Another pic

Now I have to figure out how much of this to cover with the tarp.The rear of the engine and the back of the rad are definite candidates as most of the plumbing etc.. is missing.
To have seen action at the front our returning aviator would have to have been gone for sometime,2-3 years minimum I would suppose.In our climate this would make for considerable weathering to exposed areas.The airplane structure tarps could have been removed for his arrival home but I doubt that the engine would be uncovered too.I will just have to play around with some ideas that I have and see what happens!

Another pic

Sometimes the easiest and best solution is staring you right in the face.
I put the flier in the diorama and realized that most of the I am trying to hide is not visible anyway.No sense in wasting a lot of time on something that will never be seen. Instead I will concentrate on what is visible and add a bit more to it, like fittings, piping etc...The tarps, if I show them at all, will have been completely removed or blown off over time.Once the whole thing is weathered it should be even more interesting this way,or at least more fun for me as I love the weathering process.
Speaking about finishing only what is visible,this practice has been well established with shadowbox dioramas, where a lot of what you don't see has never been completed in the round, especially detailed figures etc..

Another pic

I made up the engine support brackets and installed the basic engine.I have started a little weathering using pastels.Later I will be toothbrush spraying a little watery acrylics over the aircraft's wooden structure to age it as well.The fuel tank is next ,then the rad.
Doing a under construction build really has its advantages ,as you can quit with the detail anytime you want.Want to put a bracket without a bolt to secure it?Fine,he just hasn't got around to installing it yet.You don't even have to drill a hole cause you can't see it anyway.If I was doing this as a finished airplane my plan for the build would be completely different and much more complicated.All of my aircraft to date have been of the "under construction" type so I get to decide when to stop.This freedom helps to keep me sane!

The copper fuel tank is not in its final position but has been lowered to rest on the engine support beam.I left the tank fitting in a unusual place on the tube to indicate this.The fuel tank can easily be positioned higher, to its final gravity feed position ,when all the fittings etc ... are installed.(after he returns from the war)
The prop will not be installed because something as valuable as that (if he even had one)would not be left outside.
Next?

Making windows
Well I think that I will go back to woodworking for awhile.Ken Hamilton has a great tutorial on making windows which I will borrowing from extensively.It is a really great step by step method using a jig and real glass or plexiglass.
The facade will play a secondary role in the diorama but in reality it represents a good portion of the overall work involved.I have to be careful here that I don't get too fancy with the facade.I thought about shutters but it would just be too much.Luckily this is a backyard which would not normally have any anyway.
I will build a few until I get tired of it and then return to the flier somewhere down the road.

Talk about going from one extreme to another! From aircraft engine to windows.On a long project like this you have got to keep learning something new.Dioramas provide lots of room for learning and is one of the main reasons I do them.
The above pic is Ken Hamilton's almost finished window.Mine of course will be an exterior window so therefore will be a little different but basically it will be his methodology that I will be using.
Looks simple doesn't it? and I guess like most things it is after you have done the first one but you would be surprised just how much planning goes into it.(thanks Ken)
Well here we go!

Windows
The above pic was taken with a flash so the facade looks washed out.

The window jambs have already been installed so I will be required to build each window right on the facade rather than in a jig.I used 1 inch insulation and then wound around a large rubber band in order to get the facade to lay flat .Over the facade I have placed a cardboard sheet to protect the brick and then cut a hole in it for the window to be worked upon.

deleted pic

The above is a fully working window that slides up and down .I make mine from wood but plastic could also be used.The window panes are 1/16th Lexan that I cut from a sheet and then with a fine blade in my scroll saw,I cut out the rough shape .I then use a small belt sander with fine sandpaper to trim the rest.Any further shaping that is required to fit the panes into the individual window openings is done by using hand sanders.
The end on view gives you a good idea of how the whole thing is put together.

Another pic

I split the large dining room into two and added a new jamb.
The first step in building a window into an already existing jamb is to glue in the first runners on the sides and paint.

Now I have just another 11 windows and two doors to build.The way it is going more time will be spend on making up the supporting cast than the main event! But I expected this,I guess it is a lot like the movies where lots of time and money is spent on scenery in order to make the storyline more believable.
I think in future I will do only small 1/16th vignettes a la my fellow modeler Chuck Doan.I will spend more time on detail and less on big scale(size) productions.Four large dioramas is three more than I originally set out to do anyway.
The following is an example of Chucks work which I call extreme weathering .A great theme for example ,would be a modern day barn-find of an old aircraft or even aircraft parts, in 1/16th scale.It would give me lots of opportunity to give extreme weathering a try.I really enjoy the weathering process and then taking pics of the detail.
In the following example the old barn window tells a whole story in itself.

Something new!
I am doing a series of posters of famous WW1 aces using my photo vignettes.It is something that I thought of while building those windows.