The Art Of The Storyboard Diorama

[JohnReid]

[Olaf Held]

[JohnReid]

Well here we are back in the engine shop again.The WW1 era Mercedes engine is undergoing a bit of a tune up after being mothballed for awhile after the war.There is lots of surplus stuff like this around now,including pilots and airplanes.For a lot of us it has been a real struggle to stay in business.It seems that hardly anyone is interested in aviation these days apart from its entertainment value.I guess that people are just fed up with war and anything that was associated with it,including airplanes.Even the Wright brothers are having doubts about the whole thing and are saying maybe it was a mistake to help invent such a tool of destruction.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

Ya know sometimes I wonder if I am going to way too much trouble with this diorama to tell a basically very simple story,an airman's return from the war and his continued relationship with his backyard Flyer.At times I wonder if there is enough of a storyline to justify such a huge space.
Rockwell's painting is tight with lots going on ,mine is spacious with little going on.His painting is of a joyous occasion ,my diorama is somewhat the opposite,just a GI and his thoughts for the future.
It is an old story told in many ways before.The split in the road and the road not taken tells of fateful decisions made that change everything forever.
I remember as a child being around men such as these,how important family and just being alive was to them.A lot were great fathers while others were just lost in their memories. I remember how important things like growing a community garden was to them,how they tended those gardens and how everybody respected those tiny spaces .I have included a garden in this diorama for that very reason.
Roads,gardens,airplane it just grew over time I guess.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

Just outside the engine shop they are loading on some of the salvageable parts and pieces from the JN4 to put in storage.Hank the barnstormer is trying to make a little time with Cheryl our wingwalker who is probably wondering why do I put my life in the hands of this good old boy every season ? These wingwalkers are quite a bunch in fact just the other day I received a letter stating "when present wing walker is killed I want the job."

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

Sorry but due to my workload I haven't been able to keep this thread up to date on every website.However you will find the complete story over on :

http://www.theaerodrome.com

[JohnReid]

For a complete tutorial on cracking paint please see:

http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/model ... s-266.html

Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/model ... s-274.html

[JohnReid]

For a complete " How to....."on building a stone wall,my style,please see the above website.

Please note:
Because I contribute to 32 modeling websites of all kinds I have had to pick one to post detailed "how to's...." to.This site happens to be the first site that I happened to contribute to back in 03 .It also has all of my content in one place which will be of great value to me someday when I hope to do an online (free) book about my methods which I will then post to all the websites that have so kindly supported me and my work up in the past.
Because of the type of work I do a lot of my stuff crosses over between different genres. I would ask that if on occasion that I make a mistake and post something on airplanes in a car or RR or ship site( or visa versa ) please be patient and I will try to correct it ASAP. But most of the time I am dealing with" modeling in general "that crosses all boundaries."

I am by no means an expert in anything I do, in fact a lot of the time this is a real time learning experience for me too.A good example of this is what I am posting right now,this is my very first stone wall in paperboard,so you get it direct mistakes and all. I think that the guys that follow my stuff appreciate it more like this .It would be impossible for me to do it like this and post very detail to 32 websites everyday.

Thank you for your patience and understanding ! Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

I will build up in wood the small upper attic window which was probably used for ventilation more than anything else.Small sloping roof rooms on the upper floors were also common in those days.I will shutter the window or board it up,there will be no glass to attract the viewers eye.
These walls look much more natural if you don't attempt to make them too perfect.A queen's castle is something different but for your ordinary turn of the century building you may have to even force yourself to screw it up just a little here and there to give it an increased sense of authenticity.
Example. The bricked up window has very subtle errors built into it like the slightly different horizontal level between the stone and brick wall.
The key here is be be very subtle about it so that it does not immediately attract the viewers eye(like in the deliberately distorted pic above) however, could be picked up after a thorough look at the main subject,which in this case happens to be an airplane but it could be a ship,car,train or whatever the main subject of the piece happens to be.