The Ultimate Group Project - Diorama Construction/Design

[Phrubruh]

What a cool set of wookies. They are very unique looking. The grassland and tree look great too. I can totally see this look between the city and mountain. The canyon would also be great as a path to the rebel mountain.

[patreektherodian]

Would you see that on the plateau of the canyion?

[BrentS]

Not my best pictures (needs more light) but you can get the idea:





I lost a lot of foliage during the drying process.  I need to figure out a better way to keep the folliage clumps to stick.  The Hob-e-tac is pretty good but you still need a little extra something I think.

The landscape isn't finished but I wanted to show a little incremental progress.

[Jesse James]

Something to consider if you have a Big Lots around, they have X-Mas stuff out and there are some very nice wintery-decoed Pine Trees that would look good in this scale...  Just food for thought.  I think it was like $7 for 3 of varying size, but all 3 fairly large.  Cheap and easy to use.

There is also a set of sidewalk/cobblestone walk for like $1 a piece or a set or something...  Very cheap, very realistic.

[Ryan]

Looking good Brent. The little subtle elevation changes really sell it in my opinion. Even without any big hills the tiny changes in elevation really give it a realistic feel. I like the large grass clumps you've got there too. All the clusters on mine are smaller than that. I like the effect the big clumps have. That tree looks pretty good as well. I like the smaller tree. I think we are going to want to have a few different kinds of trees in the final product. How long did that one take to make? I agree on the Hob-e-Tac, at first it was great, but in the month since I've finished mine a few clumps have fallen off my tree. I can stick them back on and they will hold for a few days but it seems to be the same little clump that keeps falling off, for the most part all the clumps stay on fine though.  Did you mix any coarse turf on top of your grass mat? It looks a little thicker and layered than the mat normally would be by itself.

I like the color scheme you've got there, we should decide sometime soon if we want a green color like yours or a more yellow color like mine.

Something to consider if you have a Big Lots around, they have X-Mas stuff out and there are some very nice wintery-decoed Pine Trees that would look good in this scale... Just food for thought. I think it was like $7 for 3 of varying size, but all 3 fairly large. Cheap and easy to use.

There is also a set of sidewalk/cobblestone walk for like $1 a piece or a set or something... Very cheap, very realistic.

Thanks for the tip Jesse. I'll have to check it out next time I'm near a Big Lots. Do they have anything besides winter deco trees? I suppose they could alwyas be painted to cover the snow. Even as is they make work well in large clusters of other trees, just to vary up the landscape a bit.

[Smartypants1635]

hmm ryan, I'll stop by tomorrow and see if there are any at all in our area, if so I'll get a few and give you a heads up.

[BrentS]

Ryan,
Thanks for the "props".   To answer a few of your questions.

The tree took probably 5-6 hours total.  I made the wire frame in about 45 minutes (since it was my first time).  I then covered all the wire with the plaster cloth (very time consuming, probably 2 hours).  It took a day to dry.  I think painted the tree with "vermin brown" and then Brown Ink wash. (~ 45 mins).  Waited for it to dry.  Attached layer one of the the Foliage using the Hob-e-tac.  I had to wait for those to dry overnight.  Then I attached layer two.  In the meantime, I let the tree dry for several days.  Many of the foliage still fell off (grumble).  I used a combination of Hob-e-tac and spray cement to attach the tree to the base.  Its glued down but its not super sturdy (it would never survive shipping).

Grass Mat - I used the rolled up newspaper trick to create the "rolling" terrain.  The problem with mine is that I didn't put a flat base of grass mat down first.  I just sort of crinkled up the whole thing.  It really makes the edges difficult.

Turf - I did mix a few different turf types that I got in my landscape beginners kit.  I'm not done adding turf too it.

Tall grass - I think the tall grass should be the staple of the Dantooine type environment.  Its the image that sticks out the most in my mind.  It seemed to attach relatively easily with the Hob-e-tac.  The downside is that it really does need 24 hours to dry.

Color scheme - nothing personal but I think the colors I picked out remind me more of Dantooine than the yellowish color you've got.  However, since I'm colorblind, I'll defer to others greater wisdom

[Jesse James]

Ryan, I don't recall anything but pine-ish trees for the holiday sets they go with, but the 3 or 4 tree set is pretty nice...  If you guys have a "mountain" area it's worht a look at these, or you could try stripping the white coatings off them, or just repaint them green over the white...  All options.

Lots of good holiday bits though I think.  Also if I may make a suggestion, the small pre-wired lighted pieces have lots of uses in dioramas.  From lighting homes, to street lamps, to landing pad lights, to spotlights on a vehicle (AT-AT's had them for instance), etc... 

[patreektherodian]

Just wanted to say that I am still in and waiting to be told what to do (I'm a follower).  Because of the lack of action going on I will wait t'ill somebody tells me what to do. Don't get me wrong I still have faith but the clock is ticking. When can I get some dimensions of the landscape to work with?

[Ryan]

As soon as I get them and can come up with a floorplan.

I've been tinkering with a few plans based on how much space  we will be getting based on booth size estimates, but so far I haven't had one that I'm satisfied with. If anyone else would like to draw up some blueprint ideas feel free, complete with actual measurements. Try and use Glassman's concept art as a starting point, and remeber to be sure to leave room for one or two us to sit.

[PenDragon]

Where the heck is Glass' at these days anywho?

[Glassman6]

I'm still here.

Ryan, post your ideas. they may help spark some more ideas from others or you could get
good suggestions on refining your ideas.
I was thinking of the same thing about dimensions and was trying to lay a grid over the project.

 

I gave the space port alot of room since ships take up more space.
remeber each square is 2' x2' so we can massage it a bit to allow more or less space to certain areas.

plus room to stand...not sit.

[Smartypants1635]

I bet we could fit some little folding chairs in there, the kind you use for the 4th O'july, But this looks good, I think as far as layout this is nice, and the most feesible

[PenDragon]

Not to be a jerk, but will 2' wide be enough for the space port? Seems most ships are about 2' long...

Actually, how many ships have we got anyway? And will there be a space post building/tower ? Sorry if this is covered somewhere - I'm kinda late to the game 

Oh, and can we sit in chairs just on the out side of the booth?

[BrentS]

I like the layout.  However, I think we need think about compressing the booth even a bit more.  I'd be worried about taking up the full 10'   The other thing to consider, we need to be able to set up the whole booth too.  If we don't have room "around" the whole 10x10 area I don't think we can set up the back parts.