How I build large scale dioramas! (1 Viewer)

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.
 
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Before going off to war,I am sure that one of the last things that our young airman would do would be to secure down his airplane.I have gone over this in my mind and thought what would he have done to accomplish this task.Would he have put the whole thing under tarps to protect it from the elements or would he leave it open and hope for the best?
Ideally he would have stored the whole thing in the garage but then we wouldn't have nothing to look at would we.The other option would be that they knew that he was on his way home and as a surprise his family took the tarps off.I could show the tarps rolled up and put off to one side to suggest this scenario.
The ropes as shown in the pic are home made linen line from my shipbuilding days and is a little fuzzy.A little wax run over the surface should cure that problem.This fuzz could also be removed prior to installation by lightly running a flame over it.
 
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.
 
Please note:

For anyone who was following my day by day posts over on theaerodrome.com please see the following site for a continuation of that thread.(Please stand by one while I look up the address)
 
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!
 
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pic courtesy of Achime Engels

100 years later,some things never change !;)
 
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.
 
At the end of one of his choices of roads to take, sits his homes garage.The sign could of been put up by his kids or his mom or even his dad.I wanted the sign to be really subtle as if someone took some glue and cardboard or paper and just pasted it there.I don't want it to be too obvious, more to catch the views eye on maybe the second pass over the scene.A kind of " Oh Look " moment.

Please note: the unusual shape of this garage door is because it used to have an arched doorway to a stable for horses.The addition of the later siding squared it off to unusual proportions.
 
At the end of the other "Road Taken" lies a "Dead End" quite literally one of loss and destruction, represented here by the old burned out car and all the dead leaves.The sign represents the folly of misplaced patriotism by the public and the pressure that was put on the young to get involved in giving up their lives for nothing.
On a personal note : My view is that WW1 and most other wars are a waste of good lives on both sides. WW2 on the other hand was unfortunately necessary to rid humanity of a great evil.
 
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