[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

Can't forget the racers!

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The story of the era would not be complete without some reference to the Air Racers.I chose to downplay this aspect a little by placing the posters under the lean to,next to the show car, on the side of the hangar ,as I don't want things to get too confusing.It also will serve as another item for the kids to find when playing the game of search the diorama for..........that I will suggest to the museum to make it a little more inter-active.I will also have four animals out and about for them to find.Kids seem to love to play these games!

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

Old roadster!

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This kit will be the basis of a
old rusty air show car that I plan to build and put outside the engine shop replacing #93.It was replaced by the much more powerful car that is under the lean -to at the side of the hangar.
My plan is to modify it to look more like a pre-WW1 car from around 1910.That would give me a good 15 years of wear and tear and lots of nice weathering possibilities.
I plan to change it to L/H drive,eliminate all lights and the 5th wheel.I will throw a tarp over the cockpit area which will eliminate a lot of detailing.I will modify the fenders or have non at all.I plan to modify the body and move the gas tank up behind the driver for gravity feed.The wheel spokes will be wood.Putting in the engine is optional or I could leave it sitting on the ground ,rusting out.
Should be fun!

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

Over on another website there was a lot of excitement about museums that display what is basically dollhouse rooms and furniture,without the dolls.

As you guys know 1/12 scale is considered doll house scale.A lot of people who are model makers let the word "dollhouse" turn them off to the wonderful things these guys and gals do both in scratchbuilding and in their use of kits.Some of the nicest modeling I have ever seen has been done by the dollhouse people.I make sure that I attend at least one show a year just to see what is going on.
I think that I have mentioned before that it was a dollhouse show that really inspired me to blend what I saw there, with other types of modeling, to create something new(at least I had never seen it done before).When I saw the effects that could be created with indoor lighting ,it blew me away.
I don't have the tools,patience or the skills required to do Louis the 14th furniture etc..but building and furnishing an old barn or hangar only requires basic carpentry skills,so that is when I decided to give it a go.A lot of 1/12 accessories and tools etc can easily be adapted to 1/16th scale.Especially tools that normally come in a variety of sizes in 1:1 scale.My hangar lighting is all dollhouse inspired with old brass Xmas bells for fixtures.In the office I used dollhouse overhead and table lamps to good advantage.
Another advantage is that it doesn't have to be expensive ,I use standard pine wood from hardware stores along with tongue depressors and coffee stir sticks of various sizes for most of my lumber requirements.Sandpaper for roofing material ,salvaged plexiglass for windows etc,etc.... being creative and using your imagination to find stuff is half the fun!

[JohnReid]

Proud to be a dioramist!
The next time that someone would have you believe that miniatures and dioramas cannot be ART have them check this out!Makes me proud to be part of this artform and something we could all aspire to!

The Art Institute of Chicago: http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/thorne/index.php

Click on the picture for more pictures!
Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

This is a pic of the parts of an old crate that I made for shipping the OX5 engine.I say shipping because I realized that I would have to make up my mind as to whether I would show nail holes or not.(No nail holes means the engine is being crated)
I guess that on a nice day in November grating the engine outdoors is not beyond the realm of possibility.The pic is not a very good one but it does show a creative way of showing the sides and top of the crate.(the base is attached to the engine)These parts are leaning up against the engine shop outside wall and the grate is about to be nailed together.I played around awhile to get what I think is a nice arrangement but it still needs an address label or an upside down" this end up" sign or at least a few identifying numbers .The upside down "this end up" would be a nice Ken Hamilton touch,stolen from his book "How to Build Creative Car Dioramas".

[JohnReid]