How time & money-consuming is it to build a diorama/set?

[DaveCW2]

Hey all,

I know that's a REALLY broad question depending on size, and what type of set it is (I read that city sets are a pain), but I'm curious. I've been thinking about doing a dio-story for a while now (still a LONG ways off, if it ever happens), and would like to know some of the particulars.

Also, some of the tricks of the trade would be helpful, if any of you happenin' dio-story folks would be kind enough to share any :)

Thanks for any help. I hope everyone has a fantastic New Year's Eve/Day and doesn't do anything TOO nuts :D

Have fun, gang!!!

[gung ho]

well it's pretty time consuming cuz i build a camp site for my joes and my dio shots it took about 2 hours just to build it but didn't take any $$$. but you can also take a get sticky paper for your prenter and prent off brick walls, signs, wallpaper and stuff like that but the best thing to do is get like barrels and stuff from PTE and www.marauderinc.com but i don't really know how much it would cost but it would probably be pretty pricey but here's the pic of my camp site

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a364/evilkinikujo/Picture283-1.jpg

[DaveCW2]

That's a pretty sweet set, gung ho. Unfortunately for me, I live in an apartment complex in the city. And I'm in the midwest, so it's almost too cold to go huntin' for the good stuff.

Still, at least I know a pretty good set can be made on the extreme cheap :)

Thanks for the reply, sir!

[gung ho]

yw sir! :D

[holesnipe]

It's hard to put into perspective of the cost. It's a labor of love. If you start worring about the cost, then you are already limiting yourself. I'm not trying to say don't go shop around, because you should. What I'm saying is don't count the money as you buy what you need. I have a 10 x 20 room that I use and I'm running out of room. On the left is a 4 x 8 on the right is a 4 x 8, with a four foot walk inbetween. The flagg is under the left table and supplies are under the right. My only work bench is a 4 x 3 area in the middle. With all that taken up in JOE spaces, it's thousands of dollars and months of time. Lastly, use your imagination, I use gillette razor blade holders for rifle racks, blister packs for windows.. etc. that's what cuts cost.. Hope that helps.

[General Scarlett]

Holesnipe makes valid points.........

It's all about how much time/talent/expense you want to put into it

I use anything from my old Fisher-Price playsets to household items to whatever else.......

And it's still growing!!

Check out the 'How-To' section right here in the forum.......lots of cool stuff there

And as always.....post a thread or send a PM or find someone in IM and chat!!!

Can't wait to see what you come up with!!!

Let me know if I can help!

[Agent Viper]

I just get a cardboard box,
buy like 2 or 3 cans of spray paint,
and then get to making!!

Its simple and easy.

[gung ho]

[QUOTE=Agent Viper]I just get a cardboard box,
buy like 2 or 3 cans of spray paint,
and then get to making!!

Its simple and easy.[/QUOTE]


lol i think he's wants more then a cardboard box and some spray paint what he's talking about is like a outside diorama like you see with violentfix's dios and stuff you know like fake moss, grass, trees and stuff like that no cardboard boxs

[ender098]

a Lot of things effect cost and time. Can you use cheaper items and still get the same effect? Cardboard boxes with brick pattern (from the files section) makes great walls/ buildings. A tube from carpeting (look where they are building new apartments or ask at a flooring store!) can make tunnels and caves. Sonneilon makes some WILD dioramas and he does it rather cheaply! You want a easy City? Get the Spawn alley set, the Police Academy HQ, the Ghostbusters HQ, the PTE hq, and some doll houses....that save you building time, but not money! There is NO easy answer..but if there's something SPECIFIC you're looking to create, ask around! here's a BUNCH of great articles;


http://www.joedios.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1675

http://www.joedios.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1587

http://www.joedios.com/forums/showthread.php?t=880

http://www.joedios.com/forums/showthread.php?t=457

http://www.joedios.com/forums/showthread.php?t=590

http://www.joedios.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142

http://sonneilon.blogspot.com/2006_05_01_archive.html

http://www.joedios.com/forums/showthread.php?t=133

http://www.violentfix.com/cobra/dio-stories/dio-stories.html

I'm sort of in the middle...I invest a lot of $$ in my collection, but it takes up so much room, I have to limit the size of my dios! I WISH I had a HUGE area to make a dio like the Japanese do when they make Godzilla Movies!

I know that probably didn't help, but as you delve into dios, you'll find with some subjects, there are no simple answers!!

