Put Capt. Solo in the cargo hold

[Richpepperell]

Hey all,

This is not much more than a 30 min play around, but I thought I'd share it anyway. I recently picked up a little string of battery-powered LED lights with the intention of back-lighting a Death Star corridor MOC that I've never finished. They've just been sat about so I thought I'd see if they actually worked - with inspiration being supplied by the arrival of a advent calendar minifigure!

Just by poking the tine LEDs into the axel hole in the corner of the 12x12 bricks and covering up the hole with the trans-yellow stud, it gave me quite a nice effect! I took a couple of shots which showed the lights nicely, but didn't really capture the mood. I MOCed up a few of the Cloud City buildings (fairly accurate to the photo I used) and then set up the background. It's not a greenscreen or photoshop job... can you guess how I did it?

I particularly liked the way the evening sun's reflecting off of some of the surfaces - the end of the Carbonite block, Slave 1's ramp and Boba's helmet for example. I also like the way it's coming through the windows of the "Bespin Heights" apartment block. To get the effect, I simply sent a still image of the set set from my iPad to my TV - see the behind the scenes shot below.

Not exactly a professional set up, but it's a techniques I might use again if I need an exotic background for a shot. You can find a few more pics here on my flickr. Feed back and thoughts always welcome! (ps. I know the landing platform is supposed to be circular before anyone mentions it :-))

[dimnico]

This is really nice. Thanks for sharing the behind the scenes. Very inspiring! I think I might have to try the backdrop technique as I want to start adding a bit of production to my photos. (do I need a board game or will any box work

[joeyl19]

This is a great picture!

[TWP]

Hmm, that's a very creative way to make pictures, I may steal that technique from you if you don't mind

[brobert]

aww man, I was just going to do this exact shot with my newly built UCS Slave-I....but after this, I don't think I can improve much. I was going to use a blue background, but then it's much more work with the lighting and other effects in PS, so this is a great job with the "digital matte painting" :) well done.

[mortesv]

That is a great ideas! And excellent lighting. I want to do something similar now - I just need a bigger TV... :D

[Gouniaf]

Everything is good in your MOC, from the Slave 1 to the background. The little buildings add a lot to the scene. Good work !

[VaderFan2187]

On 9/11/2016 at 3:20 AM, Richpepperell said:

Hey all,

This is not much more than a 30 min play around, but I thought I'd share it anyway. I recently picked up a little string of battery-powered LED lights with the intention of back-lighting a Death Star corridor MOC that I've never finished. They've just been sat about so I thought I'd see if they actually worked - with inspiration being supplied by the arrival of a advent calendar minifigure!

You opened the calendar a little early? 

Really like this setup. I like using unprofessional setups to achieve a professional finish too 

[eliminator]

Great pic! And thanks for showing how you made it.