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| How I Build Dioramas | |
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| Topic Started: Feb 14 2006, 10:13 AM (31,563 Views) | |
| JohnReid | Feb 21 2006, 10:27 AM Post #26 |
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Gold Medal Member
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I have been working on my antiqueing techniques which is great fun.I have found that the subtle use of baking soda gives a real cool look to rusty surfaces.The secret seems to be,as with most acrylic techniques,the ample use of water in the mix.Not enough water and your brush quickly becomes unusable.When I was teaching how to paint bird sculptures to my students, one of the hardest things to get across was, the use of lots of water to keep your paint transparent and how to build up layers of thin paint to achieve depth.When I speak of washes I mean paint of almost a skim milk consistancy.You dont want any opaque layers blotting out your previous work.Example:On a metal surface you have applied your black gesso,your thin rust layers,then your baking soda corrosion but you decide that a nice raw umber wash would tone things down and bring your colors together.A little too heavy a wash here and all your hard work will be ruined.As one of my fellow bird carvers used to say "when in doubt,thin it out".Cheers! John. |
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| JohnReid | Feb 21 2006, 11:34 AM Post #27 |
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 Jenny in her jig. |
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| Deleted User | Feb 21 2006, 08:15 PM Post #28 |
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I'm really impressed, at first I thought it was a pic of real birds, awesome work, Ben |
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| JohnReid | Feb 22 2006, 08:30 AM Post #29 |
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Smaller scales I was just over on the www.wwi-models.org website and it never ceases to amaze me how much I admire the work you guys do in the smaller scales.I have done ships in 1/72 but for some reason I just cant seem to get my mind around doing airplanes in that scale.I guess we all have our niche in modeling, where we feel the most comfortable.Beleive me I have tried a few times and have never yet completed a model.I will go to a show and say Wow! I would reall y like to do this,buy a kit,give it a try and run out of patience,put it aside and go back to 1/16th. Biplanes in 1/72or 1/48 are such little jewels of craftsmanship in my opinion.The level of detail that you guys go to is unbeleivable."Modeling for God" seems to be routine.At these scales a diorama is not even necessary, as the work can stand on its own as a testament to craftsmanship.All modeling is "just putting a bunch of parts togrther".Wood ,plastic,kit or scratch,whatever it doesnt really matter.The art is in HOW you put them together.When I look at a piece of art, I can feel the love that has been put into it.I guess it is just the way we artists communicate.It is in the "paying attention to detail" where the secret lies, in my opinion.Most people go through life ignoring the beauty all around them.Artists dont,they see beauty in the details.Most people really never see a flower,seeing takes time.We as artists,take the time.Like someone said ,dont look for miracles they are all around you.Models ,especially in the smaller scales, are the results of artists/craftsmen taking the time to really get to know there subjects.Like a flower they are easily overlooked but take the time and really look and you can feel the power of the creativity that went into them.Cheers! John. ______________ |
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| JohnReid | Feb 22 2006, 08:59 AM Post #30 |
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Someone asked me to repeat this post again; Weathering boards,again After the boards are washed with 2 coats of nimbus grey and 2 coats of raw umber,make pin holes for nail positions on the boards(any pattern you like)If the wood is too hard you can brush on some clear water to soften the wood.Use a pointed grafiteHB pencil or softer and twist tip of pencil into the pin holes.Fill each hole with watery burnt sienna so that the wood swells back again and the pin holes will disappear.Shade edges with medium grey pastel.Randomly shade light grey into the centers of some boards.Flick on some watery raw umber with your trusty toothbrush.If things get too brownish shade again with light grey pastels or flick on some nimbus grey.Play around with it until you are satisfied with your antiqueing technique.There is no need to overcoat but if you do, use matte acrylic spray.Personally I leave it as is, as I find that the raw wood looks the best.My diorama will be going in a plexiglass case at the museum so I am not worried about dust or crud buildup on the exterior.Cheers! John. __________________ It has been said that the difference between a "pilot" and an "aviator" is that a pilot is a technician,and an aviator is an artist in love with flight. JohnReid (Aviator) |
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| JohnReid | Feb 23 2006, 06:43 PM Post #31 |
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Building the roof.
