The Imperial Shipyards
Imperial Creative Engineering => Dioramas => Topic started by: talonreap on February 18, 2018, 08:54:18 PM
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Hi all, while I was home over the winter holidays I got to work on my first dioramas! I didn't get around to taking pictures of them until now, but I'm excited to share them! It's also my first time using Imgur to embed pictures in my posts rather than just attaching them, so hopefully it works.
(https://i.imgur.com/eidqqrY.jpg)
I first decided to try my hand at a hallway in Echo Base featuring a snowtrooper and an E-Web cannon. This was my first snowtrooper and I must say I love him! Anyway, I followed Frank Diorio's workshop instructions and I think it worked out rather well!
(https://i.imgur.com/FiQODAL.jpg)
I used a soldering iron on some styrofoam to carve the grooves in the wall and strung some old computer cables up to simulate the power cables. I then used some old blue paint I had lying around and mixed it with some Citadel Skull White to get the icy look for the walls. The snow is PVA glue, baking soda, and a few gobs of white paint as I read that baking soda sometimes yellows over time.
(https://i.imgur.com/HGbFrn9.jpg)
To finish it off I used some of Frank Diorio's templates to make the plates on the floor and the crates by the wall. Over all I'm very pleased with how it turned out! I know it's not movie-accurate to the scene where the cannon fires on the Falcon in the hangar, but I like it for what it is.
I'll be posting more pictures of other dioramas I've done throughout the week, and hopefully some in-progress pictures of a few builds I'm currently working on!
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Wow, this looks fantastic. I can see why you are stoked!
Off to share.
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Today I want to show off a little Lah-Mu scene I recreated with Krennic and two Death Troopers. I think this little vignette turned out well too and I hope y'all enjoy it!
(https://i.imgur.com/ygginGG.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/mEp0AIy.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/Lih6w2P.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/4WnV77E.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/hMwB7Jb.jpg)
For the stormtrooper doll I sculpted some Green Stuff onto some bitz; it's not as good as others I've seen but it gets the job done.
(https://i.imgur.com/WhKAPJ9.jpg)
I cut out areas for the figures feet to stand and stuck a quarter of a toothpick into the foam to give them a peg for support. You can see the peg a little in the foreground here.
(https://i.imgur.com/ULFui7f.jpg)
For the machinery (Vaporator? Condenser?) I layered some masking tape on a C-battery and stuck a little greeblie on top. Painted Bleached Bone with Skull White highlights and a Badab Black wash.
(https://i.imgur.com/TxPu8HC.jpg)
The hill is pink foamboard cut and shaped with a hot wire cutter, with sand affixed with PVA glue. I gave it all a base coat of Citadel Chaos Black and then layered Codex Grey and Bleached Bone to get the soil to pop. The grass is Citadel Grass and the flock is something I picked up at a hobby shop years ago. Last of all, the rocks are pieces of cork painted black and drybrushed with Mechanicus Standard Grey and Codex Grey.
Thanks for looking!
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The Hoth corridor dio looks excellent as does the Lah-mu dio.
Ron
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Nice Rogue One dio. Off to share the latest.
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Both are very cool.
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Both dios are masterpieces.
I like the Stormie doll you made for the Lah-Mu scene.
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Thanks so much for the supportive feedback! It really means a lot to me to hear from some of the amazing customizers and artisans in the community.
Today I have some pictures of a landing pad I worked on over the last few months. I envision it as an installation on Scarif (or really any Imperial base) and took inspiration from both the Endor landing pad and the various pads on Scarif.
(https://i.imgur.com/wXzwiKt.jpg)
I made the pad out of black foamcore and applied some decals from the Diorama Workshop to simulate vents of some kinds. The arrows I masked off and used white acrylic paint.
(https://i.imgur.com/BD3hBIe.jpg)
For the columns supporting the pad I took some empty soda cans and sprayed the tops and bottoms with black spray paint before wrapping decals around the middle.
(https://i.imgur.com/ml48jVD.jpg)
The ladder is from an old firetruck toy I found and sprayed it silver before affixing it to the pad with two half-paper clips pushed into the foam.
