Dioramas in 1/16th scale.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

Sticking leaves to a flat surface where you don't want to use spray alcohol because of its effect on the acrylic paint has to be approached a little differently.

I use straight white glue put on with a small brush,sprinkle the leaves on and blow off any excess.Subsequent areas that require more leaves can be built up using an eyedropper for the alcohol and then the usual water/glue mix .

Take a look at the normal patterns in nature created by the wind and rain and vary your leaf patterns accordingly.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

More on modules. A few posts ago I mentioned something about building layouts and large dioramas using modules.

I was back in the same hobby store yesterday and made some more inquiries .Evidently,they had two scales on display there "N" (very small scale) and "H" (larger).Someone had the foresight to do the "N" scale in modules and they moved it out in a single morning.Unfortunately the "H" scale will have to be busted up.They are going to try to preserve portions of it if they can.

With all the modern electrical fixtures ,quick dis-connects etc... there should be no excuse for this in the future.With a little planning in the beginning this hassle could have been avoided .

On a more personal level I am sure that a lot of families would love to be spared the agony of putting Uncle Joe's or Grandpa Jim's layout in the garbage because it is just too big and difficult to move.A lot of these decisions have to be made quickly at a very bad time in people's lives and some very fine work and in some cases real artwork is lost forever.

Modules could be built as separate dioramas each with its own little story and complete scene that when put together makes for an even bigger story.

Take nice overall pics of the huge layout as it once was and then create a picture book for your each modular section that could go with it to its new home.Even museums could make a very nice display of your work and put it in context for the viewer without have to find space for the whole thing.

Maybe it is because I am going on 71 now and these things have become more important to me.We all get old some day and faster than you think,believe me.This may not be important to you now but maybe someday it will.Do your family a favor and plan ahead.

Someday layouts will be as rare as old baseball cards are today and probably just as valuable.Lets face it we are in the golden age of modeling when old farts like me are realizing their boyhood dreams and have the money to do so.What I could buy with my allowance as a kid is history now.Times change rapidly today and a lot of stuff competes for our attention and money.

Personally I don't do large layouts but I do large aircraft dioramas in modular form and donate them to Canada Aviation Museum.Even if there comes a time that that they no longer want them chances are the airplane models themselves will survive as historical examples or maybe in a future collectors home.I feel good to at least have given my stuff a survival plan.

Nothing is forever but humans have since ancient times loved models of all kinds and probably will continue to do so.Kids never change and future imaginations will thank you for it and so will the memories of future older folk too .

[JohnReid]

[Shy Spirit]

I passed along your excellent advice regarding modular layouts to my father-in-law. He's a miniature train enthusiast, and was glad to read your thoughts on the matter.

May I ask how you created the tree pictured here? Is it dried plant matter?

[JohnReid]

http://www.theaerodr...s-dioramas.html

I have started a new thread over on The Aerodrome.com on building basic wood structures for dioramas.It is intended to be for modelers of all kinds who are not familiar with working with wood.

I will in the future also put it up here as well ,when I get all the bugs worked out.

Edited July 11, 2011 by JohnReid

[JohnReid]

I passed along your excellent advice regarding modular layouts to my father-in-law. He's a miniature train enthusiast, and was glad to read your thoughts on the matter.

May I ask how you created the tree pictured here? Is it dried plant matter?

Yes but I don't know what kind.I picked it up at the hobby store in separate pieces and put it together to form the small tree.

[JohnReid]

[Shy Spirit]

I love your attention to details ... the leaves that gather along the fence, for instance. It's so realistic!

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

Two Roads The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler,long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other,as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh,I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood,and I-

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost.

Courtesy of WSP.

[Shy Spirit]

I first read that poem many years ago - my mother has a book of his poetry - and still reflect on it from time to time. I like to think that I followed his example in choosing my path. :yes:

Do you have a pic of the vignette from another angle? I'd like to see more, please.

[JohnReid]

[mabllace]

Wonderful work thank you for letting us see it .,

[havanaholly]

Oh. Wow. :worthy:

[AJH]

Beautiful work john :thumb:

[Shy Spirit]

Thanks for posting another pic - it's terrific!

[JohnReid]

Thank you everybody for your kind comments !

[JohnReid]

When chipping away at the landscaping trying to dig a hole for the wheel/grass areas ,I came to realize just how strong this sand/glue or earth/ glue mix really is.

Anything that you would want to build for strength or that you would want to look like real cement ,such as sidewalks,cement blocks etc..this technique would be worthwhile experimenting with.

For example ,when making a cement block you would make a simple form,it could be wood or something else and then insulate the form and the cement from one another using wax paper or other water impervious material so the two will not be glued together and the block could later easily be removed.The properties and color etc..of your materials can be chosen to represent real thing.(Landscaping suppliers have lots of choices)Fancier molds could also be made for miniature statues etc..

Check your piece that you want to represent for color ,texture etc..(sand and real earth are available in different textures and colors) and then mix up a batch as follows.

It is a good idea to sterilize anything that you take from nature so heat it up in the oven or BBQ until hot to kill any possible critters laying about.The longer you heat it in a BBQ and depending on the temperature you heat it to, the sand/earth can be made to vary in color from natural to black.

Cool and then take your baked earth/sand and mix it with alcohol (75%) until it is the consistency that you require or you could pour the dry material into the mold and then use an eye dropper to apply the alcohol until it is thoroughly damp.Take another dispenser,(I use a small plastic squeeze bottle for this) and then drip by drip thoroughly wet down your sand/earth/alcohol mix until it is wet with another mix of 75% water and 25% white carpenters glue.This mix could also be colored using water based acrylics.Let dry,remove it from the form and you will have imitation cement.Have fun!

[havanaholly]

John, in the last formal art class I took the prof (Peter Bodner) taught us to make a really neat casting compound that mixed equal parts plaster of Paris, vermiculite and water and mix it an old waxed milk carton (do they still make those?) and when it's rigid enough to unmold it can be carved with a tableknife or other flatware for several days, or longer if kept covered with a damp cloth; and once it hardens it's as permanent as you could want! Your post just this minute reminded me of that.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

Pic courtesy of Achime Engels.

100 years later,things never change.

[JohnReid]

Please note:

The title of this piece has been changed to better reflect the real storyline line.I now call it "The Road Taken".

The poem written by Robert Frost "The Road Not Taken." was the inspiration for this piece.It is an old story told many times before, in many different ways ,about how we make changes in our lives,sometimes on the spur of the moment,that continue to affect us way down the road .

Our young aviator ,in my diorama,is standing at the crossroads,the same crossroads that he stood upon years earlier.He is now reflecting upon how that decision he made way back then is affecting his life now and how it will continue to affect his life in the future.

The underlying theme here is one of loss,loss of the innocence of our young aviator but also the loss of innocence of aviation itself.

[havanaholly]

John, did you sculpt the aviator?