How I build dioramas Part 2

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

Here is my latest bit of gizmology a fuel/oil/water tank and pump assembly scratch built from my junk box.Never,ever throw anything out!

 

[JohnReid]

New composition.

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

Changed my mind again!

I am planning this time to partially cut off the long side of the facade where the fence used to be and take it down to ground level again and put back part of the original fence.I will retain the second backyard and its sub-story.I like the multi-level idea and the angle of the two backyards to the base.
I will still build it as three modules for ease of working on and all three will be removable for easy transport.
The tail of the aircraft will be pointed in towards the modified building's short facade.More bricks!
With two backyards I will be able to retain the clothes washing on the line ,which is something that attracted me to the idea in the first place!

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

I slept on this overnight and I still like this idea the best.Why?Well number one is the fact that because the R/H side is kind of walled off,it forces the viewer to look at the diorama from the front and slightly to the left to get to best view.
This puts the airplane/man on center stage high and on a pedestal so to speak.
The viewers eye would more than likely go there first, which for this diorama is a good thing.I want the main storyline up front this time, unlike the dog/airplane storyline which would be discovered almost by accident.
The views eye,I am hoping will then work its way down level by level expanding on the central storyline.I may have to re-work the clothes line idea and put it closer to the house rather than stung across the backyard,where it would command too much attention.
The pilot's car and the wreck in the backyard fits into the main storyline OK and the third car parked at the lowest level in the L/H lane way and maybe even half in the garage,should not be a distraction away from the central story.The rest is just eye candy like they say.
It is almost like a shadowbox without the box as it limits and directs the viewers eye where I want it to go.
Questions and comments?

 

[JohnReid]

Working on this composition is the most fun that I have had in a long time.This is the really creative stuff that artists live for. In fact once your done with the design or mock-up the rest seems a little redundant and really is done more for the viewer than anything else. Wouldn't it be fun if all we had to do is make mock-ups and then let others do the hard stuff,like actually making it.Just kidding!
This is where the artist/craftsman comes in.I find it easier to be the artist than actually getting my hands dirty but I get around this by staying open to creative changes as I go along, as it keeps me interested too.This is especially true when I reach about 2/3rds along in any project when boredom starts to creep in.If I can just press on through this (so far,so good) and get to see the light at the end of what can be a very long tunnel ,then the anticipation of seeing it finished begins building .
In fact even early on when your sitting there making nail holes in the boards behind the toilet or bricks one by one, it can be a long road.
I don't think that I will ever build again exclusively from plans only.I did that for a long time when ship modeling but I still turned it into something more interesting,a diorama.

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

I now have a renewed respect for architectural models.For anything other than the simplest design a scale mock-up is a must.I would hate to think about the amount of wood,time and money that I would have otherwise spent if I had not worked in foam board first.
Next I will paint matte black all the areas that are the base/frame.Everything unpainted black, will be actually modeled in a life like way, in 1/16th scale.
Then I will have to cut the already made 1/16th facade in the appropriate place and add it to the R/H side.The only other facade left to do after that will be the L/H garage/shop area.

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

Here you can see the visual barrier set up that I made on the R/H side.There is a large fence that runs down the backyard and lane way on this side that I will leave in the realistic style.It is not a see-through fence so the barrier idea will still be in place without a massive black wall.
The airplanes wing I may hang over the edge of the fence, just a bit, for added interest.

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

I will put the fence's gate with a couple of stairs on the side near where you see the car in this pic.I have left the L/H facade blank for now until I finally decide on the garage/shop idea.That little area at the bottom of the fence and the lane way will be done as a stone wall because I would like to retain the angled look.

 

[JohnReid]