The endless distances of space, pouring out far beyond visible range, stretching endlessly to stars yet unvisited.
I had a conceit for a simple diorama scene inspired by the NASA mission New Horizons, which explored the outer reaches of the solar system and took incredible photos of Pluto. I re-envisioned this as a pastiche with a hint of 2001: A Space Odyssey and the Expanse.
I had a notion of a shadowbox diorama to create a sense of depth to draw you in and into the starfield in the back- I think it kinda works! It took a couple iterations and some coaching, but I got to something workable.
I was inspired by these two photos of Pluto (top) and the moon Callisto (bottom) to inspired some planets!
I new I wanted to add some small scale ships that I pulled out of some random bits I had to convert BFG and similar battle ships. I think some are from Babylon 5, others from some other weirdo ranges! They were lightly converted.
I then decided to play with two new things
- I designed a shadowbox for the piece, with a sloping back, in tinkercad, a free online 3d design system (files attached below if interested)!
- Black 4.0 from CultureHustle- a colleague recommended this for bases and matte black finishes, and I thought it might be cool for the inky depths of space!
So I printed out the shadowbox. Since this was intended as a diorama/wall mount display, I needed to putty and smooth the sides to hide the mold lines. I let the first version sit out in the sun and heat to hilarious effect.
Whooppppsss, won’t do that again!
After reprinting a new version, sanding and priming this was good to start painting!
The Black 4.0 create a very cool matte black background. I’d be really curious to try a compare contrast with the more satin blacks I normally use. I hope it makes it harder to see the shapes and curves in context- I think this could be super useful moving forward!
Here you can see some WIP shots.
And here you can see how it all came together- not perfect yet, but a fun experiment. I think this points a path forward to some future 3d printed shadowboxes I can try- a great medium for storytelling in miniature!
-BS