teh bunneh Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 This year at GenCon, I'm pulling out all the stops. I'm going to make a large diorama for the miniatures contest. I've been fooling around with the idea all year, and this weekend I decided to just go for it. My project is going to be a fantasy scene, so more properly this thread should probably go in Fantasy Hero or General Gaming, but meh, whatever. For fans of the online comic strip Order of the Stick, this scene may be familiar. I'm calling it "The Order of the Stick, in 3-D." It's going to consist of a Dungeon corridor and a largish room. In the corridor are our heroes – Roy, Belkar, Durkon, Elan, Haley, and V. Haley is listening at the door while the rest of the heroes stand around her, watching. In the room, the liche (Xyclon? Whatever his name is) and Redcloak the goblin are looking into a crystal ball – in which the image of the heroes outside is displayed. More of Xyclon's servants are standing around the room, watching. The Monster In The Shadows is also there looking on, with the two red cockroaches nearby. I'm going to be posting pictures of the work in progress in this thread. I actually got quite a bit done this weekend, and forgot to take piccies of the "before" (piles of random pieces scattered about my table). But I'll get some shots tonight of what I'm currently working on. I'll also be journaling a bit here, talking about problems I'm encountering (and hopefully, their solutions). My first goal is to have this baby done before the end of June – which is lightning-fast for a project of this scale and ambition. My second goal is for this baby to win the big one at GenCon. : This is also pretty damn ambitious, because the competition at GenCon is among the fiercest in the world. Wish me luxX0rz!11!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Jim Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 Re: Anatomy of a diorama How about I wish you "Good Luck !!!!!" instead ? Cause I don't speak whatever language that was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supreme Serpent Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 Re: Anatomy of a diorama Wow, pretty ambitious. Good luck with that! Do you plan on making people look like they do in the webcomic, or using more "realistic" figures modded and painted to be obvious to the informed observer who they are? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teh bunneh Posted May 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 Re: Anatomy of a diorama Approaching this project, I encountered a lot of serious questions. Foremost of these was: What miniatures am I going to use? Can't have a miniatures diorama without the miniatures. I had a few ideas (Durkon was pretty easy), but some of these guys are tough. Haley, for instance, is a long-haired, tank-top and short skirt wearing, bow-wielding rogue. Ain't that many fantasy figs wearing a tank top and short skirt. And then there's Roy, who's a large, greatsword carrying, bald warrior with African-American features. Again, that's a toughie. And shockingly enough, it's really difficult to find an Elven wizard wearing a robe. Most of the ones out there are either obviously female (lots of cleavage – V may or may not be female, but s/he definitely does not show off her boobies (assuming she has any)), or are warrior-wizards toting swords and wearing armor. Well, much diligent searching has resulted in a pretty decent set of figures. They aren't all 100% matches, but with a little conversion work I think they'll look great. Haley: Alissa the Archer Durkon: Durgam Deepmug Elan: Dub the Rogue, with lute from one of the weapons kits Belkar: Woody the Halfling Varsuvius: Aramil, Mage Roy: Sir William the Peacemaker, with (another figure who I can't seem to locate online -- an African shaman type)'s head The Liche is going to be this guy. I'm not sure yet about Redcloak. I've got a good looking goblin, but I'm not sure about him. The rest of the monsters in the room are just going to be random skeletons and ogres and whatever I've got sitting in my bits box. Most of these figures I've got; the rest are on order from my FLGS. So that's one hurdle crossed. Only about a million more to go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teh bunneh Posted May 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 Re: Anatomy of a diorama Wow' date=' pretty ambitious. Good luck with that![/quote'] Thanks! (and thanks to Bro Jim, too!) Do you plan on making people look like they do in the webcomic, or using more "realistic" figures modded and painted to be obvious to the informed observer who they are? Good question. They are going to be realistic, painted so that hopefully everyone will know who they are. They aren't going to be stick figures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost-angel Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 Re: Anatomy of a diorama You should go with stick figures.. it'd be a classic entry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 