How I Build Dioramas(step-by-step)

Yesterday ,for something a little different i began to paint "Harley" the company mascot.He is a Bull Mastiff breed of dog with a dark face& biege body.I am using the pewter casting that I found in a dollar store as the basic model.He is in a sitting position, so I plan to have him sitting in an office chair, with the office manager standing beside him, and both of them looking through the door at the action taking place in the hangar.
I have had quite a lot of experience texturing surfaces to make them look like feathers or fur using a high speed rotary shaft so I added texture here and there as required.I sealed the casting with my standard laquer plus thinner mix and then brushed on a couple of thin coats of brown gesso.I am presently working out a pallette of Jo Sonja acrylic colors.
As you probably already know, I have painted the military type figures for this diorama but I will be painting many more cilivian type figures in the future.When I get to that stage I will give you guys a step-by- step method that I us for painting them.
The more I think of the expanded diorama idea that I mentioned yesterday, the more I like the whole idea.It does not mean that I will not be doing other dios in between ,such as finishing off the classic car radio cabinet dio,it just means that the "Memories Of Flight School " dio will be an on going project.

JohnReid wrote:

The checkerboard roof: Over the 1/4 ply I glued on, with carpenters glue ,squares of medium emory cloth that I cut out of 8x10 stock. I painted each square with white or black gesso about 75/25 gesso to water.Do not paint on too thick as you want to retain the roughness of the cloth.You can see that I have started to lay down the wood battens.Nothing has yet been weathered. The sign is one that I made up from my imagination and I have since doubled the size. Note:Why the checkerboard pattern? In the early days of flying the mail,pilots had little navigation equipement and what they had was totally unreliable.Compasses were often off 90 degs.They therefore relied on there sight to navigate from point to point usually along railway tracks(the iron compass) of rivers etc... Railway stations often painted the towns name on the roof and the local aviation field may have had a checkerboard roof on the hangar to help guide the pilots. As a point of interest on just how crude flying in poor weather could be,pilots in order to clear known objects on the ground ,such as transmitter towers etc.. would pull up into the "soup" ,count to 30,and let down the opposite side.No wonder that it was called the suicide club. Cheers! John.

 

Even as recently as the 1950's, Boy Scouts in Arizona made a huge sign in the ground east of Mesa that spelled "PHOENIX" with a large arrow pointing the way to help pilots find Phoenix, which was way smaller back then than it is today. This sign is still visible today near Mesa.

Beautiful diorama so far! Someday, I'll build one myself.

 

 

 

 

Here we go again! I was looking thru one of my Time-Life aviation books today and saw an old radio shack picture with old telephones ,radios etc..etc... in it and said to myself, that would make a great addition to my "Memories of Flight School" diorama.It would require me building another module add on.In fact, I like the idea sooo much that I am thinking of this kind of being the never-ending project.If I plan now I can provide for many more add ons ,such as machine shop ,car garage and storage area(which would solve the hangar space problem) or whatever I can think of.
I am 65 now and because we never know when we may be going to the "Happy Hunting Ground" this would be a perfect way to end my modeling career, without ever ending my modeling career, if you know what I mean.
I can build these add ons as seperate units waiting to be added on ,whether the dio is here or at the museum.I have lots of ideas about this and now is the perfect time to plan for it.The dio can be called finished at any time, once the main structure is finished, but it never really would be finished as long as I can keep building.The only provsion that I will have to make will be for some of the major components to be removable (cars,trailers,airplane parts and pieces) in the future so they can be moved to other modules as I go along.I am very excited about this whole idea.What do you guys think?

The workshop interior from above.Note:the floor has been laid at a 45deg angle for visual interest.The walls facing the hangars interior have been insulated with cardboard.some shealing has been installed.everything has been weathered with  acrylics and pastels.Since this pic was taken I have added a large work table and most of the furniture and tools.Just the stove requires permanent installation and finishing.

