How I Build Dioramas(step-by-step)

Monty's finished! except for a few final touchups under the hangar lights.I haven't figured out where to place him in the diorama yet but he could go just about anywhere.I think that I will put aside the figures for now after having completed 14 of them so far.Now its on to that Mercedes engine! One thing about doing dioramas you certainly never get bored with any one subject.

Here is the plan for the next little while.After I finish Monty's head today and finish weathering the Mercedes airshow car that I started a while ago,I think that I will start furnishing the future engine shop.
This coming winter the plan is to add the engine shop module to the diorama and finish the hangar's electrical wiring.After that is completed I should be ready to start placing things permanently in the main hangar.Hopefully by spring (man plans,
God laughs) the hangars interior and the attached modules will be finished.Then I will have to make the final decision on where to go from there.Everything after that will be modular add ons that can be constructed at any time.I could even deliver the diorama to the museum at that point and work on the exterior modules at home.
Eventually if I go that route,I could add a radio shack,a parking lot for all the old cars,and maybe even an old junkyard out back.
For something a little different I think I will start by building up a beautiful resin Mercedes aircraft engine that a friend of mine developed.The F-1466-3A 180Hp engine from the WW1 era..I have never worked with a resin engine before but it cant be that much different than plastic or metal engines that I am already quite familiar with.
Cheers! John.

My personal motto on dioramas is:
"Buy it if I can,scratchbuild it if I must"

For me it is a question of time.Given enough time most of us are capable of scratchbuilding just about anything.But unfortunately our time is limited .Dioramas are primarily about telling a story.It is the dioramists job to bring all the elements together to tell that story much like the movie director does to make a movie.The director realizes that in order to see his story come to life he has to do more than stand up there at recite the lines.He needs the help of many other artists to achieve his goal.That is why as a dioramist I have to depend on the help of many other artists,whether they are aware of it or not,to achieve my goals.My dioramas are really a cooperative effort of many unsung artists out there who have helped me along the way.
Imagine if I had to scratchbuild a model T Ford like I have just completed or the Jenny airplane or the figures or the many of the other elements that go into a large scale diorama.I would need my lifetime and 2 or 3 more to do it all!
As a dioramist I take no pride in scratchbuilding this element or that and I do it only if I must.In fact I take more pleasure in modifiy others work to suit my purposes.Weathering is something I really enjoy.I don't know why but taking something shiny and new and making it look used and worn gives me a special pleasure.
So when you look at my dioramas(or most of the others that I see out there) give a thought to all those other artists who have made their contribution to what I as the dioramist take all the glory for.
Cheers! John.