Star Wars: Dagobah Diorama by O.G. Trilogy, on Flickr
My favorite chapter of the Star Wars Trilogy has always been Empire Strikes Back. I actually wore out a copy of it on VHS when I was a kid. I watched all the parts with Yoda again and again until the whole middle of the movie was just fuzzy, white static.
I looked at a lot of different pictures of Dagobah toys and displays online and finally decided to loosely model my diorama after the Vintage Kenner playset.
Star Wars: Enter Dagobah by O.G. Trilogy, on Flickr
I really tried to make this diorama look busy and organic.
The vines are actually twisty ties covered in many layers of paints. I used paper clay to blend the different parts together and add detail to the ground. A lot of the texture was done by brushing on a mixture of paint, craft sand and elmers school glue. The flat stones are slices of that soft floral styrofoam that were glued down and painted.
Away with your weapon, I mean you no harm. by O.G. Trilogy, on Flickr
Star Wars: You Seek Yoda! by O.G. Trilogy, on Flickr
The tree trunk that Yoda is sitting on was originally part of a Toy Biz Marvel Legends set. I used paper clay to make the top concave and to blend the roots in with the ground. I globbed on several thick layers of dark paint and drybrushed it with light grays, browns and blues to highlight the details. This is probably my favorite part of the whole dio.
Yoda's Home on Dagobah by O.G. Trilogy, on Flickr
Star Wars: R2-D2 being nosey by O.G. Trilogy, on Flickr
Yoda's hobbit hole was made from paper clay shaped over a bowl. I cut out a little window for R2 to peek through and did the bark-like texture with a toothpick. I painted the inside a solid light brown and drybrushed the outside with many different shades of brown. I think it looks like a Smurf's mushroom house without the cap.
Star Wars: Jedi Training on Dagobah by O.G. Trilogy, on Flickr
The base for this Diorama is Insulation Styrofoam that I bought at Home Depot for cheap. I carved out 2 concave areas for the pools in front and back. After most of the other painting was done, I mixed some light blue acrylic paint with school glue and poured it into these spots to make it look like standing water. It took forever to dry and I had to repeat the process several times to make the glue pools even with the rest of the ground.
The levitating stones in this picture were made out of paper clay and stuck together with toothpicks. I played around with a couple of different ways to make the stones look like they're being lifted up, but this is the easiest and most convincing method I could come up with. I made a few other individual stones out of clay and painted them to match the levitaing stones.
Shadow of the Darkside by O.G. Trilogy, on Flickr
Star Wars: Luke's Vision in the Cave by O.G. Trilogy, on Flickr
Before I saw the abominable prequel trilogy, I always imagined that Obi-Wan and Anakin Skywalker's final duel might have taken place on Dagobah. It kinda makes sense. Yoda could live safely in exile on Dagobah because Vader's Pride would never permit him to return to the place of his most humiliating defeat. Also, Spewing Anger and Hate during his painful failure, Anakin Skywalker could have been responsible for the Negative (Dark Side) Energy in this part of the swamp where Luke had his terrible Vision. I always thought it would be a good way to help explain a couple of things and help tie the saga together.
I used clay and the craft sand/glue mixture to help conceal a few action figure foot peg stands in the floor of the Diorama.
I made the entrance to the cave out of styrofoam and masking tape and coated it with craft sand, elmer's glue and lots of acrylic paints. I drybrushed the pale blue paint on and around the cave entrance to bring out some of the details and to simulate an eerie glow.
Star Wars: Yoda's Crib by O.G. Trilogy, on Flickr
The Jedi Master Coffee Table by IKEA available in Light Gray & Beige (as pictured above) is great for watching hologram transmissions of damsels in distress and for serving gruel to your houseguests
List Price...........................................................................................................................$99.99
Yep, that's Obi-Wan's Coffetable. It's been repainted to match Yoda's home decor.
I made a round concave area in the middle of the diorama so that Luke would have more headroom while chillin' in Yoda's Crib.
I decided to make Yoda's treestump home a separate peice so it would be easy to get figures in and out for more play/display options.
Yoda's Twilight by O.G. Trilogy, on Flickr
Star Wars: From A Certain Point of Veiw? WTF!?! by O.G. Trilogy, on Flickr
The log that Luke is sitting on and the skinny treetrunk on the left side of the diorama were orginally masts from a Lego pirate ship. I used paper clay here again to make the ends look rough.
I drybrushed the whole diorama with many different colors and sprayed it with Testors brand Dullcoat just like I do with all my custom figures. After that, I brushed on some Clear elmers glue in certain spots to give parts of the setting a glossy, damp look.
The climbing green plants in the back were originally Force lightning bolts that came with the POTF2 Power FX Emperor Palpatine figure.
This has been the most difficult and time-consuming Diorama I've made since the Falcon Cockpit. I tried to incorperate parts to recreate scenes from Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. I had a blast putting this together! Hopefully you enjoyed looking at these photos and maybe it will inspire someone else to make one of their own! Thanks!
Master Yoda by O.G. Trilogy, on Flickr
