Jabba The Hutt Diorama (The Viewing Frame WIP)

GubernatorFan wrote:Wow. Very impressive already. They don't really look like toys in this light and photo. And the illusion of space and perspective is remarkably good. Well done.

I agree. Alex did an amazing job on the texture, light and depth of field on this — really helps pull the whole thing together.

skywalkersaga wrote:Oooooh it really looks the part! I can only imagine how nerve-wracking it would have been to cut it.... but it seems to have worked, and from this pic at least the colours and image create the perfect background impression. Gorgeous!

Yes, indeed. I was sweating bullets the entire time I was working with it.

Rogerbee wrote:
That looks amazing!

Thanks, Roger. All the kind comments have been the encouragement this old anal retentive, and harsh self-critic, has needed to keep going.

And so you should. Once I've moved I'll spend much of my time on all the kits I've been buying.

Oh my god, this looks AMAZING!!!!!! It blends perfectly, and the whole thing photographs so well! The background completely sells the illusion, and the real lighting matches it so well. The way Jabba is more in the shadows, while the light falls on the foreground looks incredibly natural, realistic, and dramatic. So floored by how this is coming out. Absolutely killer man.

What sort of unknown machine have you used to replicate this whole thing? Are you hiding alien secrets from the rest of the world?! Joking aside this is probably one of the most amazing things I've seen in some time, it's quite simply amazing.

ReverendSpooky wrote:Oh my god, this looks AMAZING!!!!!!  It blends perfectly, and the whole thing photographs so well!  The background completely sells the illusion, and the real lighting matches it so well.  The way Jabba is more in the shadows, while the light falls on the foreground looks incredibly natural, realistic, and dramatic.  So floored by how this is coming out.  Absolutely killer man.

Thanks, Brother. Oddly, the light in this photo is from the overhead light of my office ceiling — not the dio “ceiling” which is currently off. It does look pretty good like this. I’ll have to play with the lights a bit after I light the backdrop.

Theboo-bomb wrote:What sort of unknown machine have you used to replicate this whole thing? Are you hiding alien secrets from the rest of the world?! Joking aside this is probably one of the most amazing things I've seen in some time, it's quite simply amazing.

Thank you kindly. No real secrets involved, I made step by step posts throughout this thread explaining everything I did. A lot of what I’ve done was trial and error, as this was my first diorama ever, so I was willing to share the experience — hopefully folks found it useful, and not just tedious.

Wow man this came out so so nicely! I had my fingers crossed both on the color blending and the fake perspective but it works very well (at least from that angle it works wonder!)

can't wait to see more!!! ( I guess if I had achieved such a diorama with your crazy collection I would spend a couple weeks playing in my man cave while watching ROTJ over n over lol)

Blackpool, your contribution to this little piece of wonder is very substantial. Thank you again, both on Mark's behalf and ours (well, speaking for myself...).

blackpool wrote:Wow man this came out so so nicely! I had my fingers crossed both on the color blending and the fake perspective but it works very well (at least from that angle it works wonder!)

can't wait to see more!!! ( I guess if I had achieved such a diorama with your crazy collection I would spend a couple weeks playing in my man cave while watching ROTJ over n over lol)

My thanks to you for creating such a beautiful backdrop. It brings this construction to a whole new level, one that I would never have been able to achieve without this magnificent piece of art.

GubernatorFan wrote:Blackpool, your contribution to this little piece of wonder is very substantial. Thank you again, both on Mark's behalf and ours (well, speaking for myself...).

Well said, Guv.

Well, it's been awhile since I updated, and the diorama is almost complete. I had to rebuild the back removable panel (behind the backdrop) to accommodate adding lights behind the panel. I cut the basic shape of the arch, steps and the floor behind the throne to keep the light from coming through the entire panel. The image is taped to a sheet of plexiglass and behind the plexiglass is a sheet of diffusor film (used by professional photographers).




I had to construct a "box" for the strip lights to go into. Based on an experiment I only needed to make the box 2" deep to ensure that there weren't any "spots" left by the lights (too close, even with the diffusor, and the lights would show up as individual dots behind the image). To further ensure that there wouldn't be any problems spreading out the light, I lined the entire inside of the box with metal reflective contractor duct tape (used for -- you guessed it -- duct work on furnaces) to help bounce the light and spread it evenly.






Believe it or not, I used just two strong cabinet magnets (one on either side) to hold that entire light box to the back of the diorama. It's really only necessary to keep it in place, cause the bottom back and sides of the box actually will rest on the bottom of the cabinet I'll have to build to house this beast -- but they work perfectly for holding about 8 pounds of lengthy wood in the air.



And a quick test of the backlit image. This isn't probably the level the lights will be at, I just wanted to test how the image looked overall. The roof above this portion of the diorama isn't back in place yet, so none of the other lights are what they will be once the whole thing is reassembled and lit up.

A nice reminder of how complex this diorama has been to build. And it looks excellent already.

Wow. It has been great following along with this. Good to see it finally reaching fruition.

Incredible!!!!!!! Damn man, that looks so freakin good. You're in the home stretch now. Can't wait to get the full experience, with everything in place, and the full layout. But so awed. This looks seriously legit.

Looking good!

Oh wow, it is truly getting there! Very happy to see your hard work and planning paying off!

This is truly amazing Mark, and seeing it coming to achievement is incredibly cool (and rewarding for you, you gotta be proud of that unique beast you've built, it's really a masterpiece that George Lucas himself would love to see I'm sure)

Thanks for all the kind words, compliments and encouragement, folks; not to mention the extra effort by blackpool to help me realize this project. It’s been a big help to keep me going and on track.

Jabba on the dais! Stryking as always.

Will there be sound and fog too?

