The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms - Lighthouse Attack!

[billn53]

Before there was Godzilla, there was . . . The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms ! ! !

 

I remember watching this movie on an old black & white television when I was a child. Scared the bejeezus out of me! Perhaps the most famous scene is when the Rhedosaurus destroyed a lighthouse:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've been wanting to build a diorama of this for a long time, and now X-Plus Models has released a kit in 1/72 scale:

 

 

 

X-Plus's base is on the small side, and I want this to be a bigger, better diorama. I'll be using the kit's Rhedosaurus and lighthouse, and will add a few other items on a larger base that includes the shore and ocean. Items I've built so far are posted in the 'Science Fiction and Realspace" RFI forum, here:

 

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235142790-the-beast-from-20000-fathoms-172-rhedosaurus-and-lighthouse/

 

 

This thread will cover building the base for my diorama.  I'll be cribbing heavily from this YouTube video:

 

 

 

Let's get started!

 

First, I found a picture frame on sale at my local craft store that will be just the right size (about 12.5 x 18 inches). I inserted 1/2-inch pink extruded polystyrene (XPS) foam into the frame and decided where to place my items:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I sanded down the edge of the foam to create a shoreline:

 

 

 

and glued the foam in place with Gorilla glue.

 

 

Next, I traced an outline for the rocky cliff on two thick pieces of expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam and cut them out with a hot wire cutter.

 

 

 

These were also glued together with Gorilla glue. Gorilla glue expands as it sets, so I put weights on the foam layers to keep them in place while the glue dried:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This should give an idea of what I'm shooting for:

 

 

 

I'll cover the sides of the white foam layers with plaster rocks, using Woodland Scenics molds:

 

 

 

 

So far, I'm just barely started. Lots more to follow!

 

 

 

 

 

[billn53]

We have rocks!

 

 

 

 

But, I'm going to need more than that . . . .

[billn53]

Rocks going on. I'm using thick plaster of paris to adhere them to the foam and to fill-in gaps between the individual casts.

 

 

 

 

 

[billn53]

Nearly done building the rock face, just a few empty spots to fill in. Then, I'll paint and weather them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[billn53]

I noticed that the plaster of paris, where I'd used it to fill in gaps between the rock molds, had too smooth a surface. To mitigate this, I brushed this product over the exposed plaster to add a rough texture:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also applied liberal coats of Woodland Scenics 'Flex Paste' to the base to seal it and make it resin-proof. I wouldn't want the resin I'm going to pour for the ocean to disappear under the rocks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used the hot probe of my foam cutting gear to carve out recesses for the LED wiring and 9-volt battery:

 

 

 

Next, I used Sculptamold Modeling Compound to create the terrain at the top of the diorama:

 

 

 

 

 

While the Sculptamold was still soft, I pressed my Beast into position to create depressions at its feet. I did the same with the house to ensure the ground conforms to the foundation walls:

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's about it for now. I'll soon be traveling for business and thus it will be a week or so before my next update.

[billn53]

Call me a liar, but here's another update before I head off on my business trip.

 

I added texture to the ground using AK Interactive "Rough Terrain" texture paste:

 

 

 

 

 

I also added a couple more rocks as outcroppings in the terrain:

 

 

 

 

and some rock fall at the base of the cliff:

 

 

 

 

Here are another couple of pics to give an idea of how the diorama will look when finished:

 

 

 

 

 

 

One task I'm not looking forward to is consolidating and simplifying the wiring for the LEDs. Right now, there's much more wire than I need or have room for!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[opus999]

This is fantastic stuff Bill!  I still think of your Mountains of Madness diorama.  I'm curious to see how this one turns out.

[billn53]

2 hours ago, opus999 said:

This is fantastic stuff Bill!  I still think of your Mountains of Madness diorama.  I'm curious to see how this one turns out.

Yes, the Mountains of Madness diorama will be hard to beat. What could be better than giant blind albino penguins?

[opus999]

23 hours ago, billn53 said:

Yes, the Mountains of Madness diorama will be hard to beat. What could be better than giant blind albino penguins?

Indeed!

[Mr T]

Fantastic work so far. I also remember seeing the film when I was a child. I have it somewhere on my computer. The British knock off, whose name escapes me at present, from a couple of years later suffered from a budget that only allowed for distinctly amateur special effects and Sea Hawks that had a propeller sound, or something similar. 

[John_W]

1 hour ago, Mr T said:

The British knock off, whose name escapes me at present, from a couple of years later suffered from a budget that only allowed for distinctly amateur special effects and Sea Hawks that had a propeller sound, or something similar. 

I remember a film called "Gorgo". Scientists capture a sea monster, take it to London to put it on show and then discover it is a juvenile and it's mother is coming to rescue it, destroying Tower Bridge and other landmarks.

