HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS

Brad · 21 February 2006, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnReid

Jenny in her jig.This is where I left off last year before going back to building the hangar and its modules.All of the control surfaces have been finished and just require installation

WOW! You are a true artist sir!

JohnReid · 21 February 2006, 11:07 AM

Well thank you Brad.It is always nice to hear from you.I am trying to promote diorama making anyway I can.I now contribute to about 10 websites in their diorama forums and the interest seems to be growing.The type of dios that I do seem to cross over between cars,airplanes ,motorcycles and buildings etc...
I just tell the auto guys to think of it as a auto diorama that happens to contain an airplane

Cheers! John.

JohnReid · 22 February 2006, 03:45 AM

Someone asked me to repeat this post again;

Weathering boards,again
After the boards are washed with 2 coats of nimbus grey and 2 coats of raw umber,make pin holes for nail positions on the boards(any pattern you like)If the wood is too hard you can brush on some clear water to soften the wood.Use a pointed grafiteHB pencil or softer and twist tip of pencil into the pin holes.Fill each hole with watery burnt sienna so that the wood swells back again and the pin holes will disappear.Shade edges with medium grey pastel.Randomly shade light grey into the centers of some boards.Flick on some watery raw umber with your trusty toothbrush.If things get too brownish shade again with light grey pastels or flick on some nimbus grey.Play around with it until you are satisfied with your antiqueing technique.There is no need to overcoat but if you do, use matte acrylic spray.Personally I leave it as is, as I find that the raw wood looks the best.My diorama will be going in a plexiglass case at the museum so I am not worried about dust or crud buildup on the exterior.Cheers! John.

JohnReid · 23 February 2006, 04:07 PM

JohnReid · 23 February 2006, 04:48 PM

As you guys know who have been following this thread,the theme of my "Memories of Flight School" diorama is about a bunch of WW1 pilots getting together on Rememberance day ,Nov 11, sometime in the mid 20s at the local airfield.There are both U.S. and Canadian pilots standing around the Jenny and telling war stories.
All these pilots had flown the Jenny Canuck or JN4D early in their training.The local airport manager has directed that a sign be made up honoring these brave men.

I made the sign yesterday from things I found on the Internet.The welcome to our......
sign was made off of my computer (not bad for an old guy,eh!) and the bunting and ribbons are paper sprayed with Laquer and then glued to a cloth backing.I still have a few touchups to do and maybe a rod for the banner to hang from.Do you like the lettering or do you think that I should change it?
Cheers! John.

JohnReid · 24 February 2006, 05:18 AM

JohnReid · 24 February 2006, 05:47 AM

Todays pic was taken last summer .The roof truss assembly has been removed and the roof panel is just laying upon the wall panels.The checkerboard roof battens are being laid down and weathered.The small round avgas sign is now re-made to be twice the diameter.The flying services sign was made up on my computer.In the top R/H corner you can see the carpenters workshop walls.Just above the sign on the front panel is a small opening which allows for roof ventilation.I plan to make the grating removable so that when you look inside you can see all of the trusses etc.. along the backwall I plan to put a dedication plaque to my father which will only be viewable through this opening.

JohnReid · 25 February 2006, 06:50 AM

The building of the old girl herself "Jenny the Airplane".
Over the next little while I will be posting pics of the building of Jenny the airplane.
As you guys probably know I contribute to 14 diferent websites relating to the building of dioramas some airplanes,some cars,some mixed and one RR site.
Because my dioramas cover all aspects of diorama making I havent really selected what to post where and I dont want to become my own self-imposed censor.At the same time I dont want to tread on anyones toes by posting airplanes in car dio sites or vice versa.The RR site seems to be very open to this.
If anyone is uncomfortable with this please let me know and I will try as best I can to operate by your wishes or quit posting altogether.
I will not go into great detail about how i built the airplane as that info is available on http://theaerodrome.com where I have run a thread since the begining of this build.Most of what I plan to post now will be pictures of the Jenny build with brief explanations of what you are looking at.For more detailed info you can go to the Aerodrome site.
I hope this meets with everyones approval.There is no hidden agenda on my part I just love dioramas of all types and I want to promote their making anyway I can and
to give back to a artform that has given me so much pleasure over the last 35 years.
Cheers! John.

JohnReid · 25 February 2006, 07:24 AM

JohnReid · 25 February 2006, 07:46 AM

This is Jenny in her fuselage jig.
The fuselage sides were built flat on a piece of waxpaper over the plans. The jig was assembled and then the cross pieces added.Towards the tail you cab see where I have begun the internal bracing wires.Note :the turnbuckles were made a little oversize for this diorama piece otherwise they would hardly have been visible.(a little artistic licence)The multiple crosspieces on the bottom longerons are where the cockpit floorboards will rest.