HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS

[JohnReid]

I am presently finishing off the garage door/Model T module.Everything in wood has been weathered using my standard method of acrylics followed by pastels .
I made up some wheel chocks and will drill some holes in them that will provide for a black wire that will run down through the floor to secure the Model T to the module.
The garage doors are finished and awaiting final positioning, these will be secured to the module floor with small dowels.The only other thing that I will add to the module will be a couple of posts to hitch the swinging doors to.The door hinges will be fake as they are not operational nor are they even attached to the hangar.
I am undecided about if I should weather the car now or leave it until final installation.The cars left front tire has been left hanging over the sloping ramp so that no jack is required to change the tire.I may leave a wrench or two in this area if it is not too distracting. There is lots of room around the car for sight lines into the hangar, and the doors sort of act as a shadow box reveal, inviting the viewer to look inside.
Cheers! John.

"And let's get one thing straight.There's a big difference between a pilot and an aviator.One is a technician;the other is an artist in love with flight."
E.B. Jeppesen.
I liked this quote so much I have made it my new signature.

[JohnReid]

I am posting previously unpublished pictures of my dioramas over on ARC and LSP.I have many pics that I never posted before that may be of interest.These two sites allow me to upload pictures directly and I find it easier that way.
I will however continue to post any new pics here.(courtesy of Ross)
In addition to the diorama pics I have a very complete set of walkarounds for the 1929 Beech Travel Air that maybe of interest to model builders.I will also publish these on the Classic Aviation section of the ARC forum.Back in 1976 Model Builder magazine did a very good article on building a D4D model and also published plans based upon our airplane CF-JLW.

http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com Discussion,Classic Aviation Forum

http://www.largescaleplanes.com In the Works,"How I Build......"

Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

I will be receiving my first old age pension cheque soon, so I thought that it was time to write down my experiences of being part of the team that put together this wonderful airplane.I am now the only surviving member of thatteam that was directly invovled.Most of the aviators,mechanics and engineers that I will write about, had one foot in the modern era and one in the past.This story reaches back to almost half way into the first century of flight.I hope that the younger generations of aviation history buffs will enjoy it.
Of interest to WW1 fans,this aircraft was known as the
"Hollywood Fokker"because of its many appearances in that role, in films of the 20-30s.

Because the Drome has no classic site ,I have decicded to post this story over on;
http://aircraftresourcecenter.com click on Discussion and then Classic Aviation Forum.

here is a faster link

http://www.arcforums.com/forums/inde...howtopic=70029

Cheers! John.

[Shipmodeler]

Wow that is a truly magnificent aircraft. I think all young people interested in aviation will enjoy the pics and story behind them.

[JohnReid]

Yeah,this airplane, the Waco and the Staggerwing Beech are my favorites of the era.Glad you liked it.Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

page 1&2 of the Travel Air story are now up.
http://www.arcforums.com/forums/inde...howtopic=70029

I have now finally finished the Garage module and have begun working on the rear entrance door/WC/Coal storage area.Unfortunately, I am back to sheathing the walls, inside and out, with those good old popsicle stiks and tongue depressors.Not my favorite job, but I hope that this is the last of it on this project.After designing the area and cutting out the foamboard pieces,I think that it will make an interesting addition to the diorama.This rear hangar area needed some life as it is mainly just a large barn wall.I plan to hang some interesting signs but in keeping with my KISS plan for the outside,that will be about it.The sight lines through the doors and windows are somewhat limited but I think that there is enough there to keep the viewer interested.
I dont know if I will furnish the WC or not.Maybe i can find a dollhouse fixture that may work.This is not meant to be an outhouse but a septic system so I dont have to worry about it being too close to the lunchroom area. Maybe I will add a small grated area for heat. Cheers! John.

This is the area;

http://www.arcforums.com/forums/inde...howtopic=70057
(last picture on page)

[JohnReid]

Pages 3,4, & 5 are now up over on;

http://www.arcforums.com/forum/index...howtopic=70029

Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

take a look at this

http://coms.runboard.com/bscratchbui...fairplanes.t27

see Aircraft,then Morane Saulnier G

Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

I have now sheathed and painted all the interior walls and doors of this module.I have built the coal bin which I plan to stock with kitty litter(if my cat will let me have some)I guess that I will have to build another liner,fill it with litter,glue it and spray paint it black.(any other ideas?)There is a small opening in the bottom for a shovel and an opening to the outside for a chute.
The interior of this module is thinly painted with Titanium White(light beige)and the door pine green,allowing some wood grain to show through.I find that this washed effect looks the best when using acrylics and is very easy to weather.I still havent found a facility (whitefaced bowl) for the WC. Maybe this will be the first one ever to be scratchbuilt for a diorama.
Now its on to the exterior board and batten sheathing,making the roof,doors and windows.This is going a little slow as I cant stand sheathing for too long a time and tend to goof off doing other things.Cheers! John

Please note; the ARC Forums have been hacked by some jerk, so I will be posting the Travelair D4D story over on LSP only until they are back up.

[John Masters]

John--I'm sure you've checked model railroader supplies for coal, haven't you? Or you can just smash up a piece of anthracite and you'll have the real thing, complete wish dust!


From the Factory on the hill,
John