Keeping with the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe theme, I’ve put together another small landscape diorama drawing inspiration from the old Filmation cartoon series back in 1983.
This build I wanted to be a simple landscape diorama, I cut a piece of 10 mm foam board to act as the base. Then another piece of 10 mm which will be a broken wall, I’ve added three tabs to the bottom of the all which allow it to be allowed to slotted into the base.
Eternia in the 80’s cartoon, wood land area had a lot of huge, twisty trees of all sizes. To make one of these for the size of this piece, I have taken a cardboard tube and wrapped it up in tin foil with enough excess to twist to a point. I rolled up two more lengths of tin foils and wrapped them around the trunk like twisted branches. This will be positioned behind the wall.
Build upon this basic design, I added a horizontal wall behind the first wall, a couple of tin foil boulders into the foreground.
I was looking at the walls and realised one layer of 10 mm was not enough, I cut another piece the same size as the long wall. Glued them together and then sanded it down, I will do the same with vertical wall this evening.
The vertical wall, I added another 10 mm layer of foam board making it the same width as the horizontal wall. Using the round sander on my rotary tool to weather both walls, lightly touching the wall faces with side of the spinning sander.
I laid a piece of 6 mm foam board on the base in front of the horizontal wall, marking out 2″ x 2″ slabs before setting to them with pottery tools, scoring imperfections into the slabs.
Turning the attention to tree and the boulders, I watered down filler and coated the mixture over the objects. I poured the rest of the filler down the left side of the base and around the back. I inserted the tree into the filler covered the damp filler with sand. When this has dried I can start painting this piece.
Made from foam insulation board, it’s scaled to fit Masters Of The Universe 5.5′ to the 7′ figures.
The external I’ve etched brick work similar to that of the 80’s Castle Grayskull play set. Internal I’ve etched my standard brickwork. The walls are made from one piece of board, cutting between the bricks to make two interlocking walls.
For the base I made three curved steps leading towards the wall, then curved the corners. A single pillar created and fitted into the corner. With the external being based upon the 80’s toy, I’ve put in a small window for the Sorceress to view out of. Stone slabs have been etched into the floor and steps.
Sanded down all edges and started playing with ideas on how this will look when it’s finished.
Painting
With the build completed, it is time to start painting. The base coat for the walls and floor were applied using a watered done mixture of white/black and touch of blue, applied using a sponge.
With the base coats dry, sponged over the walls with a water downed burnt umber mixed with yellow, dabbing the paint all over.
The floor was given another grey coat using my airbrush, random flags were sprayed a darker grey. Once dry it was dry brushed with Games Workshop Longbeard Grey to pick out all the detail.
The inside walls I gave another coat of grey using the airbrush, once dry it was dry brushed with Games Workshop Longbeard Grey to pick out all the detail.
The exterior walls where sprayed with a grey/brown solution, then random stones where sprayed different shades of grey. Once dry it was dry brushed with Games Workshop Longbeard Grey to pick out all the detail.
Sword Casting
Now the diorama build is complete, I wanted to decorate one wall with two hanging swords. I took casts of both Masters of the Universe Classics He-Man and She-Ra’s swords, since the swords are permanently fixed to walls I took half casts of each sword using blu-stuff to make the molds.
When it was safe to remove the curing swords from the molds, I trimmed the excess off and left them to finish curing.
I base coated both the swords using Abaddon Black and did the same to a spare MOTU 200x golden sword of power. All three swords where then base coated with Leadbelcher, layered with Runefang steel and edged with Stormhost Silver.
Turning my attention to plaque the classic swords were going to be mounted onto, a circle had been cut into a piece of 6 mm foam board. I used a wire brush to make it look like it had been made from a piece of wood. Base coated with Rhinox hide, shades with Agrex Earthshade and the washed over with Mournfang brown. Both half swords where glued into place and then mounted onto the wall.
I created a stone plinth for the 200x Sword of Power to stand in and to be freely seated in the corner. Painted with Mechanicus Standard Grey and then edged with Longbeard Grey, the sword was embedded into the stone.
I’ve been commissioned to build a sewer diorama to accommodate his Marvel Legends 6″ figures.
