Gettin' there!
All the brace wires are installed and just need a little final adjustment.The ailerons are rigged and today I hope to finish the elevator-rudder rigging and finally install the control column.
So now it is decision time again.Do I stop here as far as any other major components are concerned? When is enough ,enough? I will take a few pics and have to decide.There are a few odds and ends to rap up like the landscaping and maybe a small junkyard out back.I have also considered a couple of figures near the back door ,maybe mechanics taking a break for a smoke or some other relaxed activity.
All three dioramas are now 95% finished and almost ready for their new home.
I am anxious to get started on a new project, first building a small scale mockup of the "Backyard Flyer" ,a fantasy piece I plan to call "In Pursuit Of His Dream" based upon the 1/16th Wright Flyer(Model Airways) with a little Glenn Curtiss thrown in.Basically I want to put myself back in the pre-WW1 era and build my own "Flyer" using the knowledge available at the time.(I will try not to cheat)
These guys were the original EAA"ers long before the modern era.Aviation was young,new and exciting .Guys with no more than basic carpentry skills dreamed of taking to the air in their own backyard flyers.
There were plans available and the Wrights were even selling engines.I am sure that hardly any of these homemade craft ever took to the air but that is not important,this diorama will be about dreams and having fun especially for me,the modeler.

Another pic

Need help!
I need a little help from the car experts! For composition and balance I think that I need something in this area of the diorama.Obviously the car shown is the wrong era and scale but I do have a 1907 Rolls Royce touring car kit in 1/16th scale.
What I was wondering is there a possibility that some of these cars were imported to continental Europe prior to WW1? If so there is a chance that one of these cars could have been found on a German airfield during WW1. Most German pilots of that era came from the upper classes and were originally posted to cavalry units but as more pilots were required for the front they traded their horses for airplanes.If I were to use the Rolls I would of course weather it to make it better fit into its surroundings.
Another possibility would be to convert an old 1912 Ford car to a truck and use it instead but I sure do like the Rolls.In the absence of anything of German make from that era what do you guys think?

As I did with the Ford T car to truck conversion in the 2nd diorama ,I will use the Rolls chassis and convert it into a airfield truck of no particular make.Although the first idea of using the car is plausible ,I think that a weathered truck in military markings would fit into the overall scene better and not take away anything from the main subject matter,the airplanes. Thank God that the left hand open hangar door is there to separate the dog part of the story from the rest, otherwise I would be very reluctant to do this.Should be fun!

John , just got caught up on your thread and would like to thank-you for sharing a part of yourself . As we age in our life we forget our dreams ( not all of us ) . Life becomes busy , we start a family and get lost in the times the years go by and some never being fully filled .
I'm very happy you found your's and you are living that dream .

Best Wishes Terri

Thanks Terri,yes I am a very lucky man!

The following was written by a good modeling bud of mine over on another site.


John, I really love this diorama. The wrecked plane is beautiful. The whole thing is magnificent.!!!

I would advise you to not put a vehicle in front of the hanger and wrecked plane.
Unless you rearrange the hanger and the wrecked plane, the vehicle will overpower the wrecked plane and the hanger. By "overpower" I mean the vehicle becomes the main attraction. The vehicle becomes the story. It will steal the story away from the planes.

Viewers will ask, in their mind; so what about this vehicle? Who just arrived? Who was driving the vehicle? What is it doing there?

I think the story is the wrecked plane and the plane they are working on in the hanger. The vehicle should only support that story.

John, I love your work. I hope you don't take this the wrong way. It's only my opinion.

My response;

Hi Jim! thank you for taking the time to express your opinion on this. I also have been quite reluctant to do this and for the same reasons, but all that open space in the left hand front of the diorama somehow bothers me.I can't quite put my finger on what it is,would you have any other suggestions or do you think it is OK as is?
Don't worry about the truck as I originally thought of putting it out back of the hangar anyway.
If anyone else would care to weight in on this subject please feel free to do so.Knowing when enough is enough has always been a problem for me.

since you are asking I'd love to see the wreck being hauled/dragged to in front of the hangar, and the guys working in there looking out all surprised and thinking, man there is some overtime in fixing THAT!
The wreck on it's own has really entertained me thru its whole development. It truely has opened my eyes as to how these planes are built. Something I never really thought about just gluing bits of plastic together.
Thanks for the ride John.
JP

Another pic

Anotherpic

another pic

The Junk Truck.......
This ground support vehicle will be picking up junk out back of the hangar.I haven't yet quite decided whether it will be military or civilian.In keeping with it's duties the truck will be pretty junky itself.Even if it were military I figure that a truck involved in this task would not be the shiniest in the fleet nor would it bear all the usual proud military insignia.
Like the running board, I decided to make my own style front fenders out of wood ,which was not all that uncommon a thing to do in the early days.

I love doing these early trucks because of the room for your own creativity that is involved.It would take a keen and very knowledgeable eye to spot this as being once a Rolls Royce chassis, especially after I weather the whole thing..
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"Once upon a time......." Storyboard dioramas by JohnReid.
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OK ,this is as far as I plan to go with the junk truck.Anything more would just look overdone.When I add the junk to the truck's bed there will be plenty of interesting stuff to look at.Now it's on the the part I love most the weathering.

I have a little update as to when the museum will be ready for my stuff.Looks now that not before August ,which is fine by me as I really prefer finishing off the landscaping surrounding the hangars outside on my porch during the warm weather.Maybe I will add a few things too..........

Another pic