There maybe room for compromise on the Camel!
Darn ,It just bothers me to give up (postpone) the Camel. The engine is built and I can't think of a place to put it in the diorama other than on the yet to be built Ford truck.I could build some kind of a trailer just for the engine and let it go at that or (and I just thought of this) use some well placed tarps over the fuselage and wings like I did with the basketcase Jenny. The fact that a lot of the aircraft would be covered would eliminate the majority of the scratchbuilding and would not be unexpected by the viewer who would just assume that the tarps were there to protect the airplane for its road trip.It will also help to rescue my enthusiasm for the whole project.
You know it is funny about art sometimes what looks like a failure at first can be just a change in direction! I must admit that I was very disappointed when things didn't work out as I had planned.I don't want this episode to turn into a creative dry spell for me ,which would just delay this diorama further,so I had better find a compromise solution.
One way or the other the Ford truck is going in, so I will build that first which will give me lots of time to think about the Camel.
Why am I bothering to tell you all this? Well creative U-turns are part of doing a long term diorama project like this ,especially when you just kind of wing-it as you go along.It ain't easy sometimes but it sure is a hell of a lot of fun working out the unexpected problems that you can run into once in awhile and not let your self get discouraged.
Bring on the Ford..............!

The Model T would fit into just about any diorama involving a WW1 scene military or civilian.There is quite a range of scales available from RR to 1/16th.There is lots of room for creative scratch building if you want to start with just the chassis and build your own body onto it.
I did just that with my Neiuport 28 diorama and built my own truck and placed it in a hangar scene.Because these cars were around in the early days of motoring there is lots of opportunity to practice your weathering techniques.Painting is quite easy even without an airbrush,I hardly use mine at all and mostly just to dull down some metal parts if I feel it is required.Try an old T in your diorama they really fit into an old biplane scene.

Basic chassis, with three thin coats of 50/50 black gesso and distilled water ,with a drop of flow medium added to the mix..Don"t worry if the thinned gesso mix doesn't want to stick over the whole surface at first,just paint it on and whatever sticks, dry it with a hair dryer and then put on another thin coat.After 2 or 3 thin coats a uniform surface will be obtained.Over this basic undercoat you can then spray or brush on your finish coats.I will use black,white or burnt umber gesso depending on what is closest to the finish color.On very smooth or shiny surfaces you may want to sand it with 600 or higher sandpaper before you apply the gesso.
This is an excellent kit with loads of detail but there are a lot of very small pieces that are very hard to handle due to the high polished surface.I don't know if plastic changes over time(almost 30 years in this case)but it seems a little more brittle than what I am used to.
The engine looks a little crooked on the frame but that is probably due to the fact I had to repair the frame which was broken in twowhen I recieved it.Once the body is on however, none of this will be visible.

Modifying the "T"
Before I go any further with the T I had better figure out where and how I am going to stash all the Camel parts and pieces.The 4 wings will be attached to the fuselage and will be resting up against the side probably held on with rope etc..The center section and its struts will be left on the fuselage for easy re-assembly.The horizontal stab ,fin and elevators will be strapped to the side of the T and the ailerons on the roof rack.
I hate to cut this nice kit up but I have to re-design it a bit for my purposes.The cab portion will remain the same but the body will have to be opened up a bit as I find it too enclosed .I want the focus to be on the aircraft parts and pieces that the truck is carrying and not the truck itself.
I have a set of more modern headlights left over from another project ,so I will convert the system to electric more in keeping with a T from early 20's.

This is the plan for strapping things on to the van.The horiz stab and elevator will take up one side ,with the ailerons on the top rack and the rest inside. I don't plan to fabric cover any of this.I have had to stop building the T for now until I get the seated figs that you see here,which should be in a couple of weeks or so.These figs are already in a seated pose so I don"t anticipate too much modification.The uniforms can be altered to become street clothes or coveralls.The hats I will modify or change the heads altogether.I plan to improve my painting techniques(especially the faces) as these figs are outside and not subject to hangar lighting .They also are near the edge of the diorama and more subject to up-close observation by the viewer.
This Camel /Ford truck piece will probably take a lot more time than I anticipated as it seems to grow in complexity day-by-day.The whole thing is just an add-on and not central to the storyline .It is more just a fun piece that I thought would add more interest to the back of the diorama . We don't often get to see airplanes being towed on our roads anymore!

