HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS

[JohnReid]

Take a look at this guys.I just knew it had to happen.

http://americanflightvisions.com

Cheers! John.

[buzz1941]

Originally Posted by JohnReid

Take a look at this guys.I just knew it had to happen.

Oh, I can top that:
http://www.petsinuniform.com/

[JohnReid]

I spent most of today erecting the walls of the office module and cutting in the door and windows.I am using the board and batten method described in Kens book , except that the basic structure is made with foamboard, which I find extremely easy to use.I cut the foam board on my scroll saw a little oversize and then sand down to the final line with a belt sander.This way I can fit the foamboard and then glue on the studs,beams and headers and frame in the windows.It makes for a little thicker wall but I am assuming that some kind of insulation was used even in those days.The inside is covered with wide horizortal boards and the exterior will be vertical boards and battens.I find that it makes a nice contrast with the more plain main building.The flooring will be next,laid 90 degress to the main buildings floor, for the sake of a more interesting overall design.Cheers! John.
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[JohnReid]

What a difference this office module makes to this diorama.There is something about looking through one building into another, that adds a whole new dimension to the piece.It really increases the sense of distance across the hangar floor and should make for some great pics if I can keep everything in focus.
I again tried to place something outside the buildings perimeter and it only confirmed what I thought,all the action should be centered inside as anything placed outside is only a distraction.I think that I will be able to get away with half" the model A "outside in the garage or maybe something slightly ouside the large hangar doors but thats about it.It is funny how something like this changes the whole diorama.The way that it is set up now it invites the viewer to look inside .Somehow the magic is lost if you break the barrier of the walls.It is as though the viewer is much more willing to suspend his sense of disbelief when he can look through a window into a miniature world.I love playing with the light inside to create a certain atmosphere or mood in my work.I have always ,for some reason, been attracted to warm light eminating from a window into a dark and cold night,like you see on Christmas cards or Budweiser beer commercials at Christmas time.Some painters have made a whole careers of painting pictures like this of old cottages or fishing camps.etc...Lighting can really make or break a closed diorama or shadow box, but at the same time can make your work easier with the proper use of shadows.You really do have more control of the scene, much like a closed set in movie making.Even a small change in angle or intensity of the light can make a huge difference.
The problem here is that your piece will not always be viewed to its best advantage.What looks good in pictures on closed sets does not always as good in ordinary daylight.Something is lost.
That is a problem I have with my first diorama , the Albatros hangar scene.It looks best with just the interior overhead lighting on and I have made no provision for easy bulb replacement .When they burn a lot of the magic will be lost.(thank god for pics).
The Nieuport diorama is better, in that the lighting is mostly Chistmas tree bulbs and are easier to get at.These 2 dioramas were built before I knew that they would end up in a museum but even then I should have known better as I am not going to be around forever to change them.This is where a little more foresight would have come in handy.
I still have not really solved the lighting for the Jenny diorama so any suggestions would be more than welcome.I know you RR guys deal with these lighting problems all the time.Thanks ! Cheers! John.

For me a painting(diorama)is like a story which stimulates the imagination and draws the mind into a place filled with expectation,excitement,wonder and pleasure. J.P. Hughston.
This post has

[JohnReid]

I got the Model T ,,1/16th diecast today.It really is a neat little model.I got it for 1/2 price because it is missing the spare tire on the running board but that doesnt really matter because it fits into the storyline of the flat tire being changed.
It will need only a little weathering, because it will represent a parade car for the veteran WW1 pilots who are visiting the airfield.I plan to have the car backed up into a garage module that I will be constructing to fit the car. Yet I want to leave enough space around it so that the view into the main building is not totally blocked off.
This is the first time that I have used a diecast in a diorama and it wont be the last.I couldnt build it any better and it really adds a whole new dimention to the piece.A great chance to tell a mini-story without overpowering the main story line.And being black ,
it doesnt really stand out,you will not even be able to see it unless you purposely walk to that side of the diorama and almost discover it by accident.
This is the part about diorama making that I love the most.The ongoing evolution of the story that even I was not aware of when I started.You go into a project with an idea that seems to take on a life of its own.


