How I build dioramas Part 2

[JohnReid]

The other thread is getting a little long and I am starting a new project so I decided to start a new one.This thread will concern the finishing of my 1st diorama of the Albatros airplane and hanger, complete withnew figures.The hanger and its contents were basically finished 7 years ago but I have learned so much about building from working on my last two dioramas that the first one now looks unfinished to me.
I am planning to finish the exterior with landscaping ,figures and another Albatros airplane(basketcase) being robbed for parts.
I will start with the airplane build for now.Here are the plans......
(I will be adding to the original thread until the Jenny diorama is finished)

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

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?

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

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.

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

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.

 

[JohnReid]

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.

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

This is Stephen's diorama on the subject.I plan to do mine much the same but rather than being a recent wreck mine will have spent some time outside getting nicely rusty and weathered.I will probably put some kind of a makeshift sled under the engine to make it look like it was dragged off the field as is and just left to be stripped of parts.

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]