Toho Kingdom

EDIT: I've renamed this to the "Diorama Advice/Help Thread", per your requests!

Hello all, this thread is to discuss building and diorama models available to create scenes with kaiju figures of various sizes and scales. I'll be updating this post with new information and new brands that people suggest. At the time of this post, I am largely unfamiliar with many of the brands available, so I unfortunately cannot provide accurate measurements beyond what is available online. I can however point people towards where these models are available, and what they look like when set up.

1/150 Scale Companies

Tomytec:

Tomytec is a Japanese company that produces buildings and other items in the 1/150 scale, which appears to be the standard scale for other Japanese companies that produce building models. Naturally buildings vary in size by type, but as a 'standard' example, the Tomytec "Showa Office Building" has measurements as follows: size 16.1 x 12 x 6 cm. At the links below you can see pictures of this model and read a review of how it is constructed:

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10114269

http://www.quinntopia.com/2010/11/tomyt ... lding.html

The Tomytec website is in Japanese (linked to below), which can be daunting to navigate. However, if you search for Tomytec buildings on ebay you should be able to find a pretty good range.

http://www.tomytec.co.jp/item/index.html

Kato

Kato is another Japanese company that uses the 1/150 scale, and appears to go well with the Tomytec buildings (though I have read that even at the same scale there might be some small differences in measurements, doorways, etc.). As an example of this company's production, I present the "DioTown Metro Series 6 Floor Department Store, Blue", which you can view at the link below. The measurements for this building are 21.5 x 12.2 x 10.5 cm:

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10038041

I should mention that I can only provide measurements that I have read online, as I do not currently have these buildings on hand to provided more precise scaling (though I have ordered both of the above models and will be measuring them with various figures once I am able). However, in the Monsterarts thread user cmdmstudios posted a picture of the Monsterarts 94 Godzilla next to the Kato Department Store, providing a useful comparison which you can view below:

http://www.tohokingdom.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=524356

As you can see, the building is approximately the same height as the 6 inch figure, making it inaccurate for the 100 meter Heisei Godzilla. However, smaller-scale kaiju may work with the 1/150 scale quite well. A more detailed exploration of scale is something I intend to do for the purpose of this thread.

The Kato website is linked to below:

http://www.katomodels.com/index_e.shtml

Greenmax

Another company that produces models in the 1/150 scale. You can see an example of a Greenmax model, "Station (middle size)", at the link below:

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10007608

There are likely other companies that produce buildings in this scale that I am unaware of. For more examples of how they scale with 6-7 inch figures, I link to the Statigram gallery of "The Bazookaman" below, which shows Monsterarts and NECA's Pacific Rim figure next to Tomytec and Kato buildings:

http://statigr.am/thebazookaman

1:450 Scale Buildings and Miniatures

Yeswac's T Gauge Models are a selection of railroad models in the 1:450 scale that can be viewed at the link below:

http://www.shapeways.com/shops/mepc

"Tgauge" also produces models at the 1:450 scale:

http://www.tgauge.com/product/139/5/office-block

Non Scale/Small-Scale Buildings

Buildings of smaller scale than the 1/150 scale can be difficult to come by. However, one option for very small-scale city sets are the "Monsterpocalypse" buildings, created for the miniatures game of the same name. You can see an example of these miniatures at the link below:

http://www.monsterpocalypse.com/

It should be noted, however, that because this is a miniatures game the buildings are not all strictly to scale with one another.

Tamashii recently announced two new effects packs for the Monsterarts line, which include ruined buildings appropriate for the Heisei scale:

http://importingmonsters.blogspot.ca/20 ... set-2.html

http://importingmonsters.blogspot.ca/20 ... tures.html

Papercraft Buildings

Tamashii released a papercraft diorama for free on its website, for use with the Ultra-Act figures. I have not assembled the set, so I don't know how the buildings actually scale with the figures in question. It is available at the link below:

http://tamashii.jp/t_item/img/201105_ul ... ru_jio.pdf

The website "Skyscraper World" offers papercraft buildings in the 1/1889 scale:

http://skyscraperworld.weebly.com/paper-models.html

"Hawk Wargames" offers a "Cityscape" set of cardstock buildings in the 10mm scale, which you can check out at the link below:

http://www.hawkwargames.com/products/cityscape

"Pokara Papercraft" has a set of free papercraft buildings on their website, all in the 1:450 scale:

http://www.faltboat.net/pokara/paper_t/papert01.html

Other Resources

Those who wish to make more detailed calculations as to scale may find The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat Height Calculator of use:

http://www.ctbuh.org/TallBuildings/Heig ... fault.aspx

Please feel free to post more suggestions and advice on building up kaiju-scale model sets.

THANK YOU FOR EXPLAINING THAT! I was wondering whenever I see music videos of Kaiju toys next to buildings. I always wonder where the heck I can get those buildings, and who manufactures them. Because, I was thinking, "Those can't be sold in stores".

You're quite welcome! I wanted to make a basic post with the companies I know about, but there is a great deal more to say. I didn't even talk about paper buildings, for example.

