标签: diorama

Several of my hobby projects are progressing merrily. Take my Capriciously Cunning Chronograph, for example. I'm happy to report that the robot arm did a wonderful job of this, and the back of my chronograph now looks almost as good as the front!   Also, my Caveman Diorama project is coming along in leaps and bounds, although we did run into a small stumbling block for a while. On the right-hand wall of the cavern we are planning on having a very tasty cave painting. We're also thinking of having a caveman standing on a tree-branch ladder creating the painting while a couple of cave kids stand at the bottom of the ladder looking up at him.   (Source: Max Maxfield Mike Mittlebeeler)   Now, remember that we're working in 1/32 scale (which means a 6' man will be 2.25" tall) and that I'm going to be represented in my Hawaiian shirt. My presence in the scene will be explained by an H.G. Wells-esque time machine ticking over in the corner of the cave. This also allows me to introduce some modern artifacts into the scene, including two or three floodlights illuminating the cave painting.   Right from the get-go, I was envisaging the old black stage floodlights from my youth mounted on tripods. Each of these lights will have a power cable coming out of the back, running along the floor of the cave, and plugged into a power-panel on the time machine.   The problem is this power cable. Each of my floodlights is going to contain a NeoPixel, which means I need three wires: +5V, 0V, and the Data signal. If the power cable were 10mm diameter in the real world, this translates to only ~0.3mm diameter in the diorama world. Contra wise, if we were to use three regular-size wires in the diorama world -- resulting in a bundle ~4mm in diameter -- this would translate to a ~128 mm (or ~5") diameter cable in the real world, which would be totally unrealistic.   I was chatting about this with my chum, Rick Curl, who pointed me at an example LED Floodlight model on the Shapeways.com website. This model is short and stubby (in order to disguise the wires) and pretty representative of what's out there. Some alternatives I've seen look nice as far as the light itself goes, but the effect is ruined by the chunky-clunky wires sticking out of them.   And then we came up with a cunning plan -- indeed, a plan so cunning you could stick a tail on it and call it a weasel. Our original idea was to use the three metal legs forming the tripod as conductors for the +5V, 0V, and Data signal. However, we eventually decided to use industrial dispensing tips for the tripod legs. These are stainless steel tubes with an external diameter of about 0.8mm and an internal diameter sufficient to accommodate a piece of 40 AWG enameled copper wire.   By some strange quirk of fate, my friend Steve Manley in the UK has been describing all the stuff he's been creating using his 3D printer, so I asked him if he could help out with my floodlights, and he responded with the following preliminary implementation.   (Source: Steve Manley) The final image above shows a test-print with three regular copper wires acting as placeholders for the legs. At the time this picture was taken, the industrial tips and Fresnel lenses we plan on using were winging their way to Steve. Well, I'm happy to report what I regard as being a total success. The image below shows an initial print of the floodlight with the enameled copper wires protruding from the bottoms of the steel legs.   (Source: Steve Manley)   Observe the plastic lens at the front of the floodlight. This is one of the spare Fresnel lenses left over from my BADASS Display project (Steve had to grind it down to ~6mm diameter). Also observe the slot at the side of the floodlight body close to the lens. There are four of these slots -- one on each face -- that will be used to hold the "baffles" (I'll show you pictures of what I mean in a future column).   Last but not least, the following image shows the floodlight painted and illuminated. In the final diorama, the three enameled copper wires will be hidden under the floor of the cave. However, we will also have a thin "power cable" coming out of the back of the light, snaking its way across the floor, and connecting into the time machine. This will complete the illusion for casual observers while leaving experienced modelers scratching their heads saying: "How the #### did they manage to do that?"   (Source: Steve Manley)   Steve has emailed the STL files for me to get my versions of these floodlights printed at Shapeways.com. Also, he informs me that a care package is on the way containing sufficient cut-down legs and ground-down lenses to create my three floodlights.   I don’t know about you, but I have to say that this project is starting to look very, very tasty. Now I'm looking on to the next problem, which is creating a three-seater version of the H.G. Wells time machine. Watch this space for future developments...

