HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS

[karrart]

Originally posted by DonnyW@Sep 17 2004, 10:31 AM
[b] As for the future of modelling ? In traditional R/C, Im afraid its dying a slow death (over here at anyway).....snip

One problem is the closing of places to fly. I am not in any way shape or fat form a flying modeler, but I used to go watch the RC guys at Mile Square Park here in Orange County Cal. Unfortunately that flying field was torn out a few years ago to make way for the 38th golf course here in the county. It was such a nice way to spend a couple hours on a Saturday afternoon. The closing happened maybe4 or 5 years ago. Grrrr.....
RK
karrart.com

[DonnyW]

Hi Karrart, I know the problem with flying sites only too well. Even in the remote parts of Scotland we have problems with noise etc. It does require quite a large area so the models dont flying over areas where they could be a safety risk... they can all crash at any moment .. gravity is always looking for the slightest excuse to relieve us of our handywork

John, Im not sure how you plan to evolve the thread so if I jumping the gun..please excuse me..and I ll wait. Im always looking for tips on how to make things look more realistic. The attached pic shows two figures in one of my models. They are both from the same mold, so I cut their heads off and reset them at different angles. Painted different features .. so now they look more like brothers than identical twins. What tips do you (or anyone else) have regarding figures ? Also, here is a link to the best online tutorial Ive found so far for painting faces.. wish I had seen it before doing my pilots

http://www.acesofiron.com/paint.htm

[JohnReid]

I have decided that the best way that I can contribute to this Building Dioramas thread and maybe help inspire others to do so,would be to post here my experiences in building my Memories of Flight School diorama.Although the build will deal mainly with the Model Expo 1/16th Jenny,I am sure that my experiences in buliding it will be helpful to anyone wanting to build a diorama now or in the future.For those building the 1/16th Jenny I will refer to pages in the instruction booklet or the plans numbers on occasion.I have already built the Jenny Canuck wings so I will not include any detail on these other than what I have already discussed in my 1st acticle on memories of flight school as posted on the www.wwi-models.org website.I am however building 2 Jennys one a Canuck and the other a Jn4c so the building of the JN4c wings will be covered in a future article.I have just started on the Canucks fuselage so I will be posting the 1st installment soon.I hope you guys will enjoy this adventure in diorama building along with me,whether you actually participte or not.I hope that I can give you some insight into how a diorama can evolve.When I first started the idea was fairly simple,now due to circumstances I didnt forsee (such as obtaining a 2nd Jenny kit)my ideas have expanded to emcompass 2 airplanes and a sub story line of one airplane being robbed of parts to construct another airplane.This will also make the whole thing more interesting as the differences in the Canuck and the JN4c will be seen in the diorama.You will have to be patient though as I anticipate a good year to year and a half to completion and usually I underestimate the time involved, especially now that I will have to note how and why I did things as I go along.Cheers! John

[JohnReid]

Donny W. ,unfortunately I have already painted my figures for the Memories of Flight School diorama ,so I will not be including that aspect in my proposed Jenny build diorama.Maybe at the end if there is enough interest.I learned to paint mine mostly through Shep Paines book which I highly recommend.Cheers!John

[JohnReid]

Thanks Donny W. for the link to that painting site. Although I havent had the time to take a good look, it seems like a good step-by-step method of painting instructions. Cheers! John.

[StephenLawson]

Greetings all; While I am sure that your aware there are several books on the subject. I will refer again to Shep Payne's 'How to build Dioramas' Figure painting there is covered nicely for a thread on the subject I can refer to my own work on the Copper State Models in the 'Ginger say it is not so thread.

Ginger say it isn't so!!

And the Fokker D. VII of dreaded Purple Aces (pulp fiction subject winner of the Aerodrome's Narrative of the year award for 2004.) Using a bust from Copplestone with a modified figure from Jaguar and Van's Scale models figures.

http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/index.ph...14387&hl=ginger

I will usually start with a white primer and stain my figures rather than cover them with a solid - opaque- coat of paint. The best part of a figure is how well it is sculpted. I reference the recent threads on the figures of McCudden and MvR .

http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/in...howtopic=16894

Next, is a site that discusses these concerns on a regular basis. Not much on WWI aircraft but general modeling forums especially figures and elements of dioramas are topics. Though much is devoted to the treadhead and less to aircraft dios there is a great deal on figures.

http://www.armorama.com/modules.php?op=mod...kBox&file=index

[JohnReid]

Thanks Stephen,I know that we can always count on you for great references Cheers! John.

[DonnyW]

Thanks for the links Stephen.. although I havn't had time to view them all ..I did find the armorama one interesting and some great pics of dioramas. I think Ive got the grasp of what makes one now.
Hope this isn't a stupid question but I typed "Shep Payne" into google, clicked on images, hoping to see some of his / her ? work but nothing came up. Anyone with a link or a picture ?

