DIY: PVC Deathstar wall backdrop

Bikerscout · Feb 18, 2018

Been wanting to do this for quite sometime. A backdrop using PVC board (1.5mm thick). Here's what I have started so far.

Will update this thread from time to time.

Niltusk · Feb 18, 2018

Thanks for showing this in steps; been wanting something like this and not wanting to pay Ebay pricing for a bunch of Solo trooper stands.

Bikerscout · Feb 18, 2018

Niltusk said:
Thanks for showing this in steps; been wanting something like this and not wanting to pay Ebay pricing for a bunch of Solo trooper stands.

I'll post the dimensions soon. After the cutting, I will also make two other walls like the picture below. Using the same PVC board but layered. Then I will spray them with acrylic paint and finish them off with flat clear coat. Will be adding flooring and ceiling as well.

LOPIE · Feb 18, 2018

Very cool, thanks for sharing. Can you post where you got the pvc from.

Bikerscout · Feb 18, 2018

LOPIE said:
Very cool, thanks for sharing. Can you post where you got the pvc from.

I got it from a local bookstore/office store.

andrewk · Feb 18, 2018

Wow! Great job so far! Can't wait to see the end product.

generalgrevious · Feb 18, 2018

i would like a few of these wall but I don't think I would have the time or patience.

Bikerscout · Feb 19, 2018

Thanks for the appreciation guys.

Update:

A total of 3 hours just to finish hand cutting the holes on this side. Not perfect but I'm pretty happy with the result. Still a long way to go. A lot of cutting, sanding the edges and painting. Plus assembly and lighting effect at the back & ceiling.

Xeno Junkie · Feb 19, 2018

Why can’t I see pics in this thread?

Bikerscout · Feb 20, 2018

Xeno Junkie said:
Why can’t I see pics in this thread?

What browser are you using?

Robianco · Feb 22, 2018

You've really beat me to it with this one. I've actually just had some sheets of acrylic laser cut from a company on eBay. It's cost me around £45 so far but it's perfectly cut in 5mm and 2mm acrylic. I've got a floor piece, backdrop with panel detailing and side panels cut. Just need to glue things up and then spray with primer to start things moving. There are very small Lego plates as gold ingots but you can get them in grey and they're used for detailing on ships etc. I'll be adding a couple of those onto the extruded panels for detailing. Should work really nicely. They cost around 10p each too. I'll just use some filler to cover the bottom groove with the Lego logo stamp.

I think if I was just getting back panels cut it'd be around £20 in total. They're measured to fit into a Kallax IKEA bookshelf aperture perfectly.

I'll set up a new thread rather than clutter or hijack yours with them. Your progress looks really good though. I just couldn't face cutting those curved light sections by hand.

Bikerscout · Feb 22, 2018

Robianco said:
You've really beat me to it with this one. I've actually just had some sheets of acrylic laser cut from a company on eBay. It's cost me around £45 so far but it's perfectly cut in 5mm and 2mm acrylic. I've got a floor piece, backdrop with panel detailing and side panels cut. Just need to glue things up and then spray with primer to start things moving. There are very small Lego plates as gold ingots but you can get them in grey and they're used for detailing on ships etc. I'll be adding a couple of those onto the extruded panels for detailing. Should work really nicely. They cost around 10p each too. I'll just use some filler to cover the bottom groove with the Lego logo stamp.

I think if I was just getting back panels cut it'd be around £20 in total. They're measured to fit into a Kallax IKEA bookshelf aperture perfectly.

I'll set up a new thread rather than clutter or hijack yours with them. Your progress looks really good though. I just couldn't face cutting those curved light sections by hand.

That's nice and would love to see them. I'm also planning on having these walls made in acrylic with water jet cutting by my friend's shop.

Robianco · Feb 22, 2018

Bikerscout said:
That's nice and would love to see them. I'm also planning on having these walls made in acrylic with water jet cutting by my friend's shop.

Great that you've got that option. I must admit I could probably get the whole thing done a little cheaper now I've found this company but I'm happy with the 5mm walls as they're a good weight and thickness.

I'll take some pics when I've got time tomorrow and set up a thread. Hopefully I can get the first layer of primer on it and really see how it looks as the cut panels that are sitting on the backing panel are in transparent acrylic so it looks a little weird at the moment.

Either way it'll be a lot cheaper than buying several of the Han Stormie backgrounds. I'm ordering an LED lightstrip with battery pack from AliExpress to run behind the lighting strips but they'll take a month to arrive I think. The can just be fitted at the end anyway.

Bikerscout · Feb 25, 2018

Update:

Here's what I have done over the weekend...

Finished making the holes and sanded each one of the edges. I had to cut the wall after finishing the holes to replicate actual panel lines. Because using just a cutter to leave a line mark doesn't make it realistic. So I cut them into sections and assembled them together with reinforcement at the back. The thin (10mm) acrylic will also go to the back for illumination.

Bikerscout · Feb 25, 2018

Here's the next wall. I also had to make a lot of measuring, scaling and manual cutting. Used 1.5mm for the main wall and 1mm for the outer panels. I also cut the two rectangular holes in the middle part of the main wall to replicate the flushed vent grill panel. Like the other wall, this was also cut into sections and assembled together for the realism of the panel lines.

Bikerscout · Feb 25, 2018

Here are the two walls together.

I still have to make four more to complete them then the ceiling and floor which is still a long way to go. Painting will be next and installation of lights using LED which will be powered via USB.

Bikerscout · Feb 26, 2018

Here's the third wall I worked on today.

Hoody999 · Feb 26, 2018

Nice ! I bet those straight edges are a welcome site after all those rounded lighting feature holes.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

generalgrevious · Feb 27, 2018

Bikerscout said:
Here's the third wall I worked on today.

great job I would want some of them they would look great in a detolf.

Bikerscout · Feb 27, 2018

generalgrevious said:
great job I would want some of them they would look great in a detolf.

Would it fit the Detolf? The wall is 15" in height. That is without the flooring (1" high) and the lighted ceiling which is about .5". A total of 16". I had to make it in the proper scale. Didn't want to sacrifice the scale for any shelf.

DIY: PVC Deathstar wall backdrop

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