Need help with a 1:1 diorama

[jreads]

My father was a WW2 B-24 Radioman stationed at Halesworth and his plane was shot down in France on his 30th mission.  Over the years I have acquired most of the equipment he would have used in that role and that is pictured in the photo below (radio receiver, headphones, microphone, switch boxes).  So most of the 'model' will actually be WW2 relics, but I need to somehow recreate the other components of his station (without costing a fortune or weighing a ton).  The thing I'm having the hardest time with is recreating the curved wall of the fuselage.  I'm trying to find the right material that will eventually look like aluminum.  The second photo shows some of the wall detail.  (PS - I'm creating everything from the tabletop up so I can display it on a table and can be transported).

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

 

 

 

 

[rockpopandchips]

That's a great idea and good luck with it.  Have you had a look at what types of pre formed alu sheet or box you can get, you might be able to make the inner frame from them? 

[Army_Air_Force]

I would go with aluminium. For the stringers, you could make life easier by using flat strip for the part that attaches to the skin, and box section glued on with a modern bonding agent. That would give you the correct section for the stringers. You could use real rivets or just small section aluminium rod cut to small pieces and glued in. For the curved formers, either splash out and get a metalworking company to roll some for you, or use wooden formers with aluminium sheet bonded to the surface.