This vignette from the "Keepers of the Flame" diorama depicts three individuals, one military,one ex-military and one civilian. They represent a cross section of society who were responsible for keeping the dream of aviation alive during some very difficult times following WW1.
After the Great War airplanes represented to the public at large, something that they wanted to forget ,death and destruction.A relatively few individuals risked their money and even their lives to keep it going.1918-1927 was the wild and wholly teenage stage of aviation where just about anything was tolerated.It was in all less than ten years long but what a wild ride it was.
Out of work ex-military pilots who just couldn't settle down,who had the love of flying in their veins ,tried to scratch out a living as barnstormers ,stunt pilots or flying the mail.All very risky positions indeed!
On the civilian side ,a young fellow who dared to tell his parents of his dreams to become a pilot, might have just as well have told them that he was off to join the circus.There were only a few far- sighted businessmen who would dare get involved in aviation and their names are all well known to us today.
By 1927 when the first air regulations started to take hold ,the public's attitude was beginning to change.Of necessity this wonderful short-lived period of real "freedom of the skies" was coming to an end and today unfortunately, it is mostly forgotten.
To their memory this Keepers of the Flame diorama is dedicated.

Another pic

Hangar doors and ramp area.
I have added a little more wear and tear in front of the hangar where there would be the most activity, especially when rolling the aircraft in and out.I did this simply by adding more of the dirt from a shaker ,spraying with alcohol and then dropping on the 75/25 water-glue mix.I have left off the wooden planks that would be used for roll out, as this aircraft is obviously not going anywhere soon.They are stashed on the floor on either side of the hangar doors near the wall.
I don't plan to have any junk laying around as most pics that I have seen of German military airfields they are very neat and orderly.(too bad as I love doing junk ).I plan to break this rule a bit by putting a couple of vacated wheel chocks just off to the left of the hangar doors to add a little to the sense of loss, as represented by the crashed aircraft.
On the R/H side of the pic the earth has not been properly blended yet,hence the straight lines.

Always looking for something new....
Hi guys! I have had a lot of great response from an idea that I have had using old radio cabinets to display dioramas.I have made a mock up of the idea using a diecast car but of course this idea could really be used for any genre.
For you aircraft guys please use your imagination and replace the car with the aircraft of your choice.I think that this would work especially well for half type aircraft that were attached to a mirror along the back wall .This would also be a great way to display the half fuselage type displaying the innards of the aircraft itself while still being able to see the flying aircraft in the mirror.I will post a few pictures later to show you what I mean.

Albatros hangar's chimney.
The chimney is temporarily installed.I made it from hard maple dowel, sanding it very smooth so no grain is visible.The roof guy wires will be secured down to eyebolts after I remove the roof for the last time.The chimney is actually in two pieces so the roof is easily removable.The chimney cap was made from an old cigar tubes end piece.I will finish the weathering later.This diorama is now nearing completion.

One of the best I've seen.
is incredible the level of perfection in all aspects.
The construction and ambience are second to none and the presentation worthy of reward.
Work well are those that motivate us to try to get something similar

congratulations

Domi

Thank you Domi for your kind words.Cheers! John.

WOW!!!! AMAZING!!!

ur planes are dune amazingly well and yourlittle details(birds nest and french roundel on the wall) bring a mood to the diorama(i could never do this. at all.) also, i love the the pug dog. i ama proud owner of a very silly one named cricket. so, (this idea just sort of popped into my head) since pugs eat and poop alot, you could either put a wee sprue bone in his mouth or a milliput poo next to the airplane. lol. or, you could stain a small section of the plane dark yellow for that "freshly watered look."

I can't find the words to express my respect for this so very much alive diorama, filled with so much detail and even small dioramas. Congrats for this masterpiece ! G.

Weekend Summery.
To cut down on the posting involved, I will post only pictures during the week and a text summery on the weekends.However,I will respond as usual to any specific questions from individuals.Thanks for your patience.

This week was devoted to the boardwalk and backyard fencing.If you look at the original picture that I am using for inspiration,(the 22year old Mr.J.E. Mair's Chicago row house backyard in 1910),you will see next to the buildings facade the boardwalk that runs the full width of the backyard.I have just started the fencing which surrounds each property.The design I am using here is actually from my own backyard and I chose it because of all the lighting possibilities using the shadows through the slats in the boards.(while under construction this will also make a nice backdrop for pictures of my 1/18th scale old car collection)
I used my usual old barn siding method to weather the wood, which I will repeat here for the newcomers to this thread.I use coffee stir sticks of various sizes and doctors tongue depressors, which I trim and cut to length.Then take a mix of 75% nimbus gray-25% raw umber acrylic paint and add lots of water to the consistency of milk and brush it on.Let dry and repeat as many times as necessary to get the coverage that looks good to you.(I use Jo Sonja acrylic paint almost exclusively as it dries flat)Personally I like the wood grain to show through as it looks more realistic.When dry,take a pin and make a pattern of holes in the wood to represent nails.Twist the head of an HB graphite pencil into each hole and then and then add a final watery coat.This swells the pin holes back level with the surface .When dry,you can add a tiny drop of watery burnt sienna to each nail for a rusty look.(Later you can add burnt sienna chalk pastels to intensify the rusty look if required)Now take an old toothbrush and some very watery raw umber and flick on a very fine spray of crude.After you have finished handling the boards and the structure is built ,you can come back with your siennas,browns grays,and black chalk pastels and play with it until you are satisfied.Pastels can be used to great effect when creating shadows.Just remember to be subtle in your approach to weathering,if in doubt use less not more!

Your eye for photography is awe inspiring to say the least. Truly museum quality John.
rb

More fun with vignettes
While I am working on the early stages of building the facade,I thought that I would put up a few pics of the crashed Albatros sitting in the backyard of the backyard flier diorama.(lots more on my photobucket,look for the Albatros album.)When the backyard is finished with all the landscaping in place,I will submit better pics without clothes lines , bird feeders,porch railings and sun canopies etc... Eventually I will be taking a lot of pics of my 1/18th scale old car collection using this backyard, before shipping it off to the museum.
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"Once upon a time......." Storyboard dioramas by JohnReid.
My photobucket:
http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/JohnReid/