Thursday, August 11, 2016
In The Days Of My Youth....
One of the models I built was the B17 and I remember this diorama... Mine NEVER looked that good. I did hang it from the ceiling in my bedroom using fishing line.
After some searching I happened upon this SITE<<
Click on the link and see if you remember seeing those dioramas.. Here is some info from the link:
Throughout the 1970s, Sheperd Paine was commissioned by Monogram to build dioramas of new and re-released kits for what turned out to be an ingenious marketing idea, with his work summed up in a brochure that was packaged with the kits. Timing was everything, with production line demand for a completed diorama coming in only one week from the time Shep began. It was truly a remarkable feat for the mind, skill and speed of Shep to develop what was to become the benchmark for thousands of model builders.
When you are on the PAGE.. click on the pictures to get the full page of TIPS ON BUILDING DIORAMAS for each of the models.
If you want more goodies Google "Shepard Paine" he was a master model maker for sure.
Yep. Those Monogram dioramas were boss, and that dude Paine was a witch. I built just about every kit Monogram ever put out. Weathered most of them and got pretty good at it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the diorama link.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, none of my stuff ever looked as good as that B-17. Never did get the hang of weathering. I'm kind of getting back into plastic and glue since I've picked up the hobby of 1/1200-1/1250 ships. Most manufacturers do them in metal, but some do plastic
Dry brushing sharp contours was the key. I'd use cotton balls with barely a coating of flat mud looking colors on them...often custom mixing paints to get the color I wanted. Dab the cotton ball lightly on the contours. Turned out great!
DeleteIn 1963-4 I worked with a man who was a B-17 pilot over Europe. He had some stories... But he built a B17 model with 4 engines and flew it which as a model builder myself seemed amazing back then.
ReplyDeleteI was seriously into building super detailed model aircraft in the early 1980's when I first moved to Kaliforniastan.
ReplyDeleteDidn't have my Street Machine to work on, and I needed something to keep busy with.
I custom built a few F-14 Tomcats for some of the biggies at Hughes Aircraft. They has a load of six AIM-54 Phoenix missiles, and I mounted them on sections of plywood painted to look like a carrier deck.
I even made the "Hughes News" a couple of times....
My dad was B-17 pilot with this group---
ReplyDeletehttp://www.447bg.com/
He flew 35 combat missions over Europe. As a kid, I built every warbird model I could get my hands on. Used a hot ice pick to inflict "battle damage".
I thought sure there was going to be a picture of a number 4 paper sack to go with the glue.
ReplyDelete