Greetings all. Some of you may remember me from my previous incarnation here on the WWI forums. Glad to be back.
The current project is a diorama based on the iconic photo of Aussie troops with AEG 588/17 in Amiens, France, in 1918. Flip Hendrickx sent me the photo and dared me to try turning it into a diorama, so this is all his fault.
The action report states that the plane was brought down by AA and landed, roughly, in flames, yet in the three photos of the plane to be found, none shows any fire damage. However, the starboard engine is missing so I wonder if it, specifically, was on fire and removed at the scene of the capture. Regardless, I have chosen to renew my artistic license and employ historic plausibility; I have retained the starboard engine, but shown it in tough shape.
Richard Alexander at Wingnut Wings was kind enough to dig up additional photos of the wing roots so that I could properly detail those. It was only after I was finished that I found out the visible sections would have been made of metal. I decided to leave them as they were.
As some of the Antipodeans living East of the Tasman Sea will note, there is a Silver Fern on the lorry. Even though the photo shows Aussies, in a tip of the hat to Inclusivity, I decided to make the lorry and its crew Kiwis. E haere mai koe.
I attended the MFCA Show in Philly last weekend and was honored by my colleagues with a gold for the AEG and a Bronze for the Thornycroft Lorry. As the latter was my first foray into something wingless, I was tickled.
So...now on to the figures and buildings.
Thanks for having a look.
Cheers from NYC,
Michael