Special Gift for a Friend: Rogue Trader Genestealer Magus Box Diorama

 I wanted to create something special for a friend who gifted me a complete set of Space Crusade, something I was searching all over for these last few years. So I decided to create a mini diorama with Jes Goodwin's classic Magus Genestealer from 1989. I wanted to create a Space Hulk-like scene in a 'wallet' size, which is photo terms is 2.5x3.5 inches (which is about 6 x8 cm). I had bought a cheap frame and made a little box from plastic card. 

I wanted it to be a vertical diorama so I created a little silhouette to make sure I left enough headroom for my Magus

After that I made sure that the fit with the frame worked - the frame actually overlaps the front by about half an inch, so I had to make sure nothing critical was blocked of the scene after that frame was put on.

I raided my ancient bitz bag for all sorts of parts. The green back wall was from a Tamiya kit from 1969. The turret design on the top of that part looked great as an interesting feature in the scene. I wanted to have a valve wheel, very Space Hulk I think. The beams are from the old 40K cardboard building set, where these plastic squares hold all the pieces together. They are still great looking parts. I also wanted to create some depth, so I added two layers of beams on top. The wire on the right is made is pewter and came from Dragonforge Design, but he doesn't seem to carry that product anymore. 

You can see that the frame takes away quite a bit of background but that also makes it believable when you look at it from an angle and the scene goes on behind the front of the frame. 

I wanted the scene to be dark blue so I primed it black with some white highlights and did some blending of paints and washes.

After that I attached the frame and the back stand....

...painted the frame in stippled gold and the Magus in bright contrasting colors to make him stand out. And DONE!

Hope you enjoyed this, maybe try one for yourself! 

SC Mike