JohnReid
A Fixture
The day the wings were fitted for the first time.
:
WIP Bleriot/Falcon Sculpture
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The day the wings were fitted for the first time.
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JohnReid
A Fixture
JohnReid
A Fixture
JohnReid
A Fixture
Click on thumbnail.Sorry I just couldn't resist !
JohnReid
A Fixture
JohnReid
A Fixture
Even at this scale carving out all of the ribs lightening holes is something that I chose not to do as it really wouldn't add much to the storyline. Anyway that's my story and I am sticking to it.
JohnReid
A Fixture
JohnReid
A Fixture
As you can see for yourself the model plans and the real aircraft wing are very different.Any resemblance of one to the another is only coincidental.Leaving out the lightening holes is only one of many areas of artistic license taken by the designers of this kit but for storytelling purposes it works out to be just fine with me.I am not looking for historical accuracy here but what I am really looking for is a general shape of the Bleriot type aircraft that can be used as a prop for my own artistic purposes.How many cardboard Spitfires have we seen over the years being blown up by a movies director ? Well this is somewhat the same in nature.
JohnReid
A Fixture
I think that I have finally figured it out why there is such a difference in the model manufactures plans for the wings and tail feathers, where on the other hand the fuselage seems to be much more accurate. Why ? easy,they were meant to be covered with fabric all along.Out of sight ,out of mind .
JohnReid
A Fixture
Is diorama building for me ?
Here are a few thing to be considered.
"What to leave in and what to leave out" is a very important consideration. Not only from the standpoint of the pure number of objects in a diorama but also in the sense of what things your viewer notices and what he doesn't.
Example: what I am working on right now the wings of the Bleriot.Your average viewer would never even notice that the lightening holes in the ribs are missing but they sure would notice if the wings were upside down.Things like the human face or human body language would be picked up right away as we are all experts on this but if he had a medal on his chest improperly placed or painted no one would care less except of course the "experts".In other words are you building your stuff for the competition model judges or for your average viewer or museum visitor.This is a very important consideration. It is also extremely important to know yourself .Would your temperament fit in with your diorama plans ?
If you are a perfectionist and can't stand for a spot of dust on a shiny surface then I would stick to "stand alone" models as dioramas are usually a lot messier than that and more concessions(artistic license) usually have to be made in order to ever finish ,especially on a very large project.It is really all about knowing yourself and your audience and where and how you plan to put your stuff out there.
Here are a few thing to be considered.
"What to leave in and what to leave out" is a very important consideration. Not only from the standpoint of the pure number of objects in a diorama but also in the sense of what things your viewer notices and what he doesn't.
Example: what I am working on right now the wings of the Bleriot.Your average viewer would never even notice that the lightening holes in the ribs are missing but they sure would notice if the wings were upside down.Things like the human face or human body language would be picked up right away as we are all experts on this but if he had a medal on his chest improperly placed or painted no one would care less except of course the "experts".In other words are you building your stuff for the competition model judges or for your average viewer or museum visitor.This is a very important consideration. It is also extremely important to know yourself .Would your temperament fit in with your diorama plans ?
If you are a perfectionist and can't stand for a spot of dust on a shiny surface then I would stick to "stand alone" models as dioramas are usually a lot messier than that and more concessions(artistic license) usually have to be made in order to ever finish ,especially on a very large project.It is really all about knowing yourself and your audience and where and how you plan to put your stuff out there.
JohnReid
A Fixture
How far do I want to go with this ?
But before starting I think that you must ask yourself a few questions first.
Will this be a piece that you are doing for yourself ? well then anything works as long as it pleases you. Or
will your goal be a piece that will hold the interest of an audience or viewer as long as possible ?.Well then that changes everything.It can be as simple as adding a little weathering or leaving a cowl off an engine.The viewer will then fill in the rest.Not much of a storyline there but still it is more than a "factory fresh" example sitting in showcase.I am not criticizing those that prefer to build this way but it holds little interest for me or the average viewer.
