Not everyone's cup of tea I know but a lot of us do have a wish (secret or otherwise ) to see our stuff in a museum of high reputation some day.
Here is how I did it !

Why am I writing on this subject ? well nothing bothers me more than seeing my fellow modelers dioramas,layouts or models etc..get throw in the garbage once they go to the "Happy Hunting (modeling) Ground,that's why !
Lets face it not everyone cares or wants models ,large or otherwise ,in their homes.After Uncle Fred or Grandpa Jones is gone many a family is stuck with the "what to do with his stuff ? " dilemma. This is especially true of large dioramas,layouts or collections of individual models.Now is the time to plan ahead and help relieve your family of this burden.One way to do this is to get your stuff in a museum before you are too far gone over the hill.
I know that I started planning for this when I was around sixty (11 years ago)and finally realized that I wasn't going to live forever. How ? well.....

I guess that it all came about for me this way because I had already done the "donating it to a museum "thing years before when as executor of my fathers will it was up to me to arrange for this to be done for our beautiful '29 Beech Travel Air 4000(D4D) biplane.So contacting museums was not a big scary thing for me although there is always the "fear of rejection" thing to be dealt with.
You have to let it be known wherever you can that your stuff is available.Don't be afraid,if your stuff is good and you know it,it will get picked up.Start by saying "when my stuff goes to the museum" rather than "if my stuff goes to the museum" and your already half way there.

When I started building large scale dioramas there was no question about what I was trying to achieve.Huge 4X6 foot dioramas only have one destination.
Besides the museum thing, my other personal goal was to model like Shep Paine ,who's work I had admired for years and years.I had heard through the grapevine that he was retiring from modeling and he had let it be known that he wanted someone else to pick up the ball and run with it for awhile.I was one of those who wanted to take up the challenge.
My options were do it and write a book about it too,when it was finished,or take a more modern approach and do the modeling in real time and post it free on as many websites as I could reasonably handle.(this aspect now takes up a good 50% of my modeling time and is not recommended for weekend modelers.)
This approach has been more than successful for me especially when I look at the number of my photobucket hits that are recorded or the kind words of my fellow modelers that are posted to my threads on the websites.
One thing I have learned though is that "you can't please all of the people all of the time" so don't even bother to try !

Mission Accomplished !
How do I know this ? I have three dioramas now in the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum ,our national museum in Ottawa here in Canada, and a fourth on its way this fall.
How do I know that Shep approves ? Well ..
He appraised my work for the museum and valued it ,in dollar terms , right up there with what he was getting for his best stuff years ago.
Yes Shep the ball got picked up......

Always an interesting question, what will be with somebody work one day, even the answer is often simple. I'm glad you found a solution for your art. It is also a great recognition.

Something else bothering me. Lately, more and more you write as i you're getting ready to ''close the shop'', slow down man , still a lot of things waiting to be done.

Hi ! Thank you. No I will never close shop,hopefully someday they will just find me there.But nature takes it's toll and has already forced me to slow down. I used to be able to go 10-12 hours at a stretch ,now I am lucky to do 3 or 4.

I have no way of editing out the first pic because I deleted that file in photobucket.
Eventually the file will delete itself.Sorry bout that!

A lot of the feedback that I get on this subject especially from dioramists(word?) and the RR layout guys is that there stuff can't be moved or the museums that they have already contacted have no room for such large pieces.
Have you ever thought of breaking your stuff down into small storyboard type vignettes or mini-dioramas ?
Often there are already, within the larger piece, lots of mini-dioramas going on.Why not just isolate these into a static storyboard piece that would be more acceptable in your relatives homes or interested museums ? With a little creative thinking the subject matter could be humorous or serious depending upon your interests. Later I will post a few examples of what I mean.

My story.