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| JohnReid | Feb 23 2006, 08:27 PM Post #32 |
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The following few posts describe work that was done about 9 months ago.The roof has long since been completed but I thought that you guys may like to know how it was built. The roof is 1/4 plywood, finished with a couple of coats of a 2/3rd laquer ,1/3 thinner mix.the interior side was painted nimbus grey with a couple of coats of very thin raw umber.Holes were drilled and screws were used to secure the roof to the trusses. I divided the roof area up into squares(approximately)and then laid down individual sheets of emery cloth ,medium grit.I prepared the emery cloth with 2 coats of laquer which I brushed on with an old pigs bristle brush.Over the laquer I brushed on the gesso coats of black and white with the same type of brush.The emery cloth can be broken down into squares using a metal ruler.Medium grit seems about right as it leaves a rough surface that is visible even through the matte finish.I believe that the roofs were tarred in those days so the finish seems about right.The final step was to glue down the emery paper using carpenters glue.I have decided to use battens with rusty nails to complete the roof.When brushing on the white gesso try to leave an uneven suface as it looks more natural.So far I have completed 4 squares.Cheers! John. |
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| JohnReid | Feb 23 2006, 09:13 PM Post #33 |
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| JohnReid | Feb 23 2006, 09:52 PM Post #34 |
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As you guys know who have been following this thread,the theme of my "Memories of Flight School" diorama is about a bunch of WW1 pilots getting together on Rememberance day ,Nov 11, sometime in the mid 20s at the local airfield.There are both U.S. and Canadian pilots standing around the Jenny and telling war stories. All these pilots had flown the Jenny Canuck or JN4D early in their training.The local airport manager has directed that a sign be made up honoring these brave men. I made the sign yesterday from things I found on the Internet.The welcome to our...... sign was made off of my computer (not bad for an old guy,eh!) and the bunting and ribbons are paper sprayed with Laquer and then glued to a cloth backing.I still have a few touchups to do and maybe a rod for the banner to hang from.Do you like the lettering or do you think that I should change it? Cheers! John. |
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| JohnReid | Feb 24 2006, 10:24 AM Post #35 |
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| JohnReid | Feb 24 2006, 10:50 AM Post #36 |
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Todays pic was taken last summer .The roof truss assembly has been removed and the roof panel is just laying upon the wall panels.The checkerboard roof battens are being laid down and weathered.The small round avgas sign is now re-made to be twice the diameter.The flying services sign was made up on my computer.In the top R/H corner you can see the carpenters workshop walls.Just above the sign on the front panel is a small opening which allows for roof ventilation.I plan to make the grating removable so that when you look inside you can see all of the trusses etc.. along the backwall I plan to put a dedication plaque to my father which will only be viewable through this opening. |
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| JohnReid | Feb 24 2006, 08:50 PM Post #37 |
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The Roof cont...... Now that the roof is mostly finished ,it is time to break out the weathering materials,the acrylics and pastels. I washed on very thin coats of raw umber over all the previously painted nimbus grey wood areas.I then took out my trusty toothbrush and flicked raw umber spots on the black as well as the white checkerboard pattern.You can add a little of the nimbus grey to the mix if you want the weathering of black areas to be more visable. I then took some medium grey pastels and shaded the areas between the battens and the sandpaper roof.If you make a mistake and lighten an area too much remember you can always go back over the area with black pastels again to darken the area if need be.Experiment with different shades of grey with black to get a nice blended-shaded transition. Each nail(or pin) is then given a dot of burnt umber gesso followed by a coat of burnt sienna.I used to paint around each nail hole with watery burnt sienna but I find a better method is to take a small brush and a tiny amount of burnt sienna pastels and shade the wood around the nail holes so that they look rusty.You can even have some of the rust run down onto the black and white roof for greater effect.It is really worthwhile working to weather the roof properly as this is a very noticable part of the diorama besides its lots of fun and very rewarding to look at when finished.Cheers! John. __________________ It has been said that the difference between a "pilot" and an "aviator" is that a pilot is a technician,and an aviator is an artist in love with flight. JohnReid (Aviator) |
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| JohnReid | Feb 25 2006, 12:04 PM Post #38 |