As you may recall, one of my hobby projects is to construct a caveman diorama in a beautiful 1950s wooden television cabinet. This little scamp is growing in the telling, with all sorts of sound, light, and special effects to beguile and charm the observer (see also Algorithm for simulating flames ).   I've been working on this little rascal on-and-off for a few years now. One problem is that it can sometimes be hard to rouse yourself into action if you are working alone. As fate would have it, however, a few months ago, my wife (Gina the Gorgeous) introduced me to a guy called Mike. Gina is a realtor, and Mike and his wife were looking around her model home.   During the course of their conversation, Gina discovered that Mike creates model railway dioramas as a hobby. Mike is interested in adding lights to the streets and houses in his dioramas -- I'm interested in learning about creating dioramas in general -- and we're both interested in polishing our skills with regard to creating rock and water effects -- so now Mike and I meet up on Saturdays here in my office where we happily work on all sorts of "stuff."   Now, I know that there are other people who are interested in creating models and dioramas -- there are all sorts of magazines about this stuff and you can find myriad "how-to" videos on YouTube -- but it had never really struck me that any of them were living local to me here in Huntspatch Huntsville, Alabama.   As I was driving into work the week before last, however, I heard a public radio announcement about a modelling competition to be held by the Huntsville Plastic Modelers Society in downtown Huntsville that coming weekend.   Mike and I met up in my office as usual that Saturday; we worked a bit on our Caveman Diorama; and then -- around lunchtime -- we headed out to the competition to have a root around and see what there was to be seen.   It was great! It turns out that this annual competition is open to everyone, from bright-eyed youngsters to grizzled elders and from absolute beginners to mega-experts. Also, the subject material covers everything from military displays to science fiction and fantasy offerings.   Take a look at the following photograph, for example. I'm assuming this is something like an old, derelict tug boat:     Now take a look at this model, which was presented next to the photograph. The two boats aren’t identical, but it's the paint job on the model that makes me squeal (inside my head) in delight:     I'm currently keeping my eyes open for more old television cabinets on my travels. Once we've finished the caveman project, I can easily see myself creating more dioramas in the future. I already have one in mind for a post-apocalyptic ruined industrial plant-type scene, so I'm taking note of interesting tricks and techniques, like the way in which the derelict boat is presented above.   Below we see a photo of the competition area. There was another large area at the other end of the hall where people were selling models and modelling equipment.     Up until now, Mike and I hadn't really set a timeline for finishing the caveman diorama -- we're just enjoying the process of creating stuff (sometimes the journey is more fulfilling than reaching the destination). However, we now have a goal, which is to enter our caveman diorama in next year's modelling competition.   We've actually been making a lot of progress with the caveman diorama; I'll be posting some more blogs about this later this week. In the meantime, feast your orbs on the following images, each of which caught my attention for one reason or another.                       ( Click here to see a larger image.)         Some of these take my breath away with regard to their creators' attention to detail, like the mud in the tread of the tires in the truck model above, or the autumn leaves on the floor of the model before that. What about you? Do you have any interest in this sort of thing? If so, is this an old interest, or have my Caveman Diorama columns set your creative juices flowing? And what about the models shown in the images above -- do any of these (or any specific details) jump out at you?

