My next project: Plastic toy soldiers diorama

Ever since I was a kid I was fascinated with anything related to World War 2, and with it are the scale model kits like Hasegawa and Tamiya that became so popular with hobby enthusiasts back in the 1980's. But what attracted me most to these scale model kits are the ones that were already assembled, painted and displayed in all its intricate glory... most especially if they were placed in dioramas that depicted battle scenarios. But as a kid, the closest thing that I came to enjoying my scale model kits were assembling them with plastic cement... period. Never had the chance to buy myself enamel paints, paint brushes plus other stuff needed for this hobby, for one thing even back in the 80's, they were already very expensive, and second, I'm still a kid who's mindset was all scale model kits were toys though they were intended to be displayed and appreciated, nothing more, nothing less.


Looking back at the numerous scale model kits that I had (and lost as well due to reckless handling as a kid), there is this little feeling of regret and how I wished I never opened the kits and instead waited a few years (or more) before I can get to assemble and paint them with precision and care. Now that I'm nearing my late-30's, scale model kits are still very much around yet they are still, as always, pricey! As they all say "some things never change," and getting into this hobby of amateur toy photography only rekindled my lost enthusiasm for scale models and dioramas altogether. But this time, there are no detailed, intricately painted scale model figures involved nor pricey scale model sandbags, walls, barb wires, lamp posts or destroyed buildings that you commonly see in dioramas. All I need is my camera, a good corner somewhere in the house, good lighting and a bag full of these plastic toy soldiers you can buy for less than a hundred Pesos.


I started to take some photos of these plastic toy soldiers in "diorama" action earlier this evening as practice shots, and the set of photos you see below are just some of them. These are just samples and I'll be tweaking this setup a little bit more to make it more interesting and all I need is a couple of days to work on things before I finally get this project in full swing.


(*Click on the images for larger view and more photos inside)