Ovy wrote:Will there be sound and fog too?

That's really for Mark to answer, but I remember there was discussion of some music playing -- as long as it is not Jedi Rock (the original Lapti Nek might be ok). Personally, if there are options, I would have liked some deep Jabba laughter and maybe Salacious Crumb cackling.

Ovy wrote:Jabba on the dais! Stryking as always.

Will there be sound and fog too?

Thanks. I see what you did there.


No fog. I had downloaded several sound clips off the Net -- including Jabba laughing, some Jabba dialogue (Salacious cackling was on there, as well). And the full version of the original Lapti Nek by the Max Reebo Band. I purchased a single Speaker system (with slot for a micro SD card) -- it was supposed to be able to have 5 different "slots", but it was so damn confusing trying to figure out everything needed to make it work, and when I enquired of the manufacturer what extra parts were needed to make the damn thing work -- they were only so helpful -- and only as long as it appeared I was willing to spend another $70 on the "parts" they suggested (the damn speaker system by itself was $50 and came with nothing but two very short wires hanging off it). Somehow you were supposed to attach a power supply and 5 separate buttons to this thing with virtually no guidance (unless, of course, one is already fluent in electrical wiring). When they stopped answering my questions for help -- I returned the damn thing. I f#$&ing hate companies that aren't willing to help you with THEIR own damn products.

So, it looks like I won't be having sound.

That is a disappointing experience. But at least you could always easily play the sound off some other non-internal device.

Just get a cheap mp3 player, a speaker that plugs into the headphone port, and a USB charger. Total cost: $5 (not including the MicroSD).

MP3 player $3
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-Portable-USB-MP3-Player-Support-Micro-SD-TF-Card-32GB-Sport-Music-Media/133052203061




Speaker $1
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Portable-3-5mm-AUX-Pillow-mini-Speaker-for-MP3-MP4-CD-iPod-Phone-White-A/401708239720




USB charger  $1
https://www.ebay.com/itm/10Colors-2-Pin-European-Power-Adapter-USB-AC-EU-Plug-Wall-Charger-For-Smartphone/291998892586

Wow! Thanks for the tips and links, shazzdan. That just might do the trick. Appreciate it.

I still might add sound; but for now -- the diorama itself is finished. The camera didn't capture all the details the way the human eye sees it, so things are much brighter in the foreground than they are in reality. Comments and criticism welcome.

By the way, any ideas as to what to call this monstrosity would be greatly appreciated. I plan to have a "plague" made with the title of the piece on the outside of the cabinet when it's finished.

Enjoy.

















More characters will be added over time. I have a Gamorrean Guard (posable) that I have to paint up, and I have Amanaman on the way eventually (both are customs); hope to add other custom palace figures eventually.

Holy crap, I'm in looove. It's looking so freaking awesome!

Beautiful and atmospheric. So cool with the extra characters in there, and, as you say, you'll be placing even more. I know I look forward to the updates. In the zoomed-in photos, Jabba doesn't look too dark, so I think this must be even better in person. Nice choice of arrangement and poses, too!

All my respect to your magnificent accomplishments, you made some history here.

Totally forgot about that beautiful little blue elephant panel and the hallway to Han, looks fantastic. Luke's light spots have the right ratio of diffuse and sharp.

And just call this masterpiece 'Jabba in the Dais'. (Didn't I spam that here already?)
https://youtu.be/sTwEVq6VtgA

man this is glorious! Seriously the most exciting diorama I've seen so far, partly because this location n scenes are legend and you'll surely have a ton of fun recreating the movie sequences, but mostly because of your fantastic work, sharing it step by step was a great n beautiful journey! Humble bow lord darth dioramous!

That is seriously impressive. It's been fun watching it come together. If nothing else, you now have somewhere to store all of your Star Wars figures

skywalkersaga wrote:Holy crap, I'm in looove. It's looking so freaking awesome!

Thank you, sky. Glad you "looove" it.

GubernatorFan wrote:Beautiful and atmospheric. So cool with the extra characters in there, and, as you say, you'll be placing even more. I know I look forward to the updates. In the zoomed-in photos, Jabba doesn't look too dark, so I think this must be even better in person. Nice choice of arrangement and poses, too!

Thanks, Guv. I need to futz a few of them a bit more, I think. I kind of want Aurra Sing interacting with Mythos Boba Fett (when he finally arrives).

Ovy wrote:All my respect to your magnificent accomplishments, you made some history here.

Totally forgot about that beautiful little blue elephant panel and the hallway to Han, looks fantastic. Luke's light spots have the right ratio of diffuse and sharp.

And just call this masterpiece 'Jabba in the Dais'. (Didn't I spam that here already?)
https://youtu.be/sTwEVq6VtgA

Thanks, Ovy. Much appreciated. I had totally forgotten that Jabba spoof song. Great reminder. (I was always partial to Weird Al's Yoda spoof of the Kinks).

blackpool wrote:man this is glorious! Seriously the most exciting diorama I've seen so far, partly because this location n scenes are legend and you'll surely have a ton of fun recreating the movie sequences, but mostly because of your fantastic work, sharing it step by step was a great n beautiful journey! Humble bow lord darth dioramous!

Haha! Darth Dioramous! Good one. But I couldn't have done it without the help of everyone here (and over at the Freaks) for all the tips and insight. And, of course, you're amazing backdrop is icing on the cake that helped bring it altogether. You have my heartfelt thanks for that, my friend.

shazzdan wrote:That is seriously impressive. It's been fun watching it come together. If nothing else, you now have somewhere to store all of your Star Wars figures

Thanks, shazzdan. I'm glad it was enjoyable, and if my SW figures don't all end up there -- they might end up on top of the cabinet (if there's room).