How I Build Dioramas.

[JohnReid]

A few notes.
Modifications and possible scratchbuilding.
My usual way of doing things is to dive in and modify or scratchbuild as I go along.No "modeling for God " here ,if it can't be seen I won't build it.Ex: I would like to scratch the pilots seat but with the wings strapped to the side will it even be seen?Can't decide till I get there.
A lot of parts are obviously overscale ,even some of the wood dimensions. I will be checking it out.But you have to be careful with a kit as it is designed to be built using the stuff they supply.Change something now and it affects something later which is usually completely unforeseen.On occasion I will point out some problem with a part and go ahead and use it anyway.There are a lot of compromises that you have to make when building a large diorama on this scale.
Yes ,your best effort should be put into every piece you make, but you also have to know when to stop.Otherwise instead of 5 years it would be 20 and I have a lot more diorama stories that I would like to tell.

[JohnReid]

Laser cut birch plywood parts are extremely strong and show very little grain, which is great for our purposes, however they do have some burn marks especially on the edges.I usually sand this off with a sanding stick and then seal the part using lacquer ,either a spray or by dunking the part in a bottle of 1/3rd lacquer and 2/3rds lacquer thinner .This is very important if you don't want to have glue marks marring your wood.(The laser cut wing ribs will be treated a little different but for now it is important not to remove them from the board.)
F3 comes in two pieces, which are now glued together ,I use small clothes pins for clamps.

[JohnReid]

A note on jigs!
This is the first time that the manufacturer has not supplied a laser cut jig for assembling the fuselage.Although not completely necessary ,it was a good place to start(especially for a beginner)The kit does supply drawings for a few jigs but you must build your own.I think that this is a step backward for first time modelers who may have been expecting that everything was in the box.On the plus side, it is clearly stated in the instruction manual available on their website, that "jig parts are supplied by the modeler".They do however supply what looks like a nice metal stand that can be rotated when working on the basic fuselage.
Win some,lose some, I guess!

[sydeem]

The hammer next to the OX5 engine - kit, doll furniture or scratch?

Appreciated your suggestion to stain before removing the laser cut parts. Wish I had heard it before doing my wings. Getting a little lost between Camel and OX5 references. F3? You might want to start more than one thread?

Just for fun I drop back to your Photobucket every now and then for inspiration. Keep posting.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

The hammer next to the OX5 engine - kit, doll furniture or scratch?

Appreciated your suggestion to stain before removing the laser cut parts. Wish I had heard it before doing my wings. Getting a little lost between Camel and OX5 references. F3? You might want to start more than one thread?

Just for fun I drop back to your Photobucket every now and then for inspiration. Keep posting.

It is dollhouse stuff from the UK ,expensive but really nice stuff.My motto is buy what you can and built what you must,the storyline is the most important thing about dioramas.

[JohnReid]

[hot ford coupe]

Gee whiz, john. That's some fantastic dio work. Even the garbage in the pails looks real. That's a great touch. I also wanted to mention that one of your figures looks just like George Patton.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

Gee whiz, john. That's some fantastic dio work. Even the garbage in the pails looks real. That's a great touch. I also wanted to mention that one of your figures looks just like George Patton.

Man ! you have a good eye.It is George Patton I used a Model Cellar resin casting and changed the uniform.

[JohnReid]

This is the almost finished L/H side of the diorama.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

Advertising the air races from under the carports roof behind the air show car.I have put different things such as this for the kids to find.There also will be four animals to discover of which the horse Comanche will be the easiest and the cat Chester the hardest.In addition to Harley the dog there will be Hooters the barn owl in the roof rafters.

[sydeem]

Details - Clearly its all in the details that make the diorama tell a story. Wish I had the real estate to experiment with dioramas. It sounds like fun.

[JohnReid]