Aliens/Predators Dioramas

[peityr462]

Here's a few pictures from my collection,  working on doing some more creative stuff too!

[peityr462]

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[PRJ_since1990]

Super cool dude. Is that actual fog or cotton balls? Either way, that makes for a sweet effect!

[Vark_]

My hive diorama along with NECA series 1 figures.
Soon Sgt Windrix will team up with Hudson and Hicks

[RidgeTop]

^ Nice. What's the hive made out of and how'd you get helmets for those two?

[Vark_]

Thanks

Diorama is made of wood and plaster mostly, the rest is scratch-built (plastic tubes, electric wire, a Pringles tube box and a 6-pack egg box...).
Here are a few make-off pics of the "building".



The helmets are custom-made, I posted a little "how I made them" a few weeks ago here (don't mind their old paint job on the post). Casting / carving / painting is approximately 4 hours each.
They look like this on display, and I have one ready for Sgt Windrix's figure when it comes.

[PRJ_since1990]

Outstanding! I'd love to do something like this. Did u just buy the plaster at a home improvement store or what? Any other tips you could share, including painting would be most appreciated. Pretty please? Lol

[Vark_]

First things first : thanks for your comment  .
Yup, I used the very basic plaster you can buy in home improvement stores, nothing specific about it !
About some advice I could tell you if you're gonna try something like this :

• Use a plywood base, it's really cheap in home improvement stores and they can cut it in custom dimensions to fit your display.
  
  
• The plaster is a really stable material, but in order to improve the sturdiness of the whole diorama (particularly the vertical plaster parts), plant a lot of stainless steel nails in the plywood before starting, the plaster will take a good grip on them.
  
  
• Don't apply the plaster when it is too liquid, but when it comes to thicken (otherwise it will spread).
  
  
• Don't be afraid to pile many and many layers of plaster to create the shapes (small drops will make a cool splattering effect too)
  
  
• You can lean the diorama, it will help a lot for setting  the "wall" and other vertical parts, then take it back in a display position when you want to apply the last plaster layers for finishing (they will slide gently with the help of gravity).
  
  
• You can "draw" on the plaster or "drive" it towards the place you want : use a little stick, plant it on the thick plaster you want to modify, and shake the stick gently while you "draw" with it at the same time. (vibrations delays the plaster's solidification by putting in motion water molecules).
  
  
• Before painting, make sure you wait at least a week : plywood "drinks" a lot of the plaster's water, so the diorama will slightly bend for a few days (and some cracks may appear in the plaster) ; so store it in a warm place. Once it is totally dry, the plywood will go back to its original shape, then fill in the cracks, and you're ready to paint.
  
  
• Painting, well... belive it or not I painted this diorama mostly with 3 spray cans I bought in a home improvement store.
  - prime layer : white, uniform (the last pic in my previous post)
  - second layer : black, not uniform
  - third layer : dark grey, not uniform
  
  
• The greenish shades were made by dry brush method with a model kit acrilyc paint, then I put a layer of satin-finish varnish on the whole thing (in spray can too). Then to add some qlossy reflects and transparent secretions, I used a lot of wood glue applied with a small paintbrush ; don't be frightened, the white color will fade within 5 hours when it drys ! You can use glossy varnish too, and epoxy glue for the biggest secretions.

And that's all I can tell about it 
(PS : forgive me if I made any grammar or spelling mistakes, please keep in mind I'm a frenchman !)

[Zenstoren]

Thanks

Diorama is made of wood and plaster mostly, the rest is scratch-built (plastic tubes, electric wire, a Pringles tube box and a 6-pack egg box...).
Here are a few make-off pics of the "building".
http://img.over-blog.com/410x500/1/97/92/79/marque-neca/gauthier1.JPGhttp://img.over-blog.com/388x500/1/97/92/79/marque-neca/gauthier2-.JPG
http://img.over-blog.com/433x500/1/97/92/79/marque-neca/gauthier3.JPG

The helmets are custom-made, I posted a little "how I made them" a few weeks ago here (don't mind their old paint job on the post). Casting / carving / painting is approximately 4 hours each.
They look like this on display, and I have one ready for Sgt Windrix's figure when it comes.

Sorry for asking questions but I am just SO impressed by that diorama!!!

If you can, could you tell me:

What paint did use to paint it?

What kind of plaster did you use?

EDIT: Oh sorry, did see the poster above

[Vark_]

 
Hope you got all the information you needed (and more, maybe ?!)
Thanks for your comment anyway !

Some new pics with a different light 

[Zenstoren]

Oh man! It looks so damn awesome! I can't wait to make one similar for my figures   I'll probably do it in the summer, when I have time, money and a place for the plaster to dry properly. I'll send you pics of my attempt when I get round to it!

Where did you find the eggs by the way? I didn't think that xenomorph eggs were available that are in scale with the 8'' figures.

[Vark_]

Thanks man 

The egg comes from an old MacFarlane 2004 AVP Alien base (+ 2 facehuggers). The MacFarlane Alien stands approximately 7" so the egg is slightly down on scale with the NECA figures, but it still does the job pretty well, so as the facehuggers.
This one (caption found on the web)


Egg is just glued with epoxy and dry brushed with the same color I used for the ground, then I added some wood glue for a wet effect.
Here is an old pic from the egg, don't mind the former paintjob on the USMC helmets.

[Vark_]

A little update of the thread, with this little diorama (some kind of a "dio-stand" actually) I made for the Derelict from NECA.
Looks better crashed on this than flying on the ABS stand, don't you think ? 



All plaster made, + a small metal rod inside to fit in a hole I drilled in the ship's nose.
Paint is simple : gunship grey in a spray can, and a slight dry brush with a lighter model kit grey.

[Xenomrph]

That Derelict diorama is pretty excellent, nice job!

[Vark_]

Glad you enjoy it, thanks