HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS

[JohnReid]

Last few days here in the GWN has been just great for working outside.However, in a couple of days we are expecting a hi of only 10 deg celius.All this to say that I like to do my weathering outside in the natural light,so I have taken advantage of the weather, and am working on the outside board and batten walls of the office.
On the bare ,slightly sanded wood , I first painted on some watery white gesso to get a whitewash effect.Then with light grey pastels I shadowed between the boards and battens and at the top joistline.At the bottom, where the boards at closer to the ground ,I shadowed a little heavier with the grey added a hint of brown and then a hint of green for for moss. .I then took a needle and punched a small hole along the battens to represent nails.These holes I filled in with very watery raw umber as I dont want too much contrast with the now greyish -white battens.The water in the paint swells the holes and difusses the paint into the wood for a more natural effect.That is why I never seal my wood if I want to represent old wood or barnsiding.I then took some watery burnt sienna and randomly rusted a few nail holes.I dont bother to seal the wood at all even over the acrylic gesso or paint as I like the dull rustic effect of the bare wood and where these pieces are going, in a controlled enviroment ,I dont anticipate there wolud be a problem leaving the wood unsealed.I forgot to mention that as a final touch, I finger-flick(my term) with an old toothbrush ,raw umber along the lower 1/3rd of the wall.
I have to be careful weathering this piece because when this hangar was built aviation was in its infancy,so by the mid 20s it really wouldnt be that old a building.Cheers! John.
Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

I am in no way connected with the Jo Sonja paint company but I have used their products extensively for different art applications.They are very well known in the decorative bird carving world, which I was until recently, very much invovled with.I have tried the other acrylics out there but there is no real substitute.I think that it is the only paint that combines watercolor (gouache) and acrylics.When I speak of my painting methods you can always assume that I am using this paint unless I state otherwise.It has both fine art and decorative art applications but it is a fine art paint.For those of you have never used fine art paint dont let the word scare you,they are probably easier to use than what you are using now.They really work well for all weathering techniques especially where multiple transparent layers are required.They are also great for drybrushing.But there best feature(and I cant repeat this enough) is that they dry absolutely flat.You can add your own varnish(sold seperately) to achieve just the right amount of shine.This is great especially for those painting figures where generally everything I see is way too shiny.Top coating with a matte medium doesnt always work well ,why not start with a flat surface and work from there?.Another great feature is that they are almost readly for the airbrush in consistency and a lot of time is saved in mixing.These paints are not expensive ,I pay 3-4 $ here in the GWN and I have seen them go for less than that in the USA,for a 21/2 oz. tube.
I normally never push anybodys product ,but in this case there just is no substitute for the results that I like to acheive.
Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

Diorama scenery?
http://www.sceneryexpress.com
This is just an example of what is available to the RR guys.Some of it is adaptable to any scale.
Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

The Office Roof

When looking at the painting I have off the Toronto airport of the 30s ,I see a orangry-red roof on the office.I like the idea and besides the diorama could use a little brightning up after all the greys,black and white.The hangar doors are green so the red fits in very well.
I covered the foam board roof with medium grit(for 1/16th scale) black emery paper cut it to size and glued it on.I didnt use plywood for this small roof because the emery when dry is very strong.
Next, I mixed up some white gesso with water about 50/50 and painted it on with an old pigs bristle brush .I use white gesso to brighten up the red topcoat,if I had used black it would be too dull.Remember we are using acrylics that are somewhat transparent.You can use a hairdryer and blow dry the gesso if you wish but be careful not to use too much heat as you dont want to cook the surface(as it may lift off)
I wanted a nice orange-red topcoat ,so I used cadmium scarlet with a touch of pine green added, to dull down the red.(to dull down a color always use the color opposite on the color wheel)
I painted on two coats of a 35% cream consistancy and let some of the white show through ,giving sort of a sun-bleached ,faded appearance.You dont want one solid color.That is the great thing about acrylics,you can play with them like watercolor but they are permanent when dry.
The next step is optional but I took some 600 grit sandpaper and lightly sanded some of the rough areas of the original emery cloth back to black.
The next step will be to apply the sloping grey battens to the roof and finish the edges.Then shade with pastels and flick on some raw umber, and then, the final glory a little white bird sh#t, just to guild the lily so to speak.Cheers! John.

"What moves men of genius,or rather what inspires their work,is not new ideas,but their obsession with the idea that what has already been said is still not enough." Eugene Delacroix.
T

[JohnReid]

Not WW1 but this guy has one great imagination.Check his "50 years gone diorama.

http://www.ipmsslc.com/gallery/September2004

Enjoy.Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

The office is basically finished now except for the doors and windows and interior furniture.Today I will move on to the opposite side of the hangar and start on the garage that will house the Model T.It too will be a lean-to type structure but without the walls.I plan to leave it as open as possible in order for the viewer to get a good view of the car .This car is a real little gem that deserves to be displayed prominently but like I said before only in its own space and not in competition with the main subject ,the Jenny.
I plan to construct a refueling island as part of this new structure and use a modified 1/18th 1920s gaspump.I plan to use this structure to solve the problem of the opening of the garage door.The door cannot swing in as it takes uo too much space.It cant slide because it would block the view through one of the windows so what I plan is to have it swing out and up using ropes and pulleys attached to this new structure
I have also worked out the basic design of the rear door enterance structure.This structure will not only provide protection from the elements but will also house the "rest room" and wood and coal storage for the stove.(does anyone know if"rest room "would be the proper terminology in the 20s ? as I plan to have a sign over the door).
When these 2 additional modular structures are finished I will return to the furnishing of their interiors.And the beat goes on....and on.....and on.Cheers John.

