Diorama Advice/Help Thread

[ArchdukeCaligula]

I built this specific building.

The build was simple, the main part of the building with the windows is pre-built, and the stairway section (the grey section in back), together they snap into the base. You do have to glue the top of the stairwell, the stairs to the roof, and the water tank, but that's it. The kit is fully pre-painted and detailed.

Thank you for the info. Also thanks to canofhumdingers but I can't squeeze you into this post.

[Godzilla Vinyl Mania]

So last night I started on my papercraft diorama. Primary a 1:450 scale to use with SHMA figures. Have about 5 buildings still to build, 12 done so far. Then they will get a touch up with some acrylic paint. Using a foam core board as a base. I think it measures about 12" x 18". Gray foam flexible sheet over the board for an overall base color. Got lots of ideas still to work out but definitely having a destruction area. Maybe some kind of lighting too. I have to say,.... papercraft is tedious as hell but it is extremely cost effective.

[goji89]

They look amazing GVM....majes me wanna try out those things

[canofhumdingers]

Those look awesome. I’m curious, why 1:450 scale? A 50m monster rendered in 6 inches is 1:328 scale and a 100m monster rendered at 6 inches is about 1:656 scale (which is most easily rounded to 1:700 scale).

[Godzilla Vinyl Mania]

They look amazing GVM....majes me wanna try out those things

Thx goji89!! I little photography tweeking and it really pops. I did buy a double stick tape dispenser but other than that. Glue, scissors and some tape ( I reinforce buildings on the inside) and they look pretty good. After touch up. I think I will spray everything down with a matte finish to blend it all in.

Added in 2 minutes 29 seconds:

Those look awesome. I’m curious, why 1:450 scale? A 50m monster rendered in 6 inches is 1:328 scale and a 100m monster rendered at 6 inches is about 1:656 scale (which is most easily rounded to 1:700 scale).

Well it's a pretty close scale for a 6" figures which is what I have most of. But the real reason.... I am running out of room and just wanted to do a small project with maybe some future photography.

[goji89]

They look amazing GVM....majes me wanna try out those things

Thx goji89!! I little photography tweeking and it really pops. I did buy a double stick tape dispenser but other than that. Glue, scissors and some tape ( I reinforce buildings on the inside) and they look pretty good. After touch up. I think I will spray everything down with a matte finish to blend it all in.

Can some of the windows be cut out to add lighting in them...or are they too much of a hassle?

[Godzilla Vinyl Mania]

They look amazing GVM....majes me wanna try out those things

Thx goji89!! I little photography tweeking and it really pops. I did buy a double stick tape dispenser but other than that. Glue, scissors and some tape ( I reinforce buildings on the inside) and they look pretty good. After touch up. I think I will spray everything down with a matte finish to blend it all in.

Can some of the windows be cut out to add lighting in them...or are they too much of a hassle?

They are really small but yes with a sharp thin blade xacto knife. I am contemplating that as well.

[canofhumdingers]

Well it's a pretty close scale for a 6" figures which is what I have most of. But the real reason.... I am running out of room and just wanted to do a small project with maybe some future photography.

Makes sense. If you’re going to be mixing and matching amongst various monsters that are all roughly 6 inches 1:450 scale works as a good compromise. It means any 6 inch figure would equate to roughly 70m which more or less splits the difference between the most common sizes. Any of them will look about right.

Looking forward to see what you’ve got in store!

[Godzilla Vinyl Mania]

Well it's a pretty close scale for a 6" figures which is what I have most of. But the real reason.... I am running out of room and just wanted to do a small project with maybe some future photography.

Makes sense. If you’re going to be mixing and matching amongst various monsters that are all roughly 6 inches 1:450 scale works as a good compromise. It means any 6 inch figure would equate to roughly 70m which more or less splits the difference between the most common sizes. Any of them will look about right.

Looking forward to see what you’ve got in store!

Thanks....Yeah that will cover most SHMA and the newer bandai Japan vinyls. Thinking it will take a couple of weeks to finish it up. Dont want to rush it and make a future idea impossible. I'll post updates as I make progress.

