How I Build Dioramas(step-by-step)

That's nice John, truly helpful!!!

Bill

The Office Roof

When looking at the painting I have off the Toronto airport of the 30s ,I see a orangry-red roof on the office.I like the idea and besides the diorama could use a little brightning up after all the greys,black and white.The hangar doors are green so the red fits in very well.
I covered the foam board roof with medium grit(for 1/16th scale) black emery paper cut it to size and glued it on.I didnt use plywood for this small roof because the emery when dry is very strong.
Next, I mixed up some white gesso with water about 50/50 and painted it on with an old pigs bristle brush .I use white gesso to brighten up the red topcoat,if I had used black it would be too dull.Remember we are using acrylics that are somewhat transparent.You can use a hairdryer and blow dry the gesso if you wish but be careful not to use too much heat as you dont want to cook the surface(as it may lift off)
I wanted a nice orange-red topcoat ,so I used cadmium scarlet with a touch of pine green added, to dull down the red.(to dull down a color always use the color opposite on the color wheel)
I painted on two coats of a 35% cream consistancy and let some of the white show through ,giving sort of a sun-bleached ,faded appearance.You dont want one solid color.That is the great thing about acrylics,you can play with them like watercolor but they are permanent when dry.
The next step is optional but I took some 600 grit sandpaper and lightly sanded some of the rough areas of the original emery cloth back to black.
The next step will be to apply the sloping grey battens to the roof and finish the edges.Then shade with pastels and flick on some raw umber, and then, the final glory a little white bird sh#t, just to guild the lily so to speak.Cheers! John.

"What moves men of genius,or rather what inspires their work,is not new ideas,but their obsession with the idea that what has already been said is still not enough." Eugene Delacroix.
T

Good stuff, John!
Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

Check this out! This guy has one great imagination.

http://www.ipmsslc.com/gallery/September2004

I love the underwater scene.

Enjoy. Cheers! John.

Ha-ha, that is great!! I kept looking for the water, then the clear acrylic, then finally noticed he is out in the open air!![:0],
Amazing!!!

Thx for that John!!!

Be good & have FUN,
Bill

The office is basically finished now except for the doors and windows and interior furniture.Today I will move on to the opposite side of the hangar and start on the garage that will house the Model T.It too will be a lean-to type structure but without the walls.I plan to leave it as open as possible in order for the viewer to get a good view of the car .This car is a real little gem that deserves to be displayed prominently but like I said before only in its own space and not in competition with the main subject ,the Jenny.
I plan to construct a refueling island as part of this new structure and use a modified 1/18th 1920s gaspump.I plan to use this structure to solve the problem of the opening of the garage door.The door cannot swing in as it takes uo too much space.It cant slide because it would block the view through one of the windows so what I plan is to have it swing out and up using ropes and pulleys attached to this new structure
I have also worked out the basic design of the rear door enterance structure.This structure will not only provide protection from the elements but will also house the "rest room" and wood and coal storage for the stove.(does anyone know if"rest room "would be the proper terminology in the 20s ? as I plan to have a sign over the door).
When these 2 additional modular structures are finished I will return to the furnishing of their interiors.And the beat goes on....and on.....and on.Cheers John.

"The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity.The creative mind plays with the objects it loves." C.G. Jung.

Yesterday was tiring but a lot of fun.I started in the morning with one idea for the garage and by the afternoon I had changed it completely.This is a fun way to do things but sometimes you have to pay by having to re-do some work that you have already done.