(https://i.imgur.com/BS7Qdy4.jpg)
The spotlights and gantries took a bit of work, and I'm pleased with how they turned out. I used chopsticks as the four columns that make up the structure and used skewers for the diagonal struts. I glued the gantries onto duplo blocks for the bases and tops and gave it all a black base-coat. The spot lights are made form spare bulbs from xmas lights and attached to the tips of the chopsticks used earlier. Finally I cut out some decals and added them as instrument panels.
(https://i.imgur.com/aNJchsn.jpg)
The pad comfortably holds the TIE Striker, as well as a regular TIE Fighter.
(https://i.imgur.com/ysbFRoC.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/23giuO7.jpg)
Here it is with a pilot heading for his vehicle and some ground crew preparing for lift off!
Hope you guys enjoy it!
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Excellent and inspiring! This is a design many of us could could replicate.
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Pretty awesome. Frank is really liking you using his decals. He made a nice comment on the last post where I noted you used some of his stuff. It looks great. Could be used for any outpost. I could so see a TIE Defender sitting on this. Off to share.
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I really like the landing platform. Great use of everyday items and decals.
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Excellent display mate and I love all the recycled items you have used.
Ron
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Wow, thanks so much for all the kind words! I'd love to see similar projects or Imperial bases, they always give me new ideas on what to try and how to set things up!
@hemble and @JDeck - Thanks, I always try to keep my eyes out for old medicine bottles and the like, anything I can cobble together and turn into Star Wars tech with some glue and a layer of paint!
By the way, I admire both of your work so much, and it means a lot to me that you've taken the time to take a look at my own dioramas.
@Tamer I'm glad my work made Frank happy! I frequent his site often and am so grateful for all his hard work and beautiful decals.
I'll have some more shots to post tomorrow, including step-by-step WIP photos which I forgot to take for the others. The subject?.....Tatooine!
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So, here it is! A Mos Eisley dio with some figures to populate it and a step-by-step process to boot. This was my second major diorama attempt, and I learned some lessons from the first that served me well here. More on that first project later, but for now take a look at this little scene! Hope you all enjoy.
(https://i.imgur.com/AGzZbcX.jpg)
I began with a cardboard box I received some figures in as the body of the building. I have a foam hemisphere I picked up at Walmart along with some pink insulation foam I cut for the stairs, doorframe, etc. I also mocked up a little cardboard door after following @Darth More's lead on an old Mos Eisley thread of his (at least, I think it was his! Certainly a fellow 'yarder)
(https://i.imgur.com/7Gl1ldz.jpg)
Here is a close-up of the aforementioned door.
(https://i.imgur.com/zXzEV08.jpg)
Here is the building once assembled with hot glue. I learned to tape off seams or edges in the cardboard for this project to increase the realism in the final product.
(https://i.imgur.com/EvgPlmU.jpg)
A side shot of the foam buttresses. I know they don't serve any structural purpose, but I thought they looked nice!
(https://i.imgur.com/BsW84ZW.jpg)
I found a box that had previously held wine-glasses and noticed that the cut-outs were the perfect size for some recessed windows! I cut them out and taped over the edges before adding them to the front wall.
(https://i.imgur.com/XvhwKKm.jpg)
I added a larger port to the side wall for some decoration, and glued the building to a wooden board I sourced from an old doll house at this stage in the assembly.
(https://i.imgur.com/oog4Adh.jpg)
At this point I covered the building in plaster, a DryDex mixture I also picked up from Walmart. I know most folks sand it down, but I think that for a rough space port like Mos Eisley that it's fine as is. I also painted the door with an acrylic Iron Oxide shade.
(https://i.imgur.com/FhdEaKt.jpg)
Next step: I added sand! I used PVA glue to attach it and alternated the ground cover with some extra spackle for varied texture.
(https://i.imgur.com/2ioiFZ6.jpg)
Here's the final product! I normally use Citadel paints for my custom figures and smaller scale dios, but for this large one I didn't want to use that (relatively) expensive paint. So, I have gotten in the habit of browsing Walmart's craft aisle for cheap paints. I used Vanilla Ice Cream as a shade of off-white to add a bit of shading to the white plaster, and used a mixture of brown, yellow, and off-white to paint and highlight the sand.