[JohnReid]

Ok folks,here goes installment #1 on building a Jenny diorama.First let me be clear on a few things before we begin this build.Even though they use my Albatros diorama for their advertising,I am and have never been connected in any way with the Model Expo company.I build their models because I enjoy working in 1/16th scale. All kits are courtesy of my pocketbook.Now a little on my philosophy of diorama building.The most important factor in doing a good diorama,I beleive,is to tell a story,to capture a moment in time ,to take the viewer back to a different era and to hopefully raise an emotional response to what is being seen and thereby create a three dimentional work of art.In my work,I am not a purist or a rivet counter,however I do like to have lots of detail to keep it interesting.I try to be as accurate as I can but I will use artistic licence for effect.I strive for overall visual impact. My idea for this diorama was to take probably one of the most important airplanes in aviation history and try to tell a story of its contributions to aviation over its long hittory .I wanted to find a way to combine its significance both as a WW1 trainer and a post war barnstormer.That is when I thought of the idea of having WW1 figures dressed in uniform attending an armistic day celebration an an airport during the 20s.They are watching an old military Jenny being converted to a barnstormer.Then,when I had the unforseen opportunity to buy a 2nd Jenny(as an offer I couldnt refuse) I then changed the story a little in order to show the differences between the Canuck and JN4c versions.One being robbed for parts to complete the other.(even this is not set in stone as I may change my ideas as I go along)That is the fun you have when you are in control.Acting like a creator so to speak.That is the great thing about art ,it allows you to control at least one thing in a uncontrollable world.You create it and you say when it is finished.Fun huh! Next time we will start the actual build.Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

Now that we have decided on the aircraft we are going to build , what scale, etc,and we have a rough idea of how we are going to put it all together,we are now faced with researching our subject.Remember as craftsmen/artists we do have responsibility for historical accuracy.We woundnt want to lead future modelers down the wrong path.

Most of my research on the Jenny was obtained directly off of the internet.There are many pictures available of the open framework with just about every detail exposed.Search under Jenny,Curtiss Jenny etcc..www.wwi-models.org has a few good sites.In addition to the instruction booklet and plans that come with the kit there is an excellent book available of WW1 aircraft drawings called approperately enough,Scale Aircraft Drawings,Volume 1-WW1.I picked mine up at the local bobby store.In it there are pictures ,drawings,plans,and tables of the differences in the various Jenny types,including the Canuck.I use it as my primary reference.

Now on to the build.I usually begin my builds with the fuselage as it gives me something to look at when I am involved with the more tedious aspects such as building up wing ribs.I find that having something to look at gives me the encouragement to go on (on long term project like this I find these little mind games work)However, on this build I started with the wings because I got involved with all the changes in design that was required for the Canuck.

In the booklet, I am now at page 16,Stage 3 ,Building the basic fuselage.I started by constructing the jig.No problems here ,just make sure that your building board is flat and not twisted as a proper shaped fuselage is dependent upon it.Their are no changes to the jig for the Canuck version.Fig.3-2 struts at stations 3,4&5,I mortised only the outside of these struts(as that is all that shows in the diorama).I liked the detail of the mortising and I wanted it deep enough so that it could be seen .(This is where artistic licence comes into play) In addition to what is shown in the drawing ,there is another small mortise just above the hole for the engine support beam.When drilling out this hole be sure that your hole is vertical as there is no downthrust engine on the Canuck.As I mentioned before I will only be pointing out those areas where the Canuck differs from the JN4c.All other details are in the booklet. Fig3-3 struts at station 6 to 11.In addition to what is shown in the drawing ,I notice from pictures that these struts are actually tapered at the ends.I sanded mine down. I also fitted scratchbuilt turnbuckles to the eyebolts at each end of the struts.(for scratchbuilt turnbuckles see Ken Forans drawing over on wwi-models) I also attached the wires to complete each assembly.I find it easier to attach as much as i can now while the area is readily available.The kit supplies grey string for the fuseelage wires ,I however use beading wire 21 strands,stainless steel ,014 in diameter ,available at www.softflexcompany.com

The kit supplies basswood strips for the fuselage build.I have used bassword for many years for my bird sculptures and find that it is a very forgiving wood.Not too hard and easily shaped.The only problem is that it tends to be a little hard to finished due to its surface fussyness .Finish it by spraying a fine mist of alcohol to raise the grain and then sand with #600 sandpaer and that should remove most of it.Also be sure to stain your wood before it comes in contact with any glue.I use Prismacolor alcohol based permanent markers for this (tan color). to be cont.....