Awesome Dioramas

Artist Marina Totino loves to make models and miniatures. While all her work is impressive, her incredible replica of a 1990s video store is our favorite. The store is accurate down to the VHS tapes on its shelves, and a set of mirrors creates an awesome infinite-depth illusion.

Minibricks created this amazing miniature based on the scene in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King where Frodo faces Shelob, the giant spider demon. They crafted the environment by carving foam, while the spider and Frodo were 3D printed then meticulously hand-painted.

ClayClaim is an expert at sculpting objects and scenes out of Fimo polymer clay. In this video, he shows us how he created an incredibly detailed miniature scene based on the Bomb-Omb Battlefield level of the Nintendo classic Super Mario 64. We love all the tiny enemies, especially King Bob-Omb and Chain Chomp.

Glen Makes created this wonderful little diorama of a miniature Millennium Falcon as hovers over a sandy planet below. The detailed ship model’s LED lighting and the backdrop image really bring it all together. (Thanks, Mike!)

Excited about The Book of Boba Fett? Boylei Hobby Time can’t wait either, so he made a model based on the scene of Fett holding court at the end of The Mandalorian Season 2. He started with an off-the-shelf Boba Fett model, meticulously painted and distressed it, then created a custom throne, complete with rancor heads.

Minibricks is a master at model making. For their latest project, the created an incredible diorama featuring a tentacled sea beast swimming through an pool of clear resin. The piece, titled SUBNAUTICA conjures memories of The Shape of Water and Creature from the Black Lagoon.

4THECRAFT is an expert at making dioramas sealed inside of clear resin. In this video, they walk us through the process of creating a scene of a meteor crashing into a building, combining 3D printing, hand-painting, and model-making techniques to create an awe-inspiring visual. The lighting inside the fireball really brings it to life.

Beyond the Brick shows off one of the most epic LEGO Star Wars builds ever. Anthony Ducre spent 7 months on this 50,000 piece diorama of the Death Star trench run from A New Hope, including an X-Wing fighter that “flies” through it on a track with Vader’s TIE Fighter on its tail. The crashed UCS Super Star Destroyer is a nice touch.

Model maker Boylei Hobby Time loves to incorporate light into his dioramas. In this clip he shows us how he took an off-the-shelf 1/12th-scale model of Darth Vader and took it to the next level with a backlit metal base and a bright red lightsaber that runs on a flexible LED filament set inside of a cocktail straw.

Inspired by this image, LEGO builders Grant Davis, Eli Willsea, and Micah Biedeman collaborated on this impressive diorama, which features an pyramid of buildings at its back, flanked by structures on either side. When viewed from the proper angle, a minifig can be seen sitting on a girder, drinking in the majesty of his world.

Artist Rayclay used a combination of 3D modeling software, 3D printing, and hand-finishing to create miniature models of a freediver and a manta ray. He then precisely painted the pieces and submerged them in transparent resin to create the illusion they were swimming beneath the ocean’s surface.

Create 20 awesomely creepy kirigami scenes from Paper Dandy’s book of horror-themed dioramas. When appropriately lit, they’re the perfect perfect decoration for your Halloween party. Each intricate design requires a good deal of precise cutting, so they’re more for adults than kids, though.

Teenager Caleb Watson built one of the best LEGO displays we’ve ever seen. It’s a kinetic diorama of the opening scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark. It breaks the scene down into multiple segments, including fetching the idol, and the boulder rolling after Indiana Jones.

The artist Monde makes unique dioramas that are meant to be inserted between books in a bookshelf. The dioramas look like urban back-alleys, with air conditioners, pipes, windows and doors. They even have working lights.

Maladroit Modeller made a “dimensionally transcendental” diorama of the Twelfth Doctor’s TARDIS. The phone booth opens and you can see a model of the laboratory inside. The lab, which was made from scratch, is actually hiding in a space behind the phone booth.

Sideshow Collectibles‘ statue depicts Batman duking it out with Superman. Bats is armed with a Batarang and a kryptonite ring, while Supes has an interchangeable head that shows him firing off his heat vision. Their capes are made of fabric and are poseable.

To commemorate the passing of time, Japanese artist Tanaka Tatsuya creates a tiny diorama every day from household objects like paper and food and figurines. He’s been carefully crafting his ongoing (and mighty) miniature calendar project since April 2011.

Iron Studios made this highly detailed diorama set that depicts the T-Rex attack scene from the original Jurassic Park. The set is hand-painted and has LED-lit parts. It can be displayed with or without its environmental base. It also comes with a retro art card and a print.

Taiwanese artist Hank Cheng makes incredibly realistic dioramas and scale models. Whether he’s making vehicles, store exteriors or bedroom interiors, the finished work will make your jaw drop. Check out more of his work on his Instagram and Facebook pages.

National Geographic takes us inside the world of artists Lori Nix and Kathleen Gerber, who have been creating intricate miniature dioramas together for almost 15 years. The scenes portray a post-apocalyptic future in which buildings and material possessions have been abandoned.

In 1985, Andy Warhol made a satirical performance artwork by standing briefly on a plinth then walking away, leaving a lit but otherwise empty platform. Kidrobot tips its hat to this commentary on celebrity culture with this light up model.

Factory Entertainment’s insanely detailed 1:50 scale replica of the Batcave from the 1960’s Batman TV series. It features all the crazy computers, LED lighting, and a Batmobile on a rotating turntable. Limited to just 500 pieces. More photos on ToyArk.

Former rally racer Nabil “Billy” Karam is once again the Guinness World Record holder for the largest collection of model cars with 37,777 items, 10,000 more than the record he set in 2011. He also holds the record for largest collection of dioramas with 577.