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Joel Rogers
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Star Wars Stormtrooper 3D Print and Custom Diorama

July 30, 2024 · in Diorama · · 10 · 126

Well this is something different for me and gives me a little break from planes and tanks...

Last year I decided to make a custom base to showcase various action figures in 1:12 scale. The catch was, I wanted to make it a forced perspective diorama so that it looked like you were looking down the street of a typical locale, Tatooine. I wanted the scale closest to the viewer to be 1:12 but the end of the street to be something around 1:72 scale. I made several sketches and did some reading about forced perspective before getting to work. After some trial and error I was able to successfully get the diorama to look right. I used pink XPS insulation foam for the structure and Elmer's wood filler for the wall textures. I used carving plaster for the sand and painted everything with Tamiya paints and did some dry brushing. I am really happy with the result.

This year, I ended up purchasing an Elegoo Mars 3D printer from one of the people in my scale model club. I didn't know exactly what I would start printing, but I knew it would come in handy for diorama details and figures. Then, I discovered some cool 3D print files of Star Wars figures on Cults3d.com made by Starwars3dmodels. I acquired the and began work to figure out how to use the printer and how to get the Stormtrooper pieces printed in 1:12 scale. After some trial and error I got some decent prints of all the part and began the work of sanding, painting, and then assembly. Overall, I think everything turned out great for my first forced perspective diorama and 3D print build. I will continue to hone my 3D printing skills to get better 3D detail.

Reader reactions:
6  Awesome

17 additional images. Click to enlarge.


10 responses

  1. Very nice work. That's a great result - very "realistic" (for Star Wars?)

  2. Well done, Joel (@wintermodeller). Forced perspective can be really difficult to work out, but you have made it look entirely natural. Nice job 3D printing the figure and then painting it. I have gotten a couple of things from Starwars3Dmodels on Cults and they come out really nice.

  3. Excellent job, Joel!

  4. Really cool idea and well executed. 3D printing has become a big part of my modeling because you can create things like this. Thanks for sharing.

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