Changed my mind again ! I have decided that "The Contenders" lacks focus and the subject matter needs to be narrowed down a bit.Wind tunnels have always been a central part of aviation research since the beginning and remain so to this day.
In my research I haven't been able to confirm that wind tunnels were actually used by Fokker in his search for the perfect wing design but I plan to build him one anyway.
In building my version of a Fokker wind tunnel I will use my imagination based upon the technology of the day.If it could have happened this way then that is good enough for me.My dioramas are made for kids and the young at heart and are meant to be educational but in a fun sort of way.
The title is courtesy of Bob Seger.

John,
You are amazing! Can't wait to see how this one comes together. I have always been impressed with your ability to think outside, or maybe, inside, the box with your work.
Cheers,
Rick

Thanks Rick ! I find that coming up with an idea is the most enjoyable part of modeling and the most difficult.As you can see I don't lock myself into any one story or rigid historical accuracy to tell what I hope is an interesting story.I spent many years following the rules when I built my HMS Victory model many years ago, and I don't want a repeat of that experience.

Nother pic

I am thinking of using the Model Airways new Fokker DR.1 instead of the Camel.It just makes more sense that they would be testing the Fokker wing it after the problems that they experienced with wing failure.
The Camel I can build separately or find a way of incorporating it in this diorama with the wings hung on the wall and the fuselage in storage above the rafters.

Great change More concise, more working things (even if still for the Kids of all ages. (especially us Inganeers)

1. You might be able to make the tunnel a few inches larger if the back say between eight and ten ocloce were embedded is the back wall.

Since the Fokker wing failed there is a use for your sand bag measurement.

Captn Tommy

I have decided that the new Model Airways Fokker DR.1 will take the place of the Camel on the trailer as it just fits in better with the storyline.I will build the Camel kit in sections and use a lot of the parts as generic aircraft parts from the era.I will modify the parts to become experimental in design.
Because this diorama is bound for a museum that caters to the general public(mostly kids in an educational setting)
the historical accuracy feature is secondary to holding their interest ,if only for a minute or two.The wind tunnel and the wing stress tester will be accurate as I can make them with the information that I have available to me.Because this is a shadow box I have more opportunity to direct the views attention to where I would like it to go using lighting and viewing angles etc...

The camera of course picks up any small defect,if I was building this in 1/16th scale I would go back and eliminate them.Although this will be the lighted focal point of the shadow box at 1/72 scale, it is sitting in the back of the shadowbox and none of this will be seen in 1/16th scale except by telephoto lens.There will be figures looking into the wind tunnel window with their backs to the viewer reenforcing the storyline,"Against The Wind."
I will have to be careful about what I put in the foreground in front of the window.The DR.1 will be off to the right side and the sand truck off to the left.A complicated wing stress test machine is out as being too distracting ,maybe a small aileron sand bag test would be a better idea.It was at the aileron that a lot of these failures occurred.Both the aircraft and the truck will be positioned in such a way as to lead the viewers eye towards the wind tunnel.The Fokker E.V experimental wings will placed on the backwall above the wind tunnel.Other modified wings(from the Camel) will be hung along both the right and left walls.

I have decided to wait for the release of the Model Airways Fokker D.1 to replace the Camel on the trailer.I will use parts and pieces from the Camel as aircraft parts and pieces on shelves etc..Most will be modified to look like experimental pieces and not Camel parts.
I must admit that I feel out of my comfort zone using plastic for a structural type model.I know that I would never build it as a stand-alone model so why waste the parts.This will probably be my last 1/16th aircraft build and I would like to put my best effort into something that I know will turn out well, like a wood structural model that I have had occasion to build many times before.
Sorry for all the changes but it is just the way I do things when building dioramas.I don't firmly plan anything at this stage that can't be changed along the way.As I go along of course there
will come a point where the basic storyline and the composition will be pretty much locked in but until that time I am enjoying the creative process .

Sorry about the deleted pics,sometimes when I move things around in photobucket that is the result, however, all the pics are available in photobucket on my album Diorama #9 "Against the wind" .I changed the title of one album and for some reason that deletes all the pics connected to that album on forum websites.

I will be putting the hangar away till spring and concentrating on building the Camel parts and pieces and the new Model Airways Fokker DR.1 which I am expecting any day now.The temporary hangar walls will be replaced with plywood at that time.