just weather them by flicking on some crud using my toothbrush technique and then use pastels to finish.So far I am happy with the result,I think that it looks like a 20-30 year old wall.(pic below)