discussion How I Build Dioramas in 1/16th.

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Why this diorama? Although I am not a veteran myself I come from a family of WW1 and WW2 vets.Although quite young at the time, I grew up in an area that was reserved for vets and their families after WW2, so I have witnessed first hand the difficulties a lot of vets had in adjusting to civilian life again.I even had the wonderful opportunity to fly as co-pilot with many of them,even some who were aces in Europe and Korea.

I have witnessed some who became airline chief pilots and even presidents of aircraft manufacturing companies, some top flight lawyers and doctors and others who unfortunately ended up on skid row.

To all of them this diorama is dedicated.

 

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1/48 Mock-up and research stage. Diorama #4 is finally underway.I am leaning towards the Curtiss DIII/Ingram Foster pusher as a general example for the airplane that I will be building.I am planning to have a little fun with this ,in that I want to take myself back to around 1914 and think of what I would build using the available knowledge of the day.

I have decided to go with the Wright bros. general wing design mainly because I don't want to scratch build all those very flimsy ribs.(I already have a kit of a 1/16th flier from Model Expo which I plan to raid for the above)Wing development designs by 1914 had progressed somewhat but the way I plan to do this diorama small changes in camber etc..will not even be noticeable.Other than the ribs the rest will be scratch.This is the most freedom in modeling that I have ever allowed myself and I plan to have a lot of fun with it.

The 1/48 scale foamboard mock up is well underway and I am using an old 1/39scale biplane model for composition purposes.At 1/16th scale this diorama will be as large as the Jenny at 4feet by 5 feet which will allow me for only 2 instead of three backyards.For interest sake and composition considerations I plan to add an old car(maybe the military vets car?)

There will be no freestanding building in the composition but I may add a small lean-to type structure.The fencing will make a nice perimeter on three sides but I am undecided about how to do the side which would make up the row housings walls.Any suggestions would be more than welcome!!!

 

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1/48 trial mockup.

The airplane's wingspan has been reduced to 1/48 scale,the rest is still 1/39.My airplane will have about a 30 foot wingspan.The other dimensions I haven't worked out yet but will be very much like the Curtiss DIII pusher.A single engine with a direct drive prop situated behind the pilot.An 80 Hp Ox 5 would be nice but my guy probably wouldn't be able to afford it just yet after buying all that wood and fabric.

The diorama is way too square right now with too many right angles.I anticipate that this composition is going to be a real challenge to make look right and get the storyline across to the viewer.My dioramas usually develop a lot over time so I am not too worried yet.

The inner fences are 4 feet and the perimeter fence is 6 feet high.Part of the neighbors yard will have a short lane way along one of the fences with a parked Model T car or truck.The 6 foot fence will be great for victory posters.

Please note:I am in urgent need of dimensions for the Curtiss Headless Pusher aircraft.They need not be to scale,just the life size would do.

 

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Composition cont.... I am really glad to have the Jenny diorama still here, as it is the same size as this one will be, 4X5 feet.Sometimes it is really hard to visualize the 1/48 mock up in 1/16th scale.The tendency is to make things too big.What looks good in 1/48th scale does not always translate well into 1/16th.

As you can see, I am just planning to do the rear facade of the two row houses.This will involve working with some materials that are new to me, so it should be interesting.

There will be windows and doors and lighting in the area behind the facade.I may even have the figures standing in the door or looking out the windows.I am also thinking of having some kind of homemade banner strung up on the wall outside welcoming the veteran home.

 

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I made up this 1/48 scale mock up.The airplane has a 30 foot wing span at 1:1 scale.

My problem with this composition is the row housing ,which usually has the same width backyard.I want to keep it as it represents urban middle class housing of the time.The wing over the fence is part of the sub-story which I also want to keep in.The houses rear facade would probably been about the same in design and dimensions ,so how would you guys go about making the composition more asymmetrical ?

 

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Brickwork, beyond the barnsiding look! Well here is something different,making brickwork for dioramas.After having spent some time on research there is one particular method that I found on another forum that I really like.It requires making the bricks individually out of artist's watercolor paper and then gluing them to foam board to make a brick wall.I haven't found anything else that looks as realistic as this in any scale.

I expect that it will be time consuming to do but luckily I only have one backyard wall to do.The same watercolor paper can be used to make foundations and stone faces too.Should be fun!

