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Tomb Raider diorama, part 1

A while ago I picked up these two 28 mm scale Lara Croft figures from HasslefreeMiniatures. Or should I say Eve and Indiana miniatures, because that is how they are sold, I guess to avoid any cease and desist letters.

Lara Croft Tomb Raider

The right figure has the outfit and exaggerated physique of the classic games, while the left one resembles the 2013 reboot Lara, including her iconic red climbing axe. Both are very nice sculpts, although I’m not a big fan of the ‘gangsta’ pistol grip of classic Lara. They are a bit top heavy (insert joke here), so I may have to add some weight to the bases to make sure they stay upright.

I thought it would be fun to make a diorama to display both figures. The idea is to make it two-sided, so that each Lara has her own little tomb to raid. One side will have a classical look, the other will be a gothic church ruin. The main materials I’ll be using are MDF, some blue foam and cardboard.

Tomb Raider diorama

Tomb Raider diorama

I started with two rectangular MDF picture frames, one for the base and one for the dividing wall. I cut off the top part of the dividing wall and then glued the two pictures frames together.

Tomb Raider diorama

Starting with the classical side, I made the floor out of blue foam, carving a stone pattern into the foam using a technical pencil. I then took a small bit of wood and pushed down on some of the stones to make the floor look old and dilapidated. To give the foam a stone texture I took a bit of scrunched up aluminium foil and pressed it into the foam, making sure to change directions for a more irregular pattern. Finally, I cut out a circle for the figure base to sink into.

Tomb Raider diorama

The foam floor was then glued to the MDF base. The foam is a bit thicker than the plastic bases, so I partially filled the hole again with a bit of cardboard. I also added some cardboard details to the back wall.

Tomb Raider diorama

Now for the other side (apologies for the crappy photo. I didn't feel like setting up my little photo studio). First off, I covered the recess in the MDF picture frame that I used for the wall by covering it with cardboard. I cut out two bits of foam for the buttresses. I also cut a miniature base-sized hole in a bit of scrap foam and glued it to the MDF. Later on, I will try to blend it into the terrain a little bit better with some wall filler. I did a quick google on church windows, found a design I liked and printed it to the desired size. I then traced the design onto a bit of cardboard and cut it out using a fresh blade.

Quite a bit more work to do, but it’s starting to look like something.

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