# Lighted shadow box dioramas - victorian scenes



## keith b

Hi everyone,

Im new to this forum and diorama itself, and I would be very greatful for any advice from seasoned or enthusiastic diorama hobbyists alike.

I have a clear-ish vision of what I want to achieve, but as yet not quite the knowhow or experience to pull it off.

I want to create a Diorama depicting a victorian high street scene in a lighted shadowbox that can sit on a mantlepiece (maybe 18 x 12 x 6 inches in size).

I want to use sepia or black & white photos or printed pages from old books as the side & background scene (shops) that are cut/trimmed in such a way to give the viewer the perception of depth/infinity by adding a actual model road down the centre of the image with perhaps a horse carriage model.

The shops (photos) will have there tiny windows cut out and replaced with coloured (yellow) transparent film through which light will shine through.

The night sky (stars & moon) will be created using pin holes in black paper with background lighting + `grain of rice` light bulbs in a model lamps etc.

Does this sound a realistical & feasible project?

Can I buy minature cobbled streets/pavements/lamposts/postboxes from hobby shops?

Can anyone point to some books or websites of established artists who make these type of victorian scene shadow boxes?

Any advice would be most appreciated.


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## John P

For the street and some accessories like lamp posts, it's possible that aftermarket resin second world war scenery would fit the bill (depending on what scale you had in mind). There are a lot of 1/35 scale cobblestone street sections, European building/store fronts, etc, available for military modelers who like to do dioramas of tanks in the streets. Europe wasn't far removed from Victorian times in terms of the way the streets looked in the 40s.

Here's a for-instance: A resin street section:
http://www.squadron.com/product-p/js0023.htm

Squadron is a good place to search, they have a big stock of armor accessories.

oooo - i just did a search and came up with resin building PARTS:
http://www.squadron.com/category-s/2696.htm?searching=Y&sort=3&cat=2696&show=18&page=2
Nifty!


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## slotcarman12078

For that size a viable option is HO scale model railroading stuff. 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/DESIGN-PRES...565457?pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item4d050303d1
These buildings are "background" buildings, and I believe are only about an inch deep X 2 1/2" wide. You'll also find an assortment of different lamp post styles through different eras. Pretty much any HO scale scenery will work, and keep things consistent. Everything from horses and wagons to gas lights are out there, along with different types of ground cover from grass to snow. 


I would suggest to read carefully any Ebay listings, particularly from sellers in China and other parts of Asia. What they bill as HO may not be true to scale, and what looks small in the pictures may look huge in your diorama. This goes for the cobblestone embossed sheet to the gas lamps / street lights. It'll be a bit more work using a smaller scale, but it will allow you to have a little more in the small area you're working with, and allow you a little more depth.

Good luck with your project, and please post up pictures as you go along and when you're done. I love night time dios and when I ran my HO trains, it was always "night"!! :thumbsup:


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## keith b

Thanks for your replies so far = keep them coming.

I like the HO scale victorian buildings for model railways idea on the link you posted - certainly worth considering.

I ve got some serious thinking to do on this - my initial thoughts now are it maybe best for me to adopt & create a scene of one 3D singular shop front (face on but shallow) based up on a dolls house type set-up with foreground of street = this will make the figures & other details larger and give more focus to one area - for example Im now tempted to build a night-time pub with yard or newsagents scene - Im even considering adding a simple mechanical handle to the diorama box to make something move to add even more intrigue/fun to the project.:thumbsup:

Question; Are there any Diorama or model club associations I could join where I could meet up with fellow enthusiasts in the UK?


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## computer guy

This link for Buildings and signs might be helpful to you.
http://www.modelrailroadforums.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=16
also thses sites might help you:
http://www.pinecanyonscalemodels.com/
http://www.microstru.com/Animated-signs.html
http://miniature-traffic-lights.com/purchase_page
http://www.hogtrainz.com/BLAIRLINE.htm
and this is the most useful in my opinion:
http://www.stormthecastle.com/
If you want more sites, please let me know.
Richard


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## keith b

Thanks Richard, I will certainly look at those links you posted.


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## rbrunne1

One other suggestion...check out Model Builder Software: http://www.modeltrainsoftware.com/model-builder.html

It has photo-realistic images that you can size to any scale.


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## StarshipClass

Sounds like a great idea! Lots of room for innovation there. I assume you'll be putting figures on the street scenes.


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## keith b

Yes there will be street figures - I almost want my project to have an artistic element in respect to re-creating real living life! for example, if I go for the pub idea, I want to include figures that you would see outside a pub on typical friday night out - Bloke urinating up wall or two drunks trying to physically supporting one another as they make there way home or perhaps a lovestruck couple kissing!


Also thanks Dennis for the link to the software for scaling = very important.


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## StarshipClass

keith b said:


> Yes there will be street figures - I almost want my project to have an artistic element in respect to re-creating real living life! for example, if I go for the pub idea, I want to include figures that you would see outside a pub on typical friday night out - Bloke urinating up wall or two drunks trying to physically supporting one another as they make there way home or perhaps a lovestruck couple kissing!


Sounds great! :thumbsup:


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## roadrner

:thumbsup::thumbsup: rr


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