Welcome to Part Two of my how-to guide to building the
Dagobah Box! Part One is here if you want to get caught up, otherwise, let’s
get going!
Before properly fixing the tree into place, I needed to
decide upon a background. I’d originally wanted to paint my own background, and
did a quick mock up with pastels, but wasn’t really happy with the effect. I
also tried a print out of a dark, Dagobah swamp-esque image, but the colours and
scale didn’t really match. After trial and error with these images, I eventually
settled on the image from the film (and the OTC box-art), showing Luke’s
partially sunken X-Wing in the distance.
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| Pen & Pastel Backdrop |
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| Generic Swamp Backdrop |
I dry-brushed the floor of the box
with dark green acrylic paint to to help achieve the swamp effect, and then added more branches to the tree, twisting some regular
garden twine around the branches to form vines, and covered it in moulding plaster to add
texture and hold it all together. When this was complete I spray painted it
brown again, dry brushed it dark green, and fixed it properly into place.
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| It's come a long way from being a toilet roll tube... |
Whilst the spray paint is absolutely the best
tool to work with for diorama building (I’m converted!), the gloss left quite a
singular, damp look to the floor. To add texture I bought some modelling flock
(autumn leaves, if I remember correctly), and used PVA glue to apply it to
certain areas of the floor and tree.
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| Pre-flock... |
Almost finished. I cut some holes in the top
of the box and poked through some vines from my garden on the opposite side of
the tree, and used more modelling clay to add texture. I once again used a base layer of
dark brown acrylic paint, dry brushed with dark green, and it was done!
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| ...And finished! |
And so, I’ve had it for some time – what do I
think of the Box as a set for photography, or as a display piece now? What
would I do differently? Well, thank you for asking… :D
As a set, the box has worked well for pictures, but also
pretty much served its purpose. As it’s such a small scene, and I can only
really photograph in one direction, there isn’t too much more I can do with it.
The sides and roof of the box are essential in creating the mood of Dagobah,
but unfortunately they limit the lighting options – all I can really do is
flood the front with light, whilst trying to avoid too much reflection from the
background image.
As a display piece, the box is a bit of a mess. Whilst the
scene is suitable, the cardboard box warped as soon as I applied the papier
mache, and the shape has become further distorted through applications of paint
and wet plaster. I’ve had it sat out on my display shelf before, and as happy
as I am with the scene, the presentation looks amateurish. I will absolutely use
wood or polystyrene for future displays.
Aside from the materials, I was disappointed with myself
for not putting the effort in to paint a custom backdrop. The location of the X-Wing in the background messes up the screen accuracy of the scene, and if you follow the lake from the background it should actually flow right into the box itself! Those two points aside though, I don't think it works that badly.
The most important thing I’ve learned from building the
Dagobah Box is that a scene or diorama needs to have a specific purpose from
the beginning – be it for screen accuracy, display, play or whatever. I made a lot of choices on the fly whilst making this, and the
overall look has suffered. I’ve since made a generic display piece, and having
made it for a definite purpose, the final effect is much better. If, and when,
I embark on a Dagobah scene again, I fully intend to make it scene specific, use
appropriate materials, and hopefully end up with a more satisfactory end
result.
