HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS

[JohnReid]

Hi Guys!
The JN4A fuselage sides are in the jig and the cross members are being installed.It is still quite fragile at this point but is very secure and well protect in the jig.
This part of the build is very enjoyable as I already have been through this once before.The first time around I had to stick strictly to the build sequence but this time I can pick and choose what to put in.This Jenny is being robbed for parts so just about anything goes.Also stratigic use of tarps and rags will cover what I dont want shown.
The aging of the fabric was surpisingly easy to do, fingerflicking watery raw umber and using pastels for shading.It takes some time but it is fun to do.
A lot of the parts will be put in a scrap container and those worth salvaging will be put on shelves.The OX5 is destined for the future engine shop.I also have a nice 1/16th Mercedes engine that a friend sent me that would really look good heavily weathered and hanging about, either inside or just outside the shop.
Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

I decided that I would install the upper metal cowling that runs on top of the upper fuselage longerons.I left it off of the Canuck for greater visibility into the cockpit area.It comes as a flat piece of metal that must be given shape to by rolling it on a one inch tube of some sort.It is quite easy to obtain this shape at this stage of the build.I cannot see why this cowling could not be fit temporarly at this time.While the booklet calls for a later permanent fitting of this cowl ,I think that at least giving it it's initial shaping now would be a good idea while things are relatively easy to get at and it is held firmly in the jig.I painted mine a military olive green color over a black gesso base.Because I am not installing any of the cockpit seats or controls, I will be glueing mine in permanently tomorrow.With a little imagination the viewer can see what the Canuck would look like if it had this cowl.Next will come the leather cockpit combing.The kit supplies a piece of rubber tubing for this but I managed to find an old piece of clothing with a nice pliable leather material that is easily workable into a combing.The windscreens will be installed later if I install them at all.
I made up both cockpit seats and painted them the same green color.Instead of installing them in the cockpit, someone from the carpenters shop has robbed them for use as chairs.I have often seen antique cockpit chairs used in this manner in old hangars.
When the "A" is a little further along I will take some more pics of all this.
Cheers! John.
Note: I am using black gesso as an undercoat because if the paint chips or scratches the white gesso can flake off and get on everything.Black is not so noticable.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

This is a pic of the Canuck under construction.The "A" build looks very similiar to this except that a lot of the wire fittings are missing on the "A".I have covered the fuselage sides and weathered them.The cowling rests on the top longerons between stat#3(where the engine bearer beam is) to just aft of stat#6.The construction stations are counted from nose to tail beginning at the spider or web and extenting to the tail post.
The kit supplies the jig but not the building board.This is the best arrangment for a jig that I have seen so far and could be adaptable to any scratchbuilt project.
The fuselage is well protected and secure.The only complaint I have is that the jig frames should be made of plywood and not crossgrained wood that makes the vertical sides too easy to snap off.
Cheers! John.
Warning! to those who are thinking of building this kit doublecheck the run of the upper longerons as I think I may have discovered a slight error that doesent matter so much in a diorama setting but may be noticable otherwise.When looking from nose to tail there seems to be a bend caused by one of the vertical jig formers.This could of been an error on my part when squaring up the jig but in case it is not I thought that I had better mention this now.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

Hi guys!
this is a pic of the setup that I use whenever I build up flat assemblies such as the fuselage sides and the wings.
First I get a piece of flat,straight particle board, then I glue 3/4 inch piece of rigid foam insulation to it using a thin coat of spray adhesive.Then I tape the plan or drawing to the foam-board and cover it with wax paper.Then I build the assembly directly on the waxpaper using pins to hold the pieces in place for glueing.
Items such as wing assemblies that have some curvature due to their areodynamic shape may require shims to stabilize them.
I generally use super thin, super glue here as it leaves little residue and soaks into the wood fibers giving it extra strength .
When the assembly has set I remove the pins and release the wood from the board by slipping a # 11 xacto blade between the assembly and the wax paper.If some of the waxpaper sticks it can easily be removed by just peeling it off.Carefully cut off any excess glue using your exacto.
Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

I have been working at opposite ends the last couple of days,the tail post and the firewall.
The tailpost is the last vertical member on the fuselage where the leading edge of the rudder is located.it is not a difficult installation but all 4 longerons must be faired into its sides so a little fitting is required.
The sheet metal firewall between the fuel tank and engine compartment was fun to make because I have easy access to the area unlike when I did the Canuck and I had to work around all the engine components,wires etc..The firewall completely closes off this area from view so there is no need to build what will never be seen .A lot of these unused parts will be on shelves in various degrees of disrepair.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

In the top pic the firewall area is just aft of station#3 where you see the engine bearer cross beam.I have cut off the fuselage at this point as though someone had just taken a saw and sawed thru the longerons releasing the engine from the fuselage.
A lot of what you see aft of the firewall,the floorboards and seat railing will not be installed as the fabric extends to stat.4. covering this area.
In the bottom pic you can see the tailpost at the extreme end of the tail with all the longerons fairing into it.The rats nest of wires is a time consuming detail that I dont have to worry about this time around as they also are covered by fabric.
You will notice that the turnbuckle assemblies look a little overscale and they are.This was a judgement call on my part as I wanted the work to be visible to the viewer from some distance away as this is a very interesting feature of these old airplanes that kids (my primary audience) are not really aware of today.they never get to see much wood- n -wire these days.Call it a little artistic licence.If I was building a free standing piece that would be viewed close up I would have built exactly to scale.The brass turnbuckles are made from brass wire with brass painted plastic telephone wire tubing slipped over top.The silver wire wrappings are the same stuff cut shorter and painted silver.

[JohnReid]

Compromise solution ?
You know I have been thinking,what about if I treated everything within the hangar walls as central to the storyline line of "memories of flight school" as the actual diorama and only add other things cars,advert trailer etc around the perimeter of the hangar to act as sort of a fancy picture frame.I will eliminate the 2nd hangar and a lot of the other stuff that is too far removed.The bastketcase Jenny is central to the story as it and the Canuck are what drew these military types into the scene in the first place.What do you guys think?
Cheers! John.
__________________
It has been said that the difference between a "pilot" and an "aviator" is that a pilot is a technician,and an aviator is an artist in love with flight.
JohnReid (Aviator)