Jabba The Hutt Diorama (The Viewing Frame WIP)

Oh yeah this is all so good. Keep it coming mate.

Paul

Appreciate it, Paul.

Wanted to comment earlier, looked at all the pictures from page 1-8 again, and Stryker, I must say:

Yes.

Thank you kindly, Sir. Hope it wasn’t too boring.

The basic construction for the Han display wall is finished. This wall will be texturized like everything else since, obviously, this wall needs to be seen and lit (unlike the opposite wall).

So Great ! Time for the Electric ?

I know what's coming but I continue to be impressed with every stage of it being put together. Thinking of small details ahead, are you planning for the little tables with the weird little bottles. It is possible someone has made 3D printing models of such things that can be printed by Shapeways.

Ephiane wrote:So Great ! Time for the Electric ?

Pretty soon, yes.  

GubernatorFan wrote:I know what's coming but I continue to be impressed with every stage of it being put together. Thinking of small details ahead, are you planning for the little tables with the weird little bottles. It is possible someone has made 3D printing models of such things that can be printed by Shapeways.

I do plan on making the table with knick knacks (and pillows), at least to the right of the Carbonite display (not enough room on the other side). I’ve searched and searched on Shapeways, but oddly I haven’t seen them. Of course the “Search” function on that site is an absolute joke, and searching for specifics is no different than just searching through the entire site — you still get thousands and thousands (of possibles) — it gets exhausting trying to look thru all that stuff that isn’t even remotely connected to the actual search.

Amazing looking Rancor Pit grate and the rest of the project!

BAD WOLF-787 wrote:Amazing looking Rancor Pit grate and the rest of the project!

Thank you, my friend.


Finished cutting out the indent for the trap door, the texture on the Carbonite wall, and put in the keys to "lock" the outer walls into place. Each side wall has one of the these key/blocks at the corner to keep it in place. Some of the interior pieces (mainly the narrower arches) will get this same kind of treatment. The ceiling will have the same system to keep the top part of the walls locked in. It's a simple, yet effective. Nothing is going to be screwed down or attached any other way -- so everything can be easily taken apart in the event it has to be moved.

The texturing looks like a great match for the surround and step on the carbonate block dio. I am so looking forward to seeing this coloured now.

Paul

scalawag wrote:The texturing looks like a great match for the surround and step on the carbonate block dio.  I am so looking forward to seeing this coloured now.

Paul

Thanks, Paul. To tell you the truth, the closer I get to the actual painting, the more nervous I’m getting. I’ve never been good at painting, and even when I was heavily into illustration, the only thing I was ever truly good at was people. I’m really worried the paint job on this is going to look like crap — and end up destroying the whole thing.

Aww, sorry it's so nerve-wracking. I have faith in your abilities though!  

Out of curiosity, what kind of paints are you planning to use?

skywalkersaga wrote:Aww, sorry it's so nerve-wracking. I have faith in your abilities though!  

Out of curiosity, what kind of paints are you planning to use?

There lies the other problem... no idea. I have a bunch of tubes of Liquitex acrylics, but I might only use those for high-lights, low-lights, and “water” stains — assuming I can find a spray paint to lay down a decent base coat. I don’t have an airbrush, so that’s not an option.

I understand... it is not always easy to settle on something like that. Especially for something of this scale, and that you've already put so much effort into. Spray paint makes sense for a base coat, to get a more even application to start with, and then go from there. 

If you are truly worried about how it will all look, then maybe taking some extra materials aside and doing some experiments on it would likely help assuage your concerns. I'm sure you've already considered that, but just thinking out loud... ;p

Honestly, I hadn’t thought that far ahead. I’m still trying to tackle the back wall of the diorama. There’s a massive (and I do mean massive) removable panel behind the main arch, and there’s very little border at the top and bottom, so stability is my main concern at the moment.

That's understandable... stability is, of course, crucial. Hope you can work that out!

I'd say make an extra mid-sized piece with the same finish, then experiment with that for a bit. Your walls do not have to be a particularly dark or rich color, you might even be able to get away with what you already have plus some staining. If you use very watered down acrylic for that, you could always wipe it off if it comes off too extreme -- though you'd have to think fast.

Yeah, I think you and skywalkersaga are definitely on to something.

always do several comparable test pieces to get your techniques down and solid before starting on the actual piece itself mate.

Paul

scalawag wrote:always do several comparable test pieces to get your techniques down and solid before starting on the actual piece itself mate.

Paul

Will do. Thanks. I’ve never been good at “weathering” — that’s my biggest worry.

My best weathering has happened when I have made what I thought was a mistake and then tried to clear it up .
Go gentle and light with things, add multiple light layers and sneak up on the end result. Don't try and achieve a look in one go.

Paul

That's good advice, scalawag! It can be so tempting to rush things.... especially paint layers, ahhh. But it is indeed good to let things dry a bit... since colours/shades can vary between wet and dry. 

I do think in this case, you may not need a ton of actual 'weathering'....even just the right colour/staining will convey a lot of that already, especially with the underlying texture. Such as putting a slightly darker, thinned out wash to fill the crevices in the wallpaper texture, and then going over it with a lighter drybrush.... might help give at least a bit of the desired appearance?

Hi Mate just browsing some old pics and found these that I took at the Star Wars Identities Exhibition in London a couple of years ago.  Originals of things you are working on:

Apparently the face and hands are Harrison Ford, but the rest of the body is not.  The person who provided the body is still anonymous.





Some concept art etc.. for Jabba



and apparently this pair of eyes is all that is left of the throne room Jabba.  The figure at the bottom is a studio maquette made for The Phantom Menace.



I thought you might like these as possible reference.

Paul

OMG, those giant Jabba eyes are so freaking awesome!!

skywalkersaga wrote:OMG, those giant Jabba eyes are so freaking awesome!!

They were radio controlled too so that his eyes moved.

Mike Edmonds who I met last year was inside Jabba operating his tail.  He was also Longray the Ewok in ROTJ.

Paul

Very cool. Thanks for those. That first concept art of Jabba (upper left) reminds me of Mr. Toad in Flushed Away (try getting that reference out of your head). Like the Leia pose — I tried that one with the Jiaou Doll Leia bash, but I just couldn’t get it to look “natural”, so I ended up using the Madame Tussaud’s pose instead:

https://metro.co.uk/2015/04/13/star-wars-fans-can-now-meet-jabba-the-hutt-and-princess-leia-kinda-5147731/

Too bad all that’s left of Jabba is the eyes, but it’s understandable, I guess.

a suggestion for staining, shading or weathering is the good old british tea bag, after you have let it cool from the pot or cup.

Thanks for the tip, Delanie. I'm definitely going to have to do some experimenting before I tackle the actual piece.