Build
With this diorama build I will be constructing it out of foam insulation board using widths 5 mm and 10 mm. For the overall base I am using 10 mm foam board 25″ width by 16″ depth. Two walkways on either side running the length of the diorama, one side with the width of 4″ and the opposite 3″ width. A central wall at one end with a semi circle cut out to act as a grate fitted between the two walkways with a couple of little walls either side.
For the center I am thinking of using a couple of sheets of ripple water purchased from Greenstuffworld, it’s the same sheet’s I used for G.I. JOE Tiger Force Outpost diorama. I have some left over from my Stargate diorama which I have used to test.
With the basic form there I started to build upon the structure, building two walls and a second layer for both walkways. With these parts cut it is time to mark up the brick work.
I cut a crescent a half an inch width to go over the central column, I then marked on the brick work, each brick is 2″ x 1″. Once completed I took an etching tool a scored out each brick and crack. After completing the walls and central column I repeated the process on the two walkways.
I made a trench running the width of the 4″ walkway and then taking my rotary I cut off a section of piping to use as a drain pipe coming out of the wall above the trench. I then used 5 straws, cutting them down in length to use as bars from the drain.
Water sheets have arrived, I’ve loosely put them into place and now toying with the idea of using some blue foam board as a base.
At the request of my client, I built a third a wall but this one containing a circle entrance. This wall running the in parallel to other long wall, the circle cut is about 5″ diameter. I scored in the brick work to match up with the rest of diorama. I cut a ring of foam as a frame for this entrance etching stone work to it.
Magnetic strip has been used to attach the walls to the floor.
Using my rotary tool I sanded the inside of the round doorway, tidied up the edges of the overall piece. To attach the central column to the back wall using small magnets placed along the edges and married to the magnets on the back wall. I purchased a small ladder made from bolsa wood, I thought it would be ideal for this piece.
Painting
With the build completed, it is time to start painting. The base coat for the walls and floor were applied using a watered done mixture of white/black and touch of blue, applied using a sponge. The base I used watered down mixture of blue/white, once this had dried I added Burnt Umber into the mix and dabbed into the area where the water runs trough the center.
With the base coats dry, sponged over the walls with a water downed burnt umber, dabbing the paint all over. Adding a little yellow to the watered down burnt umber I repeated the process once the walls had dried. The bars were painted with Games Workshops Runefang steel, shaded with Nuln Oil.
I turned my attention to the water, using Games Workshops Nurgle’s Rot (commonly known as snot in pot) painted ripples onto the board. I laid the water sheet on top and glued it into place. I dry brushed screaming skull over the water sheets highlighting the ripples.
All some brick work was dry brushed using Games Workshops Longbeard Grey, emphasizing all the cracks and edges of the bricks. The waste pipe and the ladder had a coat of Games Workshops Leadbelcher, shaded with Nuln Oil and highlighted with Stormhost Silver.
A couple of days ago I filled the small trench with PVA glue, when it dried I had created film over the trench which meant I could then apply more PVA glue over the top. The thickness of the dried glue, gave the impression of fluid running the length of the trench, I painted over it using Games Workshops Nurgle’s rot. I poured PVA into the small waste pipe above the trench, painting it again with Nurgle’s rot once it had dried. I proceeded to apply the paint also to areas on both walkways and the small waste pipe.
There are some final little touches to be done and then this will be completed.
I have commissioned to build a scene from the recent Blade Runner 2049 film, I opted to go for the final scene where the two Blade Runners approach the steps leading into the building where Decker’s daughter is placed.
Build
With this diorama build I will be constructing it out of foam insulation board using widths 5 mm and 10 mm. For the overall base I am using 10 mm foam board 23″ width by 10″ depth. Each of the steps are 16″ width by a decreasing inch depth for every step.
I cut four pieces of 10 mm foam board, which were used for the sides of the steps. I cut another piece of 10 mm board, this is used for the back wall behind the steps.
All the pieces where sanded down and glued together. The next step is make the banisters for the steps.
Before I start work on the banisters I filled in some of the imperfections of the build using Green Stuff.