"The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity.The creative mind plays with the objects it loves." C.G. Jung.

[JohnReid]

Yesterday was tiring but a lot of fun.I started in the morning with one idea for the garage and by the afternoon I had changed it completely.This is a fun way to do things but sometimes you have to pay by having to re-do some work that you have already done.

I started the garage module by building the floor and attaching it to the main building with two removable screws(same as the office module).I made up a temporary roof for what was to be a lean-to type structure only to discover that if I used this type of sloping roof, visibility into the hangar would be severely restricted.So I threw out the lean- to idea and will go with a simpler structure and will split the garage doors vertically on the centerline and have them open outward.
The floor of the module has been re-designed and will now slope up into the hangar.I will now have to hand carve this slope into the already glued up module.If I had know where I was going in the beginning, I could have cut these pieces by machine and saved myself a lot of work, but I really enjoy kind of winging it as I go along.This does make for more work but is a lot more fun.
I placed all the major components back into the diorama and worked a little more on composition.I think that I will bring the airplane closer to the front with the prop almost at the front hangar doors.Because the Mercedes show car is so large I will have it standing along the rear wall with the airshow trailer sign.The 2nd basketcase fuselage will go ,at an angle,along the L/H wall.The wings will be placed along the other walls or stowed in racks from the ceiling.
Because the dioramas storyline is centered on a Rememberance Day ceremony there will be little activity going on in the hangar.Just a bunch of ex-WW1 fighter pilots standing around talking.I will therefore confine tools etc.. to the workshop.The Model Ts tire will be undergoing repair but I havent yet figured out exactly how I will depict this.Stayed tuned..............
Cheers! John.

"The position of the artist is humble.He is essentially a channel."

Piet Mondrian.

[JohnReid]

I just want to see what 1,000 looks like! Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

Where and how to depict the Model Ts tire change is not as simple as it sounds.I originally thought that I might back the car into the garage door and have the front tire being serviced on the module completely out side the hangar.Although this action is taking place within the modules reality/fantasy border of the buildings foundation walls it is outside of the main hangar walls which may present a problem .I wanted the windows and doors of the diorama to act as portals to any action going on inside.The external tire change idea may break the magic. I think that I can get away with the car being half in and half out the garage door, as the garage doors do form a visual barrier on both sides of the car sort of creating like a shadow box portal.I want the doors and windows to invite the viewer to look inside without too many external distractions,so I have also eliminated the external gaspump idea as too attention grabbing.I want to keep the exterior pretty drab looking as compared to the warm interior glow that I plan for the inside.The only exception being a few weathered signs and maybe a windsock on a pole over the office roof. All exterior colors (black,white,grey and red) are subdued and weathered.Now its on to planning the rear door entrance/rest room/coal storage module.
Cheers! John.

"Ah,but I was so much older then,I'm younger than that now."
Bob Dylan.

[JohnReid]

I spent most of yesterday designing and cutting out the foamboard for the rest room/backdoor/coal storage module.After cutting out the basic panels I cut in the doors and windows and even a small coal shute.There are four wall panels plus an interior wall for the restroom and a ceiling panel.Next I cut out the sloping roof panel and sides.I temporarily fit all the pieces together and fastened them with pins.With some minor adjustments it all fit together quite easily.
Using foamboard is really the way to go if you can get away with the extra 5mm thickness.On a small ,single board thickness wall, it may make the wall look too thick but for most purposes it works just fine.In some areas such as the main hangar walls, I sheathed the foambord on both sides.On other areas I sheathed only the external side and in other areas such as internal ceilings, where there is little danger of crushing the surface ,I just painted it.It holds its shape very well and paints easily.Just use a gesso undercoat and topcoat with acrylics.On the hidden side of the ceiling I did run a few strengthening battens but I dont think that this really is necessary for interior walls or ceilings.
Be sure that the foamboard you buy is not warped as it is difficult to straighten properly.On the small module roofs I glued the garnet cloth directly on the foamboard using white glue ,and purely by accident the drying glue curved the surface just enough to give it a nice sag. Keep in mind that generally you would not want this, so it maybe a good idea to add some battens to the opposite side or holding the roof flat,while the glue dries.I made up some false roof joists where the ends show just at the edge.The roof will be removable for lighting maintenance.
Cheers! John.
"To live a creative life,we must lose our fear of being wrong."

Joseph Pearce.