HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS

JohnReid · 31 July 2005, 01:15 PM

Geez,I think that you have to be a little obsessive compulsive to do this.Now I find that I am treating every board in the hangar as a little piece in itself.Every nailhole gets the antiqueing trearment with a pencil ,pastels, acryilics, etc..etc..i have worked all afternoon and I have about an 8 inch square done.It looks good finished and is fun to do but.....do you think that I am going overboard?

Shh..... be quiet,I think that they are coming to take me away!

Cheers! John

JohnReid · 1 August 2005, 03:11 PM

After the boards are washed with 2 coats of nimbus grey and 2 coats of raw umber,make pin holes for nail positions on the boards(any pattern you like)If the wood is too hard you can brush on some clear water to soften the wood.Use a pointed grafiteHB pencil or softer and twist tip of pencil into the pin holes.Fill each hole with watery burnt sienna so that the wood swells back again and the pin holes will disappear.Shade edges with medium grey pastel.Randomly shade light grey into the centers of some boards.Flick on some watery raw umber with your trusty toothbrush.If things get too brownish shade again with light grey pastels or flick on some nimbus grey.Play around with it until you are satisfied with your antiqueing technique.There is no need to overcoat but if you do, use matte acrylic spray.Personally I leave it as is, as I find that the raw wood looks the best.My diorama will be going in a plexiglass case at the museum so I am not worried about dust or crud buildup on the exterior.Cheers! John.

JohnReid · 2 August 2005, 08:32 AM

I have been thinking a little down the road to my next aircraft diorama.The old hangar idea is wearing a little thin so I have been searching around for something new.
I am planning to finish an old classic car diorama being built into an old 30s style cabinet radio.(love those olds dont I)Part of that diorama will be of a car showroom.And I know that there are all kinds of different mouldings available in 1/12th scale for the dollhouse builders.In real life, mouldings come in all sizes(especially in that era) so scale should not be a problem.
I would like to take the knowledge I gain there and built a 30-50s era museum showroom using my 1/16th(model expo)Wright Flyer.I was thinking of suspending it from the ceiling and have a 1/16 figure model of a 1:1 scale figuremodel in the pilots position(on his belly)I would like to modify the flyer to become the Wright Flyer 11 which is not often modelled.At ground level I would like to build some showcases containing artifacts of the period. What do you guys think? I know its not WW1 but I might as well cover all the bases.Pre-During-and Post WW1.Cheers! John.

JohnReid · 2 August 2005, 08:40 AM

I have already found a great 1/16th John D figure all dressed in shirt ,tie,vest and suit for those days at the beach.

Cheers! John.

JohnReid · 3 August 2005, 05:44 AM

As you guys know, who have been following this thread, it is a personal ambition of mine to see dioramas given their rightful place amoung the arts.To that end I have helped set up a couple of new forums.It takes a little convincing to get them going but things are starting to takeoff.
Over on http://www.scaleautomag.com we have 1,511 hits in only a couple of days.I have started a "How To....." thread over there with already 600 hits.(go to scale auto forums section)
The reason I mention this is that this diorama thing of ours seems to be growing rapidly.I al ways knew that it would ,as dioramas are really a modelers natural destination as an artist.There is more and more interest in this artform at the shows.There is a backup of artistic energy just waiting to given expression.The internet has had a lot to do with this as a means for people to encourage others to get involved ,without the filter of book and magazine publishers who are mostly historically conservative.
Shep Paine has said that he wished someone else would pickup the ball and run with it for awhile.How are we doing so far Shep! Cheers! John.

I forgot to mention that the other site that has a new Diorama Forum is:
http://aircraftresourcecenter.com

Lufbery · 3 August 2005, 05:50 AM

John,

Thanks for the regular updates and the tips! I'm not contributing much to this discussion, but I enjoy following it.

I'll be doing a small diorama for my 1/74 scale Martin MB-2.

Regards,

JohnReid · 3 August 2005, 06:08 AM

Hey Drew,that sounds great! Keep me posted of your progress.Cheers! John.

JohnReid · 4 August 2005, 02:36 PM

Do you have any idea how many nails there are in a hangar large enough to hold a Jenny.

Well I do,too damn many. I thought that applying siding was bad nailing it is even worse.The only place in the hangar that I am not putting any nails is on the interior walls as I figure that they would be covered in paint.The floor however is another story.

Better add another couple of months to the build.I am still hoping to have the majority of the hangar done while the warm weather is still here.Its been a great summer here in Montreal for modelling outdoors although some days with the humidity it can climb to over 40 on the humidex.I should have another good couple of months before my feet tell me it is time to go back inside.
Cheers! John.