First WIP over here. First few posts will be for catch-up pics (been working on it slooooowly for about a year and a half).
I love building [big] dioramas with structural elements I haven’t seen tried before (love building architectural models, too). I have always wanted to do the cool red port from ROJ with all of the ships diving in (or fleeing out). I started designing this over a year ago, spending about four months figuring out scale and how to design a multi-layered approach to building it. I work on it slowly (like 1-2 hours a week) with my work/life schedule, but have come quite far. Hoping to finish this around this time next year.
Long story short - I’m doing it in 1/144 and it is about four feet wide, three feet high (with the partial laser tower), and will have a removable “port” top that should be around three feet by four feet (so I can get everything through common doorways). I got a kickstart to actually doing it at a local store that was closing… I got myself a big heavy welded metal rack for $25! I saw potential in it and away I went… now to catch you up on pics.
wow, detail is staggering. almost as bad as doing a borg cube. It’ll make for some great photos of the ships screaming out of it (maybe add some digital fireball behind them).
Thanks for the kind words all. It is up to seven layers to make “depth” and allow light to filter through. When the camera flys through quickly they didn’t need as good of detail in the innards. I just get it close to what they have in general layout and then detail out each section. On to the second light tube. This one is a full length one with all oblong light holes, so we’ll see how this one goes.
Two months… and little progress… [:'(] Took a month to rebuild the computer. Gone all next week (again), but will be at WF (woo!). Finally working the other light tubes.
Designed up the back right light (first long tube).
this honestly needs to go to a major convention like CelebrationV in Orlando…full size props show up to those and there is no reason that small scale dios should not either…they do it with Legos!
Got the first light tube painted up and started on the first long light tube. Still need to route out between several of the upper holes and file/widen the rest to standard width, but coming along. These were just rough cuts to trial it.
Hope to finish up the first long light tube this week, and then start on the final long tunnel light, and then FINALLY on to the top/surface port in June or July.
This is the kind of stuff that gets me fired up (when it works). [H] I came up with a cheap sanding trick to make the oblong holes even out and have matching ends… I clamped the metal hole guide to the pipe and used it as a straight-edge to slide/sand the holes even in both directions. It gives uniform straight height, too. The dowel sander is from a cheap foam brush that was just the right size.
Got to paint/mount the back light tube and onto the last one in the front left of the tunnel. Progress - haven’t made this much in a while!
