How I Build Dioramas(step-by-step)

We must ask ourselves:why would an otherwise reasonably normal person forsake the pleasures of family,garden,TV,bowling,hunting,fishing,sailing,b arhopping,vacationing,fixing faucets,and playing poker to sit for years at a time,hunched over a cluttered workbench,squinting through an Optivisor,fashioning tiny bits of plastic(or wood)into what eventually emerges as a miniture representation of a long-extinct piece of machinery which few still recall and about which fewer give a damn?

The most rewarding goal is psychic satisfaction:knowledge that the finished product really is good-reflecting the best you had within you.Sure,it was an epic struggle,but it came out well,and now you can rest upon your laurels for awhile.You go out and lie on the hammock all afternoon(or until the bugs find you);rent a few old movies(Test Pilot,Men With Wings,Dawn Patrol-the usual fare);go to the zoo.But before long,the old urge begins to return(no,not that one,this one)and pretty soon you are back at the workbench,happily wailing away on your next masterpiece.

John Alcorn from his book ,Scratchbuilt! A Celebration of the Static Scale Airplane Modellers Craft. Cheers! John.

__________________
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)
Guide my hand in your work today.

When I put the cylinders and engine block together I found that the contrast in values of color too great so in order to bring the colors closer together I finished off the cylinders with the same raw umber-matte medium -silver wash as I used on the block.Hope this makes sense. to be cont......

For excellent illustrations of aircraft and aero engines go to http://www.griffwason.com click on Aerospace.