[billn53]

4 hours ago, John_W said:

I remember a film called "Gorgo”

Yes, that’s the one that comes to mind. 

[Mr T]

That might be the one, going to have to look it up. The best(?) 'effect' was the sinking of a ferry. It looked like it a model in a bath with what are quite clearly contemporary Dinky Toys (no window glass, unlike Corgi). There are also some crowd shots  supposedly in different areas with same Ford Popular/Anglia parked up. 'The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms' is in a different league. 

[billn53]

 

[Mr T]

Found it, it was called 'The Giant Behemoth' from I958. Plot is virtually the same as the Beast etc, but transferred to London. It was produced by the same person, with Willis O'Brien doing the Special effects. It was obviously made to a small budget, and O'Brien had not really moved on since King Kong. Watch a Dragonfly turn into a Whirlwind. 

[billn53]

 

[lleo]

Fantastic kit. Sci-fi is my all time favourite genre and Harryhausen was a great. Talking about fear, you should watch The monster that challenged the world. I remember when I watched at the cinema, in a certain scene people screamed in fear.

[billn53]

One other childhood creature-feature I want to do a diorama for is “THEM!”  I already have the giant ants and some other items I’ll need, all I need is the time to build it. 
 

 

[Peter2]

Regarding your planned diorama of "Them!": as that was a movie shot in black and white, I wonder if the colour palette for the diorama could be limited to black and white - and various greys to relieve the monotony ... just a thought? (I'm not Ant-i-colour movies, but it would be a different perspective ....) 

[billn53]

Just returned from my trip last night, and this morning I resumed work on the 'Beast' diorama by painting the rock cliff-face. I won't go into details on how I did it, as I simply copied what I found in the video posted at the top of this thread. Here's the result:

 

Overview:

 

 

 

Some closed-up photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[billn53]

One more little task completed today - building a trailer for the little rowboat. It's an HO-scale white metal kit that took a bit of work to get it looking acceptable.

 

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow, I will bite the bullet and break out my soldering gun to tackle my mess of LED lighting.

[billn53]

Remember this mess?

 

 

 

 

I spent the better part of today with wires, connectors, and a soldering iron trying to get the above under control. First, I wired the battery connector with a push-button switch and two micro connectors - one for the house's porch light, the other to power the lighthouse:

 

 

 

I constructed a wiring harness running through the trench from the house to the lighthouse, with micro connectors on each end. The house-end has one connector for the battery, the wiring going to the lighthouse splits into two paths: the first for the window lights, and the other for the 'rotating' beacon:

 

 

 

 

I had to enlarge the trench to make room for the circuit (the big black thing below) that makes the lighthouse LED ramp up and down as if it were rotating:

 

 

 

 

Things look pretty messy inside the house with the battery in place, but it's manageable:

 

 

 

 

To be safe, I tested and re-tested the circuitry each time I soldered a connection. My caution paid off, as everything lit up properly on the first full-up trial!

 

 

 

 

Next step will be to fill in the trench with foam scraps and blend it in with the surrounding terrain using Sculptamold and AK Interactive's 'Rough Terrain' textured acrylic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[billn53]

I filled in the trench with foam scraps and fixed them in place with Woodland Scenics Flex Paste:

 

 

 

 

I then used Sculptamold and the 'Rough Terrain' acrylic to blend everything in with the surrounding terrain:

 

 

 

 

During down times, while waiting for the various products above to dry, I worked on a few little details. First, since I will have the lighthouse keepers running for their lives, I thought the lighthouse door should be ajar. I scratch built a new door using the existing, molded-in one as a guide, and glued it in place:

 

 

 

 

I didn't want to cut away the existing door as that would reveal the mass of wiring inside the lighthouse. Thus, I simulated the 'opening' with black paint. For this, I tried a new product from Green Stuff World advertised as "The Blackest Black"

 

 

 

 

It definitely is black! Even using a flashlight, the original door can't be seen at all!

 

 

 

 

I also painted up a few 3D-printed items that I found on eBay. For the truck's bed, I added a cooler, gas can, and a couple of garden tools. I also painted a wheelbarrow and trashcan that I'll place near the house:

 

 

 

 

Finally, I added license plates to the pickup truck, so it's now street-legal 😄

 

 

 

 

That's all for now. Tomorrow is the first day of fall semester at the University, so from here on out progress will be slower.

[billn53]

I painted the ground with an appropriate tan color:

 

 

 

Coated the surface with scenic glue, and added a layer of sand (as described in the video on my first post):

 

 

 

 

She's shaping up now!

 

 

 

 

Next, I'll add the static grass and vegetation.

[5huggy]

51 minutes ago, billn53 said:

She's shaping up now!

Not being funny ! ( 😉 ) but how do you know it's a "SHE"  🤣

 

But yes it is outstanding buddy! 

Edited September 6 by 5huggy