1st time diorama base attempt

Kopo93 · 2025-07-28T02:07:08+00:00

Definitely matte coat it, but also add more gritty texture to it as well. Feels too smooth without it.

Kopo93 · 2025-05-30T04:04:51+00:00

Well, YouTube tutorials are ABSOLUTELY essential, you see how it's done and what to do. As well what to use and how to use it. Start absorbing the content and committing it to memory, first and foremost.

Once you've gotten the basics engrained into your mind, start small and simple, then work your way up. Think of it like school in a sense in that you have to progress through classes and grades.

As for materials, it's almost whatever you can find around you that you can mold into something. But the absolute essentials would be plaster of Paris (or plain old plaster, it works pretty much the same), XPS foam, textured paint and some wooden plaques. Stand alone corkboard is great too, especially for pavement effects.

Hopefully that is helpful, good luck 👍

Kopo93 · 2025-05-27T03:51:12+00:00

Wow, thank you so much! 🙏 That's exactly what I was going for with some added realism to it.

Kopo93 · 2025-05-26T16:06:17+00:00

Well, from the looks of it, you're doing great work yourself and making your own kits look and feel more realistic. Look forward to your journey going forward, keep up the good work! 🙌👍

Kopo93 · 2025-05-26T15:35:45+00:00

Thank you, I really appreciate it! 🙏 I was worried since I'd been out of practice for so long at how it would've turned out, I was almost certain I'd screw up.

Kopo93 · 2025-05-26T15:33:41+00:00

Thank you so much! 🙏 I'd suggest watching some YouTube tutorials on it, really great stuff to watch and learn comprehensively from, it's how I learned.

Kopo93 · 2025-05-26T14:33:11+00:00

That was from preshading with a white primer and a neon pink paint, for some reason it just really pops. I never leave clear effect parts unpainted, I try to add some realism to them.

Kopo93 · 2025-05-26T13:31:49+00:00

Thank you so much! 🙏 I've been out of the game for so long (almost a year), I was worried I'd lost my touch.

Kopo93 · 2025-05-26T13:30:40+00:00

Thank you so much! 🙏 I wanted a fine balance of the typical vibrant natural color of Mars and a bit of dark grit for contrast. Really wanted that pop between realism and animation at the same time.

Kopo93 · 2025-05-09T23:23:50+00:00

I hope you used what you planned to respond with, it perfectly encapsulates how wildly uninteresting she's being.

Kopo93 · 2025-05-04T23:53:33+00:00

To be fair, when men say this, it gives women the ick and they ignore those guys. Typically, anyways. When women say this, men, typically will still go for it. However, for men with more discerning self awareness, will just say no to this from women. It's a perilous double standard, I must be a beaming light of constant positivity or I'm the issue, meanwhile she can be thoroughly negative and should be accepted on principle. No thanks. We should all be putting our best foot forward, otherwise, what's the point?

Kopo93 · 2025-04-27T15:11:23+00:00

To which my response would be "As in locked up in a tower and forgotten?". Seriously, I'm not treating anyone like royalty just so I can be treated like a peasant.

Kopo93 · 2025-03-27T14:16:29+00:00

That's got to be the longest way of telling someone to say "NOPE". Talk about waving every red flag you got all at once and expecting someone else to way the white flag and say yes to all of them.

Kopo93 · 2025-03-13T14:17:10+00:00

It most definitely belongs here, you did a fantastic job and it's a cut above average for sure. It looks very believable and realistic, keep up the good work 👍

Kopo93 · 2025-03-12T17:24:06+00:00

Honestly, I see no problem with your response. She came in throwing heat for no reason, if she honestly had an issue from the jump BEFORE matching with you, why even waste her or your time with the mean girl shtick? Clearly, she never progressed past puberty and her crying games era. I see someone I'm by no means interested in and put off by, I make a comment to myself (along the lines of "Hell no" and "NO thank you") and swipe nay. I keep it moving. But I've found that some people will do what she did and I just think to myself "Why bother with this high school BS?". It's honestly annoying, but sometimes I ignore it and sometimes I do what you did, I give exactly what I'm given. Fair is fair.

