This is the kind of ground cover that I am trying to create!

I can't seem to be able to log in anymore over on the Early Aviation site???????
Sorry Stephen.

Back to the KISS principal!!!!!!!

The Art of knowing when to stop!
When is enough ,enough?When would adding any more to a piece be a mistake?
I think that I have reached that stage with my diorama! I have been agonizing over this question for some time now and it has down to this.
About 8 years ago when I started making dioramas my idea was to take what I saw doll house builders do and marry that up with the traditional diorama.In other words to tell a story in an enclosed stage like setting.A kind of 4 sided shadow box.My first 2 dioramas stayed within these guidelines.
I started the 3rd diorama with the same idea in mind but somewhere along the line things changed. I am always looking for new ideas and new ways to present my pieces,so I thought that maybe I should expand my ideas to include a little something extra,a few things going on outside the perimeter of the building itself.At first I thought that I could treat the front of the hangar like a stage with the hangar doors acting as a kind of curtain hiding the rest from view when observed from this angle.The other 3 sides could have a little going on outside if it was not to distracting from the main subject which in this case is the airplane and the grouping off WW1 pilots.Here is where things got out of hand! I thought of expanding the whole idea into something very different than was my original intention.The outside was going to be as interesting as the inside.More cars,more airplanes this ,that, and something else.I was losing site of the forest for all the trees!Take a look at the picture with all the space around the office,now take a look at the last picture I posted today.I can still include a car outside without taking anything away from the view through the windows to the main subject . When viewed from the front the truck is hidden behind the hangar door structure.
The other set up was just too busy with too many distractions and besides when you add a plexiglass case to the whole thing, the viewer would be too far away from the windows to get a good look at what is going on inside, which defeats the whole purpose of the diorama in the beginning .
I will still add a few things outside the hangar walls,to keep things interesting, but on a much smaller scale than I had recently been planning.
I know some of my RR friends will think that I am chickening out on the landscaping thing but I am sure that this is the best way to go!

Here I have laid down some black paper over the repositioned plywood base.I find that a black painted base gives the diorama a sort of classic sculptural look.
The diorama will be set upon the base square to the edge .When it goes in the case they(the museum) can decide at that time if they want to position at an angle.I will leave a minimum of about 21/2" all around.If I add the vans and cars they will go on their own modules tight up against the hangar sides.When viewed from the front they will be hidden behind the hangar doors.

Another view

The black paper will be the new edge of the diorama.There will be a painted 2 1/2 inch matte border all around to act as sort of a frame.Inside the border will be new modules for whatever I plan to put outside. Shown here is where the van pulling the trailer with the Camel airplane will be situated if I decide to add it.The Model T and sign represents the space required for this addition.
Using modules means that I still have the option of taking it all apart again if ever I have to because of maintenance or in the event of disaster like which almost happened a week or so ago.

Back to the rainy day man!
It has been raining here for awhile and is supposed to continue for a few days ,so it's back to painting the figure for now.
The above pic gives you an idea of my somewhat primitive setup.One thing that you guys might be interested in is the white dish with the brush on it,which has a cap with some paint under it.This is the way that I keep my acrylic paint from drying to quickly before I get a chance to use it.Because it is so dry here in the winter and I heat with forced air, my paints tend to scab over pretty quickly, so I came up with a simple method of preventing this.I mix my paint however I want it and put it under a plastic cap(medicine bottle) and allow just a little paint to seep along the edge.As I want fresh paint I can slowly push the cap back ,simple as that and the paint stays fresh for hours!

Starting the underpainting!
I have started the underpainting of Eric using my usual method.
Being far from a good painter, all of my figures are destined for the inside of the hangar and its modules ,where I can take advantage of the lighting and distance from the viewer to help make up for my lack of skills.This is a great advantage for a dioramist who knows that no one will actually be picking up the figure to look at it.I can afford to be what I think you call impressionistic in style.I don't try to paint in every detail like some of the wonderful work that I have seen on some websites but just try to give my figures a certain look that seems to work for me .That being said this is what I have done so far.

Over the basic brown gesso I have started the underpainting using mostly Jo Sonja acrylics and a little Liqutex on the leather jacket.Usually I use burnt umber and ultramarine blue to make black but this time i just took some Liqutex ivory black and mixed it with Jo Sonja burnt umber about (3/4 to 1/4) and that made a nice warm black with just enough shine for that leather look.Using this mix I painted the flying jacket and the boots a couple of coats .I added a drop of flow medium and a few of drops of distilled water to a dime size tab of paint.You will have to experiment a bit here to get a mix that flows easily off the brush and is self leveling on the figures surface.I regularly use distilled water in my paint mix because with very thin mixes it stops the paint pigment from congregating
around the very edge of the puddle of paint.It also contains fewer of the little creatures that can make stored paint mixes go moldy.The flying jackets fur collar is dry brushed with a little burnt sienna.
The pants are straight Jo Sonja burnt umber.The belt and gloves are Jo Sonja brown earth. to be cont.....

The figure is not yet finished but you can get an idea with this pic of how it will look once you take scale distance and lighting into consideration.I will use pastels to tone down areas that are a little too shiny .I am not sure that I like the green hat!!

am getting anxious to get back to the plywood base again and start working on those new outdoor modules to see if my ideas are going to work.It will be sort of a compromise solution to the indoor /outdoor thing.The primary focus will still be the indoor storyline ,where all the figures will be placed . The view from the front will be stage-like ,while the other three sides will have enough going on to keep the viewer interested,yet still able to easily look through the windows to the action going on inside.One of the problems with too big a base is, that once you get the plexiglass case on ,the viewer would not have a clear view to the inside of the diorama.

QUOTE(BananaBob @ Apr 29 2007, 07:10 PM)
I love the style of clothing for this period, looks great John, can smell the leather. biggrin.gif It would be cool if a camera could be articulated through the diorama with a macro lense then add sound effects of people talking, tools clanging and so on. Don't know if that's possible, but would be cool. smile.gif Great work. artist.gif
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Thanks Bob! Wow ,that is a great idea.I never thought of making a video with sound effects,now that would be really cool.If you have any ideas along those lines I would love to hear them.I have thought of installing speakers with the sounds of an old radial engine.(just because I love that sound ,the same way I love the sound of the old Harley engine)

Looking good - he reminds me of Jimmy Stewart

Now that the base is finally cut to the right size,
I want to put a black border around the outside to act as a sort of frame for the diorama.The question is How big a border?and should I just paint it or use some other kind of material or veneer? Any suggestions would be welcome.