February 08, 2003
I usually start with a sketch but found this amazing
Matte Painting that says it all way better then i
could :)
This is the look I am going for. Of course it will
not be as deep, you would need a garage to display
that diorama LOL.
I want to try and get Mirrors to create the illusion
of size, |
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but the height
is possible and will have a ceiling structure to hold the
Vader Tie Fighter and maybe a few other surprises :P |
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February 08, 2003
Since this is a square room, the decals are what
will bring the Movie Likeness to life.
Using pictures like this one, I created all the decals
that will be aplied to the foamcore Beams and Wall
Panels.
I was going to incorporate lights but after spending
2 days on one beam, |
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I decided to
use only the decals. Of course I could change my mind later
on :D |
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February 08, 2003
Now that the dimensions have been figured out it
is time for the most laborious part of making the
Diorama: Photoshop Texture Decals.
This is the SKIN of the Diorama and what will give
it the movie quality look.
I spent 14 hours this weekend working on the Beam
Base and Wall Section. |
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This Decal is
what is glued at the Top Wall. There are 2 versions of these
tiles because the Ventilation Grid is absent in every other
wall.
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February 08, 2003
Right below the previous Decal comes the Wall Base.
It is actually part of the image below but was seperated
in 2 parts to better show you what you will soon be
able to print at home. Variations of these patterns
exist as well. |
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February 08, 2003
And the bottom portion of the Wall Base. You will
be able to print these as one sheets for quick and
easy construction.
In the actual set, the three sections are seperated
by divisions. This will be how Niubniub (longer route)
will apply them to the foamcore in the coming weeks. |
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February 09, 2003
The base of the Beam is an angular shape with only
the tip touching the Hangar Floor.
Printing these decals will help you trace the exact
shape of your foamcore piece. It is actually better
to glue your decals on a larger piece and trim away
the edges. |
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This way the
decal fits just perfect. but more on that later on when
contruction begins. |
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February 09, 2003
Now that you have seen the Beam Sides, we shall move
on to the Front View.
The triangle is the piece that touches the floor.
To it's right is the middle angled piece with 4 variations
of Vents to maximize the movie look. On the right
is the first piece that goes up the wall.
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There are 3
variations of this Decal as well. All that is missing now
are the remaining Top Beams with variations. i should be
able to finish those during the week. |
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February 09, 2003
Now that you saw the Walls, if you look at the film
or Movie Stills, you will see there are Beams that
go all the way up to the ceiling at every 3 Wall Section
intervals.
These Neons are the sections that fit on the Beam's
Side. They were turned sideways to fit the preview
page.
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If you turn
them 90 degrees and imagine them on top of the Decal below,
you will understand where they fit.
Next weekend should begin contruction. Go buy your foamcore
:) |
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February 09, 2003
First thing to figure out is the Scale of the Wall
Beams. Since the Hasbro Shuttle is NOT Movie Accurate,
we have to do some resizing. Fortunately that means
that the Diorama will be a little easier to fit in
your home :D
The fun thing about this Diorama is it's ALL Sections. |
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One Beam Support
and One Wall Section are multiplied as many times as YOU
decide. This means that if you have a small shelf space,
you can do 2 or 3 Sections. if you have more space, you
can make 6-7-8-9...it's all up to YOU. Now how cool is that?
As most of you know by now, I will have fun trying to build
the most accurate replica that I can. Along the way you
will see some shortcuts that you can skip if you don't want
to put as much time into building your Docking bay. |
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February 16, 2003
And here is the TEST section with the proper decals
applied. See the difference a little paper can do?
:D Hee hee.
Of course these will all soon be available for you
to Download so you can recreate the same look for
your own collection. This is really all there is to
it. |
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Once you make
a Beam and Wall section, it's all about multiplying them
to the desired size for your home. |
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February 16, 2003
Here is a wide view showing how the upper walls will
look like.
This is also the EASY way to create your Diorama
at home. Simply by gluing the wall patern as ONE piece.
Of course you know by now that I will be doing it
just like the real movie set... |
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which is in
3 pieces with a division layer between each Wall Strip.
If you want to go all out like I do, go for it. But this
way looks cool also :) |
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February 16, 2003
Here is a little CHEAT I created in Photoshop by
CLONING the sections.
When all the Beams and Walls will be duplicated it
should look very close to this. That's what's cool
about having the sections modular. It's all up to
you to decide how to interpret the Scene. :D |
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February 16, 2003
Now that I found the scale with the TEMP set, let's
start working on the REAL deal :D
These are the pieces you will need to cut to make
ONE Beam structure. I will have the actual dimensions
available in the Blueprints Section very soon. Of
course if you want to modify the height and not create
a ceiling, |
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You can just print the decals, aply them to the patern and
chop off to fit your display space.
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February 16, 2003
I started by using my Hot Glue Gun to attach the
Center Front Strip to the Right Neon Panel.
You can't see it in this picture, but DO NOT align
the Strip to the EDGE of the Panel. Leave a tiny 2mm
gap so that you will create added detail to the beam.
You will understand seeing Picture 015. |
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February 16, 2003
If you want to increase the durability of the Beam,
you can add Hot Glue to the inside seams. I also used
some masking tape to hold the Angle at the proper
position before applying the Hot Glue. |
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February 16, 2003
So attach the Left Neon Panel to the Center Strip
(#2) with a hot Glue Gun. When that is dry, take the
2 foamcore pieces that fit on the Front Angle (#1
and #3) and attach them to the Side Neon Panels with
Hot Glue.
The blue lines are to indicate where the three pieces
meet.
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Remember to
leave a 2 mm gap with the Angle Pieces. Align them with
the Center Piece to fascilitate the Decals Aplications |
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February 16, 2003
Last step is to attach the "V" Front Foot
Panels.
Here you can see the 2mm groove that I was explaining
earlier. See the shadow on the left side? that is
the thickness of the Gap. It's just a little detail
but works GREAT when the Decals are in place. I promise
:) |
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