From van to flatbed!
I don't know what I have been thinking but the van idea is really not a good one.A flat bed would be much better as it would allow me to rest the Camel's tail directly over the T's rear wheels. I could also leave the fin and rudder on the airplane which may look a lot better.It would also provide for a much more open concept to view the various parts and pieces.This would be an easy modification at this stage.The seated figures are on order at the hobby shop and when I get them they will be temporarily fitted to the seats of the T or one seated in the T and the other on the flatbed as an observer.Remember the driver is in the mens room taking a nervous one!

For a more complete version of the text or instructions on this build please see:
http://www.theaerodrome.com

See the "forum" section.

Oil pump,air pump and mags are now installed on the rear of the engine mount.The fire wall is next and will be installed on the front side of the engine mount between the engine and the aircraft structure.
I decided to stick with the olive green for the engine mount.Most of the the other components are a gunmetal color with the magneto support piece left black for a little contrast.These colors are no more than an educated guess on my part as I haven't been able to find a good reference for this.
When using gesso as an undercoat try to stay away from white, because if it chips or you have to remove paint in some areas for a good glue joint, little flecks of white gesso all over the place can be a nightmare.I use black or burnt umber gesso most of the time for any dark colored components.
If you look closely at the last pic you will see areas where a little burnt umber shows through the green color which actually adds to a more realistic weathered look.
Now it is on to the firewall.

Another pic

Except for the plumbing most of the engine area is finished.A few paint touch ups and a little weathering later should do it.
I temporarily installed the engine up against the firewall to see how it looks and now will remove it again to put the fuselage assembly in the kit supplied jig and complete the cockpit area.
I must confess about how easy it is to screw up even when you think that you are being careful.It always usually happens when I set my mind to finishing something at the end of a building session.I just wanted to see the engine mount permanently glued to the fuselage. I super glued it and then much to my horror discovered it was upside down.Luckily I caught it before it had time to really cure.Luckily I had some un-cure handy and it worked out well with no damage to the structure.Darn,you can't let your guard down for a minute!

Main fuel tank assembly.
Here is a perfect example of what is wrong with this kit,quality control!
The main fuel tank casting is in 3 pieces.The tank body is actually 2 left hand or 2 right hand pieces rather than a right and a left.Instead of trying to correct the problem they tried to smoke it through by having the builder correct the mistake.The whole casting requires so much work to look reasonable scratchbuilding it would have been a lot easier in the long run. The seam in the side of the tank is the size of the grand canyon and it took lots of super glue to fill.Fill and sand,fill and sand........
The aircraft structure is way too flimsy to support the weight of the tank so I modified it to be more like the real aircraft.(wouldn't want to pull any "G's" with that thing!!!!)
Now its on to painting it,to hide the mess!

Opinions please!
I am at a stage now with the Camel build where I have to finally decide whether to add the guns or not to the model.Up until now I was of the opinion that they would have been long removed from the aircraft but now I am having second thoughts.
The story is that it is being transported by road to a university in southern Ontario where it will be used for study and research purposes.(this actually happened after the war).
A asked a young friend of mine(13)what he thought and he said that it would be more attractive to the kids if I left them on. The Camel aircraft after all got its name from the hump created by the machine guns and they are a big part of its overall design.
Something tells me that in all likelihood the guns would have been removed ,but then again I am doing this diorama for the kids and I want to please them first and foremost.What do you guys think on or off?

Wow! at this level of magnification every flaw sure shows.The things you never see at 1/16th.
The copper fittings were heated red hot with a butane lighter and then dunked in cold water to get the aged patina.Where the nails or screws go I just colored the holes black.With successive coats it will look better.
The lower wing root area is another figment of the kit designers imagination,so I attempted to make it look a little better using some extra fittings I had left over from Jenny(in the end however I will somehow cover this area)I added some extra brace wire fittings for the internal wires.
Some areas were weathered now while they are easily accessible .
Next will be the rudder bar and the installation of the main fuel tank.

Thanks to everyone who responded to my guns off or on question.Looks like 90% want them left on.My modeling bud,Stephen Lawson ,had a great idea.They could be fakes that were used in the air shows and movies of the era.I will have to research this angle and see if any Camels were used in this way in Canada .This would fit perfectly into my story line as a former movie prop airplane being donated to a university or museum.Movies were very important to this era as a means of promoting aviation to the general public. If anyone has any info on this please let me know.

WOW man that is F*$!ing crazy how did u get most of that stuff for one 2 how the hell do u find enogh time to do all that and 3 how did u biuld that 1 planes shell like that with all those wiers running thru it did u actualy biuld it or buy it.And for all that stuff that u did buy from where did u buy it

Another pic

Hi! well that part of the build is mostly scratch built. As for time I am retired(67) and re-living my childhood.Cheers! John.