(https://i.imgur.com/Jwaq0jA.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/TazE45m.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/HrM57hj.jpg)
Here a sandtrooper stands by a recently vacated sandspeeder...
I took this picture to mock up the Tatooine scene, and below is the full set-up for this diorama.
(https://i.imgur.com/p3FRJ9R.jpg)
I like to think of this scene as taking place a few hours before Ben, Luke, and the droids make their way into that famous "hive of scum and villainy." The Black Series figures I picked up at recent sales, the others come from Ebay and Amazon. The Moisture Vaporator in the back is make of one of those orange pill bottles, pen caps, the tube from inside a ballpoint pen, and greeblies.
(https://i.imgur.com/0Lva9sq.jpg)
Good 'ole Ponda Baba here out for a morning stroll...blissfully unaware of the confrontation to come!
(https://i.imgur.com/eoMpGHa.jpg)
Sidon Ithano (not really, but I just love this figure!) and his droid interrogated by Sandtroopers during the search for the Death Star plans.
(https://i.imgur.com/AFe7C6l.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/QfKGnLi.jpg)
Another trooper briefs local Imperial spy and informer Garindan on the search. I recently acquired both of these figures and absolutely love them! I think they complement the diorama perfectly.
(https://i.imgur.com/5r6dLvv.jpg)
And there you have it! Feel free to ask me any questions you have, and I hope you enjoy this peek into Mos Eisley as much as I did in making it!
-talonreap
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Preparing for exams has been keeping me from posting on here...I definitely have to catch up a bit:
Hoth: Right when I saw this nice ice hallway display it reminded me of Frank D'ioros ideas, which are very inspiring. I especially like how you made the back wall with the cables. The blue paint apps make it look like ice, indeed. Also the boxes and ground plates look fantastic! Frank's prints are a true blessing to add more detail to dioramas! I'm very thankful he shared his projects with us.
Lah-Mu: The base of this masterpiece is very impressive! I work a lot with materials from GamesWorkshop and Citadel, too. Your diorama looks like the ones on display in Games Workshops built by the master builders and painters.The ground looks just so realistic and I can't express properly how great I think this is! The gravel structure, the rocks and the grass look just perfect! Have you dry-brushed the sand to highlight the ground?
My favourite piece of this diorama is the condenser/barrel with the accessory piece of Warhammer 40k - what an awesome detail! Also the printed background is a great idea! And I agree with FialaFernbrugg on your custom Stormtrooper doll!
Awesome awesome work!
Imperial Landing Platform: This piece of art speaks for itself: I'm beyond impressed how you make diorama elements out off daily life goods. I don't know if this is the right word to describe it. The soda cans, the chopsticks or the LED lights you used speak for your remarkable creativity and imagination! I also collect stuff of different shapes that might be suitable ti turn into something Star Wars...
Excellent work mate!
Mos Eisley: Now to my favourite project of these four: (of course it has to be my favourite because I'm also a big fan of Tatooine...) - I was just having my morning coffee when I discovered your post. Using cardboard is a very cheap and efficient way to make quick progress on buildings and single walls. You definitely put some serious effort into the door! I'm very impressed by the design and the color of this door and how clean you cut all the edges!
Having used this particular box is also a very nice and environmentally friendly way to recycle it! Plus it'll always give you good memories when you think of the figures you got with this box, which now became a great diorama piece! I think the rendering and the base plate look fantastic, too! I haven't sanded mine down, yet, but I'll definitely try different ways once I got some spare time, again.
Thank you so much for sharing these masterpieces! I like all of them so much and feel very honored that my work on my Mos Eisley dioramas has inspired and helped you for your project! That makes me very happy! Thank you also for all the detailed description and the "how-to" and "WIP" pics! Your work inspires me as well and I'll try some new ways of making the ground structure like you did!
I need to update my first topic from 2009. I started to revise my first four buildings completely. I'm working on the rendering first, but I also need to add some detail inside such as furniture.
Here's a link to my first and bigget project so far:
http://www.imperialshipyards.net/SMF/index.php?topic=3139.0
And my latest project, which I'll hopefully finish by the end of March:
http://www.imperialshipyards.net/SMF/index.php?topic=10155.60
Best regards from Germany!
