Here is a bit of fun concerning a training unit in Landschut post May 1918. Note the intact and crashed Alb. D types don't have any camouflagee on the wings. This was a hallmark of an airframe that was designated as a trainer from the factory floor. The Alb. C.III at left has brought medical assistance to the crash site.

Most impessive john.
Can you answer something to me...i think the plane its made from scratch correct me if i'm wrong. If so where did you get those plans so i can grab my hands on them 2.
How do you cut the ribs and its holes so precise...
I'm thinking on buying a CNC Machine, have you ever tried one?

The sled.
The wreckage rests upon this sled and was dragged by horses or a truck to the spot beside the hangar.The wreckage had been ordered off the field right away with no time to even cut the control wires and remove the tail.
It is now being stripped of any usable parts and the rest will be sent to the junk pile.

Stephen ,those pics are great,just what I was looking for .I haven't yet decided how much of the fabric that I will be doing but these pics answer a lot of questions for me .Thanks!

hi johnreid, can you give me a help with the questions i posted before 2 or 3 posts before this one.
thanks.
keep up the good job

My 1/16th aircraft models all begin as Model Airways kits ,which I modify for my own purposes.Saves me a lot of time cutting wing ribs etc....Cheers! John.

I used my usual barn siding technique on the raw wood for the aging process and then used pastels for shading.I will leave it at this for now until I mount the engine and then will add oil spots,rusty nails,chains for pulling etc...The sled is the base upon which the rest will be built.
I have decided that there will not be a lot of fabric left on the wings or control surfaces other than a few burnt remnants.Why? because I want my viewer to be able to get a good look at the skeleton aircraft and how it was built.The plywood fuselage aft of the cockpit will give me ample opportunity to add a little color to an otherwise pretty drab scene by putting on some national and other markings.

The wing tips ,trailing edge and bent center section are finished.I did a little more scorching of the wood but will let it go at that for now ,until after I mount the front section of the fuselage and decide on the burn pattern.
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Looking really good John , What are you using for the stroch wood effect ?

Burned fabric remnants.
Here is a great example of flash burning of the fabric on a wooden aircraft.
How much fabric to leave attached is a judgment call,in my view.
Some photos show an almost complete burn, others varying degrees of burn.
I think that the determining factor for me will be just how much color I want to add to the scene.
The little model above shows just enough color to be able to identify some of the squadron and national markings which is probably more important for an aircraft set in a field.My wreck is set in a diorama where this would be quite obvious.
Another consideration , in salvaging some of the parts ,would most of the remnants of fabric have been already torn off by the salvagers.Also, I can't imagine any base commander wanting a wreck hanging around for any length of time, especially if it was showing half burned squadron or national markings. Not good for morale,I would think.

Hi! One of those variable temperature burners used for pyrography.I will take a pic and put it up.

Another pic

Hi Steve! sorry i missed this post earlier.I am lucky in that they are going to the Canada Aviation Museum in Ottawa.Didn't start out that way though,they saw them ,liked them ,so I donated them.Cheers! John.

This is Fritz the dogs eye view of his masters wrecked airplane.The whole storyline is based upon this relationship and is what inspired me to expand this diorama in the first place.I will leave it to the viewers imagination as to whether his master survived to fight another day.
I was never very happy with the original diorama after building the other two.The story was weak,two pilots looking at a mechanic wiping down an engine after a run-up.Pleasant to look at but no real emotion.Now the main storyline is transported outside the confines of the hangar.What I am hoping is that the average viewer will initially be drawn to looking inside and only later discover the dog/man story outside.The hangar doors will be left open thereby somewhat hiding from view the real story.
At the same time I want the aircraft to be somewhat educational, in that I don't want to cover the structure with fabric.The fuselage being plywood I can leave off a few panels here and there to make it more interesting for those who may want a peak inside.
The fuselage broken at the cockpit with the hanging seat belt straps really adds to the pathos of the scene.The tail having been pushed over the lower wing suggests some sort of pilot resue attempt which would have really had to be done in haste if a fire was just breaking out.The fabric on the tail would then also have been involved in the flash over burn.
The wings are remarkably intact which suggests to me a low impact type crash or nose over.
I will leave it up to the imagination of the viewer as to what really happened, which is after all the real purpose of of any good diorama storyline.

Plywood cover on rear fuselage.
This should be fun!Lots of cutting and fitting.
I decided to start with the largest single piece first.I made a paper template by holding a piece of paper to the fuselage and then up to a strong light and traced out the approximate size of the piece of plywood required.The plywood was cut oversize to be refined later.Using small clothes pegs I temporarily fixed the plywood to the fuselage as shown in the pic.I then traced from the inside along the outer edge of the longerons and bulkheads,the outline of the panel.
The panel was then removed and sanded down to the pencil line.(ignore the pencil line seen on the outside of the panel in the pic)
Do not glue anything at this point, as it must be removed to give you easy access to the same panel on the other side.

Does anyone know if the plywood joints finish on the mid-line of the longerons(stringers)? And are they attached with wood screws? My references are unclear on this.Thanks!