HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS

[JohnReid]

Due to its long fuselage and because of space considerations ,I will be breaking up the fuselage into 3 sections.
I have often seen pics of Jennys that have been in accidents, and they seem especially vulnerable to breakage just behind the rear cockpit ,so I probably will break it there and leave a few wires hanging out, as though someone had just collected the wreckage from a field.Between the main engine compartment and fuel tank/firewall area I will cut the longerons to make it look like someone had just sawn off the engine and hauled it off to the engine shop.The wings will be stored up against the hangar wall and maybe one on saw horses with the fabric being ripped open.
I am building the fuselage sides now, in one piece, on a flat board covered with insulation and wax paper.A lot of the fittings will be left off as they were either robbed for the Canuck or will not be seen behind the fabric.
I have a good set of color pics from the museum of a Neiuport 12 undergoing rebuild several years ago.There are many good details of what can be discovered under old fabric.Nice aged wood tones some corrosion and water stains etc...All great ideas for weathering.One thing that I have noticed is a kind of white paint that has been applied to the wing rib capstrips, where they meet the fabric.Was this a size or sealer of some kind?If anyone knows please advise. In my next post I will be listing the main differences that I have discovered between the JN4D and the A model.
Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

Thanks guys! I really appreciate the imput.I still have a while to think about it as I am invovled in building the 2nd Jenny right now.
I am kind of leaning towards the "build only what you need to tell your story" school of thought.The Jenny story is two fold.The main story is a group of veterens getting together on Rememberance Day .The sub story is Jennys contribution to aviation.
I figure that I can "keep it tight" by having all the action centered on the pilot group.
All the other figures will be looking towards this main group, which will be placed front and center(actually off to one side) in the dio.The central theme here is the human experience not so much the objects.Everything ,including the Jenny, is sort of in a supporting role. Interesting but not essential. So I guess that it is a question of how much importance to give to the secondary storyline.
The showcar ,advertising trailer and the motorcycles are optional but I still would like to find a way to include them as they are colorful and help to balance an otherwise somber mood.The second showcar and the Model T's are really not necessary at all and may be just distractions.The only way that I can see including them would be to put some figures near or in them looking on into the main pilot group.Maybe on the ramp area off to the side somewhere or with the front of the cars pointed towards the pilot group.
One other thing here that I forgot to mention earlier is that the Billy Bishop figure is central to this group ,he is laughing and giving a" thumbs up" signal indicating that he is telling a joke or funny story.The others are looking on in surpise not expecting to hear laughter on such a sad day.I wanted to include this element because I know the nature of fighter pilots and barnstormers .I want to show what seperates them from the civilians.(shared experience & a devil may care attitude towards life)
At this stage I think that I will eliminate the ops/radio shack and the 2nd hangar but will keep the engine shop module as it is attached to the main building and any figures therein would be standing at the door looking in.
This post has b

[JohnReid]

-Dep type wheel not sticks in the cockpit.
-upper and lower ailerons with steel wire interconnections.
-lower wing braces same as top wing but on the underside.
-small differences in wing span and length but a major difference in dihedral of 3 inches.
-engine exhausts differ
-wing center section outline is squared on the A model.
-lower wing tips pointed and not round as on the D model.
-Landing gear wheels Ackermann type spring spokes and not the standard 40 spoke.
Thats what I have discovered so far.

[JohnReid]

Hi John!

The dimensional plan of this diorama, in my case, is dictated by the size of the end table I selected to house it. After some shopping with my better half, we purchased two end tables that she was happy with. Both are the same size. One will house my diorama, and little does she know, the other will too, down the road. I have scanned rough sketches of what the end table is now and what it will become in the final diorama version. See the pics below. The dimensions between the legs dictate that my diorama base dimensions will be 24 1/2 by 21 1/2 inches by 1/2 inch thick.

Knowing the end table & diorama base dimensions, the layout can now be established. Following my story line, the largest piece is the Jenny airplane at a 1/32 scale wingspan of 16.34" by a length of 10.22" by a height of 9.83". One half of the end table's length dimension is 12 7/8 inches. By splitting the diorama base in half with a divider, one side could be the barn space and the other the outside space.

In order to know the barn dimensions I have to convert 1/32 scale to an architectural scale of 3/8" = 1 foot. (both are the same). The architectural scale will also be used down the road for verification of figures, building miscellaneous items and verification of automobiles. (ie: a 6 foot standing man figure should be 2 1/4" high & a sitting man figure should be 1 5/8") Working in one scale throughout, while building the diorama, becomes very important. I will be using a 3/8" = 1' foot throughout.

Since I will be using some train scale items, they will be #1, Std., or G scale. Train scales are an animal unto themselves. For instance, G scale items range between 1/20, 1/20.5, 1/22.5, 1/24, 1/29 & 1/32 scales. #1 and standard items are 1/32. In the case of G scale figures, I want to make sure they are all six feet or below. I don't want any 1/20 giants in the diorama. I'll possibly use 1/32 diecast or plastic model items too. All of them will have to be verified at the 3/8" = 1 foot scale.

