HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS

[JohnReid]

Wow ,I thought I lost you guys to cyberspace.I was starting to go into theaerodrome withdrawal.Cheers! John.

[StephenLawson]

Lost to cyberspace...may it never be...I Love the Aerodrome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The preceding was a overt and enthusiastic advertisement and endorsement of The Aerodrome.com.

[EricGoedkoop]

Good thing we're back - I finished up two models, fixed an old one that had suffered severe hangar rash and started a new one.

And I caught John hanging out over at the cardmodelling forum.

[JohnReid]

and it is a fine place to be caught hanging out too.Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

Yes,I have created my own little world but it is far better place than any other world that I see out there.

As most of you guys know I really love dioramas.Dioramas of all kinds,aircraft,ships ,cars etc.. it really doesnt matter as long as it tells a story.Because of this love and in the interest of giving back to this hobby some of the joy that I have found in it,
in addition to this thread ,I also have two threads on ships and one on autos and another on aircraft.

I have noticed a few differences in all three groups.
The auto guys seem to be much more diorama orientated.I put this down to a lot of them being current or ex railroad guys who are used to building scenic type dioramas.But there is not a lot of the storyline type diorama there.

The ship guys are sort of into telling stories but their work seems to often miss the human element.How many fully-rigged ship models have I seen sailing through rough seas with no hands on deck?Curious.

The aircraft guys are mostly looking for nice display bases for their aircraft which is great but it is not a diorama.There are a few masters of the simple diorama,Stephen Lawson is a good example of this.An airplane ,a figure or two
arranged in a creative composition and instant magic.

I tend to do long complicated dioramas but I am relatively new to aircraft dioramas.That is just in my nature.Maybe I just like big impressive things or it may be the challange of the long term build.Please dont think that all dioramas have to be like this.Anything that works to tell a story is what is important even if you use diecasts.Your viewer often does not even know the difference anyway.But if you connect with him or her in an emotional way they will never be able to get your image out of their mind.When they think model airplane your diorama will more than likely come up, especially if they can relate to your storyline ,whether it be subtle or obvious. I know that this is what got me into dioramas,a few images that I just coulnt get out of my mind.I simply built on what I saw,changed a few things,added or subtracted this or that and what do you know I discovered some of the magic.And what the hell its so much more fun than just a nice aircraft on a base or a ship missing its crew or a scenic RR layout that requires a moving train to bring it to life.
Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

>
> This is the most important but often overlooked part of diorama making.Designing a diorama is really not that hard but before you start you will have to evaluate the practicality of your ideas.
> Where do ideas come from? It could be an image that you saw in nature,in a book or even at a model show.Good dioramists often find underdeveloped but great ideas at the novice tables.There is nothing wrong with building on someone elses idea as long as it is not a direct copy.
> What do you want to show or tell or display in your diorama?Maybe something unusual ,something beauitful,something interesting?
> With this in mind,how do I go about developing my idea?Is it practical?Will your viewer get it? What audience are you trying to appeal to? Is your diorama destined for a museum of specific interest or is it to appeal to as large an audience as possible?
> Will it contain figures?What will the figures be doing?Do you want to keep things simple? or complex?
> Knowing your own personality, are you good for the long haul or are you the type of person who likes to keep it short and to the point?
> How can you catch your viewers eye? and keep him interested?
>
> These are just some of the questions that we must ask ourselves before we reach for the glue.It is not always easy but it is fun and isnt that what this is all about? to be cont.......... Cheers! John.
>
> (A painting is never finished--it simply stops in interesting places.Paul Gardener.)

[JohnReid]

Well the weathering on the Jenny diorama is now almost complete.The workshop just needs its tools etc... so I thought that I would start on the hangar doors.

