HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS

[JohnReid]

See No Mans Land - Non-WW1 Aviation
Cheers! John

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

The above pics are of my first diorama the Albatros ,the Red
Knight or Red Baron's ,(as he has come to be known), airplane.He has always been associated with the triplane but he actually had most of his time and victories in the Albatros.
The hangar is a rather flimsy looking affair but from my research that is the way they were.I think that maybe it had something to do with mobility and range of aircraft in those days.As the front moved I think that these airfields were designed to move with it.Nobody expected it to bog down into trench warfare.These were little more than aircraft sheds.
The first pic is of the hangar buttoned up .The hole in the roof is for viewing purposes only.Note the roof patches and wooden battens.The roof line is warped and overall it is a pretty miserable looking structure.
The 2nd pic shows a interesting hangar door arrangement where the center panel becomes a ramp of sorts..The little pile of wood you see near the R/H swinging door are planks that would be used as a runway to be placed over the central door in order to roll out the aircraft.
The r/h side of the hangar is plexiglass for viewing but in real life another hangar(#3)
would be joined to the side. Each aircraft had its own shed.
The aiplane is a modified 1/16th kit ,as are the figures.Most of the rest is scratchThere is nothing very difficult here.If you can build a wooden box you can build this hangar.I used mostly tongue depressors and coffee and popsicle stiks.The signs I got off the internet.
Where this piece is a little different from most is that I had the idea of bringing together what the dollhouse miniaturist does and the modelmaker and making a large scale diorama, that tells a story, in a historical setting.
Please give dioramas a try.Yes they do take a little longer but they are fun and interesting to do and the whole world and its history make unlimited subject matter.
Cheers! John.
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[JohnReid]

I see where Amati the mostly, until now, ship model kit manufacturer, has brought out a 1/10th scale Bleroit XI Monoplane.Looks nice but is a little pricey though!
Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

The above diogram depicts a Jenny's wing dihedral being checked.This is the action that I want to portray happening to the Canuck in my latest diorama.
Although this would probabily be one of the last things done before flight here again I will use a little licence and show it being done while the airplane is still uncovered.
I imagine that somewhere along the line this could have happened to the airplane while still in this condition.I know that when we built the Travelair, the airplane was completely built up as a skeleton and everything adjusted and checked, and then broken down again in order to cover all of the surfaces with fabric.
Having the wings supported on the sawhorses gives the whole thing more stability and gives me a good way to anchor everything to the hangar floor however it does take away somewhat from the overall beauty of the wings.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

I posted the last few pics to give you an idea of why I like the pictures better than the actual diorama using my own work as an example.
While the self-contained diorama is more of the traditional style of diorama making it does have its limitations.As far as I am concerned they are nice but belong to the old school and stuffy museums.They have a certain dollhouse,toy like appearance.
Now take a look at the last two pics and how much more dramatic and life-like they are!The lighting and camera work make all the difference.Example:The figure in the foreground looks a little shiney to me but with proper lighting and camera angle all that is eleminated.
By combining dioramas with creative lighting and camera work this is your chance to be the Steven Speilberg of the diorama world.Making your own one frame silent movie and seeing if you can pull it off.Fooling the eye to the point of "Oh! I thought it was real" which is the biggest compliment a dioramist or movie director can get.

I think that in the future I will concentrate more on this angle than building museum pieces.I really like the idea of useing the diorama as a stage and just changing the objects and the actors from time to time, taking pics and being more interactive with your own creative work. And besides its a hell of a lot more fun!!!!
Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]