To create the banisters I cut thin 0.25 of an inch width foam board strips to run up the center of each banister and along the wall at the top of the each. I then cut six small posts of foam then using the hot end of my glue gun,
(WARNING wear protective gloves in case you burn your fingers!)
to burn two holes, equal distance apart in the foam to fit the banister rails through. Then taking two straws of equal length, adding a drop of hot glue inside one end of each straw, placing a cocktail stick in between and push the glued end together. Repeat this process to make the second handrail of the same length. Glued the first post at the bottom of the banister, another one at the top of the slope and then slide the hand rails through the holes. I took a third post, glued the end of the railings to the post and then glued the post to the top of the banister. I then glued the last two posts of either end of the small then glued two straws into place.
I repeated the same process with the opposite side hand rails, thus completing this diorama build. Next step is to start painting this.
A base acrylic coat of paint made up from white, black and a touch of burnt umber mixed with water was applied with a sponge coating the entire model.
Second base coat added, once this is dry I can start layering this.
With the base coat dried, I could start weathering this piece using my airbrush. Using a fine spray I went over all the edges with a dark brown, with that dry I gently sprayed over the entire model.
Using Games Workshop’s Longbearbeard Grey, I dry brushed the all stone work to pick out the detail
At the request of my client, I painted the hand rails white. When they are dried I will weather down and dry brush them using GW’s Necron compound.
I weathered the handrails with a dark brown wash using my airbrush, once that had dried I dry brushed both handrails using GW’s Necron compound.
Final Pictures
With this diorama completed here are my final pictures. Sorry I do not own any Blade Runner figures, I’ve had to substitute them for 1966 Batman, which works just as well I think.
I was recently contacted and asked to make a street light as a bolt on to a clients existing diorama . The street light is made from 6 mm foam board strips, the centres sanded out for the LED’s cable. I glued the two strips together, sanded it down giving it shape. Repeating the same process with corner and the lights neck. A small piece of foam cut for the light cover and using a small plastic tube to complete the street light.
I have also been asked to make a removable base for the light. Using both 6 & 10 mm foam boards, glued together and paving stones etched in the foam with a cable run drilled through the foam. I might redo this base to make sure the light fits slots into it more securely.
Rebuild
I decided in the end to completely remake the base, I was just not happy with it. The new one is double the size of the original with a hole big enough for the streetlight to sit securely in it with a cable run drilled in between the two layers of foam board. Pavement flags and curb stones where etched into the board, then damage was applied to the flags.
Painting
Satisfied with how this turned out, I applied the first coat of paint to the streetlight and base.
When the base coat had dried I went over the paving slabs with a light blue/grey, the curb using a light grey. Taking a fine brush I painted in between each slab and crack with a dark brown. I dry brushed a dark grey over all the cracks, the tarmac at the back and the edges of the curb. Using a thin brush to dab black into all of the cracks, dry brushed black over the tarmac at the back, dry brushed white over each of the paving slabs to complete the base of this piece.
While this was drying I turned my attention onto the lamppost, painting the bottom and the neck join using the light blue grey, then the rest of it with a light brown, with a coat of metallic silver cover it.
After it had dried, I was not overly happy with how it looked so I mixed up a lighter brown and went back over it. While it was still wet I added a light coat of white and blended it in.
I turned my attention back to the base and dry brushed white across the entire surface and edges, the effect I have to say I am rather proud with how it turned out!
Turning back to the lamppost I dry brushed a light grey over the body and neck, followed by white then finishing dry brushing black over the entire post.
Completed
With lamppost finished, I have put both pieces together and here it is. I will be putting up my usual final pictures soon.
Final pictures of my Streetlight Diorama, the LED works a treat.
After completing the last Church Ruin I was asked to build another. As you can see I’ve started work on the outer walls and floor.
As you can see I have marked out the tall windows, the door and the brick work on floor and back wall.
The long windows, where cut out and sanded down using my rotary tool, the doorway was also removed. A piece of 6mm black foam board was cut for the archway to the door.
Left Wall
As with the previous Church Ruin diorama I made, I cut a piece of 6 mm foam board to fit over the wall and then cut out three arches which will house the three tall windows. I cut a couple of 10″ x 1″ strips of 6 mm to go either side of the window, 1″ x 1″ brick work were etched into these strips before applying damage to them. All the pieces were glued to together before cutting the top down as I did in the previous model.
