Topic: JDeck's dioramas and displays.

[Tamer]

Nice effect. It looks good.

Off to share on the front pages.

[JDeck]

Nice effect. It looks good.

Off to share on the front pages.

Thank you!  Im still playing with the lighting but its pretty cool. Photographers describe it as painting with light, and that's a pretty accurate description.




I've been working on my big trees. I made them out of mailing tubes for posters or whatever., 3"×24". I mixed up some "paper mache" but its like paper pulp mixed with plaster basically. I formed a rough tree shape, thicker on the bottom and used my fingers to make the redwood bark lines going from top to bottom or bottom to top. Once that was dry, i took a wire brush and just went in sweeping strokes from top to bottom, over and over until all the goose turds were knocked off and it had a nice bark texture. Then I painted using Woodland scenics burnt umber water color. Then once that's dry, I added a grey wash using black/white WS watercolor. Thats it. I think it turned out really well.  Being that they're 2ft tall, they'll be tall enough for the AT-ST.  Now I have to base them all. I might need to make a couple more, it's pretty much a 3 day process with all the drying time.

[Starchaser]

Those are spot on! You got the texture of the bark really well. Nice job.

[Tamer]

Yep, bark looks spot on to me too.

Off to share on the front pages.

[JDeck]

Those are spot on! You got the texture of the bark really well. Nice job.

Thank you! I've been making trees for years now, but I think I found a technique that works. I would like to try air drying clay, but I like the randomness of this plaster mache stuff.

Yep, bark looks spot on to me too.

Off to share on the front pages.

Thank you! Yup It's starting to look like Endor now with the big trees. I just need to do some ground work and it'll be ready for making dioramas.

[JDeck]

   Over the weekend I finished up the groundwork, for this particular set up, the only problem is, my special figure that, is pretty much the main star of the diorama is still not here. So I could either wait 2 or more weeks, or move on, and remake that setup later.  I do have another set up I want to try, involving a stream, so I'm going to try to make that using materials I already have.

Anyway I took the 1sqft foam board and coated it in my modge podge dirt cement, i did a thin watered down coat so it would lay smooth, since that's where the figures will be and it'll be easier to stand them up on a smooth surface. Then once dry, I added my forest litter, along with plants, deadfalls, moss and so forth. I also added for this set up the campfire from my ewok village. It's all loose, nothing fixed so I can clear it off and make a different scene later.  So the last picture is a night shot with various RGB lights and a fog affect from my microfogger, with no photoshop at all. Belive it or not.

[Starchaser]

Can I just say...BRILLIANT! Endor looks really, well, real. That's a scene you can be really proud of.

[JDeck]

Can I just say...BRILLIANT! Endor looks really, well, real. That's a scene you can be really proud of.

Thank you! Too bad that figure hasn't come in yet. Oh well I'm moving on and I'll come back to it when it does arrive. It took 10 minutes to rearrange things to come up with a different scene. This is just a test shot, but that's pretty much it, as far as the layout goes.  That's why I like my modular setup.  Just need to make a few finishing touches and it'll be ready for shooting.

[Tamer]

Wow, this is really nice.

Love the streambed idea.

Off to share the lastest on the front pages.

[Darth More]

This is a truly fantastic project. The box of ingredients looks like Endor already! I agree with Starchaser: the scene with lights looks absolutely brilliant. Could be part of the Blue Milk Archive Book if Hasbro had already made the Speeder Bike and Biker Scout part of The Vintage Collection...
Thanks for the shout out, too! You've become a true master of the environment of the moon of Endor. Thanks for sharing these amazing images.

[JDeck]

Looking good so far. Thanks for the tip about Gorilla wood glue. I think the shrubs look great and the tube for a Redwood is a great idea (since the Endor stuff was filmed in Northern California among the Coastal Redwoods and Sequoia trees).