- Philipp
P.S.: Some weeks ago I changed my name from legion078 to Darth More. legion078 was a completely random name, but down the road I will make a 78th Legion Clone Trooper custom. There are actually some thoughts behind Darth More and I'll add some info to my profile on that, soon.
I also got a story about another Mos Eisley dio to share. I hope I find some time to share it, soon.
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Wow that is nice. Thanks for the step by step too. Off to share.
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Wow! @Darth More - Phillip, thank you for the in-depth response! I always love to keep an eye on your projects, and I really appreciate you taking the time to give such earnest and kind feedback! I took a look at your Mini Dio's page and they are awesome! I may use some of your techniques to do a similar Kashyyyk dio of my own some day, I'll be sure to let you know! Also, I was meaning to ask about the change to Darth More! Can't wait to hear the story.
@Tamer - Thanks as usual for the support and recognition, Tamer! It means a lot to me.
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You're very welcome! Your work is very inspiring! Yesterday, I forgot to mention that I find the chop sticks you partly broke/bent to make these steel girders most impressive! I've always been happy to read your feedback on here, too! You always commented on my topics and I appreciate that very much also because not many people take the time to do so - on here and also on YouTube in general. So thank you very much, mate!
I completed my profile this morning and added the story of the change of name at the end:
http://www.imperialshipyards.net/SMF/index.php?topic=10407.0
Best regards
- Philipp
P.S.: When I went through my first Mos Eisley project from 2009, yesterday, I realized how bad the pictures actually are. That's also because of the limited quality of my first digital camera back then, but also because I downsized the files. So I'm working on replacing them until the end of the month.
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Your dios keep getting better and better.
One of my favorites so far is the TIE landing pad.
I can't wait to see more.
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This is a truly lovely diorama mate, love the use of cardboard and detail you have gone into on the door is wonderful.
Can't wait to see what you do next!
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Thank you for the support, @Panther and @FianlaFernbrugg! All of your work is detailed and spectacular, and I appreciate both of you taking the time to look at my dioramas.
Now, I have some pictures of my final diorama: Jedha! I actually made this one before Tatooine, but I wanted to post that one first because the steps in building it were largely similar. I then filled it with figures and I think it looks pretty good! Check it out below.
(https://i.imgur.com/Ybd039a.jpg)
As before, I built the building out of half a cardboard box. The facade and archway are both high-density pink styrofoam, and the little hut on top was a chunk of more open-cell packing foam I found in a box.
(https://i.imgur.com/tkPFmpQ.jpg)
The big old greeblie on the side of the hut is a launcher from the TFA Unkar's Thug + Teedo pack. I gave it a black wash and drybrushed it with Citadel Boltgun Metal to highlight it a little. You can also see here some of the facade. I went a little wild with my hot-wire cutter and added lots of impact craters and pockmarks throughout.
(https://i.imgur.com/PKbMXfs.jpg)
I used some thick straws for rusted pipes along the front of the building; I gave them a basecoat of Chaos Black over which I painted Scorched Brown and a Tin Bitz wash. The door is yet another Frank Diorio decal, this time borrowed from the Trash Compactor! At this point I hadn't considered following Darth More's spaceport door tutorial. I know it doesn't really belong, but I don't think it looks too bad. Finally, the wires are made from an old pair of headphones and attached to some greeblies from my bitz box.
(https://i.imgur.com/wWcLIFG.jpg)
Here is the arch, which I drew out a pattern for and cut out of foam. The little market stall was made from two skewers painted brown and glued onto the plastic tarp/covering from a 1/72 model truck which I bent into shape and painted red. As for the rather obvious cardboard, I made this dio before knowing to conceal the edges and corners of cardboard with tape before plastering over. I may put some tape and new paint over it one day, but we'll see.
(https://i.imgur.com/wnjc3Jn.jpg)
The Aurebesh above the door here actually reads "Converter Station". I found this template on RebelScum courtesy of KypDuron, and he's got a lot of great decals and papercraft free to download. In addition to the power coupling/transmitter piece on the right, I made a little antenna assembly on top. It's a rusty nail (which I didn't even have to repaint, haha!), a marker cap, and a pen cap set between two halves of a cork I cut and painted Boltgun Metal. The panel on the front is a decal belonging to the BMF that I found a template for online.