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The building of the old girl herself "Jenny the Airplane". Over the next little while I will be posting pics of the building of Jenny the airplane. As you guys probably know I contribute to 14 diferent websites relating to the building of dioramas some airplanes,some cars,some mixed and one RR site. Because my dioramas cover all aspects of diorama making I havent really selected what to post where and I dont want to become my own self-imposed censor.At the same time I dont want to tread on anyones toes by posting airplanes in car dio sites or vice versa.The RR site seems to be very open to this. If anyone is uncomfortable with this please let me know and I will try as best I can to operate by your wishes or quit posting altogether. I will not go into great detail about how i built the airplane as that info is available on http://theaerodrome.com where I have run a thread since the begining of this build.Most of what I plan to post now will be pictures of the Jenny build with brief explanations of what you are looking at.For more detailed info you can go to the Aerodrome site. I hope this meets with everyones approval.There is no hidden agenda on my part I just love dioramas of all types and I want to promote their making anyway I can and to give back to a artform that has given me so much pleasure over the last 35 years. Cheers! John. |
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| JohnReid | Feb 25 2006, 12:28 PM Post #39 |
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| JohnReid | Feb 25 2006, 12:50 PM Post #40 |
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This is Jenny in her fuselage jig. The fuselage sides were built flat on a piece of waxpaper over the plans. The jig was assembled and then the cross pieces added.Towards the tail you cab see where I have begun the internal bracing wires.Note :the turnbuckles were made a little oversize for this diorama piece otherwise they would hardly have been visible.(a little artistic licence)The multiple crosspieces on the bottom longerons are where the cockpit floorboards will rest. |
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| crazyhorse | Feb 25 2006, 04:34 PM Post #41 |
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John, I've read this entire thread, & I must say, that I've picked up several scratchbuilding tips. Regardless of the subject, good building techniques can be used. I hope you continue to post this awesome build. While airplanes, aren't what I do, This is IMPRESSIVE work, and I'm glad to be privy to it's progress. |
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| JohnReid | Feb 26 2006, 11:43 AM Post #42 |
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I know that these next few pics will probably be of interest only to the diehard fans, such as myself, of wooden airplanes, but here goes anyway. Before I post these I will bring you up to date on the Jenny dio. I have worked out the plan for the lighting of the main structure.There will be 11 light fixtures to illuminate the main hangar floor.I hooked up one light to see how bright it is and 11 should do the job OK. in my research I have noticed that the bulbs were often left visable with the fixture actually acting as a reflector and not a shade.A reostate is a necessity in this case as the bulbs will burn too bright otherwise spoiling the whole effect.These bell type fixtures are my own design and not something that I have seen in pics as of yet.They are sort of a compromise solution to the over-scale bulb and socket problem.I am using 12 volt sockets and screw-base bulbs set in a wooden holder and cemented in using stove and gasket cement.I tested the bulbs for any excessive heat buildup and the whole arrangement seems OK. The next step will be to wire the hangar for lighting and yet make the roof assembly easily removable for maintenance. Does anyone have experience wiring old buildings? Were the wires run inside metal tubing of some sort in a hangar/workshop type of structure? Now on to the pics! |
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| JohnReid | Feb 26 2006, 11:45 AM Post #43 |
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Thank you crazyhorse! I am glad you are enjoying it. Cheers! John. |
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| JohnReid | Feb 26 2006, 12:02 PM Post #44 |
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| JohnReid | Feb 26 2006, 12:28 PM Post #45 |
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In this pic the fuselage is starting to take shape. The longerons are held in the jig using pieces of elastic bands.This is a very sturdy arrangment but not that easy to work around.Note the splice in the longerons wrapped in cord just forward of the four vertical jig peice.The floorboards are in and the seat railing on the R/h side has been installed.The internal bracing continues. Those who are not all that familiar with wooden airplanes are usually amazed at how flimsy these wood members look at this stage.But believe me when are the wire bracing is in place this is essentially a very strong design.I have seen many pics of crashed Jennys which proves this to be true. |
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| JohnReid | Feb 27 2006, 11:10 AM Post #46 |
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| JohnReid | Feb 27 2006, 09:48 PM Post #47 |
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| JohnReid | Feb 27 2006, 10:13 PM Post #48 |
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This is Jenny upside down in a homemade jig,having the next main structural component,the undercarriage, installed. The dio just grew a little more today when I found a 1/16th scale 1919 Hispano Suiza racecar at the local hobbyshop.I had gone to pickup some metal tubing for the wiring and I just couldnt resist.This will make another great showcar for the dio.All I have to do now is find a place to put it.That makes 2 airplanes,4 classic cars(plastic & diecast) 2 Harley motorcycles and a trailer so far.Plus the hangar and all the modules.This is getting out of hand! |
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| Deleted User | Feb 27 2006, 10:24 PM Post #49 |
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Looking awesome, really looking forward to your next installment, excellent work, Ben |
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| JohnReid | Feb 28 2006, 10:48 AM Post #50 |
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