Thanks. That is on my bucket list, go to Humboldt County CA, and visit Endor, pick up a bunch of forest litter and make an endor forest out of the endor forest.  That would be at least a 3 day drive, if I can drive my best of 800 miles a day.  Only problem is the actual filming location is privately owned, by a logging company, so I don't think they take kindly to star wars fans coming in there playing scout trooper.

Its a beautiful spot. Living on the West Coast, my wife have visited the national forests there a couple of times and, in fact, planted a Sequoia seedling purchased there in our backyard a number of years ago (they grow quickly). I've been happy to call Redwood National Park "good enough" for my purposes. 

Thats cool! The city planted a bunch of Redwoods along the sidewalk outside of this elementary school i deliver to. In about 50 years it's probably going to totally destroy the sidewalk. They already have willow oaks planted out there and it's roots have made most of the sidewalks in Northside unusable. The stupidest thing is if someone busts their ass on the sidewalk in front of your house you are legally liable, so they're setting people up. But anyway, I sometimes collect the Redwood dead leaves and fallen sticks for my endor litter.

I concur, to make citizens liable for roots from city plantings is really pretty stupid. The root systems of Redwoods spread out too, but ours is deeper than the willows, alders and maples around our house. I had this funny picture earlier of gathering up the bark shed and leaves, packing them up in a box, and shipping them to you

Seriously though, if you sent me a small box of redwood litter and small trimmings I'd send you some fodder figures.

Wow, this is really nice.

Love the streambed idea.

Off to share the lastest on the front pages.

Thank you! I think I'll create a silt layer with watered down modge podge and paint. Then I got some clear Aloe gel I'm going to try to make some water effects that will be temporary. We'll see how that works.

This is a truly fantastic project. The box of ingredients looks like Endor already! I agree with Starchaser: the scene with lights looks absolutely brilliant. Could be part of the Blue Milk Archive Book if Hasbro had already made the Speeder Bike and Biker Scout part of The Vintage Collection...
Thanks for the shout out, too! You've become a true master of the environment of the moon of Endor. Thanks for sharing these amazing images.

Thank you! I can't tell you how much I appreciate the idea for the ferns. There are two things that makes endor, redwoods and ferns, without them it isn't endor.
The TRU Speeder bike is awesome and I hope they repack for TVC. I'm just afraid to know how much they'd want them for. Probably close to $50, for the bike, scout and flight stand, not including the e-web or kickstand. I have 3 now, I think that's enough for my needs.

[JDeck]

   Just a tiny update. I made the creek bed a little dirty and messy, like it should be. The sand and rocks were just too clean. First I sprinkled some of my forest litter in areas where debris would collect, like in front of deadfalls or large rocks and in the edges. Then, I made a mixture of Modge Podge, grey/green paint and water, put it in a spray bottle and sprayed the whole bed down. Then, I added some ground up moss to the edges, then sprayed it all down again. So I'm going to try and use clear Aloe gel (no alcohol added) for a temporary water effect. Im not going to add that until I'm just about to photograph. I ordered a camo net to give the lighting a forest effect, so I won't be able to shoot until the weekend.  So effectively 2 days work for a temporary photo set, but it's a more complex setup with the creek.

[Starchaser]

I like how the river bed looks. That's well done, and I love that you used real stone. BTW-I "PM'd" you regarding Redwood elements.

[JDeck]

I like how the river bed looks. That's well done, and I love that you used real stone. BTW-I "PM'd" you regarding Redwood elements.

Awesome thanks! I had a bunch of these "natural" river rocks, which are the store bought probably polished ones and figured I'd use them up. I try to use natural stuff, it looks natural. I had someone ask if anything ever molds. Only if I store it wet. I had a jar of "dirt" I made with coffee, tea and all sorts of stuff, but I sealed it up while it was still damp and it molded big time. Otherwise no problem.

[Tamer]

Man this looks real! I mean awesome. I keep expecting to see the red lazers!

I could you doing another dio of who is doing the blasting. Just a fantastic job here.

Off to share on the front pages.