Back Wall
The back wall as with the former I etched in 1″ x 1″ brick work before marking and cutting the top of the wall off as I did before. Like the before all the broken pieces will be reused as rubble for the final piece.
Right Wall
The right wall I have built it similar to it’s predecessor, using a combination of 10mm and 6mm foam board. I marked out and carved 1″ x 1″ brick work on this wall. Glued a 1″ x 8″ pelmet over the door which I will be taking my rotary tool too like, marking out 2 x 0.2″ top and bottom border. Taking a sharp knife I removed pieces from the top corners which will be used as rubble to scatter round this piece, damage was applied to the brick work similar to the last piece.
The Floor
With the floor I marked out slabs of 3″ x 4″. I then stuck a piece of 6 mm black foam board 3.5″ x 8″, glued it down to the far right corner. This is to be the entrance to the room, I carved out 2″ x 3″ slabs on it.
Detail
With the overall structure work done, it is time to start adding in detail to this diorama. Taking a pottery tool and scoring into the foam as I have done previously before, creating cracks and chips on the stone work. The centre of the pelmet above the door was removed
Once this was accomplished I have applied magnetic strip along the length and width of the floor and the walls to hold the diorama in place.
Using my rotary tool with the sanding attachment I went around the edges of the three long windows and frame to remove all square edges. With the final wall finished and attached to the other surfaces using magnetic tape, it was time to work on the wooden door.
Cutting a couple of pieces of bolsa wood to size then sanding it down, I marked the wooden beans that make up the door. Four smaller pieces were cut to act as the hinges then all pieces where glued together. When this dries, it will be time to make the door handle and bolts out of Green Stuff as I have done previously.
Painting
Using down watered black acrylic I applied a black base coat to all sides of the diorama using a sponge. With this technique I am able to apply an even coat across the surfaces, while also able to push the paint into all the crack and crevasses. The wooden door was given a base coat of burnt umber for the front with black for the hinges. The back of the door was painted black to match the outer walls.
Unless I am creating a double sided diorama I always paint the back black, more especially when using the blue foam board. This helps prevent any blue seeping through when a light is shown from behind the diorama.
Latest work done on my Ruined Church diorama.
Mixing up a grey was I went over the the walls that surround the long windows and the door. Adding a touch of blue to the mix, I then sponged over the remaining walls with the new paint.
While is trying, I started working on the accessories for the door. Using Green Stuff to make the bolts, door handle and the bolts for the hinges.
With the paint dry I went over the wall and floor again with a light grey/blue wash using my airbrush.
After this had dried I dry brushed GW Longbeard grey over the entire diorama to pick out the edges, the cracks and imperfections of the piece.
For door got a watered down wash with GW Rhino hide, retributor armour for the hinges and accessories. A layer of Nuil oil and then Warplock bronze over the Green Stuff made accessories, once dry all it was all edged with Auric Armour Gold then the door was glued into place.
I have also added patches of rubble using scenic ballast scattered across the floor, this now needs some finishing touches and should be completed.
The back of the diorama was given a final coat of black acrylic drawing this diorama build to conclusion.
After spending the past couple of months doing nothing but Doctor Who sets, I thought it was about time to do something different. This series of dioramas I wanted to a quick, simple but effective models which can be used for any five inch or bigger figures.
Building
To start this series off I have gone with a room in a ruined church, using the same basic size as my Apartment Room 2 diorama I did last year. To start I cut a the base piece of foam board 8″ x 15″, then starting with the left wall I cut a piece 8″ x 11.5″. I wanted this to be a tall medieval window, I marked out three tall long windows and then cut them out. Taking some black 6 mm foam board I cut a piece out to match the display size of the last the piece, marked out three arches that would go round each of the three windows and glued that onto the first piece. Two long strips of 10″ x 1″ where then glued to either side of this wall, brick work was then carved into these two pieces. To give it the ruined look, I marked out where I wanted to cut pieces out, cut into the foam and then ripped out the unwanted pieces.