My next posting will be the diorama plan by itself.


Regards, Larry

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user posted imageIf you're convinced you don't make mistakes; build a model!

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[JohnReid]

Hi Guys!
Well yesterday was spent experimenting with fabric covering the Jenny A fuselage sides.
I thought that I had better cover them now before putting them in the jig and adding the cross braces.
Basically ,what I did was take the flat fuselage side and glue on the fabric and cut with an xacto around the perimeter.
First I laid down the fabric(Coverite antique) on a flat surface ,glued on the fuselage side using carpenters glue and put some light weights over and let it dry for a few hours.Then I cut around the perimeter and spray laquered(2-3 thin coats) the whole thing and let dry.
Next ,I airbrushed multiple coats of straight titanium white ,which is almost exactly the color of the antique white fabric, until it was just opaque enough to be able to barely see wood longerons underneath.
I will not be putting the military insignia on the side but will make it look like someone washed it out using a paint brush.It saves me the hassle of making the insignia and is probably is what would have been done anyway.
I havent put on a lot off the fittings or cross brace wires as they would not be seen anyway .Where I decide to selectively ripe the fabric I will install fake ones of piano wire.
Next I got out the pastels and antiqued the interior of the flat fuselage side while I still have easy access to this area.
One thing I forgat to mention about the Coverite fabric.Although it is made to be heat shrunk over the aircrafts frame ,I did not use it for that purpose as it would probably distort the delicate wood structure.Instead I put it on as tight as could while it was laying flat.Even then I did notice some loosening during the subsequent laquering and painting but on an old basketcase airplane this only adds to the look of age.I used the Coverite mostly because of its fine weave and antique color.Now its on to the other side.

[JohnReid]

Before I forget to mention it again,I have recently been invovled in bending more stripwood for various parts required on the fuslage.
I have found that a good cheap tool for bending wood is an ordinary hand held curler iron.It seems to constantly give off just the right temp for this procedure without being too hot to scourch the wood or too cool.Find a way to clamp the handle to your workbench and then with the ends of the strip, one in each hand, slowly bend the wood to the shape you want.
Depending on the density of the wood let it soak in warm water for awhile before attempting to bend it.You will have to experiment a bit here.if you run into a piece of wood that seems to break no matter how careful you are, check the direction of the grain in you can and make sure that it is running lengthwise through the piece.Crossgrain will break very easily.While most woods will maintain the newly bent shape, if you want to be sure you can pin it to a board until it is thoughly dry.
Yesterday,I continued weathering the fuselage sides using watery Raw Umber flicked on with a toothbrush.Pastels were used for shading here and there especially where dust and dirt would gather.I left the fabric semi-transparent so the the structure barely shows through.I painted over what would have been the military insignia and left a few paint drips here and there.I will now finish off the other side and then put the 2 sides in the jig for installation of the cross members.
I think that I have figured out why I enjoy this weathering stuff so much.For me its like taking a empty canvas and painting a picture.It can be very creative figuring out how to age something.A little of this here and a little of that there.Your imagination can run wild trying to imitate the natural world and how nature ages things.It really increases your powers of observation and respect for natures power to destroy even its most beautiful creations.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

This is an image of a JN4A production model in Canadian colors and markings in 1917.Note the double ailerons and aileron braces under the lower wing.Also note the interconnecting aileron steel wires, and the increased dihedral of the wings(4degs).It is really hard to see if the center section trailing edge is cut square and of course the wheel spokes are impossible.

[JohnReid]

I forgot to mention that behind the pilots head, near the turtle deck there seems to be a machine gun mounted, or it could even be on the side of the fuselage,it is difficult to see in this image.The JN4A was used for pilot training,aerial gunnery,towing targets and combat tactics.

[JohnReid]

Hi Larry!
Another very interesting thing going on in this era was "Flying the Mail". If you find the barnstormers aircraft types too limiting, the number of aircraft equipped to fly the mail were comparitively quite numerous.If you can get your hands on a copy of Time-Life book series"The Epic of Flight"and the volume entitled "Flying the Mail" it has a lot of good pics and info.
A lot of the same group of ex WW1 military types were also invovled here.It was called the "suicide club" for good reason, as in 1920 alone it claimed the life of one in six of the airmail pilots.But it did have its compensations.According to Hamilton Lee a famous pilot of the era," I loved what I did,loved flying .We could fly at any altitude,fly under bridges,drop a newspaper to our friends if we wanted to.Today they sit up there at 35,000 feet.What fun can they have?Oh ,those were great days.They were dangerous days too,but you didnt mind that,that was nice in a way too.If it wasn't for that memory I'd go nuts.I live on it.I still think about it when I go to sleep at night."
Cheers! John. biggrin.gif