HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS

[JohnReid]

Ya'all !

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

In the above pic, looking from left to right ,you can see the hand carving tools made from belaying pin handles.The other half of the box contains other hand tools such as saws etc..A wood planer rests on the window sill.The workbench was constructed using those black pins that I mentioned and white glue holding it together.The propeller is in the table vice getting a coat of varnish and the brush and varnish are along side.Next, is my version of a wood bending jig.Note the hand drill and hammer hanging on the wall.
Chester is in the center of the pic under the table.He is all black and can just be seen in my pic but I think he disappears on the copy.
I tried to keep the shop as interesting as possible and centered around just minor repairs being carried out.It is meant to be a maintenance shop and not one for production.

[JohnReid]

I am planning to begin an online story of a newcomers development as a dioramist.It is the story of a fellow named Larry who contacted me and asked if I would be interested in guiding him through his journey as a budding dioramist.I kind of liked the idea and especially the format.Rather than me just spouting off in what can be,for you and for me, a boring monologue, the idea of having a diologue sounds like it could be a lot more interesting for any budding dioramist to relate to..He is an absolute beginner with no background in building dioramas other than an architectual model in high school many years ago.I don't even know his skill level as a modeler.I know that he is very interested and highly motivated to learn and that is all I care about.
I will post our dialogue here under the title of "Hi Larry" if it is OK with you guys.I would really like to hear what you guys think about this but I will consider no response as being an OK to go ahead.
Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

Everyone is welcome to follow a beginner through a diorama!

Hi John!

Please give me some guidance regarding the many aspects of building my own diorama. This post is intended to get your input as I go along. I've decided that I've always been intrigued with wooden airframe skeletons. The only plane I've ever built was wood framed and it was beautiful...until I attached the paper skin to it. The wooden framed plane you have chosen as your center piece (The Jenny) is beautiful. The building construction is period with wood beams and rivals the plane as the centerpiece. 1/16" scale as you selected, really shows detailing and simplifies availability of scale items during the building. That brings up the styles of both the plane and building construction I would chose for my diorama.

I'm partial to bi-planes and the wood building construction, so I guess that generally dictates a World War I & into the barnstorming era for me, perhaps (1918 - 1930) Selecting a plane would be the next step. This is also dictated by model kits. Perhaps Eddie Rickenbacker's Favorite Fighter, the 'NIEUPORT 28'.

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Perhaps the Abatross D.va, 'The Red Baron's Forgotten Fighter'.

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The building construction generally would follow the 1918 to 1930 period also. So far am I generally in there for authenticity? What was the height of the barnstorming era? Which of these planes would possibly been used? What is the maximum date the building construction of timbers would have been around?

Thanks John for any input you can give. Larry

[JohnReid]

Hi Larry!
I am a little reluctant to start a airplane build on this, an auto site.
The reason I have put my present dio over here is because, although it has an aviation theme, it also contains many cars and a lot of the info is for basic dio information.

The first thing that you will have to decide, is your work going to be strictly airplanes or not?If yes, I can suggest many other sites devoted solely to aircraft.I contribute to about 15 websites as of now and the info you desire is mostly already published there.
I dont want to step on anyones toes here and up until now they have been very open with my posting here.I do this strictly for fun.Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

Hi John!

Thanks for your honest and forthright answer. I certainly don't want to step on any toes here either, although I sincerely doubt the administration or members would mind us communicating. As for the overall diorama, one side of the barn (hanger) would be a plane being built. A shop, benches and equipment would be incorporated in the center and the other side would be auto storage with perhaps two or three (whatever will fit) cars. If you feel more comfortable about the plane portion, maybe you could steer me to the best of the aviation sites you referred to for some posts to select the barnstorming plane. Got a link? Larry

[JohnReid]

Hi Larry! Now that you have decided to include cars into your diorama and the admin doesn't seem to mind,its OK by me.
However because I am pretty busy these days with my build and websites most of my contibution here will be as it is now.I will in many instances have to refer you to other sites where a lot of your questions have already been answered.I am sure that you understand that I just dont have the time to re-write a lot of this.
I do however like the idea of helping a newcomer from the beginning of his development as a dioramist.We could set something up whereby we could use the thread to help other newcomers get started on their dioramas which is and always has been my primary goal.

Getting back to your build.There is not much choice out there right now as far as open structure kits are concerned.In 1/16th scale Model Expo seems to have cornered the market on airplanes.They offer 4 different kits right now.Albatros,Neiuport,Jenny and the Wright Flyer.Except for building an HMS Victory shipmodel years ago and a half-finished classic car diorama all of my diorama experience has been centered around the model expo kits ,mostly because nothing else is available.The quality of their kits is highly variable which we can get in to later after you make a few more decisions.
Next decision is what era are you most interested in? Depending on your storyline and a little creativity just about any era could be the subject of your diorama.Is your dioramas theme going to be mainly about cars that happen to have an airplane in it or airplanes that happen to have cars in it.?
Personally I love the Barnstormer era as it was the most romantic and freespirited era in aviation history .Before all the rules and regulations.
Cheers! John. wink.gif

[JohnReid]

Larry,after re-reading your post above I realized that you have already answered most of the questions.
A few suggestions:
You could use old airplanes in a modern setting such as being re-built or at an airshow
You could also do a museum scene with classic cars,motorcycles, figures or whatever.
May I suggest that your local bookstore or library would be a good place to look for ideas if you havent already decided.
Now the most important part of diorama making ,The Storyline.Here you will have to let your imagination run wild.It doesnt have to be nailed down totally, at this point ,but you have to know at least the direction that you are going in.In fact, it is best to leave some elements of your story open at this point and just let it evolve.Plus it is more fun that way,not knowing exactly where this will end up.It kind of makes it an adventure for you too.
Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

John, I've already learned that coming up with a story line means some research. Here is what I have discovered so far. I want to depict the barnstorming era. The heyday was 1920 to 1927. Generally, at the end of WW1, there were several thousand Jenny bi-planes available through military surplus and an abundance of out of work pilots from the war that wanted to pursue flying. During the heydays, there were generally three types of barnstorming pilots. Independents, Flying Circus and Air Racing. Since people hadn't ridden in airplanes at all, pilots supplemented their income by giving them rides in their planes. I've chosen 1927 or a little later for my theme. Since pilots were most successful as members of the Flying Circuses, that will also be incorporated. The plane in the diorama will be a skinned Jenny painted in bright period colors and flying circus logos, since the majority of barnstormers had them. The vehicles will be 1900 to 1915, stressed and in storage along with the farmers wooden wagon and tractor?. The building will be an Indiana farmer's post and beam barn with wooden floors and sliding front doors. The center shop will be era machines driven by belts with motors under the floor. A few of the reasons for my choices are:

As you said, there is a minimal choice of available 1/16 scale museum grade planes for open frame display. The cost to me is pohibitive. $160 to $300. That's why I'm building skinned in plastic or silk, which can be picked up cheaper in smaller scales.

Because of restrictive space, the wife insists that I build a smaller diorama. That may take me all the way down to 1/32 scale, because of plane and car availability in those scales. Compromise, compromise....Modelers do that every day with the boss of the house. Next, I'll be selecting an old or newer furniture piece that the boss will accept for the diorama. Maybe a boxed end table with a glass top for viewing, electrical transformers for lighting, etc. etc. Just have to find the maximum size she'll accept before I confirm the scale of the diorama. It'll be a while before my next posting.


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