The middle wall was done but cutting a piece of 10 mm foam foam board to 11″ x 15″, marking out each brick as 1″ x 1″, carving them out then putting in cracks in the bricks, weathering them before taking big chunks out of the top of the wall like I did with the window.
With the floor I marked out slabs of 3″ x 4″ then treated them as I did with the middle wall. I then stuck a piece of 6 mm black foam board 2.5″ x 8″, glued it down to the far right corner. This is to be the entrance to the room, I carved out 2″ x 2.5″ slabs on it and then weathered this to match the other.
The right wall I cut out an arched door and like the window opposite, using a piece of black 6 mm foam board I cut out an arch way to go around the door. I marked out and carved 1″ x 1″ brick work on this wall. Glued a 1″ x 8″ pelmet over the door, marking out 2 x 0.2″ top and bottom border, taking my rotary tool and sanded out the middle. This wall like the others I cut out chunks of the wall to give it the ruined effect.
Using the cut away sections from the walls, I have placed them around this diorama to add to the ruined effect.
I cut a couple pieces of bolsa wood to used for the doorway, marking out and scoring in slates of wood. Using a wooden coffee stirrer, I cut it up and used it to make the door hinges.
Painting
First coat of paint has been applied, a light grey/brown acrylic mix has been used to cover the entire of the inside of the scene. A dark brown for the inside of the door.
Waiting on a delivery of magnetic tape, it was time to start painting this. A base coat of a light grey mixed with a little brown over the entire diorama. Brown for the base coat of the door.
When it dried, a second coat added to exposed first layer of foam board walls. A darker grey was used on the floor, large wall and the side walls 2nd and 3rd foam board layers. Dark brown wash over the floor and areas of the walls for weathering.
The magnets are in place to hold the walls in together. I’ve used magnetic strip for the bottom of the walls and small magnets placed into the corners to keep the walls together.
For the door I have made a door handle, two bolts and rivets for the hinges out of green stuff. When it has cured I’ve given them a coat of black gloss and when dry I will age them.
To add to the scene I have scattered small piles of scenic ballast around floor.
I went over the black gloss and the ballast with a light grey wash to weather them and match the surroundings. With all of this done, this diorama is now complete.
Finished piece
Here are a few extra pictures showing that this diorama can be used for multiple action figure genre’s.
When I exhibited for the Bradford Science Festival I had printed off a lot of printable Doctor Who sets from AFT Downloads for people to cut out and make their own Doctor Who diorama. I had a few of these spare and make them up and use them for my daughter to play with using them on Plastic Action page.
This set is taken from the Classic Doctor Who episode The Masque of Mandragora – The Robots of Death
This set is incomplete at the moment, I still need to cut out and set up the rails around the center console.
To complete this diorama, I cut out a couple of foam board circles ( a 10 mm and 5 mm) and glued them together and placed the center console platform over them. Then I cut out the railings fitting them into the platform and through the foam. I stuck four pieces of card board to the underside of the floor to strengthen the card, trimmed the floor to the precise size to fit the walls onto, taping the walls to the floor, gluing the stairs to the floor and completing this diorama.
When I exhibited for the Bradford Science Festival I had printed off a lot of printable Doctor Who sets from AFT Downloads for people to cut out and make their own Doctor Who diorama. I had a few of these spare and make them up and use them for my daughter to play with using them on Plastic Action page.
This set is taken from the Classic Doctor Who episode Remembrance of the Daleks featuring the 7th Doctor played by Sylvester McCoy. This is the episode where you first see a Dalek levitate upstairs!
The school is made up using printed off decals which I have stuck onto card and for the larger wall, I have used a couple of pieces of cardboard.
The Hand of Omega
The Hand of Omega and the Dalek Transmat platform where cut out and glued together without backing them onto card. The Transmat is sturdy enough to take the weight of a Dalek.
Dalek Shuttle
The Dalek Shuttle took a little longer to build, each of the smaller pods was broken into a top and bottom and the main pod was broken into four different sections. Each one having to be cut out and stuck together either by glue or sticky tape. If you print this out, I recommend using a laser printer and a lot of patience!
