JohnReid Posted 17 June , 2008 Author Share Posted 17 June , 2008 The front panel! Putting the front panel back together for the last time.I have taken a series of pics showing how to take this thing apart and put it back together.It is surprisingly easy if you know how .The landscaping,modules ,hangar walls,roof and rafters right down to the hangar floor can be taken apart in half an hour and put back together in about an hour.(it always takes longer)I would recommend to anyone building a large diorama that you take the extra time to make it easily taken apart. I want to put together a picture package for the museum as I believe that in this case a pic is worth a thousand words. The first pic shows the front area completely taken apart.The next few will show how to put it all back together again. These pics are all located in my sub-album "Construction dio3". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted 20 June , 2008 Author Share Posted 20 June , 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted 20 June , 2008 Author Share Posted 20 June , 2008 New/Old project (the Albatros) I have about 1 to 2 weeks left to finish the Jenny so I plan to set it aside for awhile and re-visit the Albatros diorama for awhile. The Albatros was my first aircraft diorama and I have learned a lot since then about doing the exterior and landscaping.My plan is to put it on a piece of 3/4 plywood and go from there.I will also be building another Albatros aircraft (basketcase )and place it outside the hangar being robbed for parts. Should be fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted 20 June , 2008 Author Share Posted 20 June , 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted 20 June , 2008 Author Share Posted 20 June , 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted 20 June , 2008 Author Share Posted 20 June , 2008 Jig. The kit comes with a nice strong jig something that was missing from the Camel kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted 20 June , 2008 Author Share Posted 20 June , 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted 20 June , 2008 Author Share Posted 20 June , 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted 21 June , 2008 Author Share Posted 21 June , 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted 21 June , 2008 Author Share Posted 21 June , 2008 Remember that the complete instruction booklet for this kit is available for free on the Model Expo website. As you can see from the plans in the initial stages of the build the fuselage is upside down in the jig.If I remember correctly(it was over 7 years ago since I built the first one) there are some minor adjustments to be made to the jig to get the proper flow of the stringers from bulkhead to bulkhead.Not to worry they can easily be adjusted later even after the jig is built. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted 22 June , 2008 Author Share Posted 22 June , 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted 22 June , 2008 Author Share Posted 22 June , 2008 Dry fitting the bulkheads. I spray lacquered the bulkheads and then removed them from the laser boards.If the burn marks bother you you could sand them off before lacquering and then sand off the edges after removal from the laser board.I plan to weather these so I didn't bother. Temporarily dry fit the bulkheads to the jig making sure the oval ones are right side up.(At this stage the aircraft is upside down in the jig)A few of the bulkhead frames will require some additional parts to be glued to them before final assembly .Read the directions carefully. The initial stages of the fuselage build progresses quite rapidly due to the type of construction(monocoque) plywood over frame, which eliminates the need for all those internal wires and braces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted 22 June , 2008 Author Share Posted 22 June , 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted 22 June , 2008 Author Share Posted 22 June , 2008 Surprise! Until I finish the Jenny I will be back and forth for awhile. The blanket is made from two layers of fabric from an old cotton glove.Once fixed on the horses back with a little glue ,I took a thin mix of nimbus gray and water and with a little thinned white glue mixed in, I dabbed the mix on with a brush until wet.This I dried with a hair dryer and dabbed on another coat.I will let this set overnight and finish with pastels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted 24 June , 2008 Author Share Posted 24 June , 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted 25 June , 2008 Author Share Posted 25 June , 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted 25 June , 2008 Author Share Posted 25 June , 2008 I am having the same problem that I had with the Jenny,basically "what to leave in and what to leave out". I would sure appreciate any ideas that you guys may have . While I kind of like the simplicity shown here ,I also have lots of space to add to the exterior of the piece.I even have enough room to add a complete new airplane with wings attached.While I have pretty much lost my fear of landscaping the exterior it is now a question of improving the storyline.This piece was my first airplane diorama and has the weakest storyline of any of the pieces that I have done till now.Two guys looking at the airplane while a mechanic wipes oil off of the engine just doesn't cut it for me anymore.If I add a completely built new airplane outdoors that will look nice but really do nothing to dramatically improve the story.I was thinking about maybe an accident victim being stripped for parts but then again that is just repeating what I did with the Jenny build. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted 25 June , 2008 Author Share Posted 25 June , 2008 Old cars and figures! In my stash of 1/16th old cars I have a 1911 Model T ,a Mercer Runabout and a Rolls Silver Ghost. The Model T frame could be used to make a wagon of some kind,the Rolls a staff car commandeered by the German Air Service and the Mercer I know not what. I figure that the possibility of a Rolls in France at the start of the war could be a good one and of course Model T's were everywhere.Besides what German officer could resist driving a Rolls given the opportunity.(My motto if it could have happened and it fits the storyline ,use it!) There is quite a variety of 1/16th figures available today for modification so I don't anticipate a problem there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KJames Posted 26 June , 2008 Share Posted 26 June , 2008 Hi John, great to see there is likely to be more models, what about making the story line a bit of a mystery, with clues in the diarama. Maybe the plane is damaged and add some clues as to how it got so? An injured observer coming back to look at the plane? Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted 29 June , 2008 Author Share Posted 29 June , 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted 29 June , 2008 Author Share Posted 29 June , 2008 My WW1 modeling bud,Stephen Lawson,kindly supplied me with pics and ideas for the 2nd Albatros.Wow this is just what I was looking for!It adds to the diorama in a dramatic way but does not take anything away from the scene in the hangar.Rather than a front line hangar I can now move the whole thing back to a re-build facility farther to the rear, which fits in better with the main subject being re-skinned in the hangar. I have the option of the damaged aircraft being shot down in battle or a training accident victim.The split in the fuselage right at the cockpit really caught my eye and says so much to me.The whole destruction and renewal theme makes a great storyline,"out of the ashes "so to speak.Thanks again Stephen! Cheers.John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted 29 June , 2008 Author Share Posted 29 June , 2008 I think that I will do this as a derelict that has been towed as is (broken in two & upside down but minus its wings)to a spot just beside the L/H side of the hangar.I haven't made a decision on the wings yet,whether to show them being rebuilt or in the same derelict state as the fuselage although the latter would better fit into the overall theme of the old and the new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted 29 June , 2008 Author Share Posted 29 June , 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted 30 June , 2008 Author Share Posted 30 June , 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted 30 June , 2008 Author Share Posted 30 June , 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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