Instead of my usual method of posting the progress of my projects I wanted to get a lot of this done before I did a reveal.
Due to limitations of the size of my our diorama I had to reimagine the floor plan and reformat it to fit the display area
This is what I came up with:
ORIGINAL WALL CONCEPT
I was going to go with a single left corner unit and a right accent wall but when I got it set in place it looked off and the piano was too cramped. I decided to separate the fire place from the Piano Room. Although this is not screen accurate it works for our floor plan.
PACIFIC VIEW
I contacted 12InchFigures and asked him if he could augment a picture of the Pacific ocean I found on the net by adding the balcony and rail that can be seen in the movies. For a very small fee he not only added what I requested but he also thought to incorporate the glass seam lines in my back drop since I would be using a single piece of acrylic to cover it. I had this printed 16” x 60” for $7 at Staples
FINAL TEST FIT
I now had all of the components for a final test fit and IMO, everything worked.
FINISHING THE WALL SECTIONS
To create the vertical cement plank look of the walls I applied 5 thick coats of Kiltz primer and let it cure for 2 days. Then I hand scribe each line. They didn’t have to be perfect, in fact the variation made it look more realistic.
Then I painted the walls with a base coat followed by a light black wash to tone them down
FITTING THE ROCKS TO THE FIRE PLACE
There are rocks all over the mansion but I decided to only use them to accent the fireplace in our diorama. I used real rocks for this and cut the slots into them with my M-100 Brick & Paver Saw.
THE CEILING PANEL
The ceiling had to be a single unit that was easy to get in and out so that I could access to the electrical system for updates and repairs. Because it is so large I decided to make it from alternating layers of 1/4” plywood and 3/4” styrofoam.
This was a very time intensive process because each layer took a day for the glue to cure. As I created the layers I incorporated LED lights. When it was fully built up I did a test fit and this is how it looked.
Once I knew it fit and was going to work I just had to fill all the holes and paint it. I choose white for the recessed areas and rose wood for the rest. The lines were hand scribed in the same way I did the walls. I am very happy with how this came out
THE PIANO ROOM
Screen capture from one of the movies for context
While looking for a 1/6 scale piano I discovered the Sega Grand Piano. It is a player piano meaning that the keys move in sync with the music it is playing. These retail fro over $700 but I found one for $307 shipped from Japan.
To finish the room I added a bunch of 1/6 alcohol accessories and 3 pieces if art from the various movies. My wife suggested that Loki should be the one at the piano and I totally agreed.
THE MAIN FLOOR
Screen capture from one of the movies for context
Originally I was going to build a huge sectional couch and the coffee table but that all change once I received the Steve Rogers figure. He looked like he should be holding a guitar so posed him with a guitar near the fire place and he looked perfect. So continuing with that theme I decided to drop the couch and go with a party theme. I order a set of drums for Clint and I can populate the rest of the floor with various figures mingling about.
I’m pretty excited about this new direction and look forward to adding to it.
I still have the option to add the couch and coffee table later if I want to, which is what makes this set up so fun.
THE ‘EAMES’ CORNER
Screen capture from one of the movies for context
Our diorama features a 1/6 scale Vitra Eames lounge chair with ottoman. Vitra replicas are built from real wood, leather and steel and this model normally these normally retail for $795 but I got a used one from eBay for half price.
An incredible 1/6 scale reproduction Brice Marden hangs on the wall. A very nice member of the RPF named Whitehammer re-created this for me from scratch and asked for nothing in return. The guitars and animal skin rug are in every scene and I added the mixer table for fun.
The Eames chair is very popular choice for movies and television. There are actually 2 used in the Stark mansion, a nice black set in the living room and a beat up brown chair in the shop.
It’s supposed to be the most comfortable chair ever, so this is the perfect place for Stan Lee sit.
Due to limitations of the size of my our diorama I had to reimagine the floor plan and reformat it to fit the display area
This is what I came up with:
ORIGINAL WALL CONCEPT
I was going to go with a single left corner unit and a right accent wall but when I got it set in place it looked off and the piano was too cramped. I decided to separate the fire place from the Piano Room. Although this is not screen accurate it works for our floor plan.
PACIFIC VIEW
I contacted 12InchFigures and asked him if he could augment a picture of the Pacific ocean I found on the net by adding the balcony and rail that can be seen in the movies. For a very small fee he not only added what I requested but he also thought to incorporate the glass seam lines in my back drop since I would be using a single piece of acrylic to cover it. I had this printed 16” x 60” for $7 at Staples
FINAL TEST FIT
I now had all of the components for a final test fit and IMO, everything worked.
FINISHING THE WALL SECTIONS
To create the vertical cement plank look of the walls I applied 5 thick coats of Kiltz primer and let it cure for 2 days. Then I hand scribe each line. They didn’t have to be perfect, in fact the variation made it look more realistic.
Then I painted the walls with a base coat followed by a light black wash to tone them down
FITTING THE ROCKS TO THE FIRE PLACE
There are rocks all over the mansion but I decided to only use them to accent the fireplace in our diorama. I used real rocks for this and cut the slots into them with my M-100 Brick & Paver Saw.
THE CEILING PANEL
The ceiling had to be a single unit that was easy to get in and out so that I could access to the electrical system for updates and repairs. Because it is so large I decided to make it from alternating layers of 1/4” plywood and 3/4” styrofoam.
This was a very time intensive process because each layer took a day for the glue to cure. As I created the layers I incorporated LED lights. When it was fully built up I did a test fit and this is how it looked.
Once I knew it fit and was going to work I just had to fill all the holes and paint it. I choose white for the recessed areas and rose wood for the rest. The lines were hand scribed in the same way I did the walls. I am very happy with how this came out
THE PIANO ROOM
Screen capture from one of the movies for context
While looking for a 1/6 scale piano I discovered the Sega Grand Piano. It is a player piano meaning that the keys move in sync with the music it is playing. These retail fro over $700 but I found one for $307 shipped from Japan.
To finish the room I added a bunch of 1/6 alcohol accessories and 3 pieces if art from the various movies. My wife suggested that Loki should be the one at the piano and I totally agreed.
THE MAIN FLOOR
Screen capture from one of the movies for context
Originally I was going to build a huge sectional couch and the coffee table but that all change once I received the Steve Rogers figure. He looked like he should be holding a guitar so posed him with a guitar near the fire place and he looked perfect. So continuing with that theme I decided to drop the couch and go with a party theme. I order a set of drums for Clint and I can populate the rest of the floor with various figures mingling about.
I’m pretty excited about this new direction and look forward to adding to it.
I still have the option to add the couch and coffee table later if I want to, which is what makes this set up so fun.
THE ‘EAMES’ CORNER
Screen capture from one of the movies for context
Our diorama features a 1/6 scale Vitra Eames lounge chair with ottoman. Vitra replicas are built from real wood, leather and steel and this model normally these normally retail for $795 but I got a used one from eBay for half price.
An incredible 1/6 scale reproduction Brice Marden hangs on the wall. A very nice member of the RPF named Whitehammer re-created this for me from scratch and asked for nothing in return. The guitars and animal skin rug are in every scene and I added the mixer table for fun.
The Eames chair is very popular choice for movies and television. There are actually 2 used in the Stark mansion, a nice black set in the living room and a beat up brown chair in the shop.
It’s supposed to be the most comfortable chair ever, so this is the perfect place for Stan Lee sit.
amazing diorama, great talent man.
That is fantastic!
