Shadowbox

Subject:
"You Shall Not Pass"
Kit Used: Games Workshop 54mm

Article & Shadowbox by:
Ted Kalinowski
Pictures & Editing: R. Forys

Background: A local hobby shop that caters to war gamers recently announced that they would host a contest for the best Lord of the Rings "Battle Diorama". The rules were pretty simple, first the project could only use GAMES WORKSHOP figures, and second, the entire diorama could be no larger than 18 cubic inches. There was no shortage of ideas running through my mind, however the problem was that the scheduled contest date was only one month away. I told the store manager of my project idea, but also told him that there was no way I could complete it only one month. He liked my idea quit a bit, and suggested that if I couldn't make the store deadline, that I should aim for the national competition, "GamesDay Canada" in Toronto, which was being held in three months.

The project idea was to recreate a scene from the Lord of the Rings battle between Gandalf and the Balrog at the bridge at Khazad-Dum. What would make project special is that Gandalf's staff would be lit up, and the entire Balrog would be illuminated to simulate the creature on fire. Also, the whole scene would be encased in a shadowbox where the lights would increase the dramatic effect.

The Figures: The Gandalf and Balrog figures are produced by GAMES WORKSHOP and come in a box set called, "The battle at Khazad-Dum". Both figures are metal except for the Balrog's wings which are plastic. Gandalf's staff was completely removed from the figure, but the tip of the staff was saved. A hole was then drilled through the hand and also into the staff tip, and a new staff was fashioned from styrene tubing. The new staff was next sliced from the tip to the hand position, and wire was threaded from the back of the arm, through the hand, through the staff to the tip, where a 1.2mm clear light bulb would illuminate the staff tip. The figure was then painted with acrylic paints to match the reference photos I had obtained.

The task of lighting up the Balrog, which was all metal, was much more difficult. The solution was to make rubber molds of all the Balrog's metal body parts, head, spine, tail, arms, and body halves, and cast them from translucent tan resin. The plastic wings were left alone, because they wouldn't be internally lit anyway. The cast resin parts were then drilled and hollowed out to accept the lighting. A total of (7) 1.7mm clear light bulbs were then placed in the castings. One was inserted in the head and in each shoulder, two behind the sword, and two more were placed behind the spine. I also placed one red and one orange flickering bulb in the body cavity, to simulate a burning fire. Once all of the wiring was run through the legs, the body parts were then super glued together. After everything tested OK, it was time to paint. All areas that the lights shouldn't show through were painted flat black, and then dry brushed medium green, brown and red to give the creature some highlights. The areas that the lights would show through were detailed with red and orange inks to enhance the color of the resin.

The Shadowbox: The box had to be built to the full 18 cubic inches the rules allowed for, so I would be able to fit the 12 inch wing span of the Balrog. It was constructed of Ľ" thick floor underlayment nailed to ˝" x ˝" wood braces. The front frame and rear cover were designed to be removable to allow access. The interior of the box was spray painted flat black, and the exterior was painted with black semi-gloss enamel wood paint. The hardest part may have been finding the right picture frame for the front of the project. A good amount of time was spent running around hitting all the stores, trying to choose amongst hundreds of frames. Finally, one was picked that has that Lord of the Rings, Middle Earth deep mountain cavern look and feel to it. No other frame found had quite the look, and, of course, it had to be the most expensive! Next, matting matching the frame with a 5"x7" cutout was then inserted into the frame. This helps to ensure that the viewer gets the proper prospective of the depicted scene. Finally, a bronze plaque with the project title "You Shall Not Pass" engraved in an appropriate font was obtained and mounted on the matting. I also installed an inner frame called a "reveal". This frame allows you to set the scene further back into the box, which cuts down on room light spilling in, and focuses the viewer's attention even more. The reveal, which is basically a square funnel covered in black velvet, also provides a place to mount or hide lights to further illuminate the scene, and in this case cast light on the front of the Balrog.

[The mountain cavern stone walls and bridge were made from 1 inch thick blue foam insulation sheets.]

To create the mountain cavern and the stone bridge inside the shadow box, 1" thick blue foam insulation sheets were used. The sheets were roughly cut to a profile shape of the cavern, and then stacked one on top of the other to create that rock layer effect. Using a ˝" wide chisel, the foam walls were actually chipped away to get a natural rock look. The rough texture of the bridge was obtained by lightly sanding the area with coarse sandpaper, and the tunnel exit stone arch was carved with a #11 X-Acto knife. The effect of looking up at the Balrog was achieved by creating the whole cave and bridge on a 10 degree angle from the viewer's prospective. Finally the entire cavern was painted with a 50/50 mixture of water and flat black acrylic paint, which adhered very well to the foam and negated the need for a primer coat. The whole scene was then drybrushed with shades of grey, brown and green to bring out the highlights and depth of the rock formation. With the box complete, the two figures were then mounted in position using 5 minute epoxy, and when dry, some minor final touch-ups were performed.

[Behind the scene view, showing light placement and wiring.]

The last thing to do was to install some scene lighting. A small fill spotlight, created from mini flashlight parts, was used to illuminate Gandalf. Also, two medium size spotlights, one with a red and the other with an orange flickering bulb were used to illuminate the Balrog and cast a menacing shadow on the cave wall. The entire project was finished with 5 days to spare, and to perform any final adjustments. I am proud to say that I was awarded the Gamesday Canada 2002, Lord of the Rings Fellowship Film Scene Golden Demon Award.

[A low light view showing the illuminated monster and Gandalf's staff.]

Special Thanks To:
Zenon Kalinowski, My Father, for the basic box construction.
Brian Fletcher, Heritage Scale Models, for figure and scenery painting advice.
Ken Osen, Hudson and Allen Studio, for expert advice on shadow box layout.
Michigan Historical Miniatures Club members, for their inspiration and advice.