I started the garage module by building the floor and attaching it to the main building with two removable screws(same as the office module).I made up a temporary roof for what was to be a lean-to type structure only to discover that if I used this type of sloping roof, visibility into the hangar would be severely restricted.So I threw out the lean- to idea and will go with a simpler structure and will split the garage doors vertically on the centerline and have them open outward.
The floor of the module has been re-designed and will now slope up into the hangar.I will now have to hand carve this slope into the already glued up module.If I had know where I was going in the beginning, I could have cut these pieces by machine and saved myself a lot of work, but I really enjoy kind of winging it as I go along.This does make for more work but is a lot more fun.
I placed all the major components back into the diorama and worked a little more on composition.I think that I will bring the airplane closer to the front with the prop almost at the front hangar doors.Because the Mercedes show car is so large I will have it standing along the rear wall with the airshow trailer sign.The 2nd basketcase fuselage will go ,at an angle,along the L/H wall.The wings will be placed along the other walls or stowed in racks from the ceiling.
Because the dioramas storyline is centered on a Rememberance Day ceremony there will be little activity going on in the hangar.Just a bunch of ex-WW1 fighter pilots standing around talking.I will therefore confine tools etc.. to the workshop.The Model Ts tire will be undergoing repair but I havent yet figured out exactly how I will depict this.Stayed tuned..............
Cheers! John.

"The position of the artist is humble.He is essentially a channel."

Piet Mondrian.

Thank you very much for sharing your experience and knowledge.

I really enjoy sharing this stuff with you guys as its only your peers that really understand and appreciate your work.Cheers! John.

Where and how to depict the Model Ts tire change is not as simple as it sounds.I originally thought that I might back the car into the garage door and have the front tire being serviced on the module completely out side the hangar.Although this action is taking place within the modules reality/fantasy border of the buildings foundation walls it is outside of the main hangar walls which may present a problem .I wanted the windows and doors of the diorama to act as portals to any action going on inside.The external tire change idea may break the magic. I think that I can get away with the car being half in and half out the garage door, as the garage doors do form a visual barrier on both sides of the car sort of creating like a shadow box portal.I want the doors and windows to invite the viewer to look inside without too many external distractions,so I have also eliminated the external gaspump idea as too attention grabbing.I want to keep the exterior pretty drab looking as compared to the warm interior glow that I plan for the inside.The only exception being a few weathered signs and maybe a windsock on a pole over the office roof. All exterior colors (black,white,grey and red) are subdued and weathered.Now its on to planning the rear door entrance/rest room/coal storage module.
Cheers! John.

"Ah,but I was so much older then,I'm younger than that now."
Bob Dylan.

I spent most of yesterday designing and cutting out the foamboard for the rest room/backdoor/coal storage module.After cutting out the basic panels I cut in the doors and windows and even a small coal shute.There are four wall panels plus an interior wall for the restroom and a ceiling panel.Next I cut out the sloping roof panel and sides.I temporarily fit all the pieces together and fastened them with pins.With some minor adjustments it all fit together quite easily.
Using foamboard is really the way to go if you can get away with the extra 5mm thickness.On a small ,single board thickness wall, it may make the wall look too thick but for most purposes it works just fine.In some areas such as the main hangar walls, I sheathed the foambord on both sides.On other areas I sheathed only the external side and in other areas such as internal ceilings, where there is little danger of crushing the surface ,I just painted it.It holds its shape very well and paints easily.Just use a gesso undercoat and topcoat with acrylics.On the hidden side of the ceiling I did run a few strengthening battens but I dont think that this really is necessary for interior walls or ceilings.
Be sure that the foamboard you buy is not warped as it is difficult to straighten properly.On the small module roofs I glued the garnet cloth directly on the foamboard using white glue ,and purely by accident the drying glue curved the surface just enough to give it a nice sag. Keep in mind that generally you would not want this, so it maybe a good idea to add some battens to the opposite side or holding the roof flat,while the glue dries.I made up some false roof joists where the ends show just at the edge.The roof will be removable for lighting maintenance.
Cheers! John.

"To live a creative life,we must lose our fear of being wrong."

Joseph Pearce.

Thanks, this is a great help

Your welcome Thanato,Somebody suggested that to solve the warp problem ,to glue the garnet to the foamboard and put it between 2 flat surfaces to dry.Sounds good to me.Cheers! John.

