Dio Sets

[Sonneilon]

http://www.militarymodelling.com/news/printablearticle.asp?sp=&v=1&UAN=1196

Check this out.

So what I'm asking here, just how far should us dioists and foto fans go when building and creating our own sets? Most of us aren't doing JUST dioramas (in the traditional sense) where we build a set and it sits for show. I do stories. And like any set builder on a movie knows, they build the sets and then rip 'em down after the scene is finished. I'd like to be able to step it up on the sets but man, it all takes time, creativity, skills (that I often don't have), talent and lastly, MONEY!

I'm almost done with one set now (I admit, I've been procrastinating on it) and I had to run out twice to get stuff for it. (Green tissue on one trip, paint brushes on the next.)

How far is too far? Where does one draw the line in terms of, y'know, what is ultra gnarly and what is just plain OCD? I'll admit it, a lot of guys do awesome sets, even if they just piece things together. But looking at that and what train modelers (and those pesky Game Workshop guys) can do, man... I feel like I'm doing Set Building 98 or something.

Enjoy that article and take a look around at the galleries. Gah!

[GoCards]

Wow, those looked great! I don't have the patience to something like that, but DAMN!

[lehsreh]

[COLOR=Red]i like to keep my sets simple. im not into just taking pics to post on here so every shot i do is for dio stories. that being the case, it would take me half a year to do one chapter if i took my time and made them great. not only that, but also the cost for taking a few pics just doesnt seem worth it to me. now vader gets his moneys worth. he uses his sets a lot, so in that case i guess its ok. i guess the simplest way to say it is i dont like doing detailed sets because i would rather be able to do a chapter every two weeks with something simple then to take 3 months to do one because i wasted all my time building. it could be just me, but the dio stories i remember the best are ones with simple shots outside or in a joe HQ and not the ones with the big sets. i remember general joes new cobra dio set, but ive never thought any of that story was great.[/COLOR]

[Lava Boss]

I got out of scale modelling because I didn't have the talent or the patience or even really enjoy the model building part. And looking at the magazines and stuff and how well some people do...even my painting skills were subpar. I was doing war game quality but I would never wargame...so...I stick with action figures.

I'm impressed with people's sets and such, sometimes they are so well done I forget the effort involved (if that makes sense). But I still enjoy set ups that show toys in obvious toy situations. A cardboard building, a lincoln log wall, battle on the floor...that how I played...so it's cool :cool:

[ThinkTank]

stuff like that blows my mind. It's incredible, especially at those tiny scales like 1/72. I have the patience to do something like that, but not the skill, but I'm not sure I could spend several hours doing a few square inches. The time it would take to do that must be staggering, like "not having a job" staggering. But, if you're that good, it probably IS your job.

[vader9900]

[QUOTE=lehsreh][COLOR=Red]now vader gets his moneys worth. he uses his sets a lot [/COLOR][/QUOTE]
I have to, I have so much time in them I have to get use out of them.
I just tried to emboss a block wall HERE (http://www.joedios.com/dioramas/showimage.php?i=18240). I think it came out OK, what do ya think?

[Trench-Viper]

Set building just as customizing and dio photography is a hobby and something we do for our own enjoyment and to get away from the hustle and bustle of the world.
If our hobby had been building buildings out of thoothpicks then some of us would build cabins and some would build cathedrals. How much time and effort we put into our hobby is determined by how much time and effort we want to put into our hobby as its for OUR enjoyment.

[zedhatch]

I think (on the original question) it depends on what you are willing to do and how much you are devoted to it. I have seen people way over complicate a set to the point I really don't care while I have seen others put minimal effort and have a set that looks perfectly fine. I guess it depends on what and why and is up to the individual.

[DaveCW2]

First off, let's be perfectly clear: I'm not very good at set-building, and I LOVE detail.

If I decided sets were a priority time-wise, I'd try to make it the most detailed things to ever come out of, well, anywhere! The danger I think, for anyone who gets into really complex sets, is the possibility of making a set SO good, that it overshadows your figures.

The sets help drive a story, no doubt, but if your $7.99 toys look like they're in the Taj Mahal, SOMETHING'S gonna get lost in translation.

Have fun!!!

[Sonneilon]

After reading thru everyone's thoughts, I started thinking about it a bit more and there was something I remember from way back. Dave pretty much said it. To build SOMETHING like exampled (from the link) and plop a Joe in front of it, the 2 realism factors probably won't match. Therefore, I need not worry about making gnarly sets anymore! I can continue doing what I do cuz it'll remain consistent with the look of my dios. :D

Thanks all.

[troopsofdoom]

If you watch Anime (the good stuff anyway) the backgrounds are highly detailed and the characters are often very simple. It works and it looks great.

I don't think anything can ever have too much quality or detail. It's just a matter of how much time and money some one wants to put into it. My set sets are very simple but I like to look at the high-end stuff.

[vader9900]

[QUOTE=troopsofdoom]I don't think anything can ever have too much quality or detail. [/QUOTE]
100% agree