The workshop from a different angle.The door opening along the hangar wall is where the enterance to the rear entrance /WC/coal storing area is now.At this point I hadent yet thought of the modular additions to the main hangar structure.The large screws will be removed eventually as the workshop will be one complete module.The ceiling joists will be removable much like the rafters in the main hangar are now, for ease of maintenance.Through the workshop door you can see some shelving and also the windows facing outside.These have now been stocked with various items that would be found in any woodworkers shop of the era.The central theme in the workshop is the finishing of that second scratchbuild propeller I built when experimenting with various glues.(keep things long enough and eventually I find a use for them)In the diorama story,the prop is shown getting its last few finishing coats of varnish.

Looking down thru the rafters at the Jenny in its jig

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Now back to the Workshop Module

In this pic you can see the beginning of the general arrangement of the workshop.The office module has not yet been thought of so there has been some changes.Where you see what looks like a bookcase is now a window/heating opening to the office.On just the other side of that wall I have punched through the office/hangar door opening.
The heating /cook stove is temporarly in place in one corner and the walls behind the stove have been insulated with brass sheet.All the walls facing the exterior have been insulated grey cardboard,battened and weathered with acrylics and pastels.Some of the overhead shelving has been installed.
I havent yet decided if I should leave a portion of the workshop roof off for viewing or should I cover it completely.I also have the option of just putting in the ceiling joists.(remember I have left a viewing hole in the hangar roof so the workshop floor can be made visible if I want to do so.)What do you guys think would look best?

From an earlier post,on making leather seat cushions.
The seat cushions were made from kleenex tissues about 1/4in thick,soaked with a thin mix of carpenters glue and water.I then put them in a microwave oven for about 30 seconds until they puffed up and were dry.They were then laquered and painted.I used brown gesso and then a biege acrylic paint put on in thin layers and rubbed with my finger until they had a leatherly look.Then I subtlety weathered the whole assembly with brown,grey and black pastels.

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Here is something I came across some years ago on recovering our sense of creativity.

About School:

He always wanted to say things.But no one understood.He always wanted to explain things.But no one cared.So he drew.
Sometimes he would just draw and it wasnt anything.He wanted to carve it in stone or write it in the sky.He would lie out on the grass and look up in the sky.It would be only him and the sky and the things inside that needed saying.
And it was after that ,that he drew the picture.It was a beautiful picture.He kept it under the pillow and would let no one see it.
And he would look at it every night and think about it.And when it was dark,and his eyes were closed,he could still see it.
And it was all of him.And he loved it.
When he started school he brought it with him.Not to show anyone,but just to have it with him like a friend.
It was funny about school.
He sat in a square,brown desk like all the other square,brown desks and thought it should be red.
And his room was a square,brown room.Like all the other rooms.
And it was tight,and close,and stiff.
He hated to hold the pencil and the chalk with his arm stiff and his feet flat on the floor,stiff,with the teacher watching and watching.
And then he had to write numbers.And they werent anything.They were worse than the letters that could be something if you put them together.
And the numbers were tight and square and he hated the whole thing.
The teacher came and spoke to him.She told him to wear a tie like all the other boys.He said he didnt like them and she said it didnt matter.
After that they drew.And he drew all yellow and it was the way he felt that morning.And it was beautiful.
The teacher came and smiled at him.Whats this? said she.Why dont you draw something like Kens drawing? Isnt it beautiful?
It was all questions.
After that his mother bought him a tie and he always drew airplanes and rocket ships like everyone else.
And he threw the old picture away.
And when he lay out alone looking at the sky,it was big and blue and all of everything,but he wasnt anymore.
He was square inside and brown,and his hands were stiff,he was like anyone else.And the thing inside him that needed saying didnt need saying anymore.
It had stopped pushing.It was crushed still.Like everything else.

Today I hooked up the lighting in the office module.I put a ceiling fixture in the center of the ceiling and a nice brass lamp on the desk.I hooked them up to a 12v transformer and voila what a difference.Lighting really makes this type of diorama come to life.These dollhouse fixtures have screw in type bulbs which are readily available and easy to change when they burn out.I plan to make a switchboard where I can light up the individual modules or the whole thing.I am really looking forward to taking pics with the various intensities of lighting and from one area to another.I was at a miniaturists show years ago and what really struck me was a model where you could look from a dimly lit room into a brighter room and how it just gave a whole new sense of space and mood to the piece.
I am glad that I broke up the windows into small panes as it really makes for a more dramatic effect and does not obstruct the view.v

The workshop after sheathing the walls.I thought that I would go horizontal here for visual interest.The windows are now 8 individual panes.The only finishing was a couple of thin coats of nimbus grey over the bare wood.Later pics will show it weathered with raw umber, washed and flicked on, and chaulk pastels of black ,browns and greys.

