The World of Miniature Ground Support Equipment, Bigger Than You Think
You may have made dioramas as a child at school. If you recall, they are three-dimensional tableaux that illustrate a scene, using models or figurines. But they are not limited to the realm of childhood. They are also are a favourite tool of military modellers, who use them to display their model and figurine collections in an authentic setting that also evokes emotion and tells a story. Napoleon Bonaparte himself commissioned a diorama of the 1796 Battle of Lomi, which you can still see today at the Mus©e de l'Arm©e in Paris. Many of today's military-themed dioramas feature airfields, with World War I and World War II being very popular subjects. One challenge that builders of these dioramas face is finding authentic models of aviation equipment.
Web forums such as Britmodeller and Airfix Tribute help modellers get their bearings and locate suppliers of miniature ground support equipment, including Flightpath and Accurate Armour, many of whom accept online orders for such hard-to-find vintage non-flying aviation equipment as:
WWII Quonset huts - Light-weight, all-purpose, easy-to-assemble pre-fab structures made out of corrugated steel. Often used on temporary airstrips to house aircraft and ground support equipment. Look like a soup can that has been cut in half lengthwise and laid on the ground. Hundreds of thousands of these structures were manufactured by the George A. Fuller construction company during the war. After the war, the U.S. military sold the surplus huts, and many are still in civilian use across the U.S. today.
WWI Nissen huts - The predecessor of the Quonset hut was the Nissen hut, made from sheet metal curved into a half cylinder, a shape that was apparently inspired by the roof of the drill shed at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, where the inventor, Major Peter Norman Nissen, studied mining engineering. On average, it would take six men four hours to set up one of these huts, but there is a world record by one group who built one in an hour and half. Used to store non-flying aviation equipment or munitions, but also as airfield offices and - reportedly drafty and uncomfortable - accommodations.
Airfield dispersal ground support equipment - These contain such ground support equipment as windsocks (tubes on flagpoles that demonstrate wind direction and speed), platforms and folding ladders for
ground support equipement workers, warning signs and wheel chocks. As used by the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces.
Royal Air Force starter trolley or "putt putt" - A portable unit used to power the R-1820 engines of B-17s. (The crews that used this kind of ground support equipment had to work quickly, under threat of attack and without easy access to spare parts, between missions. The stress must have been enormous, especially since their colleagues in the air did not always make it home safely.)
Other kinds of sought-after military-themed miniature
ground support equipement include:
Some companies even make ground crew figurines. Sets include such
ground support equipement as:
Miniature aviation equipment lends authenticity to World War I and II airfield dioramas. Aficionados around the world find information on the ground support equipment they need from online forums and retailers, making it easier than ever for them to build the dioramas of their dreams.
Web forums such as Britmodeller and Airfix Tribute help modellers get their bearings and locate suppliers of miniature ground support equipment, including Flightpath and Accurate Armour, many of whom accept online orders for such hard-to-find vintage non-flying aviation equipment as:
WWII Quonset huts - Light-weight, all-purpose, easy-to-assemble pre-fab structures made out of corrugated steel. Often used on temporary airstrips to house aircraft and ground support equipment. Look like a soup can that has been cut in half lengthwise and laid on the ground. Hundreds of thousands of these structures were manufactured by the George A. Fuller construction company during the war. After the war, the U.S. military sold the surplus huts, and many are still in civilian use across the U.S. today.
WWI Nissen huts - The predecessor of the Quonset hut was the Nissen hut, made from sheet metal curved into a half cylinder, a shape that was apparently inspired by the roof of the drill shed at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, where the inventor, Major Peter Norman Nissen, studied mining engineering. On average, it would take six men four hours to set up one of these huts, but there is a world record by one group who built one in an hour and half. Used to store non-flying aviation equipment or munitions, but also as airfield offices and - reportedly drafty and uncomfortable - accommodations.
Airfield dispersal ground support equipment - These contain such ground support equipment as windsocks (tubes on flagpoles that demonstrate wind direction and speed), platforms and folding ladders for
ground support equipement workers, warning signs and wheel chocks. As used by the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces.
Royal Air Force starter trolley or "putt putt" - A portable unit used to power the R-1820 engines of B-17s. (The crews that used this kind of ground support equipment had to work quickly, under threat of attack and without easy access to spare parts, between missions. The stress must have been enormous, especially since their colleagues in the air did not always make it home safely.)
Other kinds of sought-after military-themed miniature
ground support equipement include:
- tow tractors
- bomb tractors
- fuel tankers
- oxygen carts
- trolley accumulators
- oil carts
- bomb trolleys
- tow tractors
Some companies even make ground crew figurines. Sets include such
ground support equipement as:
- workbenches
- jack stands
- Jerry cans
- wing jacks
- wooden ladders
- toolboxes and tools, e.g., screwdrivers
Miniature aviation equipment lends authenticity to World War I and II airfield dioramas. Aficionados around the world find information on the ground support equipment they need from online forums and retailers, making it easier than ever for them to build the dioramas of their dreams.