Jabba The Hutt Diorama (The Viewing Frame WIP)

Wow, so exciting to see it in place like this! The amount of work that has gone into this whole display is mindblowing.

mindblowing!!! the result is just unique! George Lucas needs to see that!

It is really coming along now. I know the "basic" diorama itself was long put together, and you had worked out the lights, but now that you've advanced so far with the encasing cabinet, it is coming together beautifully. Remember, you can use a smaller scale Rancor for forced perspective.

Outstanding work Mark! It really does look amazing

I think this is Legendary !

Thanks everyone for the kind words and encouragement; it’s very slow going, but so far, all of my ideas have worked to a degree. I’m currently assembling the top panels — even those, which aren’t visible without standing on a step-stool, will be painted (I like to be thorough).

Asta wrote:
EDIT:

Let Your Geek Sideshow told the poster to delete any photo in which that Leia appeared due to the Sideshow's group rules:

...we don't allow anyone to post customs, whether they are also promoting Sideshow or not. We catch things as soon as we can and deal with them individually.

No Custom Pieces
While we appreciate the passion, artistry and effort that goes into creating custom pieces, we are unable to legally host photos or discussions of them in this group. Please refrain from posting custom figures as it violates the intellectual property laws which have been entrusted to us to protect.

A previous poster also had their photos removed.

I can understand that. As an official licensee, you can’t appear to be condoning or promoting unlicensed products of your licensor’s intellectual property.

Especially when your licensor is a neo-fascist mouse.

That looks really good with the lightning and the figures in it.

Theboo-bomb wrote:That looks really good with the lightning and the figures in it.

Thanks. I’m hoping to add more figures at some point — ones that actually belong to the scene; but it just depends on the custom artists at this point.

Just wow... Amazing work!
"turns and looks at his pitiful garage mockup"
Umm...yeah. I got some work to do. You inspire me sir.

Dienamic wrote:Just wow... Amazing work!
"turns and looks at his pitiful garage mockup"
Umm...yeah. I got some work to do. You inspire me sir.

Aww, thanks. Don't feel bad. This thing took me a massive amount of time. I seriously don't think I'll ever have the patience (let alone the space) to try something of this magnitude ever again.



Here's some more progress pics. I'm at the end of what I can do for the moment at this point. The removable panels in the top are in place. They are made out of pine, and I can lift them out with the drawer pulls, much the same as the ones on the side walls; while the pine is much lighter than the oak that the rest of the cabinet is made from, they are still rather large and cumbersome, so it's a bit of a trick to lift them out without dropping them on all the lights, wires, and control boxes beneath them.

Nice to see you using appropriate vocabulary (magnitude). And it looks absolutely excellent. I know others have done Jabba displays with their Sideshow space slugs, but I seriously doubt anyone has done anything this impressive. Looking forward to some photos with the lights on, too.

Marvelous work Mark, it really is impressive. Looking forward too seeing it lit up

By the way, what is the reclining figure that the Tusken Raider is talking to?

GubernatorFan wrote:Nice to see you using appropriate vocabulary (magnitude). And it looks absolutely excellent. I know others have done Jabba displays with their Sideshow space slugs, but I seriously doubt anyone has done anything this impressive. Looking forward to some photos with the lights on, too.

BAMComix wrote:Marvelous work Mark, it really is impressive. Looking forward too seeing it lit up

Thanks, fellas. It’s been a learning experience for sure. I’m waiting on a Tessek figure that is soon (from what I’ve been told) to be getting completed before I start taking more involved photos. (I also looked into getting museum-grade acrylic for the viewing, but holy $@#t has it gotten expensive. It’s going to be a while before I can complete that final part of the project. The shipping alone is killer!)

GubernatorFan wrote:By the way, what is the reclining figure that the Tusken Raider is talking to?

The head, hands and feet are some loose custom alien parts I got off eBay (pretty sure they are some Star Trek alien.) I bought loose Star Wars clothes and a weapon (along with a loose body), and just cobbled him together — as I needed more aliens to fill out the room. If you look closely in some of the early photos to the back “hallway” near the Han/carbonate display, you’ll see Darth Maul coming out of the shadows.

Stryker2011 wrote:The head, hands and feet are some loose custom alien parts I got off eBay (pretty sure they are some Star Trek alien.) I bought loose Star Wars clothes and a weapon (along with a loose body), and just cobbled him together — as I needed more aliens to fill out the room. If you look closely in some of the early photos to the back “hallway” near the Han/carbonate display, you’ll see Darth Maul coming out of the shadows.

All sensible choices. From this distance, the alien looks a little bit like a Star Wars Nikto/Klaatu, so he would blend right in. The guy from whom I bought the Greedo head and hands says he has more, including several others of the Jabba's palace aliens. That still means you would have to do the body and outfit, if you looked into that, but for a couple of characters the casts are not prohibitively expensive.

That's beautifully large and impressive.

Theboo-bomb wrote:That's beautifully large and impressive.

This is exactly what comes to mind every time I see Jabba himself.

I somehow missed the stage with the lighting. Holy cow that is awesome!!!
I applaud you for having the creative vision and the courage and stamina to go through with it!

Theboo-bomb wrote:That's beautifully large and impressive.

Thanks. It is indeed. Since it’s so close to the door to my Man Cave, the wife now complains it’s “too big” and “obnoxious” — but, she doesn’t come down their often anyway. I think it just bothers her that it blocks so much of her view as she enters the room.

GubernatorFan wrote:

Theboo-bomb wrote:That's beautifully large and impressive.