Thanx for the info.
CFR

Good morning guys! Well yesterday I went back to complete module 2s sheathing with boards.Today I will start painting it grey and do some weathering.I have decided to incorporate the garage doors into the module instead of hanging them on the main structure.This way I can avoid working hinges that dont seem to always work too well anyway.These doors will never be moved and they are not used as a dust shield like in the Abatros diorama.I can fake the hinges and when properly fit you wont be able to see any difference.I have built a small ramp out of hard maple that acts as a transition floor between the garage and the hangar floors.The model T will sit half on this transition floor and half on the garage module itself so that when I attach the module the car is half way into the hangar yet it is still basically a part of the module.
For some visual interest I think that I will make the doors from plywood sheet instead of individual boards and I will paint it green, the same color as the trim and hangar doors.The only thing that I may add is a handrail around the edge or maybe just a post for the door handle to be hitched to.Otherwise it will be quite plain looking in keeping with its purpose of drawing the viewer into the scene.I kind of like these half open doors as they act as a sort of "reveal" as in a shadow box.
Today I will take some pics if everything goes as planned.
Cheers! John.

"No amount of skillful invention can replace the essential element of imagination."
Edward Hopper.
This

Until I learn how to post pics on a site without a browser,my latest diorama pics can be seen at

http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com

go to Discussion,Dioramas,"How to......."

Cheers! John.

This is a lot of fun to do.As far as I know ,I am the first one to take what the doll house guys and gals(miniaturists) do, and the dioramists and shadow boxers do, and bring them both together to create something like a 5 sided shadow box in one self-contained unit.
I got the idea after attending a miniaturists show many years ago.The larger scale appealed to me and the fact that you could put many years work into just one piece working in all of the details.
It is almost like building the real thing.Years ago someone told me that the secret to all of this was, to concentrate on the single piece that you are doing each day as it was a sculpture in and of itself.Then when you put all these little scuptures together into one big piece, you will be happy with the results.Sure there are some parts that are really boring to do, but I have talked to other artists who do detail work, and they complain about the same thing.Wildlife artists paint each hair ,bird sculpturers carve,texture ,burn and paint each feather.(one of my former hobbies).For all the boring jobs however, there are those moments that we all live for when we have a new idea or a new way of doing things.The very act of creation is what ,in the end, keeps you going.In fact ,after awhile you cant live without having this creativity in your life.
I figure that I have about another year to go to complete this project.This is the fun time now when you start actually putting things together for the final time,knowing that anything you add now will be staying there.It is also a time when you really have to concentrate on composition.(That is why my figures will remain headless until I figure out their final position and how they will relate to one another.)Often I will just sit back and try to figure out where everything will go.Then I will try this or that and sometimes hours are spent just on re-arranging things.In the end, it is the little things that make all the difference.(For example the spilled nuts and bolts on the floor of my Neiuport diorama, which came about purely by accident.)These planned ideas or" Happy Accidents" are what gives a piece that magical quality.Guilding the lily so to speak.For me,this quiet time alone concentrating on composition is more productive than all of the actual building time.
Cheers! John.

The figures in my latest diorama are all by The Model Cellar.They are great 120mm figures ,very clean and with super detail.They specialize in WW1 fiqures and offer other scales too.They come in pieces and are not painted. They can be adapted to different poses using epoxy putty.I used them as is, except for the barons figure, which I converted to a 20s barnstormer by modifying the uniform and using the helmeted head.
I painted mine using Jo Sonja acrylics over thinned down Liquitex gesso.
Their email:
http://www.modelcellar.com
Cheers! John

In the belief that a little cross-fertilization is good for us all,I have joined the Railroad Line Forums.This is a super resource for anyone doing dioramas,scratchbuilding or modeling in general.These guys are masters of the scenic diorama and have been doing it for a long time.There is much to be learned from the RR guys.
In regards to my present project,the hangar doors are finished and I have begun to paint them green ,the same color as the trim and main doors(Pine Green).
I changed my mind and decided to add more visual interest ,by sheathing the doors both inside and out with popsicle stik boards.The exterior was divided horizontally into two sections and the boards placed at 45 deg running in opposite directions, as you often see on barn doors.The interior boards are laid horizortally so that they direct the eye towards the interior of the hangar.
The next step will be to permanently fasten down these garage doors to the module and fake the hinges.I will also have to decide the final position of the model T and provide for it to be fastened down to the module.
Cheers! John.

"The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery."
Francis Bacon.

My Stuff;

http://www.wwi-models.org/Images/Reid/index.html

Thanks for posting this, John. It's a really informative read.
You're the first Montrealer I've come across here, although I know there must be some others kicking around.

