Project: "Ghost Stories" - building VCX Playsets

[SpectreOne]

Hi there! First time poster here.

Thought I might share my project.

The moment I saw the Ghost from Star Wars: Rebels, I immediately fell in love. Nothing about this ship makes sense (the interiors don't fit the exteriors), but it's a great design nonetheless, and I like that it's basically a flying house. With the Black Series-Figures of Ezra and Chopper on the Horizon (and I hope Zeb isn't too far away either), I thought, it might be a good time to start building some dioramas/playsets. I'd like to do a photo series if all is done and the specters are complete. Until then, there's a lot of work to be done.

These are the sets I plan to build:

Starbord-Bunks (Hera's Bunk and Zeb and Ezra's Bunk) - Check!
Corridor
Common Room
Kitchen
Cockpit
Cargo Bay
Engineering (made up)
Bathroom (made up)
And mayyybeeee the Phantom (In- and Exterior)

This is gonna be a low-budged project, so I'll use only cardboard. I'm not aiming for perfect screen accuracy, but I'll try to stay as close to the original sets as I can. My skill level is medicore at best, to be honest, and I really want to keep the cost down as much as possible, but I'm committed and I'm sure it's gonna be fun .

I started last week with the Bunks on Starboard (Hera's and Zeb and Ezra's). Here's what I have so far:

It's not completely finished - I need to reinforce the structure a bit and I'm not happy with the lighting, but the hardest part's are done.

Next: the Corridor.

 

[Deathspawn9000]

Looks great!! Awesome execution!

 

[sonicrip]

Hi there! First time poster here.

Thought I might share my project.

The moment I saw the Ghost from Star Wars: Rebels, I immediately fell in love. Nothing about this ship makes sense (the interiors don't fit the exteriors), but it's a great design nonetheless, and I like that it's basically a flying house. With the Black Series-Figures of Ezra and Chopper on the Horizon (and I hope Zeb isn't too far away either), I thought, it might be a good time to start building some dioramas/playsets. I'd like to do a photo series if all is done and the specters are complete. Until then, there's a lot of work to be done.

These are the sets I plan to build:

Starbord-Bunks (Hera's Bunk and Zeb and Ezra's Bunk) - Check!
Corridor
Common Room
Kitchen
Cockpit
Cargo Bay
Engineering (made up)
Bathroom (made up)
And mayyybeeee the Phantom (In- and Exterior)

This is gonna be a low-budged project, so I'll use only cardboard. I'm not aiming for perfect screen accuracy, but I'll try to stay as close to the original sets as I can. My skill level is medicore at best, to be honest, and I really want to keep the cost down as much as possible, but I'm committed and I'm sure it's gonna be fun .

I started last week with the Bunks on Starboard (Hera's and Zeb and Ezra's). Here's what I have so far:

It's not completely finished - I need to reinforce the structure a bit and I'm not happy with the lighting, but the hardest part's are done.

Next: the Corridor.

ooks awsome
L

 

[DarthPete]

Dude that is awesome-ly done. You're a cardboard savant!

 

[Darth_Sceptaurus]

Yes! So awesome! Now if you could just build a giant Ghost around them, this would be perfect! Seriously, though, they are looking great, can't wait to see more.

 

[Utinniii]

I concur re: awesomeness.

That makes either a great playset or display. I'm looking forward to seeing more.

Just curious, will you be making your model available for others to make as well?

 

[SpectreOne]

Thank you all Working on the corridor right now and making good progress. I might finish this until monday.

Now if you could just build a giant Ghost around them, this would be perfect!

Don't give me ideas
I already toyed with the idea of making the front section of the ship, but I really don't have the space.

I concur re: awesomeness.
Just curious, will you be making your model available for others to make as well?

I don't think so. Not out of spite or anything, but I have no Idea how. The reason I started with the bunks is, because I could extrapolate their measurements from this behind the scenes sheet from the episode with the puffer pig:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B8XZgrNIEAAAMLX.jpg

I just scaled it up by rule of thumb. That gave me the rough dimensions of the bunks, of the corridor and (mostly) of the cockpit as well. And if you have that, you also have some of the measurements of the cargo bay (with, length). Everything else is just guesswork and made up by me on the spot.

 

[Utinniii]

But.. but...
My puffer pigs need a home!


Just kidding.
While I always enjoy seeing what other people make, I prefer to make things myself by hand. I just asked because I knew several people must have wanted to know.
When Rogue 1 came out, I designed a paper craft Kyber Crate but didn't have the technical skills to render it. I asked for help here and 2 Scummers helped me out.

 

[SpectreOne]

Omg, you have Puffer-Pigs! And Pypey! He looks adorable. What are they made of? Are they printed? Or made out of clay or something? They look fantastic (and really hugable! )

But.. but...
While I always enjoy seeing what other people make, I prefer to make things myself by hand. I just asked because I knew several people must have wanted to know.

Well, I'll be glad to share what I can - dimensions, some templates and computer graphics and all, but I'm not sure how helpful that's gonna be, because I'm making most things up on the spot without planning or writing much down.