The task I assigned myself the weekend of attending the Bradford Science Festival was to build an 80’s Tardis interior from the days of the 5th Doctor Who Peter Davison and Colin Baker.
This build will mainly be done using 5 mm insulation board but instead of using 10 mm board to mount it on, I am using sheets of cardboard instead to show people that they can use basic materials found around the home, than having to purchase foam board.
Using a compass to mark the Round Things on two of the foam boards, using a fine point scalpel to cut each circle out. I took my rotary tool to carefully sand out the bevels and tidy up the edges. I used an engraver to soften the edges around each hole.
The third wall 3″x 3.5″ rectangle was cut for the monitor, and pairs of cardboard strips where placed either side of the screen.
Each piece of foam where then glued to a piece of cardboard, strips of foam board were cut and shaped into the edges of each of the walls. An A3 piece of 5mm foam board is being used as the base for this diorama.
Starting to Paint the Interior
With the pieces in place it is now time to paint this build. Mixing up a light blue/grey and spread it over the entire diorama using a sponge.
Once the this had dried, I used my airbrush to apply the second coat of paint.
Unfortunately the second coat did not dry in time before the close of the festival, I will be finishing this build of over the course of this week.
I was not happy with the shade of grey the last paint job finished at, mixing up a very light shade of grey I repainted the entire model again.
When that had dried and much happier to how it was, I mixed up a light shade of yellow and using my airbrush I painted all of the round things.
I may end up by going over these again using a paint brush and thicker paint. Using my airbrush and watering the paint down, it has had a bit of a reaction with the cardboard back. As you can see, you can start to see the corrugated cardboard which is in between the cardboard. Still when you stand it together with a console and a figure is starting to look like a 80’s Tardis.
For the central console I used 5 mm foam board that you can buy from any art shop, using the a template that I had printed from AFT Downloads 1980’s Tardis interiors. I cut each upper and lower panel, top and bottom hexagonal panels, a larger hexagonal piece to sit at the core of the console. Each console panel had their inside corners cut to an angle, making each piece corners fit together and glued together. With the lower half made, this was glued onto the larger hexagonal piece and sanded down.
I repeated the same process for the top of the console, but before I glued it to the rest of the base. I marked out each console and monitor that the 1980’s style console had. When I was researching pictures of this console, I had noticed with this particular console, all the monitors, keyboards, switches were sunk into the console unlike previous versions.
To achieve this look, I took my exacto knife and carefully sliced each piece, scoring the top, then cutting the sides and base. With this done, I pushed each part through then using hot glue, I glued the bottom of each sunken panel to the inside. This section was then glued to the lower part, sanded down to remove any imperfections before moving on. I cut made the two monitors with card, folding them round to make monitors and then gluing them on to the main console. I cut a second hexagonal piece, cut a circle out of the middle and then sanded down the sides to fit the central column onto.
With this done, it was time to make the stand the console sat on, cutting six pieces of black foam, trimming and sanding each of the inner sides. These were then glued to the bottom hexagonal piece.
I applied the first coat of paint which when it dried, I found it was too dark to which the second coat I made was a lighter grey and when dried it looked how I wanted it to. With the embedded consoles, I painted each one a dark grey, monitors a combination of black, yellow and blue. Due to the size of the center console I painted on each button and slider with a combination of red, blue, yellow, silver, gold and white.
For the consoles stand and rim I decided to use the decals from AFT Downloads 80’s Tardis, since I had made it to the same scale as their’s and didn’t want to make it any thicker than what it is by adding a layer of card or foam board. The control column is made from a clear toothpick container and decal from the AFT Downloads
With the console finished I went back to the round things and using my airbrush, went over the insides with a light yellow to soften the already well rings.
Finishing Touches
I had been looking at the “round things” and the yellow wasn’t working for me. I decided to grey them out, then applied a lemon yellow to them, when that had dried a white coat was then added. To keep the center console in place, I cut down a toilet roll and glued it onto the floor to which the console will sit over.
I trimmed the base to size that fits the shape of the walls, three borders were cut and stuck to edges to hold the walls in place because I have made this diorama to collapse and painted the edges black. I used a decal for the monitor which now completes my latest diorama.