(https://i.imgur.com/CkMcaOZ.jpg)
I painted the whole thing with a combination of cheap Walmart paints. I used Khaki as a base coat and drybrushed Vanilla Ice Cream over top.
(https://i.imgur.com/n47VkPB.jpg)
I reused the same paints for the sand which I applied with PVA glue. Only difference was that I added some shades of brown to distinguish it from the building. Now, I think that does it for the explanation and creation of the dio! Onto the figures!!
(https://i.imgur.com/4PXeepX.jpg)
This is a general overview of the scene. I've got some troopers on patrol, partisans lying in ambush, monks on pilgrimage, vendors and hagglers in the market, and Jyn and Cassian caught in the middle of it all.
(https://i.imgur.com/xaP5nxH.jpg)
The monks are a few Sarco Plank's I picked up on HTS this summer for cheap. I looked through the Rogue One Visual Guide and repainted their hands and faces to resemble more closely some of the monks from the movie.
(https://i.imgur.com/ZrwGP0e.jpg)
Here you can see another homemade Vaporator, again made out of a pill bottle. I attached some greeblies, cut-up straws, and even a miniature Hoth turret from an old model.
(https://i.imgur.com/nZQZpfk.jpg)
I think these TFA aliens fit in quite well in Jedha! They are quarreling no doubt over Quiggold's outrageous price for the meiloorun (another KypDuron print-out).
(https://i.imgur.com/Z4Jlimn.jpg)
Jyn and Cassian duck into cover as an imperial patrol approaches...I did a simple head-switch between the U-Wing Cassian and the Eadu Cassian. It's a little loose on the ball joint, so at some point I'll have to fill in the head just a little.
(https://i.imgur.com/8KN53Cs.jpg)
I love the RO Stormtrooper sculpt! I hope they reuse the bucket in TVC soon. The canisters next to the troopers were made from pill bottles, bottle caps, and greeblies. The smaller one is actually some kind of large toy soda can I found and repurposed.
(https://i.imgur.com/SqBSPVg.jpg)
These troopers may be in trouble...
(https://i.imgur.com/VUy9LHj.jpg)
Definitely in trouble!
(https://i.imgur.com/1MLETuJ.jpg)
I think Unkar's Thug makes for a great partisan, very easy to incorporate him into this dio.
(https://i.imgur.com/kNsZh0P.jpg)
At last, the leaders of the Partisans. Edrio and Saw! If you look closely (and my apologies that the picture isn't totally in focus) you'll notice that I painted some details onto Saw's breathing apparatus.
Whew! Sorry for the long post, but I hope you enjoy this excursion into the embattled streets of Jedha! It was one of my absolute favorite sets of RO, and I'm happy I could bring it to life in my collection.
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Wow, this is such an amazing diorama! Also the quality of the pictures themselves is stunning! The resulution of your camara is excellent! My favorite detail (besides the vaporator of course) is the launcher at the wall from the TFA Unkar's Thug and Teedo pack! It looks perfect dry-brushed with Citadel's boltgun metal!
Talking about the walls and the door: They look aweome! Although buildings of Jedha and Tatooine are very similar, one can tell that this is Jedha! How did you make the shot damages on the walls? And the door is fantastic, too! I'm very impressed!
Thank you so much for sharing the in-depth making of!
- Philipp
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This is an outstanding diorama.
The weathering and damage on the building looks very realistic.
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Excellent work mate, it had a great Jedha vibe to it.
Ron
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Another nice one. Off to share this one too.
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Another great dio. I really like this jeddah one. Very well done.
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I love it! What type of materials did you use?
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Thanks so much for all of your interest and appreciation!
@OC47150 I used a cardboard box for the frame of the building, with high-density styrofoam for the facade and the archway. The top part is a piece of packing foam. I covered it all with plaster before painting. I hope that helps!
@Darth More all the battle damage and pockmarks on the walls were fabricated by lightly poking the styrofoam with a hot-wire cutter or by scraping it along the edges, melting away the foam. Once plastered and painted it leaves the walls looking really beat up!
Thanks also to everyone else who commented, I really appreciate the support and feedback!
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OH,i really love this Diorama!! 0/
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Fantastic work mate and very realistic well done indeed.
Ron