Re: Anatomy of a diorama It's good to be ambitious! After a long bought with laziness I started my own project this weekend to do during breaks when I wasn't scouring my apartment clean (finally). My project is a chess set featuring my favorite miniatures. I'm working on the board first. I've got a few different ideas. I'd love to do one that's all Champions characters, but my players probably wouldn't appreciate it on the level as total strangers would. So I might use the PCs and their foes from my campaign. Or I might just go for hte coolest miniatures I can find and make it all non-specific. But I suspect it's going to be several chess boards now. I've got enough materials, and I'm bound to screw one up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teh bunneh Posted May 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 Re: Anatomy of a diorama Second challenge to overcome: How do I build the base and the background? Related question: What's the layout going to look like? Answer: This has been churning in the back of my mind for a long time now, so this one was pretty easy. The layout will consist of the following: A narrow corridor on the left side of the diorama (as the viewer looks at it). A wall separating the corridor from the room. A door in the center of the wall. A wall along the back and along the right side of the diorama to "frame" the world. So, three walls, one door. Pretty simple... I hope. It now becomes a question of materials. I want the walls to look like rough-hewn stone, and the floor to look the same. Of course, the floor has to be much flatter than the walls, so the figures can stand up straight. So I went on a roadtrip to the hobby store to dig through their collection of Plastistruct – sheets of plastic molded into patterns. Model train enthusiasts eat this stuff for lunch, and it comes in about a zillion shapes, sizes, thicknesses, and patterns. My wife's eagle-eyes spotted the perfect stuff before I could even start digging. HO size rock walls will work great for the walls, and I'll use HO size flagstone for my floors, so that hurdle is now officially crossed. But plastistruct is not that stiff and not that solid, so I have to glue it to something or it'll warp. Again, my wife comes to my rescue, finding sheets of 1/4" thick, 4" wide wood – lightweight, easy to cut, and the perfect size. We also find some square dowels that I'll use to help brace the walls. Finally, I need a base – something solid enough to hold the weight of the project. It also has to look pretty – a big chunk of wood would be solid, but would look like crap. Eventually, we find a trophy base – 11"x14", which is the perfect size. And I know just how I'm going to paint this baby, too. Add to all this a tube of carpenter's putty to fill in the gaps, and I think I've got what I need! w00tx0rz!1!!! The next step: Actually putting it together... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 Re: Anatomy of a diorama I can't wait to see it! Hey are you doing any painting when you're at the con this year? Good Luck. If so, I have a badly mutilated mini I'd like you to paint for me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savinien Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 Re: Anatomy of a diorama Sweet! I'm looking forward to seeing this project come to life. It's like a reality show... but without the suck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPMiller Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 Re: Anatomy of a diorama I'm eager to see the translation from comic to "RL". Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 Re: Anatomy of a diorama You need to rethink your selection of figures. At some point you will have to have the GM quote, "Your head explodes", and then be able to make the figure for the character in question have its head explode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 Re: Anatomy of a diorama I'll wait for the podcast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proditor Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 Re: Anatomy of a diorama I can't wait to see this Bill! And heck, of the mini painters I've known, you're the guy I'm betting has the chops for Gen Con. Best of luck my friend, bring home the gold! (I was going to say "Make us proud", but you already do that with your activities on the other 364 days of the year)* *oblique Easter Bunny reference there... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 Re: Anatomy of a diorama Sounds really cool! Although shouldn't this be in Fantasy Hero? