HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

Now that looks better!I simply glued new faces over the blocks.In fact I think that they look better now as the original blocks were too dark and uniform in color.The irregular look of the blocks along the bottom will be hidden behind the boardwalk.
Just before I finally install the facade I will get the old pastels out and create a few shadows etc..
For the next row house I will use a different colors for the brick as well as door and window trim, which will help to make the facades more interesting.I will do the same for the third row house even though only about a 1/4 of it will actually be seen.
A lot can be done later to breakup any uniformity in the backyards using small additions ,outbuildings and vegetation.

[JohnReid]

I know that some of you guys are asking yourself why does this guy keep on keeping on when he gets so little response to his work?
Is it the scale? or is the subject matter too far out of the mainstream? lack of interest? etc...
Well I know that it is none of these.How? By the number of hits I get, not only on the websites but on my photobucket and my photobucket albums.I average 150,000 hits a month on my photobucket and 1,000 album visits as well.
For some reason things really took off around last March and I still really don't know why.
The sites that I contribute to are all over the map,RR,car,airplane,figure,ship,diorama, armor and diecast.
I also understand that what the hell else can you say after making the same comments over and over(usually positive).I also know because of my workload I can't participate much on each of the individual websites but as I said in the beginning my main interest here is in promoting dioramas of all genres.Call it a labor of love I guess.
A special thanks to all those who have taken the time to express their opinions and comments to me directly, especially those offering their constructive criticism.
So now it is back to work! Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

One of the great by-products of doing art is how it makes you much more aware of your surroundings.I mean what is more mundane than a brick wall?
Really boring stuff right? I know that I never gave it much attention before actually building one.Now I find myself looking at the colors,the designs while driving down the road ,watching TV etc..Not only that but many old brick walls have a history if you look closely enough.Additions and subtractions made over the years.The builder never really being able to match the weathered color of the old brick.Windows and doors walled up which makes you wonder why?Additions of extra stories to a building,weathering,old signs for now non-existent products etc..etc.. There is a lot of our history tied up in brick walls for those who care to read it.
A lot of what we do as artists/craftsmen is "paying attention" to what has always been there.Most of us never really look at a flower until we come to paint it or an airplane until we come to build it or even a human face until we draw or carve it.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

Many thanks to Kees(Varese2002) of this forum for the above picture ,which up until now I never knew existed.
It is a glass negative from the Chicago Daily News and it shows Mr J.E. Mair in his backyard at 3106 W Fullerton Ave Chicago in 1910.There is no record that it ever flew.Evidently the backyard is still there on Google maps.
Of course like so many other things that have happened to me while building these dioramas, this info has come to me just when I needed it.(strange but true)
My thoughts have recently been turning to the next step, the landscaping of the backyards.I see from the pic that the backyard is just like I thought it would be ,lots of mud in front and overgrown vegetation in the back.(Who the hell has got the time to worry about things like that when there are much more important things to be done?) Sound familiar?
I also noticed a smaller version of a boardwalk along the L/H fence line, which if I install it will have to run along the opposite fence due to the positioning of my figure in the composition.
Mr Mair and I have something in common, his backyard looks like my workshop/studio.Note the angle measuring device laying on the boardwalk's bottom left in the pic, and what looks like a yardstick on the ground under the wing.
Funny how he just had to install the pilots seat and control wheel even if it now gets in the way.Mr Mair must have sat behind that wheel many times during this build with wonderful dreams of flight running though his head.
Fifty years later and we were headed for the moon.Thanks Mr Mair.

[wojtek_fajga]

Hi John!

On your older posts pictures are no more available About page 330 and lower. It is probably problem with Photobucket hosting.

[JohnReid]

Hi!
Yeah,I know ,it was a screw up on my part when I first started with photobucket ,I thought that I was limited to 1000 pic but it is only for each individual album.I hope to correct this one day and repost the pics or start a whole new thread and insert the pics in the proper order.Cheers! John.Love your work by the way.

[JohnReid]

August 30,1910.

[JohnReid]

Kees found me a third pic to go along with the other two.Mr. Mair is on the left in this pic the other man is unknown.
There is a lot of good info in this pic besides what our builder looks like.The front building facades confirm this to be a fairly well off neighborhood.I can't see a roof on the building but this could be a separate apartment building ,different from the row houses that I am building.
Some of the airplanes structure is shown but on first impression it looks like what you might expect ,a very primitive build.This has been identified as a copy of the Wright Flier but I beg to differ for many reasons.First and foremost is the square wingtips more reminiscent of a Curtiss design. I still believe that this was a true backyard flier of Mr Mair's own design, with a little Wright and Curtiss thrown in.(more on this later)
From the picture Mr. Mair looks like a young ,intense,intelligent man(look at the eyes)who got caught up in the excitement for aviation at the time.An early EAA'er for sure.
If you look closely above the upper wing you will see what looks like a porch or veranda probably from where the first two pictures were taken.
Note Miss Nosy Parker peering from behind the curtains,I guess there is one in every neighborhood.