This is exactly what comes to mind every time I see Jabba himself.

Absolutely.

Diana wrote:I somehow missed the stage with the lighting. Holy cow that is awesome!!!
I applaud you for having the creative vision and the courage and stamina to go through with it!

Thank you, Diana. It’s been a fun experiment in patience and perseverance to be sure. I’m getting close to the final stage, but the acrylic viewing glass is holding things up — the cost is astronomical to say the least.

Stryker2011 wrote:

Diana wrote:I somehow missed the stage with the lighting. Holy cow that is awesome!!!
I applaud you for having the creative vision and the courage and stamina to go through with it!

Thank you, Diana. It’s been a fun experiment in patience and perseverance to be sure. I’m getting close to the final stage, but the acrylic viewing glass is holding things up — the cost is astronomical to say the least.

Really? Oh no! I once bought acrylic glass from Ebay, and that was very affordable, but of course the shop was in Germany. Maybe we have more competition?
I had a quick look and the first result gave me the maximum size of 150cm x 50cm at 3mm thickness for around 40 USD. I'm guessing you need it a bit bigger, and in the US you tend to get hit bad on the shipping costs...

Diana wrote:

Stryker2011 wrote:

Diana wrote:I somehow missed the stage with the lighting. Holy cow that is awesome!!!
I applaud you for having the creative vision and the courage and stamina to go through with it!

Thank you, Diana. It’s been a fun experiment in patience and perseverance to be sure. I’m getting close to the final stage, but the acrylic viewing glass is holding things up — the cost is astronomical to say the least.

Really? Oh no! I once bought acrylic glass from Ebay, and that was very affordable, but of course the shop was in Germany. Maybe we have more competition?
I had a quick look and the first result gave me the maximum size of 150cm x 50cm at 3mm thickness for around 40 USD. I'm guessing you need it a bit bigger, and in the US you tend to get hit bad on the shipping costs...

All the research I've done about different types of acrylic has led me to "Museum-Grade" (essentially the type used in the majority of museum's around the world for their paintings and display cases) acrylic for it's conservational properties. Lower-grade acrylic (which is by far much cheaper) also has properties that aren't exactly "safe" for long-term exposure, for yourself or for your collectibles/art. Acrylic being a petroleum product made from natural gas, also has what's called "outgassing" depending on how it's made (basically an invisible gas that can destroy your stuff over time -- granted, it may not noticeably damage stuff in what's left of MY lifetime, but I'd rather not take the chance in the event I live longer than my doctor's are predicting.) Museum-grade acrylic (at least the stuff made here in the US, which is held to incredibly high standards) doesn't have the outgassing of the cheap stuff -- but there are also varying levels of "museum-grade" and without looking at the fine print of the chemical composition of the acrylic, many advertising it are being dishonest of their product. The cheapest I was able to find, and not exactly the highest caliber of museum-grade, was $495 for a sheet in the size I needed 28 x 92 x 1/4 inches, and the domestic shipping cost alone was another $275. High quality museum-grad acrylic is anywhere from $1500- 2000 for the size I need (+ shipping) for the size. Pretty out of my comfort zone at the moment, particularly with wanting to be able to spend money on all my current POs (and possible future POs) in this hobby alone. Glass, doesn't have the outgassing problem, of course, but a sheet of glass this size would be just as cost prohibitive -- not to mention super-freaking heavy, and not something I'm willing to mess with.

Wish I could see this in real rather than only pics... Just totally amazing...

Those are some scary prices, Mark. I can see why you haven't got one yet.

Illusion wrote:Wish I could see this in real rather than only pics... Just totally amazing...

Thanks very much. I don’t think it’s nearly as impressive in real life — I see all the flaws; it’s honestly much better in subdued lighting to hide all that.

GubernatorFan wrote:Those are some scary prices, Mark. I can see why you haven't got one yet.

I know… the sticker shock was enough to give me a stroke.

Stryker2011 wrote:I know… the sticker shock was enough to give me a stroke.

This is a common issue with items that are perceived as geared primarily for institutional collections -- same thing with scholarly books -- the assumption is that libraries would be willing and able to spend hefty sums on overpriced volumes. Of course institutions too, have budgets and don't always get everything they might want.

GubernatorFan wrote:Those are some scary prices, Mark. I can see why you haven't got one yet.

Second that. Holy cow. I had no idea about those gasses...

Thinking outside the box (haha!)... maybe there is a cabinet out there with a glass door the right size?
But 92 inches... I can see how that would be near impossible to find. -.-

Diana wrote:

GubernatorFan wrote:Those are some scary prices, Mark. I can see why you haven't got one yet.

Second that. Holy cow. I had no idea about those gasses...

Thinking outside the box (haha!)... maybe there is a cabinet out there with a glass door the right size?
But 92 inches... I can see how that would be near impossible to find. -.-

Sadly, a piece of glass that size would be far too heavy, and between that and the frame to hold it, would cause the “center of gravity” for the cabinet to be dangerously unstable in how it’s designed (it would tip the entire thing right over).

I did manage to find a company that had what I wanted at a price scary, but not as scary as above, and it arrived yesterday. I have to cut it, however as it is essentially the same size as a full sheet of plywood (8’x4’). Don’t know what I’ll do with the excess acrylic (maybe I can make a display box…)

Excellent idea -- make your measurements and cut off as large a spare piece as you can, so you have some wiggle room for a later project. Hopefully the piece is cut correctly as you received it and you don't have to do more than one or two cuts to get what you need for the palace diorama. Glad to hear you were able to find a solution, and fingers crossed it works well and easily.