Well, things have been progressing nicely with regard to my Caveman Diorama project since my previous columns on this topic (see also Conversations with a caveman ).   Just to set the scene (no pun intended), let me remind you that -- several years ago now -- I picked up an old television cabinet. This was pretty battered when I first acquired it, but it's since been refurbished and now looks rather tasty (note that the image below shows the glass screen and associated bezel removed for ease of access).     The next step was to create an "inner cabinet" out of 3/16" plywood. There are two main reasons for doing this, the first being that the ability to slip the inner cabinet out of the TV and plonk in on a table makes it a lot easier to create the diorama. Also, this leaves me free to create additional dioramas in the future, if I so-desire.   I started off by creating the underlying structure for the backside of the cave's entrance. I'm constructing the structure using cardboard. Also, I'm building it in sections so that I can swap parts in and out if I decide to make changes.     I'm planning on having a ledge on the left-hand side of the cave. I also want to have a waterfall coming out of a tunnel and I want to give the impression someone in the cave could crawl down the tunnel if they wanted -- who knows what they might find? The following image shows the start of the tunnel.     Below the waterfall I plan on having a pool with a small stream exiting the pool and heading toward the TV screen. The following image shows the start of the pool.     When we put the pool together with the ledge and the tunnel, it really starts to look as though we're getting somewhere.     I'm going to be working at 1:32 scale, which means a 6' tall man would be 2¼" tall in the cave. The following image includes two cardboard figures to provide a sense of scale -- one on the ledge and one in the middle of the cave.     With regard to the final figures, I've been lucky enough to meet up with Leonardo Torricini via his Phersu Miniatures website. Leonardo is an expert at creating this type of character, and he has a particular interest in the stone age (we've read many of the same books), so he's going to be creating the figures for my diorama. We are currently discussing exactly how many we will need and their ages, sexes, poses, clothes, etc.   In addition to a number of cavemen sitting around the fire, there will also be a representation of yours truly in a Hawaiian shirt. Somewhere in the cave will be an H.G. Wells-esque time machine to explain my presence. I've been wondering about making this a two-seater, and then having a model of my wife (Gina the Gorgeous) hanging out with the cavewomen, possibly showing them some of her tricks for burning preparing food.   In the case of the ledge, my original idea was to have two cavemen skulking around up there spying on the scene below. More recently, I've started to think about changing these characters into Morlocks . Perhaps they sneaked in via the tunnel/waterfall. Yes, of course I know my diorama is set 10,000 BM (Before Max) and that Morlocks come from the distant future. Hello! Have you forgotten that there's a time machine involved?   The thing is that I've never actually created a diorama before, so a lot of this is a learning experience. One of the things I've been pondering is how to create the waterfall and the pool so that they look realistic. Take a look at the photograph of the waterfall below -- I want my water to look as real as this.     Impossible, you say? Well, would it surprise you to hear that the above image is not of a real waterfall -- it's a model! I ran across this amazing video on YouTube showing an incredible creation by a guy from Woodland Scenics.   I tell you, this really blew me away. It's also gotten my creative juices flowing. I've ordered all of the items mentioned in the video from Amazon. They should arrive tomorrow/Friday, and then my chum Mike and myself will start experimenting with them on Saturday.   In my previous column, I noted that there will be a flat screen display at the back of the TV set, and that I will be rendering a 3D mountain scene in real-time that matches the time of day and the passing of the seasons. When it's summer in the real world, it will be summer in my diorama; when it's winter here, the mountains will be covered in snow there; when there's a thunderstorm taking place outside my office window, there will be a mega-storm inside my dioramic world; when there's a full moon or a meteor shower or a solar eclipse or a lunar eclipse in the real world, something equivalent (but way more spectacular) will be going on in my diorama. I also mentioned that I was going to use a WAV Trigger card to add sound effects, and I asked for suggestions. Here's what we have so far: - The sound of the waterfall - Background chatter of the cavemen. - Background chatter of the cavewomen. - Occasional comment from yours truly like "My, this mammoth burger is scrumptious; perhaps next time we could try cooking it." - More animated and celebratory-type chatter on pagan festivals such as the summer and winter solstices. Also mega-party sounds with kazoos and suchlike on the occasion of my birthday. - Wolves howling at night; sabretooth tigers growling in the day; cries of the pterodactyls flying in the sky (artistic license); and so forth. - Sounds of wind and thunder (to match lightning) on a stormy day. - Rumbling sounds to accompany the distant volcano when it explodes, and you'd better believe that it's going to explode on a regular basis. - Occasional bouts of belching and farting sounds a la Blazing Saddles .   If you can think of additional "happenings" and sound effects I should use, then now would be a real good time to mention them.   Last, but certainly not least, for the moment, I'm thinking of embedding some tiny video cameras around the cave -- Caveman Cam, if you will. I'm thinking of mounting a flat-screen display on the wall above and behind the television/diorama, and using this to present images as I cycle through the various cameras in the diorama. As part of this, I was thinking about having one camera looking directly out of the screen, in which case visitors to my office would be surprised to see a live video feed of themselves looking into the diorama.   Maybe I'll include sensors so that when someone approaches the diorama and looks in, the conversation in the diorama changes and the characters start making "Ooh, look at that great big head" type noises. Come on. You have to admit that this is pretty clever. And I have to admit that I have a great big smile plastered all over my face just thinking about it. Of course, now I have to start worrying about what cameras to use. I need something really tiny and unobtrusive -- any suggestions?

