Again, a GREAT project! Kudos.

Thanks Michael !

The rubber part of the wheel will be weathered with pastels at the end of the build.

The pic is slightly out of focus but you get the idea.This soft rubber is very hard to get a smooth surface on.A little roughness is good for my purposes as I weather mostly with pastels.

I was looking at a series of pics last night of HMS Victory my first storyboard diorama .It was in the " walkaround " style and when you clicked on the pic twice it enlarged the image to an almost microscopic extent.Wow ! wouldn't I have loved to have a tool like this in the old days .All my research in those days was in libraries and snail mail and it was not easy to find.I do not regret doing it the old way as I learned a lot about shipbuilding in general.I spent about 6,000 shop hours building that model in 1/72 scale complete with figures going about their duties on board.I am sure that you could almost double that time considering the research I had to do.
It was nice to have lived through that transition period as it gives me a real appreciation for both eras of modelmaking.It also helped me get over the barrier of scratch building stuff as there was no other choice.

Looks like fun ! But mine will not be quite as pristine as I plan to weather mine as an old airplane being examined after many hours of wear and tear.This should fit in nicely with the German research facility theme.

These pics were taken from not very high quality photographs so the quality will vary a lot.I am using them for some preliminary planning purposes only.
Note: I am always looking for 1/16th stuff ,I was wondering if anyone could suggest something now that Trumpeter armor is into 1/16th in a big way. Cheers ! John.

I have always admired your work and this is no execption. Well done Sir!
J

thank you for you kind words J

OK,just to sum up where I am now with all this.
Diorama #5 a shadowbox for the CASM.

"The Contenders 1917".
The Camel and the Triplane

When I first started thinking about doing this shadowbox diorama the words "the contenders" immediately came to mind.When I think of fighters (boxers) I think of the famous phrase from a long forgotten movie were one of the characters says, "Ya know I could'a been a contender".This ultimately became the theme of this diorama, human fighters- aircraft fighters.
1917 was also a critical time both for the outcome of the war and aviation in general.Two aircraft were fighting for air superiority over the trenches,the Camel and the Triplane.The Camel figures prominently in Canadian's minds because of Billy Bishop,and the Triplane because of Snoopy and the Red Baron.If I had called it by it's proper name the average person wouldn't know a Fokker Dr.1 from a 747.
1917 was also a critical time in aircraft design history .Fokker was experimenting with a high wing monoplane design that would eliminate all the drag of the external wiring of the biplane.Three wings proved to be pretty much a dead end but the monoplane's thicker wing for increasing lift seemed promising.
The hangar research facility that I am building is from my imagination.The story is a Camel has run out of fuel behind enemy lines and the Germans are retrieving it to take it apart to see if the British side has come up with any new innovations with its later model Camels.Also in the hangar will be a Fokker Dr.1 being examined for wear and tear on its new triplane design.Both aircraft therefore will be without fabric.
The research going on there will be more recognizable as I am planning to do a 1/48 scale Fokker E.V high wing monoplane as a wooden wind tunnel experimental design.Luckily for me the German word for experiment is experiment ! The kit comes with two wings,one I will use on the wooden wind tunnel model, on which will be written "experiment" and the other hung on the back wall with the same wording.That should help the viewer figure out at least part of whats going on.

A worthy addition to your prestigious work Sir!!

Congratulations and please do gratify us with info and above all pics of further steps!

Thanks for sharing!!

Cheers

Romain

Thank you Romain.I will be posting here till the end of the build.

I have decided that instead of commemorating the beginning of WW1 I will be placing it in the museum to commemorate the Battle of Vimy Ridge in April 19 1917 and the aerial war that was fought over the trenches.I will store it here or at the museum until that time.Being a shadowbox there will be nothing to put together that would require my assistance.
This arrangement will also take the pressure off of any time issues and allow me not to rush to complete it.

I am doing this for a very important personal reason as my father-in-law fought and was wounded and gassed at the battles of Vimy and the Somme.He was one of the first "over the top" and out of the trenches at the start of the battle as an officer with the Royal 22nd (Van Doos)Regiment.In honor of that fact I want to dedicate this diorama to him.
Historically,while the battle at Vimy many be just another story from the war, it is very important story here in Canada, as it is said to be the start of our countries independence from the British Empire.

Battle in the air
An observer of the Royal Flying Corps in a reconnaissance aircraft

The Royal Flying Corps launched a determined effort to gain air superiority over the battlefield in support of the spring offensive. The Canadians considered activities such as artillery spotting, and photography of opposing trench systems, troop movements and gun emplacements essential to continue their offensive.[65] The Royal Flying Corps deployed 25 squadrons totalling 365 aircraft along the Arras sector, outnumbering the Imperial German Army Air Service by 2-to-1.[65] Byng was given use of No. 2 Squadron, No. 8 (Naval) Squadron, No. 25 Squadron, No. 40 Squadron and No. 43 Squadron, with No. 16 Squadron permanently attached to the Canadian Corps and employed exclusively for observation and artillery support.[66]

Aerial reconnaissance was often a hazardous task because of a requirement to fly at slow speeds and at low altitudes. The task was made all the more dangerous with the arrival of additional German flying squadrons, including Manfred von Richthofen's highly experienced and well equipped Jasta 11, which led to sharp increase in Royal Flying Corps casualties. Although significantly outnumbering the Germans, the Royal Flying Corps lost 131 aircraft during the first week of April alone.[66] Despite the losses suffered by the Royal Flying Corps, the Imperial German Army Air Service failed to prevent the Royal Flying Corps from carrying out its prime objective, namely the continued support of the army throughout the Arras Offensive with up-to-date aerial photographs and reconnaissance information.

John,

Awesome modeling!

My respect to your father-in-law.

A minor suggestion as to the converted wagon/aircraft transport.

I have seen the same thing done with converted farm wagons using an old auto frame - If the steering tie rod is behind the front axle the farmer would unbolt the axle from the springs and turn the axle around so the tie rod is in front. They would then weld or bolt some sort of angle brace to the mid-point of the axle to act as a hinge for a fabricated wagon tiller. (Very much like the pull handle on a child's radio flyer wagon) then they would weld up some sort of crude connector to link this hinged tiller to the car's steering tie rod.

A man in front could thereby steer the wagon as the rest of the crew pushed it into position. A vertical acting hinge also needs be added to the tiller as well as some sort of "T" handle for pulling.

In the end these were made heavy enough that the tiller could also be used to tow these converted wagons with a tractor.

I mention all this simply b/c it might be an additional piece of detail you might choose to add.

Best Regards

Mike

p.s. If this is to be a farm wagon pressed into service at the aerodrome then it might be a heavy beamed wagon as the one you are in the process of building but if it is to be a purpose built conversion then the ground crew would probably build it as lightly as posssible for moving aircraft around. (Just a wooden U channel up the middle for the tail wheel and a couple of short planks with stop blocks for the main landing gear.

Thank you for this Mike.Because this is a shadowbox where some things will never be seen by the viewer, some details will not be built.I will build everything to a certain point and determine the amount of detail later.

This is where I am so far.