Next step up would be the simple vignette,un-cowled engine or bullet holes or weathering,or steps in the sand,ground or oil on the floor,some sign of human presence without having to do a figure.(sometimes it is even a more powerful story this way)
The next step can be a little intimidating for some modelers,modifying or painting figures but it really doesn't have to be this way.Personally I am only an average painter of figures in the traditional sense.In fact I find that most of the professionally painted stuff a little overdone.Just avoid the bug eyed look and let the light and shadows work for you.In my case the viewer never gets close enough to see if the eyes are painted or not.Here is a little experiment you may want to try for yourself.Don't paint the eyes in at all but just leave shadows where the eyes would have been and most viewers brains will fill them in for you.It seems that human beings are so used to seeing eyes where they should be that the brain automatically fills them in for you, at a normal scale viewing distance.Where judges or nitpickers will actually pick up your work and look close up for flaws of course it wouldn't work.
The next step would be a vignette or diorama of a neutral or landscape type setting.Something like a travel documentary.Nice to look at but....
The best dioramas tell a story and need little explanation other than the title.The storyboard diorama is designed specifically to hold the viewers interest as long as possible. It can be hard to get right and nobody is successful all the time.What looks good on paper will probably have to be revised many times.
A storyboard diorama puts you in the directors shoes except you are the lighting guy,carpenter, ,producer,costume gal etc.. I am sure you get what I mean.And you must accomplish your storytelling goals with no music,dialogue or movement of any kind,a pretty tall order that may even intimidate Spielberg a bit.
The next level of diorama building,in my opinion, is what I am attempting to do right now with my Bleriot/Falcon piece ,which is to mix not only the media aspects together but the modeling and the art genres together as well.
In other words taking whatever is available to you out there to help tell your story.Plastic,wood,kit or scratch,hobby or art ,it really doesn't matter when the storyline is your most important consideration.
But before starting I think that you must ask yourself a few questions first.
Will this be a piece that you are doing for yourself ? well then anything works as long as it pleases you. Or
will your goal be a piece that will hold the interest of an audience or viewer as long as possible ?.Well then that changes everything.It can be as simple as adding a little weathering or leaving a cowl off an engine.The viewer will then fill in the rest.Not much of a storyline there but still it is more than a "factory fresh" example sitting in showcase.I am not criticizing those that prefer to build this way but it holds little interest for me or the average viewer.
Next step up would be the simple vignette,un-cowled engine or bullet holes or weathering,or steps in the sand,ground or oil on the floor,some sign of human presence without having to do a figure.(sometimes it is even a more powerful story this way)
The next step can be a little intimidating for some modelers,modifying or painting figures but it really doesn't have to be this way.Personally I am only an average painter of figures in the traditional sense.In fact I find that most of the professionally painted stuff a little overdone.Just avoid the bug eyed look and let the light and shadows work for you.In my case the viewer never gets close enough to see if the eyes are painted or not.Here is a little experiment you may want to try for yourself.Don't paint the eyes in at all but just leave shadows where the eyes would have been and most viewers brains will fill them in for you.It seems that human beings are so used to seeing eyes where they should be that the brain automatically fills them in for you, at a normal scale viewing distance.Where judges or nitpickers will actually pick up your work and look close up for flaws of course it wouldn't work.
The next step would be a vignette or diorama of a neutral or landscape type setting.Something like a travel documentary.Nice to look at but....
The best dioramas tell a story and need little explanation other than the title.The storyboard diorama is designed specifically to hold the viewers interest as long as possible. It can be hard to get right and nobody is successful all the time.What looks good on paper will probably have to be revised many times.
A storyboard diorama puts you in the directors shoes except you are the lighting guy,carpenter, ,producer,costume gal etc.. I am sure you get what I mean.And you must accomplish your storytelling goals with no music,dialogue or movement of any kind,a pretty tall order that may even intimidate Spielberg a bit.
The next level of diorama building,in my opinion, is what I am attempting to do right now with my Bleriot/Falcon piece ,which is to mix not only the media aspects together but the modeling and the art genres together as well.
