Michaelscarborough Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 My diorama, "After the Armistice", will be inspired by this photograph and will contain two J.Is', one mostly complete and the fuselage of another, as well as the wings and many other parts of at least four other WnW kits. All of this will be seen inside a hangar similar to that in this photo. That is the basic plan as it stands now, but aspects of it may change. I may use a combination of natural lighting and LED lighting. There will most probably be figures, possibly the Canadians who first discovered J.I 596/18. It is far too early in the process to make these specific decisions and I am giving myself a lot of artistic leeway. I have pulled J.I #1 off the shelf of doom and blown off the dust...and there was a lot of it. I had stopped work with only the parts for the cockpit being painted and began work again last weekend after I heard about the Group Build. I am really looking forward to this diorama and the opportunity it will give me to work in multi media: the wooden and plaster structure of the hangar, the figures, the weathering and aging the duralumin, replicating the look of ripped fabric, and aging the many other parts I plan to include. BTW, to make sure I am abiding by the no more than 25% completed rule, allow me to state that J.I #1 will make up only about 25% of the entire diorama. As it is only about 15% done, I feel I am well within the boundaries. Cheers from NYC, Michael 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators JeroenPeters Posted June 14, 2016 Administrators Share Posted June 14, 2016 That is one cool idea! A lovely kit. Built one myself. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelscarborough Posted June 14, 2016 Author Share Posted June 14, 2016 Thanks, Jeroen! I think the project will be a lot of fun and I am really looking forward to playing with the signs of wear on the J.I. Cheers from NYC, Michael 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krow113 Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 Figs? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelscarborough Posted June 19, 2016 Author Share Posted June 19, 2016 Most definitely.....Allied troops, probably Canadians, crawling around and ooh-ing and ahh-ing at an airplane made of "metal". I'm coming across more and more pix of German airplanes in storage after the Armistice but few of the photos have any dates. I'm sure it was a while before those that were crated up and brought back to the US and Canada were moved out. I'd like the setting to be as long after the end of hostilities as possible in order to have them covered in a heavy, but plausible, layer of dust and grime. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Fran Posted June 20, 2016 Administrators Share Posted June 20, 2016 Looking forward to see you wrecking this J.I... I`m about to do the same! :D Fran 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelscarborough Posted June 20, 2016 Author Share Posted June 20, 2016 Boa Olhe, meu amigo! Isn't it funny!? We spend this much money on a WnW model so we can then wreck it!! Are we CRAZY???? Cheers from NYC, Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelscarborough Posted September 1, 2016 Author Share Posted September 1, 2016 Finally, some progress to report....... It is April of 1919 and this derelict hangar has been open to the winter weather since the Armistice five months before. In the back of the structure will be seen the wingtip portion of a Staaken. It is carved from balsa wood, with ribs made from styrene and multiple layers of wood filler and Tamiya primer. The decals are the excellent Irregular German pattern for "G" and "R" planes offered from Aviattic. There is also a section of Aviattic Night Lozenge used as a patch. (Thank you, Richard, for supplying us with these amazingly fine and esoteric products, so that we can take our projects to the highest levels of accuracy!) Cheers from NYC, Michael 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mnemonic Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 Outstanding job Michael! As always! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelscarborough Posted September 7, 2016 Author Share Posted September 7, 2016 Thanks, mon ami!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelscarborough Posted December 19, 2016 Author Share Posted December 19, 2016 Hey guys, I'm still working on this....just tired of fighting Photobucket to get photos posted. I'll be back over the Holidays and bring you up to date. Cheers from NYC, Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelscarborough Posted January 28, 2017 Author Share Posted January 28, 2017 OK, gents, Here're some pix of the progress on the J.I. The scene will be men holding up the insignia they have just cut from the fabric as souvenirs. I scraped away a lot of plastic from the interior areas where the insignia would have been, then used a lighted stick of incense to carefully heat the plastic so I could make it look wrinkled. The interior tubing was made from Albion brass. There is a long way to go but I am having fun. Cheers from NYC, MIchael 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelscarborough Posted February 3, 2017 Author Share Posted February 3, 2017 Hangar construction has begun. I'm using individual strips of basswood and coloring them in advance using a wide range of brown and grey tones. Once the piece is assembled, this will all be unified with filters. I'm using slow setting, waterproof wood glue on the walls. Once they are assembled, I soak them with water and, gingerly, intentionally warp them. I leave the clamps on overnight and am left with sagging walls, suitable for a derelict hangar. Once everything is assembled, the sag will be reduced, but the overall effect will be plausible. I'm sure other people have used this technique, but I worked out my method on an old stone building a long while back. Cheers from NYC, Michael 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mnemonic Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 Wow, Michael, my friend, it looks fantastic! Great progress! