Sunny Day Dioramas

I think most folks have an idea that I have hundreds of these dioramas sitting around the house. I post a lot of pictures of them, and to be honest, they are some of my favorite works that I’ve created over the years. Most actually get chopped up and reused, so the pics may be all that is left of some. A few I’ve kept, a few even sit under glass in my home office as I type this or in my office at work. But most get their five minutes of fame, then are added to the shelf in the workshop and get parted out over time.

Originally, these were created for a YouTube channel I started to review Hot Wheels and diecast cars. You can see the dioramas in most of the episodes. Over time, the YouTube channel has faded away, but I still love making the dioramas. Something about them makes me feel like I know what I’m doing, and I feel like an art god designing the environments I want—not some run-of-the-mill average place, but a cool, weird place I made up.

Lots of techniques go into each one. For instance, the little plants in the jungle scene are cut vinyl, from a template I made, then run through a plotter to make a million of the little leaves. Then, they are painted and stuck on wires to get them to bend and look authentic.