Thanks buff,good to hear from a fellow Montrealer.Looks like its going to be a good winter to hunker down and build. Cheers! John.

Maybe I am carrying this cross-fertilization thing too far but if you guys would like to see a diorama that took me 15 years (about 6000 hrs shoptime) to build go to :

http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery/misc/sail/victory-72-mr/victory-index.html



Cheers! John.

Hi guys! I thought that it was a good time to post the Victory pictures in that it is now 200 years the other day ,since that epic battle took place.It was probably the most decisive battle in naval history and ended Napoleons plans to conquer the world.

Indirectly it was this battle that got me into modeling.When my dad was off to war for 5 years ,I was raised by my grandmother who was a late Victorian and always spoke of the sea,Nelson and the sun never setting on the British Empire.She would take me for walks along Lake Ontario's shores ,in a city that is filled with naval history ,Kingston ,and that is how I fell in love with the sea.

Thirty years later,I passed a hobby store window and although I was ,at the time ,almost totally immersed in aviation,I just had to build the HMS Victory that I saw there.At the time I knew nothing about old ships but I was soon to learn.

I think that I will post a new thread on what are your earliest memories that may have sparked your future interest in modeling?I am sure that there must be some interesting stories out there.What or who sparked that interest that made you the modeler that you are today?
Cheers! John.

My Stuff:
http://www.wwi-models.org/Images/Reid/index.html

http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery/misc/sail/victory-72-mr/victory-index.html
This post has been edited by John

John,

As always, it's great to see your work.

I especially like the action scenes on the ship.

Regards,

Thanks Drew,I am glad that you enjoy it.I sure have fun making them.I find that the figures really bring it to life.Cheers! John.

I am presently finishing off the garage door/Model T module.Everything in wood has been weathered using my standard method of acrylics followed by pastels .
I made up some wheel chocks and will drill some holes in them that will provide for a black wire that will run down through the floor to secure the Model T to the module.
The garage doors are finished and awaiting final positioning, these will be secured to the module floor with small dowels.The only other thing that I will add to the module will be a couple of posts to hitch the swinging doors to.The door hinges will be fake as they are not operational nor are they even attached to the hangar.
I am undecided about if I should weather the car now or leave it until final installation.The cars left front tire has been left hanging over the sloping ramp so that no jack is required to change the tire.I may leave a wrench or two in this area if it is not too distracting. There is lots of room around the car for sight lines into the hangar, and the doors sort of act as a shadow box reveal, inviting the viewer to look inside.
Cheers! John.

"And let's get one thing straight.There's a big difference between a pilot and an aviator.One is a technician;the other is an artist in love with flight."
E.B. Jeppesen.

page 1&2 of the Travel Air story are now up.

I have now finally finished the Garage module and have begun working on the rear entrance door/WC/Coal storage area.Unfortunately, I am back to sheathing the walls, inside and out, with those good old popsicle stiks and tongue depressors.Not my favorite job, but I hope that this is the last of it on this project.After designing the area and cutting out the foamboard pieces,I think that it will make an interesting addition to the diorama.This rear hangar area needed some life as it is mainly just a large barn wall.I plan to hang some interesting signs but in keeping with my KISS plan for the outside,that will be about it.The sight lines through the doors and windows are somewhat limited but I think that there is enough there to keep the viewer interested.
I dont know if I will furnish the WC or not.Maybe i can find a dollhouse fixture that may work.This is not meant to be an outhouse but a septic system so I dont have to worry about it being too close to the lunchroom area. Maybe I will add a small grated area for heat. Cheers! John.

This is the area;

http://www.arcforums.com/forums/ind...showtopic=70057
(last picture on page)
__________________

"Travel Air D4D, Labor Of Love"
I am doing a series of articles on how my dad,myself and a wonderful artist/craftsman by the name of Al Pow remanufactured a 1929 Biplane.Pages 1-7 are now up over on ;

http://www.arcforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=70029

                                           or
http://www.largescaleplanes.com
see Forum,then Off Topic

Cheers! John.

Just checking in!