How I Build Dioramas(step-by-step)

Mercedes 180 HP engine build.

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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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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)

Mercedes / Lighting?

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I have cleaned up ,washed and glued the two engine halves together using exopy and CA on the edges.Be sure to line up both the top and bottom halves so the bolts look lined up as above.
I plan to paint this engine with a brush only(although I do have an airbrush handy) just because I enjoy the plaeasure of painting by hand.
For a great resource on this engine and many others check out the book "Scale Aircraft Drawings Vol 1" by Air Age Inc.

I plan to light my Jenny diorama using a Radio shack 120v60hz transformer.I had begun to wire the rafters using model train hobby wire but I find that it is just too fragile so I was wondering if 24 gauge speaker wire could be used instead.I plan to run this wire from the transformer to a reostat(so I can control the intensity of the lights) and then to the individual light sockets.The light sockets are wired with the lighter hobby wire.Would this create a problem using 2 different gauges of wire? How many 12volt,65MA bulbs could I run off of this transformer.The actual wording on the transformer says:
SEC.6.3-6.3V 12A Radio Shack PRI.120V60Hz
Thanks!

In the above pic you are looking down upon the top of the engine block.The recessed areas are cut in to receive the cylinders.They are in the casting and not cut in by me.On the bottom of the bottom cylinder(in the pic) you can see where some material has yet to be removed to fit into the blocks recesses.
The instructions recommend two sided tape to dry fit the cylinders .I think that I will use small pins.Temporary dry fitting is necessary because of the linkages that are required between the cyliders must be installed before final gluing.
The cylinders are very well cast with only a very small mold line that can easily be removed.
I painted the block with silver to which I added a touch of black gesso.As long as I have something silver and shiny at this point I am not to concerned about getting the colors just right.Everything has yet to be weathered with washes of acrylic and pastels.

Here I have dry fit the cylinders to the block using small track pins.I anticipate that this should work better than 2 sided paper(I hope) because I will be able to rotate the cylinders to position them ,as well as bend the pin a bit to keep everything straight and at the same time hook up the plumbing between the cylinders and then use super thin superglue around the bottom to attach them to the block.
I oversized the holes for the 4 clamps that fasten down the cylinders to the block on the real engine.Experience has taught me to do this now rather than wait until the cylinders are in place ,because of the limited workspace.The two holes on the end couldn't be enlarged due to lack of material ,so I will shave down the clamp shaft instead.

I disassembled the cylinders and block and painted the cylinders black gesso above and silver with a little black gesso added below.I reassembled the engine for the picture and now I can disassemble it again and begin the plumbing between each cylinder starting with #6 at the rear.This plumbing is a small piece of aluminium tubing.The more detail builders may want to replace the tubes with a scratchbuilt part.I plan to build this engine as it came in the kit, as my engine will not be handheld but in a diorama viewed through a window, so too much detail would be just wasting my time.

The pic above is somewhat distorted due to my scanner. The plumbing between the cylinders is finished.I made new aluminium sleeves that are slightly larger than those supplied for ease of fitting on to the resin stubs.Everything was touched up with black gesso.
The next step is to install the 4 stirrups at the base of each cylinder which securely fasten the cylinders to the block.
The bottom row of holes in the side of the cylinder is where the fibre support tube will be installed.The top row is for the spark plugs.Note: on the right side of the engine the spark plugs are not on the center line of the cylinder but more towards the rear.

I decided to install the L&R fibre support tubes next.The holes in cylinders 1 and 6 side were drilled deeper to accomodate pins that hold the fibre tube to the side.I also drilled the holes deeper in the fibre tube where the sparke plug leads will enter into the fibre tube.Larger holes were also drilled into the end of each tube for the 6 wire leads to the distributor.
I will now paint this assembly and permanently install it.

While I still have easy access to the area,I decided to do a little weathering using pastels.With a soft fine brush I simply scrubbed a little black and grey pastels into the low spots and corner areas.Now I'll do the fibre tubes.

Now back to the big picture for a moment!
This pic basically encompasses Phase 1 of the "Memories of Flight School" diorama.The main hangar ,the outbuildings and attached modules.The red roof building is the future radio shack/dispatch area.The attached building on the L/H side of the hangar is actually now a garage door/ramp area that allows better viewing into the main structure.Phase 2 (if I decide to do it)will be a 2nd hangar,garage and tool shed as seen in the larger pic to follow.At present I have 2 airplanes,14 figures and 8 cars and trucks planned for installation.The figures are finished,as are 2 cars and 1 truck and 90% of the 2 Jenny airplanes.
I don't want to have a huge front ramp area, as I want the main hangar doors to act like a stage for the diorama and the central uniformed WW1 pilot group ,with little outside distraction when viewing from this angle.I feel that both sides and back of the main hangar can be developed into parking lots with a junk yard out back.(lots of great possibilities for weathering) I am not a great lover of a lot of flora and fauna in my dioramas(or even in my bird sculptures for that matter)but being an airport I don't feel that I need a lot of that anyway.
I have made some minor changes to the storyline as I now will have 2 parade cars in the dio.The original Ford model T and a RR touring car to accomodate all the passengers.In the parking lot there will be various airshow cars as well as trucks(all modified from various 1/16th model diecasts and plastic kits)
I will finish the main hangar and modules first and then the rest on an add-on basis.
That's the plan so far.Should be fun!
Cheers! John.

Phase 2

In the interests of not leading anyone astray
Please note:that the stiffups at the base of each cylinder should be horizontal to the top of the block and not at an angle as on my engine.I would under normal circumstances get out the old un-cure at this point and fix it but in this case when it installed in the diorama it really won't be seen.
I have temporarily installed the fibre tube for the spark plug leads but I will not install the plugs or the wiring at this time.This would probably be one of the last things to be done on the engine during its re-build and I may show this being done in the diorama,with plugs and wiring on the workbench.(For further info please see Martin Wolf wonderful build of this engine at www.wwi-models.org)
Martin took a multi-media approach and used this resin kit as a base for a lot of scratchbuilding.
Next its on to the carb intakes and air box.