 

[Utinniii]

I think if some people have the dimensions templates, they can figure out the rest. I usually recommend that people scale things for the space they have anyway.

This thread might be of interest to you as it has a few paper models of Rebels crates. Read through all of it before downloading anything since some of the files were updated.

I use Model Magic to make most of my figures. I have figures I made in 2002 that still look great although MM isn't good for either pose-ability or play-ability. If I had access to a 3D scanner, I would make free printable files for my creations as I don't have the software skills to make digital versions of them. One day though.

I have a few other Rebels characters and creatures.






I also made a realistic Blurrg and nearly finished Nuna.

 

[SpectreOne]

Never heard of Model Magic, but the figures sure as hell look great! Loth-Cats, Purgils... it's nice to see so much love vor Star Wars: Rebels - and it's critters. And thanks a lot for the link! Those crates will be very helpful, once I get to the cargo bay

Speaking of, I have another update. This time; the Hallway. Not the most exciting set, and, to be honest, I wasn't especially keen on building it, but I feel it's required to give the feeling of a starship where you can walk from one room organically to the other. The doors are still missing - I only build two mockup doors for testing reasons, and I'm still playing around with the right way to light everything. Also, I'm still debating with myself, whether or not the hallway junction leading to the turrent is needed or not. But that's something I can still add later.

Next: The common room!

 

[Utinniii]

Build as much as you can since you intend to make a story. It will increase the number of angles you can photograph. The "boring" hallways adds depth and can allow for some fun background shots.

 

[Daigo_Bah]

Absolutely amazing! The modern work done here lately is just raising the bar more and more!

 

[Montross]

This is brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

 

[KypDurron420]

Wow! It's perfect.

I've been modelling the hall and bunks together to 3d print in 1:18th scale. I figure I can split the model to print possibly a room at a time then halve the hall into two. And like you I plan to model the on screen interior and then figure out what the rest looks like.

I really like the way you made this. When you lit it it looks so legit. :{J

 

[SpectreOne]

Thank you all

Wow! It's perfect.

I've been modelling the hall and bunks together to 3d print in 1:18th scale. I figure I can split the model to print possibly a room at a time then halve the hall into two. And like you I plan to model the on screen interior and then figure out what the rest looks like.

The more the merrier. Can't have enough Ghosts around. If you get to print the rooms, I'd really love to see what they look like and appreciate, if you could share some pictures .

So. I went ahead and just finished the Common Room. Or as I call this monster now: the Come on!-Room. This one held a couple surprises. It's a lot larger than I thought it would be. On the show, this rooms looks kinda small and cozy, but that's because we mostly only saw one part of it (the Couch area) and not much more. Then again, there isn't much more to see, they were wasting a lot of space in this room. In retrospect, I think it would have been smarter by me to build the couch-area only, or to cut the room in half at least. But I'm not that smart and Hindsight is always easier than foresight.

Zeb's Chair is still missing, because, well, I have no Idea how to build that thing yet. Then again, Zeb himself isn't there either, and considering that Hasbro are taking their sweet time, it's not an urgent issue. The ladder also needs to be refined a bit.

In case someone want's to build the console; these are the graphics I have made. They aren't 100 percent screen accurate, but they are pretty close:
https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/intermediary/f/494b20ea-59e7-4852-8a0b-8395dd93ff6d/dcu6osx-649ed2fc-78d1-482b-b0b6-f8833d09ebe4.jpg

Next: The Kitchen!

 

[VideoViper]

What are you using for the lighting?

Great job so far.

 

[SpectreOne]

What are you using for the lighting?.

So far only fairy lights. I have to figure out something better, but for now it'll do.

Here are some futher... ummmm... screen tests:

https://sta.sh/01t4lqle0xle

 

[Utinniii]

Looking great so far. I'm envious you have time to play with it as you build it.

If you want raised cushions for the stools, you can use craft foam.

 

[yodashizzle]

This is really cool. Very nice work and photography. Any kind of interior work is difficult and this is some fantastic results. Keep up the great work!

 

[Darth_Sceptaurus]

This is beautiful work, and I'm really enjoying seeing it progress. And judging from your posts, you seem to be admitting that Hera has done the majority of the work for you :grin:

 

[Oofa]

Neat! Very nice handwork with that cardboard

 

[SpectreOne]

This is beautiful work, and I'm really enjoying seeing it progress. And judging from your posts, you seem to be admitting that Hera has done the majority of the work for you :grin:

Psssst. That's my dirty secret I actually do nothing, expect taking photos
And I have a couple more to share. I... uh, Hera... just finished work on the cargo bay. This was a monster.

There are still some things to do. The ladder is just a quick (and crooked) prototype. Gonna build a better one, once the cockpit is done. Maybe I'll rebuild the railing as well. Also, the front is going to get an exterior, and, even though I had not planned on doing it; I'll add the front turret.

Next: The Cockpit!

 

[Daigo_Bah]

Wow wow wow o-o

 

[Darth_Sceptaurus]

So, so beautiful!

 

[SpectreOne]

Thank you, guys

Okay, I have another one: Kitchen and Toilet.