In other words taking whatever is available to you out there to help tell your story.Plastic,wood,kit or scratch,hobby or art ,it really doesn't matter when the storyline is your most important consideration.
JohnReid
A Fixture
JohnReid
A Fixture
JohnReid
A Fixture
JohnReid
A Fixture
JohnReid
A Fixture
Somebody asked me why the dark color Bleriot.Well the simple answer is,
this is a art piece and not meant to look like the real airplane.I wanted the airplane dark but not a cold black so I used burnt umber instead.The falcon will be painted white (and it is not white in real life),the ring will be brass.I want the emphasis on the storyline and I don't want to distract the viewers attention with color.Call it "artistic license.
this is a art piece and not meant to look like the real airplane.I wanted the airplane dark but not a cold black so I used burnt umber instead.The falcon will be painted white (and it is not white in real life),the ring will be brass.I want the emphasis on the storyline and I don't want to distract the viewers attention with color.Call it "artistic license.
JohnReid
A Fixture
Bleriot flotation device.
Here is another great example of not believing everything you see or read without doing some personal research on it yourself.
I followed the model instructions booklet and assumed that because the book said to make this piece with wood strips using a very long and convoluted method that took a forever and tested my patience ,I thought that I was ok to assume that it was made of wood. Wrong ! further research by me found out it is made of rubber and has a smooth surface all around.
Luckily I hadn't followed the other strange reason of making it in two pieces .Why bother when the wood strips are long enough to make it in one piece ? Or why not just make it in dowel (solid wood) ? less work getting the shape ,sanding etc.. and a dowel would have the added advantage of being able to carve some imperfections into the surface like ripples or bumps without worrying about breaking through the flotation bags thin wood strips skin.
If the excuse for this is they couldn't find a dowel of the right size (too small) it could be turned down just like the two end cone pieces were.
This kit has not only terrible instructions but terrible methodology as well.
The wood itself however is of a very high quality.
Here is another great example of not believing everything you see or read without doing some personal research on it yourself.
I followed the model instructions booklet and assumed that because the book said to make this piece with wood strips using a very long and convoluted method that took a forever and tested my patience ,I thought that I was ok to assume that it was made of wood. Wrong ! further research by me found out it is made of rubber and has a smooth surface all around.
Luckily I hadn't followed the other strange reason of making it in two pieces .Why bother when the wood strips are long enough to make it in one piece ? Or why not just make it in dowel (solid wood) ? less work getting the shape ,sanding etc.. and a dowel would have the added advantage of being able to carve some imperfections into the surface like ripples or bumps without worrying about breaking through the flotation bags thin wood strips skin.
If the excuse for this is they couldn't find a dowel of the right size (too small) it could be turned down just like the two end cone pieces were.
This kit has not only terrible instructions but terrible methodology as well.
The wood itself however is of a very high quality.
JohnReid
A Fixture
In view of the above I have decided to turn this negative experience into a positive one by doing a tutorial on sanding and finishing wood, so it doesn't look like wood but as in this case rubber.
I have absolutely no references on the type of rubber used way back then on the Bleriot but I would imagine that it would look something like an old fisherman's rubber coat like they used on the whalers at the turn of the century.It was blown up with air under pressure(I believe) so therefore it would have to be leak proof with quite a shiny surface like a semi-gloss paint.
I have taken lots of pics of the process of building and finishing this flotation bag,so not a lot of text should be required.
I have absolutely no references on the type of rubber used way back then on the Bleriot but I would imagine that it would look something like an old fisherman's rubber coat like they used on the whalers at the turn of the century.It was blown up with air under pressure(I believe) so therefore it would have to be leak proof with quite a shiny surface like a semi-gloss paint.
I have taken lots of pics of the process of building and finishing this flotation bag,so not a lot of text should be required.
JohnReid
A Fixture
Sanding Wood Tutorial
JohnReid
A Fixture
The above two pics illustrate their method of building the rubber flotation bag.
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