Ok, we all know and love the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They are such a wonderful part of our collective pop-culture. As a child of the 80's I certainly grew up with them and I can't remember a time when the Turtles didnt have a current cartoon, movie or comic. So I thought it was about time to honour our half-shell heroes with a new project; the Sewer Lair! At first I just wanted a cool, little diorama that would serve as a display piece for three or four Turtles figures. But then I wanted a larger set with accessories, multiple rooms, etc. So I went to work.
I started building a structure out of polystyrene and then sculpting on top of that with epoxy. Added a door inspired by the 1990 Turtles Movie and some PVC electrical pipes that I painted to look like rusted metal pipes should.
I've always like the idea that the Turtles and their father made their home in the sewer with furniture and appliances they found. Discarded items that maybe broken, but still good enough to use. So with that in mind I started thinking about making some furniture and other accessories.
Meanwhile the Sewer itself was coming along nicely. I solved some minor problems, thought of some paint ideas and before I knew it the basic sculpt was done.
And when the sculpting is done, the fun stuff begins! I love the painting process, cause that's when things start to come alive and breathe!
No sewer dwelling is complete without some nice furniture and appliances. Some of these are inspired by the classic cartoon, other are freestyle sculpts.
The sewer set will also have a TV/living room and that wouldn't be complete without the iconic, 3-seat sofa from the original cartoon. I also made the wooden coffee table based on the 80's cartoon. For the sidetable I sculpted half an oil drum..
A Turtle needs to keep his leftovers and Ice-cream Kitty fresh, so I made this refrigerator! Sculpted from epoxy and some wire-work for the elements on the back.
Nice, big, comfy chair to relax in after bustin' some Foot!
The second sewer part is a very basic, pretty boring add-on. It's a piece of floor with a [piece of] wall on the left side. It designed to add some more room to place some fun furniture or other accessory. It has no features, little surprises or hidden detail of itself.
Well, plans change and I did add some little details here and there..
The Third sewer piece is the Dojo. It can be placed "below" the second part or used as a stand alone diorama. I finished the matts first. Those are a seperate piece from the wall section so it can be displayed in several configurations.
I made a number of accessories for the dojo; a table, bonsai tree, painting, candles and a DIY training device. They provode a nice "lived-in" feeling to the set.
One paint job later and with the accessories in place, the Dojo is done!