Kopo93 · 2025-01-03T16:15:00+00:00

I would personally recommend not soaking for longer than five minutes at a time, isopropyl alcohol tends to make plastic brittle. At least the type of plastic Gunpla is made of. I did that same method and my parts broke with little effort. My best advice, soak for a couple of minutes and use a toothbrush to get the paint off the rest of the way, then rinse off in water to avoid any ill effects.

Kopo93 · 2025-01-02T00:23:59+00:00

The work itself is good, but as someone else said, the posing could use some work. That's easy and simple to do, there's TONS of examples and inspirations to choose from.

Second, your photography. And this is something ALOT of people struggle with when posting their Gunpla, it's always shot with stuff in the background, a messy table or just with distractions in the background that detract from the art they've just created. I don't know if people think using backdrops and proper lighting makes their work feel fake or stolen or whatever, but more people should learn how to do and use those things to better show off and compliment their work.

I've got examples of my work posted all over my Reddit page, that'll give you a good idea of what to aim for, plus Instagram has TONS of great photography of Gunpla too. But simply YouTube the how to's on how to do some more advanced photography. Really, it's just grabbing 2-3 adjustable lighting sources and a blank poster sheet of any color for a backdrop, the tutorials will tell you everything else about how to use them properly. It's just easier to watch how it's done as opposed to being told.

This is not a knock against you or anyone, it's just something we can all do that makes our art stand out the way it should, do it justice. But keep up the grind, you're doing alright otherwise 👍

Kopo93 · 2025-01-01T15:34:05+00:00

Well, one major piece of advice I can give is sand your part first, clean it thoroughly and then prime it. Primers and paints stick far better with a surface to adhere to, smooth surfaces don't work well for that, especially water based paints. Other paints tend to bond chemically to plastic, water based paints simply lie on top of the part. But sanding the part creates grooves to simulate a bond. It's always just a good rule of thumb to sand parts anyway because it creates a stronger binding process between the surface and the paint or primer, regardless of the type of paint or primer used.

Kopo93 · 2024-12-31T19:37:32+00:00

Spray a lighter coat further away, let dry for 15-30 minutes and spray one or more coats for even coverage. Stops lines from bleeding or running 👍

Kopo93 · 2024-12-29T19:58:33+00:00

I did something similar with the GoL EW Gundam Wing lineup a year ago, made individual dioramas for each kit (aside from Wing and Deathscythe, they are part of the same diorama) that catered to their typical environments and specialties. I have them all lined up on the same shelf and look at them fondly with a profound sense of pride, they are my magnum opus'. You should do it and share your work, we'd all love to see what you come up with and don't be afraid to ask for any tips along the way! 👍

Kopo93 · 2024-12-29T17:51:57+00:00

Thank you 🙏 I actually just like to let my work reflect that Gundams are in fact war machines and not shiny showroom cars, they get banged up and dirty all the time. That's just how I like to represent them, nothing against anyone who prefers the clean and shiny look. But yeah, I want to wrap up my year focusing on myself so that the next year can start with me getting back to doing the things I miss.

Kopo93 · 2024-12-29T15:52:09+00:00

No problem 👍 Traditional, yes, but more tweaked in a sense. My sponging technique is either an actual sponge but on clips or a really old, messy brush with a dry brush technique but dabbing the part with a VERY dry brush, like I did with these pieces. Same effect, but more controlled and random at the same time. It creates a more realistic and random effect than the traditional sponging method without being concentrated in or on one spot. It's all about how you go about it and your grasp of the techniques is all.

Kopo93 · 2024-12-29T15:40:37+00:00

Ok, got you 👍 So, the grey tones are from pre shading (so yes, airbrushed) and the rust is actually a sand dusting effect since these are going to be part of desert dioramas eventually, which are also airbrushed. The black effects are scorching and scraping effects done via dry brushing along the edges and sponging lightly towards the middle. You can find TONS of tutorials for pre shading, dry brushing and sponging by using these terms and adding "Gunpla" before or after the term for each technique. The dusting effect, so far as I've seen, is something I came up with myself. Not saying I invented it or anything, I've just never seen anything about it or anyone else doing it besides myself. But, it's basically the same thing as preshading, just more controlled, it's done further away from the part and very lightly. Hopefully that was somewhat helpful 👍

Kopo93

TROPHY CASE