Jump to content

How to Build Aircraft Dioramas


Recommended Posts

Because parts of this Camel kit are essentially already painted I will try to take advantage of this by roughening up the shiny plastic surface to give it more of the texture of wood and also prepare it for the pastels.(pastels will not stick to a shiny surface)I have experimented with different sandpapers etc.. and I have found that a very fine needle file works best for getting in and around the detail.Some fuzzy residue will be left behind but when I wash it down with an abrasive cleanser (Comet)it will be removed.It is a long and tedious job but it will be essential for this experiment to have a chance to work.

If I decide to use acrylics after all the roughened surface will ensure that they stick as well.

Link to post
Share on other sites

It is important throughout a shadow box build to check every once in awhile to see how things look under what will be the principal lighting source.In this case it will be somewhere from above but the final positioning will made only late in the build when the composition is finalized.

Link to post
Share on other sites

There is a certain freedom and responsibility involved when working on a museum piece.The freedom comes in knowing that once it is in the case it will be subject to the best conditions possible and also will be maintained in the future. Therefore the use of some materials such as pastels is a realistic consideration,

knowing they won't be handled a lot in that setting.

Also painting figures is a lot easier when scale distance,lighting and angle of view can be established ,especially in shadowbox work.

The responsibility lies in making sure that only the finest materials are used and that they will stand up to what can be the very polluted atmosphere of an enclosed case.To be on the safe side I have recommended that they allow for some air exchange.

Metal is especially subject to corrosion so I seal it well and try not to use incompatible materials together.

I have had a mixed media HMS Victory in a ventilated case for almost fifteen years now without any problems with corrosion or dust.Also the only material I used that doesn't have long standing durability record is a little super glue on the rigging.(I have since developed an allergy to it so that hasn't been a consideration for awhile now.)

Link to post
Share on other sites

About a month ago I began building the new 1/16th Sopwith Camel for inclusion in my latest diorama for the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa.It is my first plastic model airplane in about 15 years, during which I was working mostly in wood.Therefore I will be re-learning some old techniques and experimenting with some new ideas I have for finishing plastic to look like wood.Cheers! John.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Because parts of this Camel kit are essentially already painted I will try to take advantage of this by roughening up the shiny plastic surface to give it more of the texture of wood and also prepare it for the pastels.(pastels will not stick to a shiny surface)I have experimented with different sandpapers etc.. and I have found that a very fine needle file works best for getting in and around the detail.Some fuzzy residue will be left behind but when I wash it down with an abrasive cleanser (Comet)it will be removed.It is a long and tedious job but it will be essential for this experiment to have a chance to work.

If I decide to use acrylics after all the roughened surface will ensure that they stick as well.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I will put the composition back together now in order to see what parts of the Camel will actually be seen from a shadowbox perspective.There is no sense in building stuff that will never be seen.It did that when I built the Nieuport shadowbox and wasted a lot of time.At the time I was not planning to make it a shadowbox but I have some really nice pics of it from 360 degrees from before it was boxed up,so it wasn't s total loss.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...