Stryker2011's: JABBA THRONE ROOM CUSTOM DIORAMA (Cabinet build in progress))

[Stryker2011]

Based on request, I decided to start a thread on this build for the new 1/6-scale Jabba & Throne 2.0, and the Han in Carbonite Environment both by Sideshow (as if you didn't already know that). Using multiple sources for inspiration, and tons of photographs, I made a mock-up. I adjusted quite a few things to be sure I could actually fit characters into the spaces. I made the arches about 4" higher than they should be, and the steps around the throne a little narrower, as well. (The steps I don't plan to change, but I do need to lower all the arches.)

Looked at quite a few different dioramas built by folks here, and across the web, picking elements here and there that I liked, and working around a general idea of what I wanted. Once I lower the arches, the entire border graphic should be visible.

This was my initial floor plan:



And this was the changes I made after I added the Gentle Giant Max Rebo band, but I realized once I started building the mock-up, that the placement of the band-riser was too far forward, and Han in Carbonite was set too far back (plus Han wasn't facing the right direction), and once I had put up the wall between the band and Frozen Han, it just looked too isolated:



Took quite a few measurements off of these actual blueprints, but all of them had to be worked around the dimensions of the throne as presented by Sideshow:





And some from this (off of the Rebelscum board):



Then I started using 3D renders (by Stinson Len's), and photographs from the set and film stills to figure out the rest, and make changes as necessary:









The mock-up that I originally posted under the Jabba thread:










Definitely need to lower those arches -- way too high at the moment.

Took a pic of Bib on the 3rd step -- he should almost be bumping his head on the curve of the arch:



Any suggestions or tips would be gratefully appreciated (any lighting tips would be a God-send).

More to follow (hopefully soon).

 

[D.R.37]

Re: Stryker2011's: JABBA THRONE ROOM CUSTOM DIORAMA (WIP)

Keeping an eye on this. Plans and mock-ups look great. Check out Feroze13(?). He built an amazing palace dio.

 

[Stryker2011]

Re: Stryker2011's: JABBA THRONE ROOM CUSTOM DIORAMA (WIP)

Keeping an eye on this. Plans and mock-ups look great. Check out Feroze13(?). He built an amazing palace dio.

Will do. Thanks.

Made a new template with the corrected arch height. Set it up to take a picture, but I'll be using that height for the other two arches (the arch by the Frozen Han, with the "curtain", is already shortened to the height I want. I think this looks more accurate...?

 

[ajp4mgs]

Re: Stryker2011's: JABBA THRONE ROOM CUSTOM DIORAMA (WIP)

I'm looking forward to watching your progress on this, and wish you the best of luck (and lots of enjoyment) as you move forward. Gonna look awesome! Already love seeing the band, and Han, in the same setup with Jabba. Very cool.

As far as lighting, you might want to consider a way to drop some lighting through vented panels to cast the familiar "grid-like" shadows and reflections on the walls of the carbonite area and behind Jabba. Even though it may not seem like a necessary thing, seeing that distinctive pattern on the walls goes a long way in giving the proper palace vibe. You'll obviously be more concerned with the main lighting in order to display all of your work, but I think the additional atmospheric lighting would be well worth the effort. It'll be a bit tricky because of getting the vent spacing correct, and getting the light sources angled right, but definitely something to consider (if you haven't already).

Congrats in advance on what will be a fantastic display.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Re: Stryker2011's: JABBA THRONE ROOM CUSTOM DIORAMA (WIP)

Love the attention to detail. Looking good so far.

 

[bardock]

Re: Stryker2011's: JABBA THRONE ROOM CUSTOM DIORAMA (WIP)

Looks amazing

 

[asgardianboy]

Re: Stryker2011's: JABBA THRONE ROOM CUSTOM DIORAMA (WIP)

Based on request, I decided to start a thread on this build for the new 1/6-scale Jabba & Throne 2.0, and the Han in Carbonite Environment both by Sideshow (as if you didn't already know that).

This has all the looks to become the awesomest 1/6 env ever made. Everybody should keep tabs on this project, to be sure.

