What is probably a ridiculous diarama question....

[cektopa]

Hi, I was going through my pile of models still in blisters for the Miniature Exchange and I came across the terminator librarian in power armour and the changeling, both from GW. Both these models I have wanted to get round to painting, but I would not be able to use them to play with so I thought I would do a little display piece. My idea was to have the two locked in face off, but since the changeling can take on any form I wanted the view from the librarian to be of a friendly unit, or even a mirror image. Here is a (bad) diagram to try to show what I mean

The way I was thinking of doing this was to use the scenery as a kind of frame to hold possibly an acetate sheet with an image printed on, or just to try to freehand paint a model onto a wall. Im not sure if this is even possible. And I think it might look terrible, but it was an idea that came to me, and I know that there must be a way around it. A mirror might even do, if I can make the terrain mirror images on both sides, or some sort of mirror system that reflects a 3rd model 'hidden' into the scenery.
As I read this back it is probably impossible, but I was wondering if the good people of these forums had any thoughts on the matter.....

 

[PegaZus]

I think it could still work, but it probably would be "correct" from just a single angle (the POV of the librarian). But here's what I would do:

Make no attempt to have it be a "full" illusion. I think that's just setting up for failure. However, if you were to print a 50% transparent image of whatever it is the changeling is projecting, you could have the set up be that the illusion is disappearing and thus can start to see through the projection. That way, you don't have to get things perfectly right, and it would still make some sense.

 

[cektopa]

Thanks for the reply, Im sure I could mock up a marine that fits roughly the sillouette of the changeling's pose, and that would work quite nicely. I dont mind so much it being a single angle diorama as it would be sitting in my cabinet most of the time. I imagine a librarian would be able to psyche through the imagery so it would kind of make sence fluff wise...

 

[TrystanGST]

How good are you conversion/putty skills?

Instead of using the scenery to mask the illusion, why not make it physical? Like the Doppelganger from Wyrd?

 

[cektopa]

Ooh I hadnt thought of that, I'd say that my putty/converison skills might just be able to stretch to something like that.. Looking at the changeling model, possibly I could extend the bottom of his robes to the back of a model with green stuff, and with a bit of an imaginative paint job, sort of etherial, as if the changeling is transforming out of the back of the image model. Or I could do something more like the doppleganger with a 50/50 split..
Im pretty sure that I could make something like that work, and I would learn some new skills along the way, so cant be a bad thing.
p.s that wyrd model is awesome

 

[Einion]

As originally postulated I don't think it could be made to work, any attempt that relies on a sort of ghostly/semitransparent image I'm sure is just going to look like a half measure. But I think the concept could be done in a boxed diorama, with either two viewing windows or some other arrangement showing the two realities.

Einion