Commissioned to Build a TMNT / Universal Monsters Diorama

Sometimes a job’s just a job. Other times, it’s so much fun you feel guilty cashing the paycheck. Such was the case when, recently, a client commissioned Michelle and me to build a diorama that’s a cross between the Mutant Turtles’ sewer lair and Dr. Frankenstein’s lab.

The diorama was designed to be a base for the new Mutant Turtle Universal Monster figures our client picked up. So we grabbed a Raphael to help scale everything and got to work. We also used his color palette to inform our paint choices.

A lot of what we did consisted of cutting/carving foam. Both by hand with craft knives, as well as with the invaluable Proxxon hot wire foam cutting table.

But there was also a fair bit of pvc plastic parts (that sewer pipe, sluice vent, and rusty grate). That meant a few trips to the hardware store where explaining to skilled builders and craftsmen what we wanted and what we wanted it for was an adventure in humiliation.

The client also had a list of props and accessories he wanted in the diorama, so we needed to sculpt some things with clay. Below you can see a couple of journals, a turtle skull, a human femur, and a delicious slice of pepperoni and sausage pizza with green peppers.

And, of course, some of the props were cobbled together from foam, wood, plastic, chipboard, and resin…like this damaged power supply Frankenstein uses for his experiments.

Over on our YouTube channel, we’re back from hiatus this week. Our video this week features this Turtles/Universal Monsters diorama and shows some of our process for creating this commission.

If you’d like to see how it all came together, you can watch the video below.