Anyways, here some questions/suggestions:

1) Since it is clear you are going to undertake a major piece of work, why don't you just get rid of SSC's carbonite env, just keeping the carbonite coffin, and do a proper build of the wall it hanged on? The real thing was quite wider, of which the SSC env was just a fragment, a summary. You could also light it up (both the controls and the floor grills). Only problem, the grills themselves, but they are something that could be easily modelled and printed:




2) Is it normal for the SSC Jabba+throne, that Jabba's tail should stick out from the platform the way it does on your pics? Can't it be curled around Salacious B Crumb?

3) What do you use for those muckups? Very thin Plasticard? Some kind of very rigid, thick paper?

4) Once you go for the real thing, what will you be using for the floor/walls/arches in terms of structure and finish, so that the SSC pieces blend in?

Thanks, and good luck!
m.

 

[Stryker2011]

Re: Stryker2011's: JABBA THRONE ROOM CUSTOM DIORAMA (WIP)

This has all the looks to become the awesomest 1/6 env ever made. Everybody should keep tabs on this project, to be sure.

Anyways, here some questions/suggestions:

1) Since it is clear you are going to undertake a major piece of work, why don't you just get rid of SSC's carbonite env, just keeping the carbonite coffin, and do a proper build of the wall it hanged on? The real thing was quite wider, of which the SSC env was just a fragment, a summary. You could also light it up (both the controls and the floor grills). Only problem, the grills themselves, but they are something that could be easily modelled and printed:

View attachment 448036

All good questions: I don't really have the room to go super-screen-accurate, so I'm already taking liberties with many of the design elements, anyway. And I actually like the look of the Environment piece; this whole thing is going to have a "ceiling" more or less to hide all the lights and wiring, so I'll no doubt put the upper grates in there to the side of this display. (I'll have to settle for high-lights over the top of Frozen Han).

2) Is it normal for the SSC Jabba+throne, that Jabba's tail should stick out from the platform the way it does on your pics? Can't it be curled around Salacious B Crumb?

There's nothing I can do about the straight tail on Jabba 2.0, that's the way Sideshow made him. He's a solid piece with zero flex, so the tail can't be moved. Plus, along with the curled tail look, a straight tail is also screen accurate:

3) What do you use for those muckups? Very thin Plasticard? Some kind of very rigid, thick paper?

Just simple sheets of tag board (from Amazon, bought in a box of 25). I had to put books under the Han Environment and the Band to keep them from crushing the mock-up risers that they are sitting on so I could see how everything looked in place.

4) Once you go for the real thing, what will you be using for the floor/walls/arches in terms of structure and finish, so that the SSC pieces blend in?

Still working some of those details out. I'll need sheets of 1/4" plywood (or MDF) Handi-Panels for some of it (like the floor, surrounding walls around the dio perimeter, and some of the interior walls to help support the "ceiling) -- where necessary, I'll probably have to build "wall studs", like in a real house, to support the walls and keep everything even; probably also 3/16" sheets of craft foam for portions of it that don't need to hold anything up (and to keep costs down). What I'm planning to use for the walls is paintable, textured wallpaper -- both for all the walls and arches, and a different textured pattern for the stair risers. The floor I was planning to get contact sheets that could be glued to the floor in a semi-uneven way to create the illusion of ripples in a sandy floor, and then glue crafting sand (like the stuff model railroader's use) over the top of it to give it the proper texture. I have little to no experience with lighting a diorama, but I'm planning to go talk to a guy today who makes model railroads, who I'm hoping can help me figure something out for dimmable lights for the more subdued areas, and brighter spots that I can use for the skylights that you can see the light from in some of the shots (like over the Rancor Pit grating).

Thanks, and good luck!
m.

Thanks. Appreciate the encouragement. This is going to be a long and slow process, and one that I hope turns out as good as what I'm seeing in my head.

 

[asgardianboy]

Re: Stryker2011's: JABBA THRONE ROOM CUSTOM DIORAMA (WIP)

All good questions: I don't really have the room to go super-screen-accurate, so I'm already taking liberties with many of the design elements, anyway. And I actually like the look of the Environment piece; this whole thing is going to have a "ceiling" more or less to hide all the lights and wiring, so I'll no doubt put the upper grates in there to the side of this display. (I'll have to settle for high-lights over the top of Frozen Han).