 

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Do I ever have a new appreciation for all those who design buildings and such!

This little mock up took me almost 2 weeks to figure out(must be gettin old I guess)

What you see here is the different levels that had to be worked out before any other work could begin.The base itself will have to be in multi-layers of plywood and then covered with landscaping materials.I can already see nice possibilities of all kinds for this arrangement.

The Flier's wingspan I will cut back to 25 feet to better fit the backyard(something like the Curtiss's Racer).The outer perimeter is actually part of the base which will be added to the 4X5 foot diorama and probably painted matte black or a dark natural wood like ebony or dark walnut.

The car will probably be a Model T in keeping with the middle class storyboard idea.The outer fence is 6 feet high while the inner fences are 4.

Now it is on to work on the backwall facade and where to put all the doors and windows.I left room behind the windows for inside lighting.

It has been brought to my attention that the backyard is way too big for a typical English storyline .Therefore that will narrow it down to the US or Canada.However I could add an Enlgish flavor by using a poster that was used in North America to recruit Britishers living here.

 

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What to leave in,what to leave out?

The older I get the more I wonder will I ever live long enough to see all my projects finished,well the answer of course is no because I keep starting new ones.This has especially been on my mind recently when I was debating whether to start another long term project or not or finish up what I already have on the go.Sure,all my life I have known that we are all just one heart beat away and have had many close calls to prove it.So what !you say ,that is just the nature of life.Why should an artists life be any different?Maybe being involved in the creative life and being goal oriented I sometimes tend to lose sight of the process.It is the process of creating that is the reward not the end game.

I have always known this but as you get older you tend to want to finish things up.

Last night I watched a tv show about what would happen if man ceased to exist today?It kind of brought me back on track.We know that nothing lasts forever but this show really brought it home.In about 10,000 years there would be little trace that we ever existed.In a 100 years most of the history of our existence would be gone.Books,films,DVD's,computers etc... Gone forever.

So where does that leave us? It is the process that matters,the fun of creating in the here and now.Forget about finishing ,that is just an illusion.Funny how a program like that can put things back into perspective.Now I will shut up,get down off my soapbox and go have some creative fun.Who cares if it ever gets finished. Not me anymore!

 

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Modifying the Wright wing. Using the same plans and jig,I am modifying the Wright's wings width and length to look more like the Curtiss Racer.The length is easy as I just stop building at the closest rib position but for the width I used the same jig and repositioned the trailing edge using a blackened brass rod super glued to the rib.After removing the wing from the jig, the old trailing edge portion will be simply cut off.Remember this is my backyard version of the racer so artistic license rules.This airplane is only meant to be a another prop for the storyline,my version of the racer using the knowledge of the day.No rules and regs which suits me just fine.

To give you an idea of just how lax things were in those days ,the story of how the Custiss Pusher became "headless" is a wonderful example.It seems that one day Lincoln Beachey was to give a live flying exhibition before a large ,all ready gathered crowd.Somehow the head assembly got damaged and had to be removed.Not wanting to disappoint the crowd and the promoter by having to return the gate fees,Beachey decided to fly anyway.He found that the airplane actually flew better like this and so was born the "headless" pusher.

 

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The world's first "hot" airplane.

This airplane is probably aviation's first attempt to build a "hot" airplane.Clip wing,large engine,large control surfaces and built expressly as a racer to fly faster at low levels.Building a similar airplane to the racer, I really get an idea of how far they were trying to push the envelope all in one foul swoop.This airplane was probably the first to be built with speed in mind.The forerunner of all that was to come later and which still continues to this day.Guys working and re-working their airplanes to get the last ounce of speed out of them.

The backyard flier also represents all the EAA guys to come later.Those who create and build their own backyard or basement fliers to this very day.I know because I was one of them.

Just imagine in those early days of adding and subtracting,modifying and re-modifying and then "taking her up" to see if it works! A day when every pilot was a test pilot.

 

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The Impossible Dream.

Of course for every success there were many failures.Probably none of these early fliers ever got off the ground in their backyard machines but their hearts were in the right place.

Where would we be without the dreamers? especially in those early years.

Please note:If anyone has any pictures of other backyard fliers, please let me know where I could find them.

 

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