dls712
01-03-2009, 01:13 PM
Here is a project I put together a number of years ago... it is still not 100% complete... needs a bit of touching up.
When we bought our house approx. six years ago, I was able to convince my wife that I should use half of the basement to create displays and dioramas for my 1/6 scale action figures... little did she know what she was in for.
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One of my all-time favorite movie scenes is the mine cart chase in Temple of Doom. The first custom item I built in the new house was a mine cart for my custom Indiana Jones... that eventually evolved into a full diorama.
This display sits at one end of the "toy room". Basement ceilings are 9 feet tall. The display is built in to the wall/ceiling, above other built-in displays.
Overall dimensions of the mine cart diorama:
Height: 21 inches
Depth: 12-18 inches (varies)
Length: 14 feet, 8 inches
Construction:
Mine Cart: PVC pipe, styrene sheets, strips, rods and other plastic bits
Mine Cart Wheels: wheels from an old furniture moving device, re-worked
Rocks: sheets of foam insulation, glued together / shaped with various tools / covered in glue and sand, then painted
Track: metal rails liberated from a large-scale toy train set - rails removed from the plastic track that they came with, then bent to shape - wooden track and track supports built to support the bent rails
Lights: lit from underneath by red and white rope lights that slowly change intensity... gives it a cool "flowing lava" feel in person
-
For all of you purists, I know that Indy didn't have his jacket on in this scene in the movie, and so far I don't have a Short Round or Willie Scott to go along for the ride... maybe someday we will see these characters from Sideshow.
When we bought our house approx. six years ago, I was able to convince my wife that I should use half of the basement to create displays and dioramas for my 1/6 scale action figures... little did she know what she was in for.
-
One of my all-time favorite movie scenes is the mine cart chase in Temple of Doom. The first custom item I built in the new house was a mine cart for my custom Indiana Jones... that eventually evolved into a full diorama.
This display sits at one end of the "toy room". Basement ceilings are 9 feet tall. The display is built in to the wall/ceiling, above other built-in displays.
Overall dimensions of the mine cart diorama:
Height: 21 inches
Depth: 12-18 inches (varies)
Length: 14 feet, 8 inches
Construction:
Mine Cart: PVC pipe, styrene sheets, strips, rods and other plastic bits
Mine Cart Wheels: wheels from an old furniture moving device, re-worked
Rocks: sheets of foam insulation, glued together / shaped with various tools / covered in glue and sand, then painted
Track: metal rails liberated from a large-scale toy train set - rails removed from the plastic track that they came with, then bent to shape - wooden track and track supports built to support the bent rails
Lights: lit from underneath by red and white rope lights that slowly change intensity... gives it a cool "flowing lava" feel in person
-
For all of you purists, I know that Indy didn't have his jacket on in this scene in the movie, and so far I don't have a Short Round or Willie Scott to go along for the ride... maybe someday we will see these characters from Sideshow.