There's nothing I can do about the straight tail on Jabba 2.0, that's the way Sideshow made him. He's a solid piece with zero flex, so the tail can't be moved. Plus, along with the curled tail look, a straight tail is also screen accurate:

View attachment 448044



Just simple sheets of tag board (from Amazon, bought in a box of 25). I had to put books under the Han Environment and the Band to keep them from crushing the mock-up risers that they are sitting on so I could see how everything looked in place.



Still working some of those details out. I'll need sheets of 1/4" plywood (or MDF) Handi-Panels for some of it (like the floor, surrounding walls around the dio perimeter, and some of the interior walls to help support the "ceiling) -- where necessary, I'll probably have to build "wall studs", like in a real house, to support the walls and keep everything even; probably also 3/16" sheets of craft foam for portions of it that don't need to hold anything up (and to keep costs down). What I'm planning to use for the walls is paintable, textured wallpaper -- both for all the walls and arches, and a different textured pattern for the stair risers. The floor I was planning to get contact sheets that could be glued to the floor in a semi-uneven way to create the illusion of ripples in a sandy floor, and then glue crafting sand (like the stuff model railroader's use) over the top of it to give it the proper texture. I have little to no experience with lighting a diorama, but I'm planning to go talk to a guy today who makes model railroads, who I'm hoping can help me figure something out for dimmable lights for the more subdued areas, and brighter spots that I can use for the skylights that you can see the light from in some of the shots (like over the Rancor Pit grating).



Thanks. Appreciate the encouragement. This is going to be a long and slow process, and one that I hope turns out as good as what I'm seeing in my head.

OK to Jabba's tail sticking out being accurate (heck! I have never seen that before!).
OK to the tag board (didn't even know it was called like that...).
OK to MDF/plywood, but could you provide some examples of that texturized wallpaper? You really need a finely texturized one there...!
I can't visualize the part of the sandy floor. Could you further explain?

There is something I don't agree with: Even if you are cutting corners, I think Carbonite Han deserves a full fledged wall. By the looks of that part of your diorama, I'd say you wouldn't even need to increase the size of the set! There is some space left to the right and left of the SSC piece, so there you have it: if you put to good use all that real state, it would make for a much more satisfying CH wall.
But hey: it is your dio! ;-)

Go ahead buddy! And keep us posted!
m.

 

[Stryker2011]

Re: Stryker2011's: JABBA THRONE ROOM CUSTOM DIORAMA (WIP)

Here's a couple photos of the textured wallpaper: the one with the grid pattern is meant for the risers of the stairs (surrounding Jabba's throne), and the ones leading up to the Carbonite display. (If the steps on the other side that Luke descends, those would get this treatment as well). The other stuff is meant for the walls.






The only example I can give you at the moment for the contact paper for the floor comes from a diorama maker from the Rebelscum forum named "Jess", who made this amazing version for the 3.75" action figures several years ago. He used contact paper and "sand" to make the floor, and when he glued the contact paper to the floor he did it in an uneven way so as to create ripples and deformations in the floor to make it look more like "real" sand. I plan to replicate that same idea.

 

[Chakaman]

Re: Stryker2011's: JABBA THRONE ROOM CUSTOM DIORAMA (WIP)

Awesome work so far. Looking forward to following this project. Good stuff!

 

[asgardianboy]

Re: Stryker2011's: JABBA THRONE ROOM CUSTOM DIORAMA (WIP)

Here's a couple photos of the textured wallpaper: the one with the grid pattern is meant for the risers of the stairs (surrounding Jabba's throne), and the ones leading up to the Carbonite display. (If the steps on the other side that Luke descends, those would get this treatment as well). The other stuff is meant for the walls.