I once had meandering musings from a few years ago about constructing a Caveman Diorama in an old television set. Sad to relate, things became stalled for a while, the problem being that I had no clue how to set about building the cave itself.   Well, as you may recall, my wife (Gina The Gorgeous) is a blond-haired goddess realtor. A few weeks ago she met a couple who were ambling around looking at houses. It turns out that the husband -- we'll call him Mike (because that's his name) -- creates monster model railroad dioramas as a hobby (check out Mike's Website to see photos of his creations). Mike wants to learn how to use an Arduino to control things like his streetlights, traffic lights, and houselights; I want to learn how to make the cave for my diorama; it's "a marriage made in heaven," as they say.   Mike and I have started to meet up on Saturday mornings in my office. We kick off with a brief hands-on lesson about microcontrollers, and then move on to constructing my diorama. Below we see a rough sketch showing my vision for the future of this little scamp (by which I mean my diorama, not Mike).     Our perspective is that we're looking through the TV screen into the back of the cave. The entrance to the cave is located toward the back of the TV set. Through this entrance we see a depiction of mountains and trees and sky, all of which will be displayed on a flat screen computer monitor, thereby allowing me to have special effects like lightning and the moon crossing the sky and meteor showers and suchlike.   There will be a group of people sitting around a fire in the middle of the cave. Most of them will be cavemen, but yours truly will also be there in my Hawaiian shirt (an H.G. Wells-esque time machine in the corner of the cave will explain my presence).   One problem I faced was how to create the figures themselves. I've decided to work at 1:32 scale, so a 6' man will be 2.25" tall. Then, yesterday, I discovered the creations of Leonardo Torricini on his Phersu Miniatures website. Leonardo's work spans time and space, from Etruscan warriors to characters from Monty Python's Holy Grail . Of particular interest to me are his Prehistoric Cavemen and Animals figures and dioramas.     Leonardo typically works at 1:72 scale, but on occasion he's created models at 1:32 scale, such as these Etruscan characters . We are currently bouncing emails back and forth with regard to Leonardo crafting the figures for my diorama.   But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about... The reason I'm waffling on about it here is that I also plan on including sound effects, such as the wind blowing on a frisky day, rolls of thunder on a stormy night, and so forth.   In particular, if you listen carefully, you'll hear a background conversation taking place between the characters sitting around the campfire. Most of this will be in caveman-ese, of course, but every now and then you'll hear my dulcet tones regaling the assembled throng with some astute and pertinent tidbit of trivia or nugget of knowledge like: "Corr Blimey, it's #$%%^* cold in here!"   My comments will be appropriate to the time of day and the season. During the summer, for example, I might make mention of the advantages of air conditioning and the joys of ice cream; throughout the winter months, I may note the benefits associated with thermal underwear; and during a storm, I could explain the well-known fact that lightning and thunder are caused by Thor the god of thunder.   When nothing particularly interesting is happening, I might comment on random and diverse topics, such as how the taste of mammoth burgers would be much improved by a dash of Heinz Tomato Ketchup and a squirt of French's Yellow Mustard, or the inadvisability of transporting ferrets in one's loincloth (as I'm sure we've all discovered to our cost).   So, this is the point where I hand things over to you. Are there any visual effects and/or sound effects that you think I should add to my diorama? And can you think of anything I could be / should be dropping into the conversation (please make note of the time, season, and context)?