How I Build Dioramas

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How I Build Dioramas
Topic Started: Feb 14 2006, 10:13 AM (31,564 Views)
JohnReid	Oct 20 2009, 08:37 PM Post #3701
Gold Medal Member Posts: 4,051 Group: Members Member #157 Joined: February 13, 2006



JohnReid	Oct 21 2009, 09:38 AM Post #3702
Gold Medal Member Posts: 4,051 Group: Members Member #157 Joined: February 13, 2006



JohnReid	Oct 21 2009, 10:33 AM Post #3703
Gold Medal Member Posts: 4,051 Group: Members Member #157 Joined: February 13, 2006	I made up the engine support brackets and installed the basic engine.I have started a little weathering using pastels.Later I will be toothbrush spraying a little watery acrylics over the aircraft's wooden structure to age it as well.The fuel tank is next ,then the rad. Doing a under construction build really has its advantages ,as you can quit with the detail anytime you want.Want to put a bracket without a bolt to secure it?Fine,he just hasn't got around to installing it yet.You don't even have to drill a hole cause you can't see it anyway.If I was doing this as a finished airplane my plan for the build would be completely different and much more complicated.All of my aircraft to date have been of the "under construction" type so I get to decide when to stop.This freedom helps to keep me sane!



JohnReid	Oct 22 2009, 02:38 PM Post #3704
Gold Medal Member Posts: 4,051 Group: Members Member #157 Joined: February 13, 2006



JohnReid	Oct 22 2009, 02:56 PM Post #3705
Gold Medal Member Posts: 4,051 Group: Members Member #157 Joined: February 13, 2006	The copper fuel tank is not in its final position but has been lowered to rest on the engine support beam.I left the tank fitting in a unusual place on the tube to indicate this.The fuel tank can easily be positioned higher, to its final gravity feed position ,when all the fittings etc ... are installed.(after he returns from the war) The prop will not be installed because something as valuable as that (if he even had one)would not be left outside. Next?



JohnReid	Oct 22 2009, 07:06 PM Post #3706
Gold Medal Member Posts: 4,051 Group: Members Member #157 Joined: February 13, 2006	Making windows Well I think that I will go back to woodworking for awhile.Ken Hamilton has a great tutorial on making windows which I will borrowing from extensively.It is a really great step by step method using a jig and real glass or plexiglass. The facade will play a secondary role in the diorama but in reality it represents a good portion of the overall work involved.I have to be careful here that I don't get too fancy with the facade.I thought about shutters but it would just be too much.Luckily this is a backyard which would not normally have any anyway. I will build a few until I get tired of it and then return to the flier somewhere down the road.



JohnReid	Oct 23 2009, 11:25 AM Post #3707
Gold Medal Member Posts: 4,051 Group: Members Member #157 Joined: February 13, 2006



JohnReid	Oct 23 2009, 11:52 AM Post #3708
Gold Medal Member Posts: 4,051 Group: Members Member #157 Joined: February 13, 2006	Talk about going from one extreme to another! From aircraft engine to windows.On a long project like this you have got to keep learning something new.Dioramas provide lots of room for learning and is one of the main reasons I do them. The above pic is Ken Hamilton's almost finished window.Mine of course will be an exterior window so therefore will be a little different but basically it will be his methodology that I will be using. Looks simple doesn't it? and I guess like most things it is after you have done the first one but you would be surprised just how much planning goes into it.(thanks Ken) Well here we go!



JohnReid	Oct 25 2009, 05:08 PM Post #3709
Gold Medal Member Posts: 4,051 Group: Members Member #157 Joined: February 13, 2006



JohnReid	Oct 25 2009, 06:16 PM Post #3710
Gold Medal Member Posts: 4,051 Group: Members Member #157 Joined: February 13, 2006	Windows The above pic was taken with a flash so the facade looks washed out. The window jambs have already been installed so I will be required to build each window right on the facade rather than in a jig.I used 1 inch insulation and then wound around a large rubber band in order to get the facade to lay flat .Over the facade I have placed a cardboard sheet to protect the brick and then cut a hole in it for the window to be worked upon.



JohnReid	Oct 26 2009, 10:03 AM Post #3711
Gold Medal Member Posts: 4,051 Group: Members Member #157 Joined: February 13, 2006	Pic deleted by mistake.