Added in 1 day 1 hour 28 minutes 19 seconds:
Got the last of my buildings assembled. Started working on some building damage. Butane lighter did the trick. Went slow not to light up the whole thing. Dabbed with water on my finger periodically. Still a rough product. Nothing is affixed yet, not even the base layer. Layout planning is tricky for good pics and maintaining available figure space. Hoping to get room at least a 3 figure display potential.

Couple of pics taken. The b&w effect really gives me that Godzilla '54 or Rodan '56 vibe.

[Godzilla Vinyl Mania]

Ok...so tonight I started but cutting out the roadway pieces and checking if my initial layout thoughts would work with the building layout I liked. Then I took some measurements and pictures before moving the buildings. I glued down the base gray layer and then finish out the night by getting my road pieces glued together. So far so good but not even halfway done yet.

[canofhumdingers]

Looking good! If you’re looking for some accessories (cars, people, light poles, etc.) some quick googling led me to discover that 1:450 scale is actually a commercially produced model railroad scale called “T gauge”. Of course I had to google that and, sure enough, you can find all kinds of stuff if you search. Some of it seems quite pricey, but I’m sure if you search around you could find some cool stuff.

The following is just what I found at the first store I stumbled across. I’m sure more is out there.

Motocycles:
https://www.vcshobbies.com/shop/t-gauge ... set-c-004/

Light poles, road signs, etc:
https://www.vcshobbies.com/shop/t-gauge ... y-set-001/

Cars:
https://www.vcshobbies.com/shop/t-gauge ... ed-cp-005/

People:
https://www.vcshobbies.com/shop/t-gauge ... t-b-f-003/

There’s also the option of architectural model accessories. I didn’t see any in 1:450, but I did easily find them in both 1:400 and 1:500 scales:
https://plastruct.com/product-category/ ... _scale=141

[Godzilla Vinyl Mania]

Looking good! If you’re looking for some accessories (cars, people, light poles, etc.) some quick googling led me to discover that 1:450 scale is actually a commercially produced model railroad scale called “T gauge”. Of course I had to google that and, sure enough, you can find all kinds of stuff if you search. Some of it seems quite pricey, but I’m sure if you search around you could find some cool stuff.

The following is just what I found at the first store I stumbled across. I’m sure more is out there.

Motocycles:
https://www.vcshobbies.com/shop/t-gauge ... set-c-004/

Light poles, road signs, etc:
https://www.vcshobbies.com/shop/t-gauge ... y-set-001/

Cars:
https://www.vcshobbies.com/shop/t-gauge ... ed-cp-005/

People:
https://www.vcshobbies.com/shop/t-gauge ... t-b-f-003/

There’s also the option of architectural model accessories. I didn’t see any in 1:450, but I did easily find them in both 1:400 and 1:500 scales:
https://plastruct.com/product-category/ ... _scale=141

Thanks....I had ordered last week pretty much the same stuff from Tguage.com.
I wanted that added touch of those accesories too since I'm spending the time to make the diorama why not.

[canofhumdingers]

Great minds think alike!

[Godzillian]

Those look fantastic, I only wish I was as talented as you guys haha

[goji89]

I wanted to tell you guys.....for anyone interested in effects for dioramas (explosions)...I recommend buying the The Black Series Centerpiece Luke Skywalker....



You can find this for cheap dont buy it for retail. That explosion effect is wonderful and scales well with the MA's. Buy two for cheap. Put a light under that and that thimg looks amazing.

[ApexOversteer]

Speaking of explosions... BBTS has the Tamashi Effect sets with the grey dust explosions and the orange blasts in stock...

Grey Smoke Explosion: https://www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/ ... ails/12313




Orange Flame Blast: https://www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/ ... ails/54802




Added in 5 days 23 hours 31 minutes 49 seconds:


I recently received my first 30cm figure from X-Plus, so I wanted to update my "Tohokyo" display.



Since the last photos, I've changed the color of the street surface from black to a charcoal grey with matting board, I've added more trees, and rearranged the buildings. By using a lighter grey matting board as "sidewalks", and not fastening them down, I can change the look of Tohokyo in just a few minutes.