Well things are slowing down to a crawl building the office module.Yesterday I made an old brass office clock out of bits and pieces I had lying around.Today I made an old candlestick telephone and put in the wiring for the telephone and some aluminium tubing for the electrical wiring.The office desk ,chairs,cabinet,table and radio are all ready for installation.
I plan to put one figure,the office manager and the dog in the office module.I think that I will have both dog and man looking through the door into the hangar to see whats going on.
All my figures, other than the central military party , will be looking in towards the action.Its not every day that you get to see a group of WW1 aces having a great time telling war stories of their days flying the Jenny!

This pic shows the start of the workshop module in foamboard.Unfortunately ,I didnt take a pic of the base that the walls of the workshop attach to, but it is basically the same as the main building, only smaller.I planked the floor at a 45deg angle for visual interest.
Note the Jenny Canuck aircraft fuselage sitting in its building jig.One of the lower wings has been placed on the floor, on blocks, to give me an idea of clearances and where to exactly place the aircraft in the diorama.Although it is a large diorama, space is somewhat limited .I have yet to add another Jenny JN4 fuselage(with wings in racks along the wall) a airshow stunt car,a Model T Ford,2 Harley motorcycles and a airshow advertising trailer.
There will eventually be about 20 working light fixtures attached to the hangar horizontal crossbeams.The hole above the hangar door will serve 2 purposes ,one as a shuttered, fake hole for roof ventilation, and when opened up ,as a viewing hole where I will place a brass dedication plaque to my aviator father,
Group Captian J.W. (Windy) Reid, (D.F.C.(U.S.A.))to whom I owe my love of aviation.Cheers! John

The above 2 pics were taken at a very low sun angle to emphasize just how rough the sheathing is.Otherwise it would be too flat looking and not as interesting(another example of artistic licence)On the thinner tongue depressor boards, that you see here, they will warp like this just by painting your watery acrylics directly on the bare wood(do not seal the wood beforehand) With thicker woods such as popsicle stiks you can achieve the same effect by boiling them in hot water for awhile.Be prepared to lose 25% of the boards to extreme warpage if you boil them.All sheathing boards were painted prior to installation otherwise there is a great probability of the entire panel warping.What you see here is a couple of coats of Nimbus Grey.Later I will wash on some Raw Umber and begin my nail hole technique which I will explain later.This sheathing and weathering of such a large structure is long and painstaking but it is worth the effort in the end.I set aside most of one summer to do the job(cold beer helps)

The empty shell of the the hangar is now awaiting the installation of the removable workshop module, which is built up the same way with foamboard & wood sheathing.It was designed to be removable for maintenance purposes,bulb changing etc..

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This is the completed L/H side on the roof (without weathering).There is a strip yet to add along the roof line.The garage entrance module has since been just about completed ,and the windows are now 12 individual panes instead of 4.The hanger door side racks still require some additional bracing which will be added later.As you can see the roof sign has been doubled in size.Through the garage doors you can just see the bottom of the workshops siding.The rear entrance/WC module is still in its early stages.

Weathering wood:
I have found that using pastels is reall y the way to go when weathering wood to look like old barn siding.I use basically 3 colors.Black,medium grey and burnt sienna.
I prepare the raw wood(usually birch stir stiks)with a couple of thin washes of nimbus grey acrylic paint .Then a couple of washes of raw umber letting most of the original wood pattern show through.
I then do just about all my shading with the subtle use of the pastel colors.I like to shade in areas where dust and crud would gather such as in corners or between the boards.Here you will have to uyse your imagination or take examples from real life.
I am using small pins as nails for the battens on the roof that I am presently constructing ( see: http://www.wwi-models.org Galleries,JohnReid) I paint each nail head with a dot of burnt umber gesso followed by a coat of burnt sienna(for the rust)over that I use a subtle amount burnt sienna pastel for a rusty wood look.
Take your time,be subtle in your shading and you should be able to achieve great results.Cheers! John.

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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)