The doors are of the sliding variety,six in all.Three are housed in skeleton like structures on each side of the main hangar.The arrangement will be similiar to the hangars built in Canada of that era ,and seen on most air force bases of the period.
I have been racking my brains trying to figure out the mechanism that is required for the doors to slide on.The bottom is fairly simple as they just seem to slide in tracks on the floor.The top is another story.
I gave it some thought and it finally came to me.Dont bother making something that will never be seen or used.The doors will be shown stored in their side structures,one on top of the other.The top is fitted with a sloping valance behind which would be the sliding mechanism which is almost impossible to see from a normal viewing position.The whole diorama is to be enclosed in plexiglass so the open hangar doors wont be a problem for dust or probing little fingers.I am busy now making the lower tracks out of layers of tongue depressors which will be glued to the exterior, as these doors are actually outside the main buildings structure.I am trying to figure out how I can make the whole assembly one unit to be screwed and not glued.The diorama up until this point can be taken apart with just a few screws and I would like to keep it that way for ease of maintenance, especially the lighting.

I will try to take some pics of all this soon.Cheers! John.
(Every child is an artist.The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up. Pablo Picasso)

[JohnReid]

.Here is my story, I hope you find it interesting .
It all began about 35 years ago when I passed a hobby store window and I saw a wooden model of HMS Victory.I had attempted a wooden model about 5 years earlier of the ship Bluenose,which I built and put aside and eventually threw out.But their was something about this encounter with Victory that turned me on.I immediately knew that I just had to make one of those.
The stores owner seemed to have some knowledge about ship models so I took his advice and built a Santa Maria and a Bounty before I finally started on my beloved Victory.
Well I was in for quite a surprise when I opened the kit up.The instructions were unreadable,the plans were a mess and I was extremely disappointed.After giving it some consideration I knew right there that the first thing that I needed was a good nautical dictionary.The kit was supposed to be 1/78 scale but there seemed to be various scales contained in the box.Right there I decided that I would remake everything that was necessary to 1/72 scale(very lucky decision as I will explain later).My whole background had been in aviation up until that point so I had to set out on trying to become a shipwright. to be cont.......
Cheers! John.
(Every child is an artist.The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.
Pablo Picasso)

[JohnReid]

So far I had no idea of the dioramist brewing in me.I was happy just building the model.I was aware of Shep"s work and I had his book but always thought that was beyond me.
Then a funny thing happened.I was reading a book about the Royal Navy and I came across something called the "Drumming Daybreak Ceremony".I had always thought that a model with all its guns run out and no activity on deck ,looked a little strange.There was something else that the Royal Navy always did while their ships were in harbour overnite, and vulnerable to enemy ships sneaking up under cover of darkness and attacking at first light.They ran out all their guns ready for action.When dawn broke the all clear signal was given and the ships routine continued.
Now this would make a great diorama! And solve the deserted ship look.
This all happened at just the right time before all the rigging got in the way.Problem was though, I had no experience with making dioramas and the numerous figures that would be involved.That is where my earlier decision to build in 1/72 scale really came in handy.
I picked up Shep's book again but this time I reall y got into it.I had remembered him saying that you could adapt plastic or resin figures
by preforming major surgery on them.I began searching for 1/72 figures but the closest I could come was a few British and French infanty solders.I modified these to become Royal Marines,Officers and men of the Royal Navy,painted them with acrylics and stationed them in action poses and viola ,a diorama was born. to be cont..........Cheers! John.
(Do not fear mistakes--there are none. Miles Davis)
This post has been edited by JohnReid on Today, 08:40:48 AM
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My goal in life is to be the kind of person that my dog already thinks I am.

[JohnReid]

Now this made for a somewhat strange looking diorama.Above the waterline things are as realistic looking as I could make them but below the waterline it is a combination of realism and total fantasy.The ship sits on a couple of carved cherrywood dolphins and the sea is left to your imagination.I dont know if this is a good thing or not but it sure is different.
If you would like to see the results of my labor and a short story on her building please go to:
http://www.hyperscale.com see Feature Articles,Armour/Maritme 2003-04 and scroll down to H.M.S. Victory.
or
http://www.modelingmadness.com see Kit Reviews,Ships.

Cheers! John.