Plexton wrote:You're quite welcome! I wanted to make a basic post with the companies I know about, but there is a great deal more to say. I didn't even talk about paper buildings, for example.

BTW, is it buildings like these?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0CX9_-X7B8

This thread will surely help me out as I want to display figures in a very urban way. I guess I can ask about desert area dioramas as well?

@gzilla46
I'm not sure where those buildings are from, but the white one looks like it might be constructed from Lego. Lego is also a viable way to build up a cityscape a various scales.

@EdGojra
I know that model train companies do produce wilderness terrain at different scales; a desert area likely wouldn't be too difficult to construct. If I come across some terrain in the appropriate scale, I'll post it here.

Plexton wrote:@gzilla46
I'm not sure where those buildings are from, but the white one looks like it might be constructed from Lego. Lego is also a viable way to build up a cityscape a various scales.

@EdGojra
I know that model train companies do produce wilderness terrain at different scales; a desert area likely wouldn't be too difficult to construct. If I come across some terrain in the appropriate scale, I'll post it here.

That would be nice, you see I want to do a picture show of Godzilla surfacing in Egypt and raising more heck than the entire Decepticon army.

this has the potential to be a really interesting thread. High end modelers in japan construct custom cityscapes to go with 20cm scale and taller models.

doesn't bandai use some cityscapes in their convention displays? or is it all wilderness/nature

And, if you wanna make your own destroyed buildings that don't look half bad, here's my tutorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWjJ87kacWw

^Thanks GreenAiden; I was hoping you would post your tutorial in this thread.

I'm not sure where Bandai gets its buildings for the diorama's we've seen. They seem custom built.

Plexton wrote: I'm not sure where Bandai gets its buildings for the diorama's we've seen. They seem custom built.

Kinda. They hire a legit company that've made many sets for various toku series... the name of the company is suuuuuper simplistic when translated, too.

Great thread guys! Creating scenes for my kaiju to stomp around is my most favorite part of this hobby. A search general search for N-scale buildings on ebay will return quite a few options, both new and used, if you're going for 1/150 scale. The Quinntopia link given by Plexton at the start of this thread is unreal. The dude there is a mad genius...

For hesei, the appropriate scale would roughly be 1:650, given the 15cm height of the monsterarts 94 and the 10,000 cm height of the "real" Godzilla.

To that end...a search through Google yielded 1 model kit of the Eiffel tower, about 19" tall. Since Godzilla is 6" tall, the scale works (Eiffel tower is about 1063 feet tall, 3x the height of hesei G at 328 feet).

Really interesting is this link http://www.mocpages.com/folder.php/550

Which has a bunch of Lego 1:650 scale models of various buildings here in Manhattan.

Lastly, there's a plethora of star trek ships at 1:650 scale. King Ghidorah flying next to a Klingon battlecruiser....it'd be in scale.

I measured my S.H. MonsterArts SpaceGodzilla he's about 17cm tall and since he's meant to be 120m tall that should put him roughly at a 1/700 scale.

It's very easy to make a little set to display them on, below is a youtuber who shows you how to make a mountain landscape diorama in 5 videos. He uses a kit but you can easily make everything by yourself.

https://www.youtube.com/user/jaysonolson33/videos

This is the stuff he uses to make the landscape:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002 ... UTF8&psc=1

Trees etc. are expensive to buy and it's probably better to make them yourself if you can, here are two videos on how to make trees yourself.

Making very cheap trees:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YWVTWcwQLM

Making better looking but still cheap trees:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zr3ReciNITM

^Cool stuff Serfontein!

I have updated the main post with Tamashii's Papercraft buildings, which you can get for free on their website:

http://tamashii.jp/t_item/img/201105_ul ... ru_jio.pdf

The papercraft buildings look like a good way to go.

Here are some models at 1/700 scale, mostly ships but some things like docks, antiaircraft guns, fighter jets, a spaceship, navy cranes etc etc.

http://www.hlj.com/scripts/hljlist?Genr ... 00&x=0&y=0

http://www.dragonusaonline.com/Search.aspx?word=1/700

And a link to an old thread here:
http://www.tohokingdom.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=413982


Edit: Oh and here's a papercraft aircraft hanger 1/700 scale

http://www.kartonbau.de/forum/kleiner-h ... 29164-f32/

Awesome find on the Ultraman buildings. Never thought to check their site for them. I've just been scouring the net as I slowly try to build up a nice city diorama.

Worsel96 wrote:Awesome find on the Ultraman buildings. Never thought to check their site for them. I've just been scouring the net as I slowly try to build up a nice city diorama.

What Ultraman buildings?

EdGojra wrote:

Worsel96 wrote:Awesome find on the Ultraman buildings. Never thought to check their site for them. I've just been scouring the net as I slowly try to build up a nice city diorama.

What Ultraman buildings?

http://tamashii.jp/t_item/img/201105_ul ... ru_jio.pdf

Those, though they're not specific to anything. He just noted that they were put up to be used with the Ultra-Act figures.

One last one from me I found a whole bunch of paper Skyscrapers, I think they are all New York buildings:

http://skyscraperworld.weebly.com/paper-models.html

And a forum to browse:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=348