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Darkness Falls Update – More Dio-Story Set Pics

So the construction on my diorama sets for Darkness Falls have been continuing on, even if I haven’t said much about it recently.  I had three fairly elaborate sets to build, and I think they’re pretty much squared away.  I need to add some trimming to the throne room, but the foundations are all set.  The three sets are as follows:

  • COBRA Foyer

Basically a large cavernous room the focus of a pretty major shoot out.  The last element I really needed were sandbags, and as I should have expected, Marauder, Inc. came through!  They carry some great PTE sand bags that I used for the set, though I did clean them out of all their stock.  I need to pick up a few more once they get more in.

  • COBRA Tech Center

This was pretty straight forward, thanks to Joe Amaro’s fantastic G.I. Joe Base templates.  Some foamcore, some print cartridges, glue sticks, and I was able to cobble together a pretty effective COBRA tech center.  Tried to make it appear as if it was an underground room, though it didn’t come out quite as good as I’d hoped.  Still, I think it’ll be workable.

  • COBRA Throne Room

Anyone notice a theme here?  :shifty:  The throne room is fairly obvious in purpose, I’d think.  I know it doesn’t look like much now, but I plan on adding some neat accessories to hopefully spice it up a bit.  Once that’s done, I think I feel good enough about these to lock ’em up until I’m ready to shoot in them next year.  Check out the pics below!

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G.I. Joe: The Rise of COBRA mini dio-story by yours truly

Warning – This is gonna get long.  If you just want to check out the latest project, click here.

Without a shadow of a doubt the most asked question I get is “when are you going to do more dio-stories?”.  And well, at least, for the moment, I’ve got an answer, though it might be one that ticks off some folks.

Ever since I began my Dio-Story adventures way back in 2002, it was because I was inspired.  The new Real American Hero Collection figures did it for me back then, sparking me into my massive review archive and monstrous dio-story universe that has spanned 7 years, hundreds of characters, and lots of obnoxious special effects (not to mention many an oversized blade of grass representing mysterious “jungles” in different parts of the world…  :shifty: ).  But, as the years roll on and real life takes its place amongst my hobbies, time grew shorter, and for me to tell the types of stories I wanted to tell, well…it was going to take a lot more time and a LOT more effort than I was putting in.

But I stand before you, still determined to finish what I started.  However, this little project is NOT a continuation of what I started.  Confused yet?  Check out the “Read the Full Story” link to…well…read the full story.

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GIJCC Newsletter Dio-Story sneak peek

I’ve talked a bit on here before (though definitely not enough) about my buddy Capolan.  Without him, I wouldn’t hesitate to say, my dio-stories probably would have never gotten to the point they are now.  He is a wizard with foamcore at small scales and can actually build things that I cannot even think about.  Everything from the materials, the glue application and the detail work he has down to a science, and with foamcore he can generate things that feel like they were pushed through a factory.  Designed for looking good, but built to “play with” they are awesome backdrops for my dio-stories, which is why I continue to use him to this day.

His latest masterpiece is something that will be featured pretty heavily in my next G.I. Joe Collectors’ Club newsletter dio-story, so I figured I’d take this opportunity to do a few little preview shots for your viewing pleasure.  Check out the images below for some shots of the action that will be taking place in the July issue!

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But of course this wouldn’t have even been possible without Capolan’s fantastic work on the office and research lab portion of the set.  Check out some images in better light below:

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Cap’s work always amazes.  I know most of my recent work has been in the Collectors’ Club newsletter, and I hope members are enjoying what they’re reading.  I promise that I am still hacking away at my main universe as well (which will also feature this set heavily).