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teh bunneh Posted May 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2006 Re: Anatomy of a diorama As promised, photographs of the work in progress... The first is a pic of some of the parts I'm using. Of course, since by the time I took the picture I'd already begun building the thing, these are actually leftover parts. Still, they'll give you an idea. Second is a photograph of the diorama from straight down. It's about 11"x14". Third is a photograph of the door, from the liche's room. Fourth is just the opposite -- a picture of the door from the hallway. Fifth is what I was working on tonight -- using carpenter's putty to caulk the seams along the walls, pillars, and doorways. I worked on the caulk for nearly 2 and a half hours, and only got about 3/4ths of the way done! More to come later... Bill. (And that carpenter's putty is a real b!tch to get off your hands, too). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logan D. Hurricanes Posted May 31, 2006 Report Share Posted May 31, 2006 Re: Anatomy of a diorama ...It's like a reality show... but without the suck. Then what's the point, man? What's the point?? But seriously, my hat is off to anyone with the patience and persistence to do such a project. If I were more ambitious I think I'd like to work on a costume, myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aylwin13 Posted May 31, 2006 Report Share Posted May 31, 2006 Re: Anatomy of a diorama Looks awesome k_b; even in the preliminary stages. I can't wait to see the finished product. I know, I know, patience. Things like this take time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teh bunneh Posted May 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2006 Re: Anatomy of a diorama My project is a chess set featuring my favorite miniatures. I'm working on the board first. I've got a few different ideas. I'd love to do one that's all Champions characters, but my players probably wouldn't appreciate it on the level as total strangers would. So I might use the PCs and their foes from my campaign. Or I might just go for hte coolest miniatures I can find and make it all non-specific. But I suspect it's going to be several chess boards now. I've got enough materials, and I'm bound to screw one up. Chess boards are fun to do, and are definitely ambitious! I put together a Japanese fantasy chess board a few years ago -- I had an Oni for the king, a snow-woman for the queen... can't remember most of the other pieces. A pair of Tengu for the knights, I think, and bakemono for the pawns. On the "white" side I had samurai and shukenja of various types. Good luck with your project, Blue! Sounds great! Bill. (Hm... I should build another one sometime. That'd be cool). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teh bunneh Posted May 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2006 Re: Anatomy of a diorama I can't wait to see it! Hey are you doing any painting when you're at the con this year? Good Luck. If so, I have a badly mutilated mini I'd like you to paint for me... Thanks! Yep, I'm probably going to do a ton of painting at GenCon. Bring me a clean, primed mini and we'll talk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoresLost Posted May 31, 2006 Report Share Posted May 31, 2006 Re: Anatomy of a diorama I think something is missing from your fine diarama. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thia Halmades Posted June 6, 2006 Report Share Posted June 6, 2006 Re: Anatomy of a diorama Go forward and kicketh the asses of the assembled, Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teh bunneh Posted June 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2006 Re: Anatomy of a diorama Here are some more pics of the work in progress. I've begun modding some of the figures; so far I've done work on Haley, Elan, Belkar, Durkon, and V -- though I've not finished any of them. Here's pics of Durkon, Belkar, and Elan. They all need work -- Elan is missing a hand, and the fret for his lute. He also needs a lot of putty work. Durkon needs some work on his shield, but other than that he's done. Belkar is mostly finished. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about the quiver of arrows on his back. I may use putty to make it into a backpack, or I may leave it alone. I'll post more shots of the characters as I finish them. The next two pictures are roughs of the layout I'm going to use. One pic is a closeup of the Order of the Stick outside of the door; the other is a long shot of the whole shebang (minus minor characters). Feedback is, of course, welcome. Bill. (Apologies for the poor quality of the pics -- I'm not bothering to set up my whole studio for these "works in progress" pics). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackSword Posted June 6, 2006 Report Share Posted June 6, 2006 Re: Anatomy of a diorama Very impressive so far Bill, I look forward to reading your progress and seeing the final piece at GenCon. Good Luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPMiller Posted June 6, 2006 Report Share Posted June 6, 2006 Re: Anatomy of a diorama Will there be little speech bubbles above their heads? You know it is the dialog that makes it. Hey, maybe if you email the author with what you are doing and show the pics, he'll do some "official" dialogue for the scene for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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