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Member Highlight – Meddatron

Member Highlight – Meddatron

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Name/Location:  Kirk L Downie from York, Pennsylvania

Q: You’re best known at the Fighting 1:18th for your amazing range of diorama pieces, ever since you joined up in 2011.  How long have you been building dios, and what got you started?

A: I guess I have been building dios all my life. When I was a kid I always made bases out of cardboard boxes, not really elaborate but I did do homemade paper mache on them. As an adult I have been making them since I started collecting, around 2003.  I started making dios for display purposes, to make my collection look a little bit more cool on my shelves.  That grew to making full sets, to now trying to eventually make an entire town.

Q: You’ve demonstrated a wide variety of dio displays, including urban, rural, sci-fi, and fantasy themed ones, using a wide range of building materials.  Any favourite materials and techniques you’d like to share?

A:  I am addicted to the foam board from Mandingo Rex’s tutorial.  Every dio I make I find a new tool to use on it or a new way to use it.  The stuff is so versatile.  You can cut it, you can sand it, carve it, melt it, make impressions on it, compress it, glue on it, just about anything you can think of.

Q:  Where do you get your ideas or inspiration, and how would a typical Meddatron diorama take shape?

A: I get all my inspiration from the internet.  I just google what is on my mind and look at page after page of pictures.  I’ll set up a folder on my desktop with all the pictures I like from a particular theme.  I take what I like from each picture and try to make it. I do not draw plans up.  I do almost all of the design in my mind.  I write dimensions and draw on the boards to keep them sized right, but that’s about it.  Most of my dios just take shape as I go.

Q:  Any plans for your next dio piece?

A:  For a little while I probably won’t have anything new being made for me.  I’ve got a few dios being made for others right now, and then I will be making a dio that I unfortunately have to plead the 5th on for now, but info will come soon on site. My plan for my next big dio for me and my kids is a 4ft high Extensive Enterprise Building.  Pretty easy design, just a lot of cutting.  Still thinking on exactly how I will do all the windows.

Q:  Sounds exciting!  Any words of advice for budding diorama builders?

A:  Make as much of the little items as set pieces as you can, don’t glue them down.  You’ll eventually want to move them. Every dio you make will get a little better.  Don’t try so hard to make a dio perfect, the world around you is full of imperfections so your dio needs your mistakes to look real. When you make a mistake, use it, let it be part of the dio. Thank you so much for this opportunity!!! If anybody ever wants to know exactly how I made a particular item, just let me know, I’ll answer as best as I can.

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We’d like to thank Meddatron again for taking the time to chat, and for sharing his brilliant work with us.

Have a look at a small sampling of his work on the next page, and check out his dedicated diorama thread HERE. Feel free to join the discussion as well!

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About Chris Navarro

Chris is from Australia, where everything is trying to kill you. Maybe even this post.

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