View attachment 448164
View attachment 448165
View attachment 448166
View attachment 448167

The only example I can give you at the moment for the contact paper for the floor comes from a diorama maker from the Rebelscum forum named "Jess", who made this amazing version for the 3.75" action figures several years ago. He used contact paper and "sand" to make the floor, and when he glued the contact paper to the floor he did it in an uneven way so as to create ripples and deformations in the floor to make it look more like "real" sand. I plan to replicate that same idea.

View attachment 448168
View attachment 448169
View attachment 448170

I guess you have done your research but that grid pattern... does it really appear at those spots of the palace that you mention?
The other texture wallpaper looks ok.

Regarding the floor: will you lay sand on top of that layer?

Thanks,
m

 

[Stryker2011]

Re: Stryker2011's: JABBA THRONE ROOM CUSTOM DIORAMA (WIP)

Awesome work so far. Looking forward to following this project. Good stuff!

Thanks. I hope I can do this justice. This is my first attempt at a diorama (other than Grade School).

 

[Stryker2011]

Re: Stryker2011's: JABBA THRONE ROOM CUSTOM DIORAMA (WIP)

I guess you have done your research but that grid pattern... does it really appear at those spots of the palace that you mention?
The other texture wallpaper looks ok.

Regarding the floor: will you lay sand on top of that layer?

Thanks,
m

The grid pattern I chose isn't 100% accurate to the actual thing, but it was on the steps. I'm pretty sure it was some form of a safety feature for all the folks underneath costumes with limited visibility.

Hard to find enough photos of the steps in good lighting as examples:




As far as the floor, I'm looking into the idea of using model/crafting sand -- not the real thing -- as the real stuff would have grains too big for this size, I'm hoping the stuff model railroaders use will be closer to what I want.

 

[ajp4mgs]

Re: Stryker2011's: JABBA THRONE ROOM CUSTOM DIORAMA (WIP)

The grid pattern I chose isn't 100% accurate to the actual thing, but it was on the steps. I'm pretty sure it was some form of a safety feature for all the folks underneath costumes with limited visibility.

Hard to find enough photos of the steps in good lighting

These pics below might help. All of the stairs/steps in the palace have the same metal plating with the round/dot texture.

 

[Stryker2011]

Re: Stryker2011's: JABBA THRONE ROOM CUSTOM DIORAMA (WIP)

Thanks for the pics. Those are great.

 

[ajp4mgs]

Re: Stryker2011's: JABBA THRONE ROOM CUSTOM DIORAMA (WIP)

Thanks for the pics. Those are great.

No problem. I put together a fairly substantial collection of reference photos for making my 3.75" dio, and will be using them again for a 1/6 version. If there's a section (or a prop piece) in the palace set that you need a better view of while building your dio, just let me know and I'll see if I have an image that will help.

Most of the pics are ones you've probably seen a bunch of times, but there might be some that are a little less common (and therefore maybe helpful).

 

[Stryker2011]

Re: Stryker2011's: JABBA THRONE ROOM CUSTOM DIORAMA (WIP)

No problem. I put together a fairly substantial collection of reference photos for making my 3.75" dio, and will be using them again for a 1/6 version. If there's a section (or a prop piece) in the palace set that you need a better view of while building your dio, just let me know and I'll see if I have an image that will help.

Most of the pics are ones you've probably seen a bunch of times, but there might be some that are a little less common (and therefore maybe helpful).

Thanks, I appreciate that. I’ll let you know WHEN I run into problems (I’m sure I will).

 

[Stryker2011]

Re: Stryker2011's: JABBA THRONE ROOM CUSTOM DIORAMA (WIP)

I’m starting to think I need to find a different option for the stair risers. Something with circles — I wonder if drawer liners would work for that, or if the dots would be too big...

 

[dls712]

Re: Stryker2011's: JABBA THRONE ROOM CUSTOM DIORAMA (WIP)

Excellent start so far!

As far as the texture on the front of the stairs, I used a vinyl drawer liner that I picked up from Ikea (I think!)... I do remember that I did order it online... got that idea from someone here on this board. Check them out to see if you can find it. If not, let me know and I'll see if I have any of the ordering info for it.

It has a nice raised dot pattern... looks good installed on the stair fronts.