;P

 

[SpectreOne]

A little Sneak Peek. The Cockpit is coming along quite nicely

 

[sonicrip]

A little Sneak Peek. The Cockpit is coming along quite nicely

absulote spitzen klasse was du hier machst. Respekt

 

[SpectreOne]

absulote spitzen klasse was du hier machst. Respekt

Vielen lieben Dank

I just finished the Cockpit. And, phew, I'm really happy with the outcome. This was the set I was most scared of. But it all worked out better than I thought it would. I need to polish the lighting and the ladder is still missing, but everything else is done. The backwall is removable and so is the window front, which makes accessibility pretty easy. But see for yourself:

Could someone please inform Hasbro to release Ezra, Chopper and Zeb, like, now? Their ship is (mostly) ready

In case anyone else wants to try this, here are the decals I have made (6 inch scale):
https://s15.directupload.net/images/190121/cdd9uigs.jpg

I'd love to see what more talented people can do with it

 

[KypDurron420]

The wows just keep coming. Great work man. :{J

 

[SpectreOne]

Sooo, with Chopper and Ezra on the Horizon, it's time to get back at this. I already started working on Kanans Bunk, the Phantom and... an Engine Room. The ER is especially fun, because we have never seen that room on the show, which means that I have an entirely free hand in designing it. I had an old, scary boiler room in mind and... it's starting to take shape

Here's a sneak peek. Lights are off, only the engines are glowing (this is choppers realm, by the way. Explaines a lot, lol )

Muhahahaha!

 

[yodashizzle]

Looks like it will be more awesomeness!! You know, just the control panels alone throughout your dios are pretty mindblowing. And the photography is always top shelf. Can't wait to see more.

 

[Utinniii]

Looks great. It reminds me of every furnace in a scary movie.

I shudder to think of where Hera is in that photo!!!


EDIT: Have you seen the Rebels critters and swag you can buy at the new Star Wars Land in Walt Disney World?

Puffer pigs and spiders to name 2.

 

[SpectreOne]

And here it is: the (made up) engine room of the Ghost. That was a really fun set! I was aiming for a specific feel; there was a scene in Home Alone, where Kevin went into the basement and there was this big, scary, evil boiler or whatever it was. I wanted something like that, a room that gave Ezra the creeps. I also wanted to have a maintaince pit like in the falcon and the (smaller) characters to be able to crawl between the engines. I just put all of these ideas together and I think the Engine Room turned out great. The maintaince pit still needs work - I'll add more pipes and cables and machinery. But aside from that, I'm mostly done.

Only three things left to do now: a little corridor segment, sabines bunk and the phantom. Then I'm done \o/

EDIT: Have you seen the Rebels critters and swag you can buy at the new Star Wars Land in Walt Disney World?
Puffer pigs and spiders to name 2.

Oh yes! I just saw someone with a dewback from the store and my first thought was "That's a fantastic packaging he comes with" XD

The spiders are awesome. Really creepy looking. Imagine some of them roaming my sets. (one of their earthly cousins is already doing that - I just discovered, that a little spider has taken residence in my common room set. Maybe I can nudge it to move into the engine room instead. I could use some spiderwebs there )

I'm in love with the puffer pig, but I have no idea how they would scale or if they can do something (move their heads)? Any idea?
Would love to have one or two of them.

 

[Utinniii]

That looks really spooky!
The Dewback's mouth opens when one moves it's tail.
The puffer pigs squeal like a piggie, soowi,soowi. They look to be much too big, although they can inflate so I'd use them.
The Spiders vibrate so they move. I want one.
Way back, I gave you a link where you can print out the puffer pig crates.

I often use invisible tape when I want a reflective surface or to change the texture.
You can also buy gloss, satin and matte sprays for paper. Then you won't have to reprint, and it adds a layer of protection.
Finally, at a dollar store, I bought a battery tealight that changes colors (blue, green, red and I think, white). I think one in the mouth of the boiler would look cool.
There are lots of different lights that change color. I think some can even change the speed. Most are too big for my purposes but since your sets are bigger, they might work. Fairy lights might also work.

If you really wanted webs, people use hot glue guns to make them.

 

[SpectreOne]

The empire is strong in the custom community Inspired by the awesome works of Darth_Sceptaurus, Daigo_Bah and others, I decided to make some quick and cheap imperial walls for my Ghost Project. They are easy to build, to combine and to store. The spectres can raid whatever imperial outpost they come across now

 

[Muftak]

Great designs for some Imperial environments. With just those three wall sections, the set-up possibilities are infinite.

Really fun stuff you are doing here!

 

[yodashizzle]

Love the new update, you do know your photography is as good as it can be, right? Everything is lit perfectly, characters are posed with a lot of thought, it's like a really good comic panel. The angles/POV....it's just awesome. Then there's the set/dio itself. Superb stuff.

 

[Darth_Sceptaurus]

Those Imp walls look great! I love how your textures really capture the cartoon feel. Totally agree with yodashizzle about the photography, as well!

 

[Utinniii]

Fantastic walls! Ditto on the photography.
One element that you might consider are the Black tubes that stick out of the walls. Put them on a replacable panel and you've doubled the number of random hallways.