Frank...well, I TRY to be Frank!!

[Sonneilon]

Frank, thanks for linking to my old blog. i've since given up on blogs so... To the original topic, it depends. WHen i did the last of my sets for Transformations, it took days. It was a very complicated set and i know Frank and Shane were like, "uh... that's kind of a lot..."

I learned a lot about set building when doing that 4'x4' beast. ie; how am I supposed to shoot the scenes???

[DaveCW2]

Well, this is no good at all. I was hopin' you guys'd come up with, "I had 18 sets built in roughly five minutes." :D

I'm not at all close to having anything good to go. I've just got the beginnings of a story millin' around in my head right now, anyway, so it's not like I'm lookin' to begin making sets today. Time isn't exactly on my side lately anyway :)

Thanks for all the responses, gang. It certainly gave me quite the perspective on how extensive this zany hobby of ours can be.

Have fun!!!

[Sonneilon]

Well, I gotta wait for the paint to dry and then I'm just naturally slow at building sets. So when I say weeks, it's not like it's an 8-hr job. lol

[holesnipe]

One more little tidbit, I've found with my current dio, I stopped building huge sets and went to building a bunch of small modules (rooms) that all go together to form one big set. The nice thing about that; when you need a certain room or area you just pull down that module. Plus you can get a lot better angles when shooting. No more standing on your head, putting the camera between your legs and holding the lights in your mouth.. ;-

[Sonneilon]

Totally, Holesnipe. When I do corridor sets, I have different lengths of bases to set the walls up to. I can do 90 degree bends and everything! When I do corridors and hallways, everything is taped to the L-brackets (available at Lowes; less than $1 per bracket, just needs screws!) so I can take down a wall if I need to. OR i can manipulate YOUR eye and just tape 1 wall in a different spot and give it a different appearance. CW, you HAVE seen my dios, right?

[Sonneilon]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/Sonneilon/Corridor01.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/Sonneilon/Corridor02.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/Sonneilon/Corridor03.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/Sonneilon/CorridorTest03.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/Sonneilon/CorridorTest04.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/Sonneilon/Workshop01.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/Sonneilon/Workshop02.jpg

[Sonneilon]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/Sonneilon/Workshop03.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/Sonneilon/Workshop04.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/Sonneilon/DoomLobby01.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/Sonneilon/DoomLobby02.jpg

[Sonneilon]

btw, i tend to use 'real-life' things for ideas. Like the lobby for Doom (the movie).

[Sonneilon]

so all that turns into this...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/Sonneilon/Transformations141.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/Sonneilon/Transformations142.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/Sonneilon/Transformations143.jpg



mind you, i was using only the red x-mas lites and you have no idea how hard it was to get a crisp picture. There was a very fine line between slowing down the shutter speed too much and not enough. So I went with gritty since the look in Aliens isn't exactly THAT clean. And yes, having ideas and stuff in your head works well too. Just look at Transformations and The Island...

[Stormer]

I'd say it all depends on how complex you want your sets to be. I did this in literally 5 minutes using a few bits & pieces I had lying around:

http://www.joedios.com/dioramas/files/3/9/8/LongArmTunnelRat.jpg

A cardboard box for walls with a sliding door cut out, a cardboard tube for a ventilation duct and some film cannisters for barrels. And I drew a control panel for the door using felt-tipped pens, not that you can really see the the coloured buttons... If there had been any kind of planning involved, I could have used some paint on various parts to make it even better. But to set the scene I wanted, I was pretty happy. I even kept the "walls" for later use:

http://www.joedios.com/dioramas/files/3/9/8/MuttJunkyardBattleCorps.jpg

This time I used a metal baking tray for the door and a cereal packet for the floor. The crate is an example of scenery/props that took a while to make but was really cheap -- it's popsicle sticks (bought at a party supplies store) cut and glued together. I worked shoe polish into it with a toothbrush but I'm not overly-happy with the colour; I'm making more that I'll leave as-is or try and find a light brown polish.

So hopefully I've shown that you can do and/or spend next-to-nothing to at least get across what you mean -- if I had more photography skills I could probably get even more out of those sets. I do have intentions of creating a full-blown dio-story with interior as well as exterior scenes, so maybe we'll eventually see what my lazy arse comes up with if that comes to pass...

[holesnipe]

Nice work dude, that looked awesome..

[General Scarlett]

And don't forget............the beer can is an absolute MUST!!! :p

[gung ho]

yes the beer is a must!! lol