Getting my stuff in a museum was a personal goal on mine that was born out of my fear of rejection.Actually rejection can be a very stimulating thing if taken as a challenge.
After completing my 1/72 scale Victory model after many years of work I thought that it might be a good idea to find a permanent home for it.I really didn't want to sell it and have it go to someones basement never to see the light of day again,after all I had built it as a diorama type model for kids and the young at heart to enjoy.
I contacted many museums and none of them seemed to want just another model of HMS Victory.But mine is different, a diorama I explained but to no avail.most were only interested in sailing ship models that depicted how they were built,antique models,sailors bone models or modern subject matter without sails.
I had experienced this rejection thing before when I was wood carving when I had tried to offer my work to galleries only to be told that they wanted in-the-round stuff, not relief carving like I was doing at the time ,as it wasn't really art.I took up the "in the round" style but this was rejected too because the subject matter was birds.And besides it was wood and not bronze or stone.
So I sat myself down and realized that if i wanted to achieve my museum goal it was going to take some planning on my part.To find out what they want I would have to research what had already been accepted so I took one of the best ,the Smithsonian ,as my guide.First I noticed that 1/16th scale seemed to be the scale that they were looking for as most of their single subject model were in that scale.Next I noticed that they had already broken the ice and had accepted dioramas,modified plastic kit models and models in smaller scales if they were dioramas.But mine would be different, dioramas in 1/16th scale that were meant for museums that couldn't be displayed otherwise in your average home setting.
I also noticed that the models were mostly all donated by the builder for the pure joy of having them accepted, I am sure.
While doing this research I had noticed that my local hobby store had 1/16th wood model kits for sale.Their other specialty happened to be doll houses.
Well that got me to thinking why not marry up the two and call the dollhouse a hangar.I have never seen that before and here was my opportunity to add something new to our art form.
I also quickly realized that this idea could be expensive for me to undertake,the cost of this stuff is not cheap.Luckily during my woodcarving days I had accumulated, over the years, most of the tools and raw materials that would be required.However the kits alone would be a major expense especially in the quantities that I required,so I decided to buy them only as I needed them.

Sorry but the editing option ran out on the above post.......

Lighting and ease of maintenance are also important considerations,in order to make their job as easy as possible.

How to get it in ?
Number one,let it be known that your stuff is available ,network and don't listen to nay sayers that say it can't be done.
Be proud of your stuff and display it locally or put it up on the web wherever or however you can. Sell yourself.Know that your stuff is good, and don't be afraid to let others know that you know it is.Be confident that if your stuff is as good as you think it is,it will get picked up.Don't be afraid to get yourself called a publicity seeker or ego maniac ,if you don't believe in yourself how can you expect others to do so.
Contact the museum directly and if possible speak to someone that has Arts training.These people can be you best friend and if they like your stuff, they will sell it for you to their colleagues and the higher ups in the chain of command.
Think big and go for the well recognized museums first.You may just surprise yourself and get in.
Donate your stuff and forget about money but don't forget that some museums will give you a personal tax break if you ask for it.Even then don't expect to get more for your stuff than your personal expenses,remember most museums are on very tight budgets today. Good luck !

Goal #2
My goal number two,picking up the ball and running with it for awhile.
When Shep Paine let it be known that he was retiring from active model making and was hoping that others would pick up the diorama ball and run with it for awhile, unbeknown to him I volunteered ,as I am sure many others did.
This may sound like I am comparing my work to his but nothing is farther from the truth.Even today ,I still have a long way to go.His painting and modifying of kit figures is in a class by itself.No,what I mean is his creativity and his courage to try new things,which I have always very highly admired.That is the ball that I wanted to run with.Therefore ,I will just let my work speak for itself.

I have been asked why do I not write a book about my stuff and stop cluttering up the forums with "How to...." ?
My reasoning is basically as follows.
I consider the art of the diorama, just that an art.Art is a living thing and anything you may contribute only is relevant for a short time.The important thing is not the finished piece that your work represents but the influence that it may have others imaginations while you were contributing your little bit to the evolution of the art form that you are involved with.Artists have always been influenced by their peers and always will be but it all is constantly evolving in new and wonderful ways.
Most "how to's... are out of date sometimes before they are even written.The only contribution you can really make to your art form is in the here and now. If I can reach the imagination of just one other artist ,especially a young imagination and they are influenced by my work, and then they build upon it and add their contribution and pass it on, then it has all been worthwhile.That is the same reason why I donate my work to museums where they will be seen, and later if they are sold off the money will go back to support the museum so that future artists will have the same opportunity to influence the young minds of their generation.
However today we have a new way to influence things.Even if someone acquires your stuff and puts it in his basement never again to see the light of day,by your having used the internet to get your ideas out there it really doesn't matter anymore as your have already accomplished your goals.