"Once Upon A Time In The West" A Storyboard Diorama.

[John W Reid]

Models were often used for long shots which could have it's own backdrop as well.Here I have used an HO scale model.

[John W Reid]

[John W Reid]

Here is my idea of a dolly without seating or camera equipment.

[John W Reid]

The dolly is made from old HO RR parts,now I will add some kind of a stand for the camera and a handle for pushing the dolly around.

[John W Reid]

Where you see the kleenex boxes is where I plan to put the saloon facade which will also become actors dressing rooms in the back.

[John W Reid]

In the movies smaller scale models were often build (and still are witness "Titanic" as a example) and used for forced perspective purposes.This module will contain an HO RR model which I will modify and put in a corner with a backdrop from Monument Valley.

[John W Reid]

I am getting a little tired of making fences so I have started to do some serious research on old west facades and buildings and their construction techniques.

I will for the first two make the whole building as it will serve two purposes that of a facade and an actual dressing rooms for the actors.I first plan just to do the exteriors and use a sign to indicate what they are "Actors Dressing Rooms."

I will light them behind curtains and shades only but leave access to the interiors if I later want to add furnishings.I am already planning a second module, to be screwed to this one, containing the facades only.(next winter's project)Old west stuff seems to be pretty simple construction with few exterior decorations but lots of doors and windows, which is actually a plus for storyboarding using signs and stuff in the windows and doors for example.

[John W Reid]

I am beginning to see some progress on my saloon facade/dressing rooms building.

[John W Reid]

[John W Reid]

The plywood is ground level,one level up is the future boardwalk that will be completed after the posts are in.

[John W Reid]

[John W Reid]

I want to try something different with this diorama by adding some audio/visual stuff myself.This time the storyline will be presented in a little different way.Instead of step by step pictures accompanied by an audio text as planned by the museum ,this time I plan to do my own .

Just a few short years ago this option was not available to me but with all the miniaturization of electronics today and the relatively cheap price I think that it could quite easily be done.

These two saloon boxes will be used to house the electronics and diorama lighting equipment.Facing outwards I plan to install either slides or scenes from the movie itself with good quality miniature speakers,if I can get permission to do so from the copyright holders otherwise I will have to come up with a plan 'B'.It will be a donation to a museum for educational purposes or for my own private use so maybe I will get lucky.

Plan 'B' will probably be to contact a few individuals that I see on You Tube and get their permission to use their videos and music.

Sounds like fun,something different for a change.

[John W Reid]

I don't remember where I got this totem (or house post because it has a flat back)but as you can see from the chip on the base it is real black soapstone.It is not signed so I don't know who or what made it.It can't be very valuable so I plan to include it somewhere in the diorama/layout. I haven't quite decided how to finish it.It has a polished surface so the only thing that I can think of is that in real life that would be a shiny paint surface.Old totem poles are usually grey(ceder turns grey with time)totally or sometimes with remnants of paint.I don't want to paint it as a modern totem as the bright colors would be too distracting for the viewer.

I want to include it because the native people were a big part of the old west theme though not in this particular movie .I am planning an old prop yard at the rear of the diorama with fake horses etc..so I will probably put it there.

[John W Reid]

[John W Reid]

I have decided to make the saloon end of the diorama a kind of closed set,mostly by adding another building and a couple solid wood backdrops.

[John W Reid]

I am planning to add to the storyline a bit by adding a bit more history to the diorama.This once was an active movie set that was converted into a theme park that has since failed and has been abandoned.This will allow me more freedom for weathering the piece in my own style.For scale I may dress up one of the figures as a mannequin that has also fallen into disrepair.I am also thinking about doing a small scale model within this model for the props yard.

[John W Reid]

Well,I have changed my mind again.It is now back to the theme park idea.The props yard and no figures is just boring,especially for kids and after all this is why I do this stuff,for the kids and of course for the kid in all of us too.

Now I am planning at least 20 figures in this diorama,maybe more and a complete HO scale old west town with a few figures also.

Yesterday I built up my first HO structure in wood,an outhouse(well you gotta start somewhere and every old west town needs them).

1/87 is as small as I have ever gone and I kinda like it for a change of pace.

Miniature towns are very popular in Europe especially in England and Germany and the kids seem to love them.

[John W Reid]

Double post

Edited October 27, 2012 by John W Reid

[John W Reid]

[John W Reid]

[John W Reid]

This is where I am as of today.The lower right hand side of the pic is where the HO removable module will be.There will eventually be 15 buildings and facades in there.The future N scale module could be attached to any of the four sides by simply screwing it on.The trains movement should really be an eye catcher.

[John W Reid]

Now where the hell do I start ?

[John W Reid]

I am planning a small N scale RR layout.From what I understand 2'X4' is about minimum.Any ideas on where I could find some examples ? This is my fist layout since I was 10 years old about 62 years ago.Need help ! thanks Cheers! John.

[John W Reid]

I am planning 3 different modules for this piece.The G scale part will be finished in detail and weathered like an old abandoned movie set or ghost town.The HO scale part will be a removable module of an old west town and modeled to look like a model,in other words not as detailed or lifelike.The N scale part will be an add on module, fastened to one side of the perimeter, but I haven't yet decided which one.It will be an operating ,shelf type, old west train layout made to look like a G scale train(in real life) with G scale figures wandering through it.There will also be a old west movie poster area and a G scale area for a couple of fake horses.The horses will be hollowed out to look like paper mache ones with a sign nearby saying "Don't feed the horses",fake horses were often used as props in old west movies.

This piece has now evolved into a theme park idea (circa 1960's) It is a fantasy piece using lots of artistic license.( but isn't that what movies and models are all about,a suspension of your own disbelief ?) The core story is still about the Italian director Sergio Leone and his love of the western genre and it is dedicated to his memory.

Once Upon a time.........

My photobucket:

http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/JohnReid/

I am a man of few words but lots of pics

I quit drinking beer because the download was taking longer than the upload !

[John W Reid]

I kinda like this model within a model idea for a theme park.Finishing Morton's car with just furniture would be a little boring for kids I imagine but seeing another locomotive on display would be more fun.Walt Disney did this in his theme park and it was a hit with the kids both young and old.