JohnReid	Oct 26 2009, 07:24 PM Post #3712
Gold Medal Member Posts: 4,051 Group: Members Member #157 Joined: February 13, 2006



JohnReid	Oct 27 2009, 10:21 AM Post #3713
Gold Medal Member Posts: 4,051 Group: Members Member #157 Joined: February 13, 2006	Thanks Ken!



JohnReid	Oct 27 2009, 11:21 AM Post #3714
Gold Medal Member Posts: 4,051 Group: Members Member #157 Joined: February 13, 2006	The above is a fully working window that slides up and down .I make mine from wood but plastic could also be used.The window panes are 1/16th Lexan that I cut from a sheet and then with a fine blade in my scroll saw,I cut out the rough shape .I then use a small belt sander with fine sandpaper to trim the rest.Any further shaping that is required to fit the panes into the individual window openings is done by using hand sanders. The end on view of Ken's window gives you a good idea of how the whole thing is put together. Edited by JohnReid, Oct 27 2009, 06:57 PM.



JohnReid	Oct 29 2009, 10:46 AM Post #3715
Gold Medal Member Posts: 4,051 Group: Members Member #157 Joined: February 13, 2006	The first test window has worked out pretty good.I may have to revise the design a bit and make only the bottom window movable. In fact they really don't have to move at all for my purposes but for fun I would like to make at least one fully functional .I have left the protective covering on the plexiglass as long as possible but it will now have to be removed to add the center part of the frame the divides the window in two.I tried using Walthers "Goo" to stick the wood frame to the plastic window but I found it too messy to work with so I used very thin CA along the seam which also works well.



JohnReid	Oct 29 2009, 10:47 AM Post #3716
Gold Medal Member Posts: 4,051 Group: Members Member #157 Joined: February 13, 2006



JohnReid	Oct 29 2009, 06:07 PM Post #3717
Gold Medal Member Posts: 4,051 Group: Members Member #157 Joined: February 13, 2006



JohnReid	Oct 29 2009, 07:45 PM Post #3718
Gold Medal Member Posts: 4,051 Group: Members Member #157 Joined: February 13, 2006	Checking the scale! I think that it looks about right.



JohnReid	Oct 29 2009, 07:47 PM Post #3719
Gold Medal Member Posts: 4,051 Group: Members Member #157 Joined: February 13, 2006	Checking the scale! I think that it looks about right.



JohnReid	Oct 30 2009, 06:46 PM Post #3720
Gold Medal Member Posts: 4,051 Group: Members Member #157 Joined: February 13, 2006	Edited by JohnReid, Oct 30 2009, 06:53 PM.



JohnReid	Oct 30 2009, 07:01 PM Post #3721
Gold Medal Member Posts: 4,051 Group: Members Member #157 Joined: February 13, 2006



JohnReid	Oct 30 2009, 07:05 PM Post #3722
Gold Medal Member Posts: 4,051 Group: Members Member #157 Joined: February 13, 2006	I split the large dining room window into two and added a new jamb. The first step in building a window into an already existing jamb ,is to glue in the first runners on the sides and paint. Edited by JohnReid, Oct 30 2009, 09:41 PM.



JohnReid	Oct 31 2009, 10:48 AM Post #3723
Gold Medal Member Posts: 4,051 Group: Members Member #157 Joined: February 13, 2006	Now I have just another 11 windows and two doors to build.The way it is going more time will be spend on making up the supporting cast than the main event! But I expected this,I guess it is a lot like the movies where lots of time and money is spent on scenery in order to make the storyline more believable. I think in future I will do only small 1/16th vignettes a la my fellow modeler Chuck Doan.I will spend more time on detail and less on big scale(size) productions.Four large dioramas is three more than I originally set out to do anyway. The following is an example of Chucks work which I call extreme weathering .A great theme for example ,would be a modern day barn-find of an old aircraft or even aircraft parts, in 1/16th scale.It would give me lots of opportunity to give extreme weathering a try.I really enjoy the weathering process and then taking pics of the detail. In the following example the old barn window tells a whole story in itself.



JohnReid	Nov 2 2009, 06:41 PM Post #3724
Gold Medal Member Posts: 4,051 Group: Members Member #157 Joined: February 13, 2006



JohnReid	Nov 4 2009, 09:00 PM Post #3725
Gold Medal Member Posts: 4,051 Group: Members Member #157 Joined: February 13, 2006	1st upstairs window



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