discussion How I Build Dioramas in 1/16th.

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The not so impossible dream! Speaking about dreams,in the 60's this was my impossible dream,to restore a 1929 Travel Air 4000.By 1965 this is where we(my dad and me and our friend Al Pow) were at after a few years of on and off restoration attempts.The rest of this basket case was scrapped and everything from here on in was scratchbuilt.We were lucky in that the basic tubing of the fuselage was in great shape and it gave us a place to start.

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Upper and lower wings woodwork is now finished and temporarily in a jig.Next step will be to prepare the wings for the strut and wire fittings.There are no internal drag and anti-drag wing wires required and no dihedral.The large inter-wing ailerons will have to be built and provided for with fittings etc....

Fortunately during this era the Wright's were involved in a lot of litigation about their wing warping patent ,I say fortunately as it forced others to think beyond this end of the road concept of longitudinal control. However, unfortunately it did have a somewhat negative effect of slowing down aeronautical progress in North America for awhile.

 

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Yes it is 1/16th scale! the clothes pegs are of the miniature variety,not your standard peg.

The distance between the wings has been established and everything squared up.The vertical strut positions were located and coffee stir sticks set in place where the struts will go.The wing tips will be square and the outboard struts will be flush with the last rib.The center section area is five ribs wide while the middle and outboard sections are four each.

I have left myself lots of room to work inside the jig as I anticipate lots of "I wish that I had thought of that before" moments.The jig also affords great protection for the delicate wing structure and probably will be used until just before completion of the model.

 

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Strut fittings. The strut is shaped to a streamlined cross section and then the ends were rounded.I slipped a short piece of aluminum tubing over the rounded ends.I prepared the wing leading edge with a small piece sticky backed metal. I tried various types and finally came across a sticker from my EAA membership which was just the right thickness and could be cut to the required size.(#1 rule for dioramists,never,ever throw anything out) The copper part was from the Jenny leftovers and the eyebolt behind was obtained from a fishhook with the hook part cut off.The completed fitting will be painted black.

 

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Scratchbuilding is a lot of fun but the thing that you have to really be prepared for is repetition.As an example,it is lots of fun to build that first fitting ,trying out this and that, but by the time your finished making 24 of the same thing it can get a little dull.It is not the type of work for those who constantly need to be doing something new.Self imposed quality control is very important, the first example must be as good as the last.

I find that for the creative stuff I have to set aside some uninterrupted time for this.No music,tv or other distractions.Progress can be slow but time really flies while you are in this mode.

For repetitive work,(#2 thru 24 for example) I find just the opposite is true.I kind of go into automatic mode and enjoy the distractions.The key to quality work I think is to put your best work in each and every detail while holding on to your excitement for seeing the finished piece in mind.

 

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Engine bearer braces. These are the engine bearer braces(my term)The engine sits between the braces and it bolted on.There are two extra braces on the rear end of the bearer where the prop is located. I am building this airplane from pics and only dry fitting the parts for now.I figure that the best way to go about this is to work from center outwards ,to allow as much access as possible to the interior.All the brass tubing will be blackened with chemicals(Blackin-it).I will hit the hobby store this week and see if I can find some bolts small enough to attach the braces to the bearers and the struts,if not I will use pins.

I don't have any plans to install an engine (unless someone could tempt me with a spare 1/16th OX5 they may have hanging around.I figure that if there was an engine on my backyard flier it would have been removed for safekeeping until our aviator/builder had returned from the war.I also have to consider just how many of these backyard fliers even got to the engine buying stage.I figure most of these backyard guys were probably pretty good carpenters but for the more technical stuff I wonder if many got beyond the wing building stage?In fact,I have never seen a pic from this era of a finished backyard flier.

 

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I plan to keep the rigging simple like it was in the early versions of these airplanes.Some modern flying versions do show a different rigging setup with turnbuckles etc...

I have allowed myself a lot of leeway when it comes to my backyard flier as they were all mostly fantasy pieces when they were built.A lot of these builders were full of enthusiasm but had little real knowledge of what they were doing beyond the carpentry stage.I may put all or only some of the rigging up depending on how my enthusiasm holds up.

In this diorama the airplane is important but it is really just another prop in telling the story.The airplane will be weathered and the backyard left a little messy to give it a sense of loss and abandonment.

 

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Slow progress.... Thank goodness I only dry fit everything first!

When I modified the angle of attack of the wings in relation to the level ground,that also altered the undercarriage and the rear wheels required clearance of the frame.At first I attempted to change the angle of the struts that support the nose wheel by moving a fitting at the rear of the engine bearer.Darn thing wouldn't move so I had to take everything apart again and in the process broke a few ribs off and cracked one of the engine supports.

I finally was able to unjam the fitting and put it all back together and now the nose wheel beam seems to be at the right angle.

 

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The tire is temporary.I haven't quite made up my mind on the tires.In pictures some look like bicycle tires and others the balloon type.As I plan to have the airplane in the backyard look like it was abandoned for some time ,with tall grass and weeds etc..the wheels may hardly even be seen in the finished diorama anyway.Another possibility is just to make temporary wheels in wood or a combination of a bicycle nosewheel, which is more visible ,and wooden mains.

Beyond the wood building stage I don't want to put too much into the airplane.Why? Wheels,wires,engine etc...if he even had them ,would have been stored away out of the elements and the wooden airframe at least put under tarps.

The family obviously knew about his upcoming arrival home as the "welcome home" banner indicates.They could have removed the tarps as a nice gesture for his homecoming.

I wanted to capture the moment of his arrival,before the family even knew he was there and what may have been going through his head at the time "can it ever be the same?"

 

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You guys may have noticed that my signature contains "Once Upon A Time.......

storyboard dioramas.This is my little tribute to the great film artist Sergio Leone.

His western "Once Upon A Time In The West" is recognized by most as the best westerns ever made and probably one of the top 100 films ever.

I love his attention to detail combined with majestic landscapes.His use of closeups and facial expression to create a mood.His minimalist approach to dialogue,only 15 pages of dialogue in a three and a half hour movie yet he still gets his story across magnificently .His use of music and the fact that a special theme was developed for each of the central characters ,which was played on set while that characters scene was being filmed.

I guess what I am trying to say is that he was a master of telling a grand story in a wonderful new way.

I think he would have loved storyboard dioramas.Thanks for the inspiration Sergio!

Cheers! John.

 

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I decided that our novice builder could not afford to buy the wheels,so I made them up from wood.I have actually seen similar type wood wheels used on early aircraft factory floors, for moving aircraft around before they got their rims and tires.I reduced the length of the fitting that supports the main beams front end just aft of the nosewheel.Working from pics is difficult so you have to be prepared to adjust things as you go along.Because this is my own version of a backyard flier I am building it to my own specs and what looks good to me.

This summer I plan to buy the wood for the base and finalize the design of the diorama, so that I can build up the two modules next winter and hopefully put the whole thing together the following summer.Anyway that is the plan for now.

Judging from past experience however, I usually seriously underestimate the time involved. __________________

"Once upon a time......." Storyboard dioramas by JohnReid.