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelscarborough Posted March 30, 2017 Author Share Posted March 30, 2017 Hello, all, It's been quite a journey, but I'm back after sending my mom off to Heaven. I sincerely appreciate the support from my friends in the model building community, as it has made all the difference. So....back to the bench and very glad to be there. Work on the hangar continues with the side wall and roof. This section of the hangar was damaged during bombing and portions later re-built. I'm trying to show the difference between old and new by varying the color tones in the wood and the methods of construction used.: As I did with the side walls, I wetted down the roof structure, then weighted it to give it the sagging look: Cheers from NYC, Michael 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators JeroenPeters Posted March 30, 2017 Administrators Share Posted March 30, 2017 Supercool. love the way the markings were cut out of the fuselage... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelscarborough Posted March 31, 2017 Author Share Posted March 31, 2017 Thanks, Jeroen....here're the insignia and the culprits who snatched them! Long way to go...but getting there! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators JeroenPeters Posted March 31, 2017 Administrators Share Posted March 31, 2017 Wow... Love the whole enchilada! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Fran Posted March 31, 2017 Administrators Share Posted March 31, 2017 this one will be epic... just epic.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazypoet Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 Love this!!! I particularly like the approach you're taking with the hangar structure. likewise the internal fuselage framing - nicely done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelscarborough Posted March 31, 2017 Author Share Posted March 31, 2017 Thanks, guys...I appreciate the feedback. Back to the plane, itself....I was able to get hold of a bunch of shots of the J.I that's in Canada and those shots proved invaluable in representing the damage sustained in combat and storage in a damaged hangar open to the elements...and pigeons. Cheers from NYC, Michael 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelscarborough Posted April 17, 2017 Author Share Posted April 17, 2017 Thanks to you guys for weighing in. I had to finish a piece for an exhibition in Philly...been working on it since August but finally delivered it to the gallery yesterday with positive feedback from the curator! So back to the J.I! For my hangar diorama, I wanted to do drop down lighting as seen in a lot of period photos of factories and in some of the photos of hangars. I was pretty surprised to see the wide variety of both very large bulbs and lamp shades, and felt using 5mm LEDs would replicate that look. But, just like happens when you spend months doing a conversion of a certain aircraft and someone then releases an off the shelf kit of the same, after making all the shades and doing all the wiring, I discovered Chip LEDs. So, out came half the work I'd done. More on that in a later post. I made a master of the lamp shade on my lathe, then used the Mattel Vac-u-form I got for Christmas the year they were new! (yes I am that old) to make shades. I wrapped the lower portion with tape to look like insulation. But, after living with it a while, I decided I didn't like the look of any of it, including the incorrect cool bluish look, so, like I said, out they came and I started over. The photo at bottom below is the before image, but will give you some idea of where this is all going. OK....all ahead full now.....less than two weeks until this GB is over! Cheers from NYC, Michael 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelscarborough Posted April 19, 2017 Author Share Posted April 19, 2017 First two of eight figures finished...remember, these guys are souvenir hunters! I don't mind that this man's upper half is in shadow. Once everything is in place, it will make sense to the overall scene. This also gives a sense of the size of the Staaken wingtip!: The LED in the stove actually works to create a sense of fire. Cheers from NYC, Michael 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazypoet Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 The stove is a perfect bit of verisimilitude- and dead-on with the red LED. what did you use for the ash/cinders? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelscarborough Posted April 21, 2017 Author Share Posted April 21, 2017 I used coal from the model RR world and set it in place using diluted white glue. I was amazed at the fire LED. All of those I've seen in the past were really hokey looking but this one really looks the part. I have been getting all my LED stuff from Evan Designs. The people could not be more helpful answering questions, super for someone like me who is a rookie in the field, and usually ship the same day. Working with them has made all the difference and I wish I'd known about them before I installed all the honker 5mm LEDs which are now coming out. http://www.modeltrainsoftware.com/ I tried posting the video I had of the stove but I think it's too big for the site. Cheers from NYC, Michael 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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