Tomb Raider diorama, part 3 (finished)

The diorama is done! Let me start by showing the two miniatures. Modern Lara was pretty difficult to assemble. The raised arm is a separate piece. And as the arm is very thin, there is very little surface area for the glue. I therefore used a more sturdy caulking-type glue, but this left the join looking rather messy. I got around this by painting the excess glue to resemble bandaging, as Lara is often covered in bandages in the modern games. I covered the base in bits of cardboard to match the pattern of the diorama floor and added a little blob of miliput painted up to look like a medipack (I know these are only found in the older games, but who cares...).

Lara from the older games was a pretty straightforward paintjob. I didn’t have the correct blue for her top, however, so I had to mix some up myself. I think I may have made it a bit too dark, but it still looks alright to me. The base was flocked to match the diorama.

Now for the diorama. For the classical-themed side I used two resin Ionic columns made by Tabletop Art. They come in three pieces. One I assembled and one I made to look like it had toppled and had broken into three pieces. To do so, I simply cut off the attachment lugs with a saw and filled in the opposite holes with wall filler. I also added a couple of marks on the column with a saw. The columns were then given a paint job to match the floor and were glued in place.

Some flock was added in the nooks and crannies and I also made some vines from untwined sisal twine covered in the same flocking material. Finally, as a finishing touch my wife made a little amphora from Fimo clay which adds a nice bit of colour to break up the grey of the floor and columns.

For the other side I made some stones from left over bits of blue foam to break up the rather plain looking base. I added some broken beams, which were cut from a lolly stick and were given a brown wash followed by a black wash. Finally, I glued on some clump foliage. The vines on the wall were again made from untwined sisal twine covered in flocking material.

Really enjoyed planning and making this diorama. So much so that I already have all the required components for the next one! The subject matter for that one will be quite different, though...

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Little Tanks & Tiny People

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