P51B Mustang :Turning an old aquarium into a diorama

[Night Fighter Nut]

First I had to cut it to the height I wanted. For the smaller side I wanted it 3" tall. I ensured an even cutting line all the way around by using a metal ruler and a #11 hobby knife. Measuring upwards, I made a tick mark at the 3" line all the way around. Then, using the metal ruler's straight edge, I connected the tick marks which gave me a straight line. The line was for my razor saw. The aquarium is plastic not glass so it was relatively easy to cut. I cut carefully along each line starting at the corners until I had cut all the way around. Much easier to cut at the corners.

Sanded the top carefully to remove the burrs and ensure all edges were even. Did this by wrapping sandpaper around a 2 x 4. Use your judgement as to the grit. Just realize any scratches on the sides will have to be buffed out.

 

[Night Fighter Nut]

The bottom half already had a bottom but for the top half I had to create one. I used an old piece of Masonite. I took the cylinder and placed it over the wood. Then I marked along the inside edge of the cylinder onto the wood so that it would fit once I cut it out. The upper half had a black plastic edge similar to the bottom only with a hole. I used this to support the Masonite piece I just cut out.

Now before you epoxy all those parts together, look over the sides for any scratches on the inside surface! Getting rid of them here will save you a lot of headache later. Wet sanding is the preferred way. My scratches were very light so I used toothpaste and cotton rag. A good movie to watch while you are working on the sides is helpful. After all the scratches were removed, I used car wax on the inside. This helps fill those micro scratches and makes the side very clear for viewing. It also makes cleanup easier when adding the ground work later. Nothing sticks to it.

When the sides are cleaned up and all the parts fit well, epoxy the new wooden bottom to the black plastic lip edge.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Night Fighter Nut]

Now for the interior.

Once the bottom was solidly dry, I cut a 1/4" piece of Styrofoam and epoxied it to the wooden bottom. Should you want to make uneven terrain, add bits of Styrofoam for a foundation for later covering material.

Now the fun begins. There are several ways to make the type of ground a diorama may call for. For my first one I used a sheet of 1/32nd inch balsa wood. Scratched lines into it to represent the wooden surface used in England for the Mustangs to sit on. Some people may use plaster or even paper mache for the regular ground. I used something I found at the model train show called Fusion Fiber and some acrylic paint for color.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Night Fighter Nut]

Great stuff, just add water and whatever color you want. I put some of this Fusion Fiber into a small bowl, added water, and mixed into a paste. There is no glue to add to this stuff. I added some black and umber paint pigment and continued to mix until the color looked right for what I was doing. Then I put what I had mixed onto the Styrofoam (no glue needed here either) and spread it over the bottom evenly. You get to decide how thick you want it. I chose to make it about an 1/8" thick and tied in all the surrounding forms.

I used an old bent up pallet knife to help spread and shape the mixture into a little rise and some turned up soil area where the plane would sit. I also added a pinch of Model railroad grass to see if it would stick to the mixture before it dried. It did, no extra glue necessary. I also added some scraped color chalk for color variation and small stones.

Then I had to wait for the stuff to dry. This took the better part of a week... We've had lots of rain so somethings dry more slowly.
This is what it looks like now.

 

[Wurger]

 

[ArmouredSprue]

That's cool. Well done

 

[fubar57]

Agreed

 

[Night Fighter Nut]

I've added more ground cover, trees, bushes, and a test for where I want the plane to be.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Night Fighter Nut]

I've ordered a Russian ground crew which should arrive next week sometime. Perhaps I should move this to another thread. Just incase someone might be interested in how its done.

 

[fubar57]

Very nice

 

[Night Fighter Nut]

Russian ground crew finally arrived. Will start work on them sometime later this week.

 

[Wurger]

 

[vikingBerserker]

What a cool idea, well done.

 

[Night Fighter Nut]

Well I finally got a good start on the ground crew. The base is temporary and there will be a couple of other items added soon... time permitting. I'll cut the top piece from plexiglass before I start attaching plane and crew. More to come.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Very neat! Looks great as well.

 

[Night Fighter Nut]

Had to wait a little bit. Daughter was in an auto accident. All are well. Will try to complete this in the next few weeks.

 

[Wurger]