How to Build Aircraft Dioramas

[JohnReid]

Warning!! the next picture that you see may be disturbing to some viewers, yes it is a car. I used it here only for information purposes.Airplane,RR,figure guys etc...will just have to try to avoid looking at it ! Please let me explain.

The pic below depicts a car of course but it really could be anything.The point here is the backdrop and how it was used to create a little vignette within the larger diorama.

Here I have taken a 1/18th scale car and put it in a 1/16th scale diorama.By using camera angles,lighting,focus,forced perspective etc... I was able to create the illusion that it is all the same scale.

I deliberately selected a very shiny new car right out of the showroom for this example. Using proper lighting I was able to control any excessive shine which would otherwise only serve to make it look toy like.This is especially true of figures.You have to learn how to control the shine.Even in this picture it is still quite shiny but you should see it if I didn't play around with it a bit.

My technique is very simple, I just experiment and shoot lots of pics using different kinds of lighting.I have no professional equipment and I use a point and shoot camera.(In the old film days ,I wound be broke by now.)If you get 1 in 20 that looks good you will be lucky.Don't spend a lot of time and money on fancy equipment,you just don't need it.Most of my pics that I am taking now of an outdoor scene I just bounce the light off a white ceiling and use a hand held clip on light with a 60W bulb to produce shadows.Don't be afraid to keep moving the light around by hand until you get what your looking for.Sometimes an accidental shot will be the best of the bunch.

For my indoor shots in hangars etc.. I usually set up overhead lighting controlled by a rheostat especially when I am using figures to take advantage of the shadows that this produces, which is usually better than anything that I can paint on by hand.Simply underpaint only and play with the light to bring out the detail.In a controlled light setting this works very well.My figures for example look best indoors and in artificial light.Outdoors I have got to work a little harder but either way I am no Shep Paine with painting figures,that's for sure.

To make the scene look like it is all one scale there are a few things that can be played with.Camera angle is one.Low angle shots worked best in this case as it distorts the scale.Out of focus background also helps.Take shots that don't give it away.For example anything that is of readily known proportions like figures in the foreground or windows in the background must be used very carefully.In the above pic for example the fence can come in various sizes in real life but everyone knows the approximate size of a standard door or window from that era.

to be continued.......

Edited August 29, 2011 by JohnReid

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

pics above

Pic 1

-two guys standing in the door is an example of indoor overhead controlled lighting.Of course the painting could be better,especially the faces,but when viewed at a natural viewer distance in its protective case it looks just fine for my purposes.

Pic 2

-special lighting effects for photography can easily be set up.Here for example,the overhead hangar lights have been shut off and I simply shone a hand held light through the door and windows and moved it around to create interesting shadows.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

Well guys and gals after ten years I have finished up my fourth and last aircraft diorama for the Canada Aviation and Space Museum.I will be closing my thread "How to Build Aircraft Dioramas" as that part of my modeling career is now behind me.I have accomplished the goals that I set out for myself all those years ago and I am very satisfied with the way things turned out.

I will be moving on and actually going back to my roots 65 years ago when I got my first electric train set, except this time the new thread will be "How to build Railroad Dioramas ".

It has been a lot of fun and I have learned a lot but there is no sense in keeping this thread alive.To wrap things up I will post some pictures later in a new thread of my stuff on display in Ottawa.

Your not going to get rid of me completely though, as I plan on still lurking around and will soon start a new thread on "How to Photograph Your Dioramas and Vignettes" .

Cheers! John.

[HOLMES]

John

It looks very atmospheric to ME....

[HOLMES]

John

MERRY CHRISTMAS..

HAPPY NEW YEAR ...

HOLMES

[JohnReid]

Having this thread a pinned topic is great and I really appreciate it. Unfortunately over the years moving my pics in photobucket has deleted a lot of them.I would like to restore them now but I haven't been able to figure out a good way to have the pics match up with the proper text. I am however still working on it.

[JohnReid]

I have been very busy lately but I am still planning on restoring all the pics to this thread.

[HOLMES]

Hello John,

Belated HAPPY NEW YEAR..

Are you still going to update with the photos or maybe put a link on here to your photos and work as you did before.

Thank you .

HOLMES

[JohnReid]

Life takes some strange turns,just when I thought I had built my last 1/16th scale diorama, the Canada Aviation and Space Museum is back on my schedule.I have put all other projects aside about a month ago and will now be doing a fifth diorama for them in commoration of the beginning of WW1. So this thread is once again open and I hope you guys enjoy it.Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

Diorama #5 a shadowbox for the CASM.

"The Contenders 1917".

The Camel and the Triplane

When I first started thinking about doing this shadowbox diorama the words "the contenders" immediately came to mind.When I think of fighters (boxers) I think of the famous phrase from a long forgotten movie were one of the characters says, "Ya know I could'a been a contender".This ultimately became the theme of this diorama, human fighters- aircraft fighters.

