Now that I am coming to the end of the 10 year adventure of building the WW1 aircraft trilogy of storyboard dioramas,I am thinking of something new.
Although I have used a lot of license in these builds I now would like to do something based in reality but would be mostly a fantasy piece.
The above picture gives you the reality part but the fantasy will be from my own imagination.
In this my fifth storyboard diorama I want as much freedom as possible to do my own thing.
What I want to do is put myself back in time to when aviation was young,before it became so connected with warfare and transportation and rules and regulations.Back when it was still a fun thing to do but only a dream in most peoples minds.
I want to put myself back in those days and fantasize about building my own backyard flyer.
I would have probably read about the Wrights and would have actually seen an airplane fly at a local exhibition ground.Then and there I would have promised myself that I too would fly someday.I have heard that the Wrights would sell you some plans and maybe even one of their marvelous new 30 HP engines.
I have some woodworking skills and I have tinkered around with a Model T Ford so that will be a help.But where to build it?Being young and having a lot family obligations my only option is my own backyard.(when winter comes I will build a tent, I guess.)The kids will probably not be happy losing their backyard and I will have to ask the lady next door if she doesn't mind if one of the wings hangs over her fence.
I also have some ideas about the wing warping thing that I would like to test out ,although I am hoping to use a wing of similar design to the Wrights.Single engined pusher,pilot up front,bicycle wheels,.............

The above ribs are laser cut and part of the Model Airways kit.Other than being able to say it is "totally scratchbuilt" I just couldn't see the point of cutting these all by hand.Recently it has become common practice among some scratchbuilders ,to contract out this operation to laser cutting firms .I have no problem with that at all,who wouldn't want to avoid this boring task.
Most of the rest of the kit I will not be using at all but the wood stock will come in handy.The plans , instruction booklet and building jig will be helpful for the basics but I will be extensively modifying them all for my own use.It does however give me a good place to start.

Interesting Wright Flyer build web site.
Hear and see the Flyer's engine running and a video on wing warping plus lots of other interesting stuff.

Wright Brothers 1903 Flyer - Full Size Reproduction

Cheers! John.

This is an interesting concept for a box diorama.My adaptation however would be on a much larger scale.I like the idea of an enclosed courtyard although it does cut down a lot on the viewing angles available.
Another problem is that I am used to having a lot more control of the lighting aspect ,although I am getting more comfortable with using natural light since I expanded my last to dioramas by using a landscaped exterior.
There is however lots of opportunity for lighting the buildings interior but in this case there is nothing too exciting about row housing windows.Decisions,decisions......

Changed my mind!
In keeping with my WW1 theme I have changed the storyline of my next 1/16th scale aircraft diorama.
The focus now will be around 1918 when an airman in uniform has just returned from the war to his hometown backyard.He is standing there hand in hand with his son looking at his backyard flier project that he was working on prior to his military service.
I want to title it "Loss of Innocence,Will It Ever Be The Same."
The "loss of innocence" theme is central to both the history of aviation itself and the man.
The flier will be as he left it partially under tarps and weathered ,with the grass etc ..grown around it,almost like the family considered it bad luck to change anything while he was in the military.A recruiting or victory poster on a telephone pole (and a few other things that I haven't thought about yet ) will be included to help the viewer with the storyline.
The exact date and country ,I haven't nailed down yet.I have done German,American and Canadian themes to date maybe a British theme would be in order.