HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS

[JohnReid]

Here are a few painting tips that I would hand out to my students when they were painting with acrylics.They are in no particular order.
-when handling your piece attach a handle or wear cotton gloves
-to remove skin oils,grease etc spray piece with windex(with ammonia) and dab dry.
-best light source is daylight otherwise use a combination of incandescent and flourescent.(one part cool flourescent,two parts warm incandescent.
-use old film canisters and save a little of each color you mix (in case of accidents)
-keep a running log of how you achieved your colors and the sequence in with you painted the piece.
-make up a log book and keep a sample of each color you mix .Remember acryilics dry darker than what you mix when wet.(like latex wall paint)
-Mix up twice as much paint as you think you will need, because if you run out of a paint mix you may have a hell of a job mixing the exact same color again.
-A good all round paint mix seems to be a mix of JoSonja and Liquitex(in the 2 oz jars)Jo Sonja tends to flatten the finish while liquitex tends to harden the finish and add sheen or luster.
-JoSonja satin finishing varnish can be added to JoSonja paints to add durability and luster to an otherwise flat surface.
-flow medium or water tension breaker added to water will help paint flow off the tip of your brush.
-To warm up white add raw umber
-to warm up black add burnt umber
-never use black or white straight out of the tube.
-always buy the best brushes that you can afford.
-carefully clean and point up your brushes after each use(I use Ivory Snow soap)
-Mix your colors on a piece of glass with a white paper towel under the glass.
I have many other tips but they apply mostly to painting textured carvings.
Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

As I have mentioned already,I have taken a slight diversion into a different aspect of diorama making while waiting for the weather in the GWN to warm up a bit.
I am antiqueing an old 34 Duesenburg classic car.I broke the car down into its individual components and antiqued it piece by piece.Although this is a car,the same methods could be used on aircraft, especially old engines where there is lots of parts that rust and corrode.
My original idea was to have a new car(diecast 1/18th) and the old rusted car mounted on a movable display case so that the viewer could actually see how it was restored by turning a knob and displaying one car or the other.I havent seen this idea out there and thought it may be interesting.Actually having the viewer become involved with the piece.It would be sort of a testament to the restorers art.I still like the idea but after giving it some thought(at 0300 in the morning)I have decided to do a more traditional diorama but this time using mirrors and lighting to tell the same story in a different way.I already have this old 1930s radio cabinet that I have restored. I have divided into 3 different levels for 3 seperate car dioramas.The dioramas will be stored in the cabinet but will be removable for viewing with a quick disconnect for the lighting.Each level will tell a different story,the first one being the restoration idea using 2 old Hubley Duesenberg kits and the rusted car.
Anyway that is the plan (Man plans,God laughs ) for now.I am happy that I took the time away from the Jenny hangar to learn something new and I probably will incorporate an old rusty Mercedes aircraft engine in the diorama if I have room.
I hear that the temps will be getting more reasonable in the next few days,so now its back to the hangars workshop.I am hoping to have the hangar finished by the end of the summer which will leave me next winter to build the second Jenny JN4D.Maybe by this time next year it will be finished although there really is no big rush.I will send in some new pics when I have made a little more progress.Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

The hangar is built with boards that are 17mm wide.The workshop floorboards are 10mm wide and set at a 45 deg angle.The exterior workshop walls will also be 10mm and laid lengthwise.(just for visual interest).The boards were painted with 2 thin coats of nimbus grey so that they look weathered but you can still see the woodgrain below.They were cut to length in no particular fashion as there are no joists under the floor.I will probably use card or paper to insulate the interior walls.The workshop will be built so that the two interior walls will be removable, for ease of maintenance or repairs,if need be.The roof of the hangar is also completely removable but will be held down by a few hidden screws.I will be glad to see the end of the popsicle stick construction but nothing looks as good as real wood on a project like this.Its just a boring job that must be done.The nails will be pin holes filled with grafite pencil marks .The boards will be weathered further using the toothbrush spray method with raw umber.Then a few larger blotches representing oil and grease stains.Selected areas will be slightly sanded to represent wear and tear and finally the subtle use of pastels.Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

If you would like to see some pics of an aircraft that my dad and I,and a wonderful craftsman ,Al Pow ,built in the 1960s almost from scratch(we used the original wheel hubs,U/C legs and the fuselage tubing) take a look over on
http://www.largescaleplanes.com and click on Whats New.

That is the airplane as the D4D model.The museum has since converted it back to a D4000 and given it a more original paintjob.I will be sending some pics to LSP of how it looks today.The airplane flew up until just a few years ago when it was grounded for engine parts.Its getting very hard to find parts these days for those old Wright engines.At no time was this airplane less than a fully C of A machine.It was restored to a standard that it could have flown commercially.It has a skywriting smoke system and is stressed for 9 Gs both ways.She is a wonderful old airplane to fly,very stable and responsive . Cheers! John.

[StephenLawson]

Wow Great stuff John!!!!!

[FliegerJG1]

John,

The photos are great and the airplane wonderful! I also enjoyed looking around the web site. Thank you for sharing!

FliegerJG1

[JohnReid]

The Travel Air used to be known as the Hollywood Fokker as it was often used to replace the D7 in films because of its tail planes and rudder.In the early years they were also fitted with inline engines which made the illusion even more complete.Another interesting thing is that it is the first commercial airplane to have a steel tubing fuselage,in fact,I think that difference of opinion over steel or wood lead to the break up of the original company.Of all things, I think that it was Clyde Cessna who wanted to remain with the more traditional wood.He must have had a big change of heart soMewhere along the line .I havent seen many wooden Cessnas Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

I have been under the weather for the last week with what I thought was allergies but was actually an infection of some sort.So progress on the Jenny diorama has been minimal.(That is why I am so reluctant to estimate completion times when I am asked.Life just throws too many curve balls.)Things are slowly getting back to normal so I hope to resume the popsicle stick walls and floor of the workshop today.
Cheers! John.

[Ross_Moorhouse]

Originally Posted by JohnReid

I have been under the weather for the last week with what I thought was allergies but was actually an infection of some sort.So progress on the Jenny diorama has been minimal.(That is why I am so reluctant to estimate completion times when I am asked.Life just throws too many curve balls.)Things are slowly getting back to normal so I hope to resume the popsicle stick walls and floor of the workshop today.
Cheers! John.

Mate sorry to hear you have not been well. Hope you are on the mend now.

[StephenLawson]

Originally Posted by JohnReid

I have been under the weather for the last week with what I thought was allergies but was actually an infection of some sort.So progress on the Jenny diorama has been minimal.(That is why I am so reluctant to estimate completion times when I am asked.Life just throws too many curve balls.)Things are slowly getting back to normal so I hope to resume the popsicle stick walls and floor of the workshop today.
Cheers! John.

Hey John; I'm just coming out of my second week with the same thing. Started out as allergy and then sinusitis the chest cold and a full round of antibiotics. Now to get rid of this occassional cough. I hope you ar getting over it better than I.