Cheers! John.

Art happens-no hovel is safe from it,no prince can depend on it,the greatest intelligence cannot bring it about.
James Whistler.

[JohnReid]

You guys may notice on occasion that I may mention someone or something on this forum that seems out of context.That is because in order to save time I will import the whole article without editing and then try to edit it here.On occasion I forget and something may slip through.Sometimes the original post is here and then they get to here about Stephen or Eric or Ross. Cheers! John.

[buzz1941]

Originally Posted by JohnReid

I again tried to place something outside the buildings perimeter and it only confirmed what I thought,all the action should be centered inside as anything placed outside is only a distraction ... Somehow the magic is lost if you break the barrier of the walls.It is as though the viewer is much more willing to suspend his sense of disbelief when he can look through a window into a miniature world...

Yeah, part of the fun in building such a beast comes from the view planes designed in. It's not just WHAT people are seeing, it's HOW. The Sikorsky dio featured at
Wet Sikorsky
was designed to be walked around, 360 desgree, so there's a different "story" being told at every angle. Viewer access had to be decided before the dio was even sketched out.

[JohnReid]

Hey Buzz 41! That is the first time that I saw that diorama.I dont know how I missed it. Very nice ! Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

Yes ,it is kind of a new golden age because our hobby /art is evolving.Just look at all the latest developments in digital art.Being able to take a model that you built and put it in any scene or historical context that you want.I think that we can capture the imagination of many young people through the use of the computer as just another tool for great modelmaking.
I am quite surpised that only now are there new companies springing up to take advantage of this commercially(ie:aircraft visions)
Even the tradition bound aviation art world is now warming up to digital art.
Photography,while it has always been a part of our hobby ,seems to be evolving in
to the setting up of picture taking dioramas, expressly for that purpose.There is one fellow out there that has set up a WW2 German airfield and takes B&W pics and even antiques them, and I swear you would think that they are real.Then of course look at Fred Shammas's work , in a more modern day setting.
This blurring of reality /fiction can be a lot of fun especially for dioramists who love to tell stories in miniature.Future historians will have a hard time believing their eyes from now on.
Long after the gluelines have cracked and the paint has faded ,these pics of our work will still be fresh and new.So what if it falls off the shelf or the cat gets it, once your pics are in cyberspace it really doesnt matter anymore.Your work will still be out there influencing future generations.No longer are we subject to the arbitrary decisions of a few publishers who have their own vested interests in what gets in a magazine or book and what doesnt ,now the artist /hobbyist gets to decide in what direction our hobby is going.In that sense, it truly is a new Golden Age.
Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

I have finished the walls and ceiling of the inside of the office module.The walls are tongue depressor boards laid horizontally and painted a soft biege(unbleached titanium).I have made no provision for nail holes as I figured that the heads would be covered with paint.The ceiling, I painted white over the foamboard ,as it will be hidden and not subject to any rough handling.I did however strengthen the other side with rough boards, so it will not warp.Somewhere down the line, I will install lighting fixtures on the ceiling panel.It is also removable for maintenance.
One wall of the exterior is finished using the board and batten method.The other two walls now need the same treatment ,plus a door and windows have yet to be installed.

One word on caution when using wood.I have developed an allergy to birchwood it seems.The other woods dont seem to bother me.Last fall I became quite ill with sinitis,which is the first time in 35 years of working with many species of wood.This summer outside I was OK but now that I am mostly back inside the allergy is back.For the last few days I have worked with a plastic apron(easy to remove wooddust) and a ordinary cotton mask stuffed with Kleenex and that seems to work fine.Its funny I searched hi and low for the cause last fall and failed to realize the obvious,woodust.But it seems confined to only one species.I had assumed that because the others didnt bother me ,it coundnt be woodust.I thought about glues,paints,epoxies and all the other stuff that artists work with .My paint overspray collector is vented to the outside but to save money in a cold climate I didnt use it that much for woodust.Oh well,live and learn.Now I wear the mask at all times when working with wood.
Cheers! John.