HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS

[JohnReid]

Same idea here! I wanted this guys foot pushing back on the piece of wood ,and tilting the old aircraft chair so that it looks like it is just touching the post.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

These are the engine crate panels waiting to be nailed together.
They are not parallel to the plywood base but almost.Putting things parallel is generally a no no when building dioramas ,in fact if I was to do it all over again I think that I would make the edge of the diorama a little wavy.I am concerned about everything looking a little too square.When it goes in its case I will suggest that it goes in at an angle to make it more pleasing to the eye.

[JohnReid]

"What we wanted to do at the beginning of all this,was to show what happens when you take human beings and put them through hell,then wonder how in the world they will approach life when they come home".

Steven Spielberg on his new piece The Pacific.

I was reading this in my newspaper this morning and it struck me how similar his idea for making a 10- part mini series on the war in the Pacific, and my idea for my latest diorama "Loss Of Innocence,Will it Ever Be The Same" are alike.(We must be reading each others mail.)
This is exactly what I have been writing about recently on the power of the storyboard diorama as a one frame movie.
A movie tells a story in all its thrilling detail and action,on a big screen with music,dialogue etc... a diorama does the same but with one frame.That is the magic and the challenge of the storyboard diorama reducing it all to one frame and still tell a powerful story.Sometimes the story is even more powerful in diorama form because it is left up to the viewer to connect the dots in his mind.A movie lays it all out for you ,a diorama requires a little more imagination on your viewers part.
This is why I believe storyboard dioramas are as much an "Art "as any of the other visual media.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

This is the loading dock area of the module.The OX5 engine is being boxed up for transport by truck.Any thing leaning up against the hanger is actually glued down to the landscaping panels, so that the whole diorama can be taken apart by removing the screws only.

[JohnReid]

The R/H side of the hangar is basically finished except for a little more weathering in some areas.The spaces between the landscaping panels will be finished last ,with a glue/fine sand mix and wax paper in between the panels for easy separation.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

This is the L/H side of module 4 with boxed up Camel parts awaiting shipment.The parts are leaning up against the back wall of the engine shop but are actually glued down to the landscaping panel.

[JohnReid]

There is another no-no rule about this diorama that breaks the norm, and that is too much going on.Usually that would be the case, but the advantage that I have with this piece,is mainly because it is so large that it allows me to have little separate vignettes that don't really interfere with the main subject matter, the Jenny and its contribution to aviation here in Canada.
Because it is large, the walls actually act as a visual barrier to the Jenny ,which allows me the use of little vignettes surrounding the hangar without disturbing the main storyline.In addition I have used the open Hangar doors to advantage so that when viewing the airplane from the front, all the other vignettes are blocked from view.It is only after the viewer works himself around the hangar does he discover the sub-stories.The hangar doors also serve the purpose of curtains ,that is they help to frame the stage as would be found in many theaters today,especially the live stage.