As I finish up my latest Stardew Model (Pam's Trailer), I realize I never posted the final photos and project dialogue for some of the other builds on here. Whoops! I'll be adding these to my blog here to rectify this oversight. So, without further ado, let me formally introduce the Inaugural diorama build for the Stardew Valley diorama project: The Stardrop Saloon!
This project started it all--not just for the entire build series, but also my first foray into diorama building. I started this project back in September of 2020 as I looked for inspiration to craft during the pandemic. I learned a lot in this build--best methods for attaching things, what the boundaries of hotglue are (and that it's very, very hot), and planning ahead. I wouldn't say I'm an expert now, I'm still learning the fundamentals, but I am so happy this was my first project and it turned out so well.
One of my favorite things about building these things is I get to add some personal touches on all the sides of the build that aren't the front. Have you ever thought about what the back-side of the Saloon looked like? No? Me either--I built this thing on the fly and on whims. I learned after this build that thinking about all sides of the diorama needs to be considered as well as thinking about the rest of the game to add to the build.
I wanted to make this build fall/halloween themed so that I could add some decorations, and many of my future builds are also fall themed. Although it's one of the key features of the build, I didn't initially plan for an interior shot of the saloon and was a spur of the moment thing. I think I did pretty well! Inside, you can see Pam and Gus dressed up in costumes as a cat and pirate respectively. (hot glue trails were intentionally left for cobwebs).
In the back of the build, I have an Employees only door and shipping bin, as well as where the on/off button for the interior lights. Per the halloween decorations, there's a few ghosts made out of Kleenex hanging from the eaves and a zombie arm on top of the shipping bin that houses the button battery that powers the light (it hinges open too!).
On the last side of the build, we see the trash bin (the lid comes off), and a felt skeleton hanging on the side. The skeleton is posable and connected together with string. This was a super fun build to make, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
The build is mostly made out of recycled materials-- cardboard (roof, interior base), flat sheet shipping foam (bricks), balsa wood (shipping bin, frames and corner wood), and thin plastic takeout lid (big window). Not recycled materials are the worbla trash bin and signs and door which were 3D modeled in Fusion 360 and printed using my Ultimaker 3 machine. I unfortunately do not have the STL models anymore to share since those were on my old PC. The zombie arm and pumpkin out front is made out of clay and in a dark room the interior light shines through the pumpkin as well.
I did stream this build, but that was before I realized that Twitch deletes small streamer videos after 14 days. I only figured that out until mostly done with my next build. Which you'll see highlighted soon on here.
As always, stay crafty!
-Kate