With the two figures in the earlier version of the display, it made sense to break up the "city blocks" a bit, but with the single larger figure, by eliminating the "side streets", the buildings provide a "vanishing point" line that draws the viewers eye to the Goji when viewed from a shallow "in world" angle. This effect is increased, by using the tallest buildings further away from the focal point, creating another "vanishing point" line that ends at the figure.





Sharp eyes will see the special tail stand I created for use in the display. I used a short bit of bamboo barbecue skewer, available at your grocery store, colored black with a Sharpie, with the rubber tip from a touch screen device stylus protecting the paint on the figure. By virtue of using foamcore as my base, and matting board for "streets", I can literally stab the stand into the display, it doesn't need a base. As you can see, the result is very minimal, and nearly invisible, compared to the horrifying tail stand X-Plus provides with their figures. Can you imagine using this in a diorama?



I did also make a version of the tail stand for use on hard surfaces, using half of a 52mm collectible coin case as a base, with a hole drilled in the center for the skewer to protrude through, and be glued into. This can be replicated for less than .30¢, and total build time is less than 5 minutes, including glue drying time when using CA (crazy/super) glue. The coin case can be replaced with a base for tabletop gaming miniatures, available at your local gaming retailer, or even "Bingo marking discs", the plastic discs people use to mark their Bingo cards. These come in bags of 50 or 100, very inexpensive, and available in many colors.



I'm currently working on a clouds/sky backdrop to use with my buildings. The photos so far have all been of the "storage" shelf for the buildings, not actually the intended full effect diorama, and when using them in photography, they'll be featured in front of a cloud-filled sky.



I'm using more foamcore tri-folds as a backing, to which I'll be gluing my "sky", and then attaching to a weighted box, to provide stability. I was able to find this image on Amazon for $13, but it does have a sort of sheen to the image, and I may have to shoot it with a satin, or matte clear coat to bring the shine down and prevent unwanted glare.

Then, I'll have to buy an actual camera, and learn how to use it... ;}

Keep Stompin' Y'alls!

[Godzilla Vinyl Mania]

Ok it's been a little while since my last update for the city diorama. To be honest, didn't touch it for weeks. I painted all the buildings to give them a more realistic look as well as cover up any of the white paper showing. I also came up with a way to secure the buildings but not make them permanent. Being paper they move way too easy to not do something. I cut some styrofoam to create a snug fit for each building, made a hole in the center of each piece for my lighting placement and hot glued them all down. After that, I was able to drill down through the foam holes to make the holes correspond in the base so I can fish the lighting wiring through. Some the led lights stay within the foam blocks and some come through to give variable lighting throughout the whole city. Next up is all the fine details, people, cars, trees etc...

[canofhumdingers]

Awesome work GVM!

I ordered some diorama-type supplies recently. Got in the Tamashii grey explosions and FigureRise orange burst effects just yesterday. I’ve also got the Tamashii Act Buildings Damaged Version coming too but they’re not here yet.

But these explosion effects are a ton of fun!






I’ve got some ideas to paint and detail the orange explosions to make them look more realistic, like a gasoline explosion or something.

[Godzilla Vinyl Mania]

Awesome work GVM!

I ordered some diorama-type supplies recently. Got in the Tamashii grey explosions and FigureRise orange burst effects just yesterday. I’ve also got the Tamashii Act Buildings Damaged Version coming too but they’re not here yet.

But these explosion effects are a ton of fun!






I’ve got some ideas to paint and detail the orange explosions to make them look more realistic, like a gasoline explosion or something.

Thanks!! Really cool effects. Everytime you post that '65 wish I had it. Looking forward to you full Tohokyo finished.

[canofhumdingers]

Mmm, Tohokyo isn’t mine (though I wish it were!). That’s ApexOversteer. In fairness, he did post that these exact effects pieces were available on bbts. I got mine from amazon, but it was his post that prompted me.

And yes, the G ‘65 is awesome and highly recommended if you have the chance to get one! The pose is so dynamic and lifelike! You can almost feel him stomping through the display.