How I Build Dioramas(step-by-step)

The above pics are of my first diorama the Albatros ,the Red
Knight or Red Baron's ,(as he has come to be known), airplane.He has always been associated with the triplane but he actually had most of his time and victories in the Albatros.
The hangar is a rather flimsy looking affair but from my research that is the way they were.I think that maybe it had something to do with mobility and range of aircraft in those days.As the front moved I think that these airfields were designed to move with it.Nobody expected it to bog down into trench warfare.These were little more than aircraft sheds.
The first pic is of the hangar buttoned up .The hole in the roof is for viewing purposes only.Note the roof patches and wooden battens.The roof line is warped and overall it is a pretty miserable looking structure.
The 2nd pic shows a interesting hangar door arrangement where the center panel becomes a ramp of sorts..The little pile of wood you see near the R/H swinging door are planks that would be used as a runway to be placed over the central door in order to roll out the aircraft.
The r/h side of the hangar is plexiglass for viewing but in real life another hangar(#3)
would be joined to the side. Each aircraft had its own shed.
The aiplane is a modified 1/16th kit ,as are the figures.Most of the rest is scratchThere is nothing very difficult here.If you can build a wooden box you can build this hangar.I used mostly tongue depressors and coffee and popsicle stiks.The signs I got off the internet.
Where this piece is a little different from most is that I had the idea of bringing together what the dollhouse miniaturist does and the modelmaker and making a large scale diorama, that tells a story, in a historical setting.
Please give dioramas a try.Yes they do take a little longer but they are fun and interesting to do and the whole world and its history make unlimited subject matter.
Cheers! John.

Recently I have been making a few tarps for my latest dio and I thought that maybe I should pass along my way of doing this.
Basically I use kleenex because of its very fine weave and workability.
First I get a piece of waxpaper and tape it to a piece of card,then I cut out the kleenex using a new #11 Xacto blade.
The number of layers of kleenex you use will depend on how thick you want it.Usually for tarps or canvas they are a lot thicker than rags.You will just have to experiment a little here.
Place the cutout piece of kleenex on the waxpaper and soak it with a mix of 20% yellow carpenters glue and 80% water.Dont worry if it initially crinkles up.Now take a soft brush and gently push some of the unwanted crinkles out toward the edges.Some you may want to retain for effect.
Take a hair dryer and gently blow warm air over the wet kleenex until it is not dripping wet.Take your wet kleenex and place it on whatever you are trying to cover.With your soft brush give your tarp weight by shaping it over the contour of your piece.Be sure to observe real tarps to see what I am talking about.When you are happy with the shape continue to dry the kleenex until it holds its shape.If you let it airdry overnite there may be some shrinking.
When it is thourghly dry you can spray it with a matt spray laquer if you want.(Although the glue mix will act as its own sealer.)
You can now do your magic with pastels or watery acrylics.
If you want a color other than the glues natural off white color you can add acrylic water color to your glue mix.Just be sure to add the color to the water before you mix it with the glue.