1917 was also a critical time both for the outcome of the war and aviation in general.Two aircraft were fighting for air superiority over the trenches,the Camel and the Triplane.The Camel figures prominately in Canadian's minds because of Billy Bishop,and the Triplane because of Snoopy and the Red Baron.If I had called it by it's proper name the average person wouldn't know a Fokker Dr.1 from a 747.

1917 was also a critical time in aircraft design history .Fokker was experimenting with a high wing monoplane design that would eliminate all the drag of the external wiring of the biplane.Three wings proved to be pretty much a dead end but the monoplane's thicker wing for increasing lift seemed promising.

The hangar research facility that I am building is from my imagination.The story is a Camel has run out of fuel behind enemy lines and the Germans are retrieving it to take it apart to see if the British side has come up with any new innovations with its later model Camels.Also in the hangar will be a Fokker Dr.1 being examined for wear and tear on its new triplane design.Both aircraft therefore will be without fabric.

The research going on there will be more recognizable as I am planning to do a 1/48 scale Fokker E.V high wing monoplane as a wooden wind tunnel experimental design.Luckily for me the German word for experiment is experiment ! The kit comes with two wings,one I will use on the wooden wind tunnel model, on which will be written "experiment" and the other hung on the back wall with the same wording.That should help the viewer figure out at least part of whats going on.

[phantom]

Looking forward to it!

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

please click on thumbnail for a larger picture and more pics in this series.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

I have decided that instead of commemorating the beginning of WW1 I will be placing it in the museum to commemorate the Battle of Vimy Ridge in April 19 1917 and the aerial war that was fought over the trenches.I will store it here or at the museum until that time.Being a shadowbox there will be nothing to put together that would require my assistance.

This arrangement will also take the pressure off of any time issues and allow me not to rush to complete it.

I am doing this for a very important personal reason as my father-in-law fought and was wounded and gassed at the battles of Vimy and the Somme.He was one of the first "over the top" and out of the trenches at the start of the battle as an officer with the Royal 22nd (Van Doos)Regiment.In honor of that fact I want to dedicate this diorama to him.

Historically,while the battle at Vimy many be just another story from the war, it is very important story here in Canada, as it is said to be the start of our countries independence from the British Empire.

[JohnReid]

Battle in the air

An observer of the Royal Flying Corps in a reconnaissance aircraft

The Royal Flying Corps launched a determined effort to gain air superiority over the battlefield in support of the spring offensive. The Canadians considered activities such as artillery spotting, and photography of opposing trench systems, troop movements and gun emplacements essential to continue their offensive.[65] The Royal Flying Corps deployed 25 squadrons totalling 365 aircraft along the Arras sector, outnumbering the Imperial German Army Air Service by 2-to-1.[65] Byng was given use of No. 2 Squadron, No. 8 (Naval) Squadron, No. 25 Squadron, No. 40 Squadron and No. 43 Squadron, with No. 16 Squadron permanently attached to the Canadian Corps and employed exclusively for observation and artillery support.[66]

Aerial reconnaissance was often a hazardous task because of a requirement to fly at slow speeds and at low altitudes. The task was made all the more dangerous with the arrival of additional German flying squadrons, including Manfred von Richthofen's highly experienced and well equipped Jasta 11, which led to sharp increase in Royal Flying Corps casualties. Although significantly outnumbering the Germans, the Royal Flying Corps lost 131 aircraft during the first week of April alone.[66] Despite the losses suffered by the Royal Flying Corps, the Imperial German Army Air Service failed to prevent the Royal Flying Corps from carrying out its prime objective, namely the continued support of the army throughout the Arras Offensive with up-to-date aerial photographs and reconnaissance information.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

The Hasagawa 1/6th Sopwith Camel to be included in my new diorama

"The Contenders Vimy 1917"

This will not be a review in the regular sense of the word.It is not an "out of the box"kind of build but one where I use this model as part of a larger storyboard shadowbox diorama.

My methods of building are my own and do not necessarily correspond with the normal practice of step-by-step model building.The plans and the instruction booklet that comes with this model will be for reference only.The text will be integrated with the pictures.Things will constantly change as I go along ,and there will be some experimenting as the build progresses ,as this will be a learning experience for me as well.

I haven't built a plastic airplane model in 14 years so I will also have to re-learn a lot of things as well as get up to date with modern building practices.

The pictures will not be professional looking but will be taken at my workbench in real day to day time.There will be mistakes made and a few trips down the wrong path on occasion but that is part of the fun in the creative process.There will be gaps in the build at times when I am researching or building other things for the diorama.I have other threads for these topics that will not be included here.

[JohnReid]