I was building dioramas long before I knew what the word meant.
I remember constructing caves for my Mego figures with the brown throw pillows on my grandmother’s couch. The pillows were just stiff enough to stand on end, allowing me to create an endlessly shifting play terrain that only collapsed when someone sat on it. When I was a little older, I began to scrounge for more dedicated materials — cardboard boxes, old bird cages, discarded car parts and, if I was lucky, styrofoam. I built Rebel hideouts for my Star Wars figures, spaceships for my Micronauts, and, a little later, more elaborate “bases” for my younger brother’s G.I. Joe and Masters of the Universe figures. And while adolescence marked an end to my construction projects, I still retained my love of toys.
Flash-forward twenty-odd years and I am building bases again. Sure, they’re a little more involved than before, but the idea remains the same: action figure real estate. I can’t just have ten Iron Man figures standing on a shelf: they need to be in an armory. Batman needs a cave. And HYDRA? Well, that took a bit of figuring.
Inspiration for a new build can come from anywhere. Wife in the Anthill brought some boxes home with her one day, and this particular lid immediately caught my attention.
Its “shield” shape initially suggested some sort of Kryptonian structure. I briefly considered a Fortress of Solitude but wasn’t too enthused by the idea; I’m not a big Superman fan and wasn’t really interested in allocating that much work-space to him. I sketched out a few ideas using the box as my starting point, following its contours to create a diamond-shaped building.
When building dios, I find its better to go big — a larger build is simply more versatile and allows for a wider range of action figure display options or photos. I decided three of the building’s walls would be high and imposing, while the bottom two would, in fact, be cut away to make space. The resulting shape seemed suggestive of some military installation from the second World War, so I felt a supply yard or field in front was the way to go. Using insulation foam, I built the basic shape and glued it into the box.
It wasn’t until I had the basic structure assembled that I seriously began to consider what to do with the open area. While a field seemed like it might be a cool place to have figures brawl, it lacked a certain dynamism in relation to the building’s dimensions. It was then the idea of an enclosed pen or arena took shape. I had originally intended on balconies, but I decided if this was some sort of arena, then the seating should be recessed to prevent pit fighters from leaping up onto the structures.
I fleshed the basic frame out with some thinner foam and balsa wood, then base-coated the whole thing black. After that I used a variety of greens, grays, and browns to build up a “worn” look to the structure. To complement this color-scheme and further enhance the aged look, I added a number of dried vines to the walls of the building.
By now I was into the idea of this being a long-abandoned HYDRA base somewhere in the South Pacific. I envisioned it being lush and overgrown, with loads of dirt, rust, and moss everywhere. I decided to make the arena floor beach sand, in keeping with the “pulp” feel of the build.
I started by coating the foam base thoroughly with thinned Elmer’s Glue. I added a thin layer of sand, let it dry and then repeated the process using diluted glue in a spray bottle. Each time I did this I would flatten my palm and tamp the sand down as much as possible. After a few coats I had a fairly solid surface with consistent coverage. Strucker sent some grunts in to finish the job.
The sand was only meant to go so far, and I found myself wondering how to proceed. Thankfully, Wife in the Anthill found this remarkable mock ground-cover at our local Jo-Ann’s Fabric. It’s a coarse, matted hemp painted in rich browns and vivid greens, which made it the perfect counterpoint to the comparative drabness of the building.
Unfortunately, the ground cover was only available in 1′ swatches, so I had to place it carefully. To fill in seams that were less than seamless, I used some leftover craft moss. I was lucky in that both the color and texture proved complementary. The only hard part was keeping the grunts from smoking it.
Initially I had planned on using live plants for this project, but my dear wife encouraged me to splurge for a few inexpensive plastic plants instead. Fortunately I found some tropical-looking pieces on clearance, so it worked out very nicely.
I found a HYDRA logo online and altered it to fit my aesthetic. I was especially pleased with the green, which matched my paint job beautifully. Once the symbols were up, I added some random bits of landscaping and debris. In keeping with the dio-zeitgeist of today, I also installed some searchlights on top of the guard posts.
The only problem that remained was how to enclose the arena. Any sort of permanent structure would have made both figure posing and photography difficult. After a number of false starts, I hit upon a winner. I simply cut an old metal hamster cage to size and painted it. Its lightweight nature and flexibility made it the perfect choice for the enclosure. I can move it in and out of shots effortlessly and its solid construction means it won’t fall over, even in the sand.
All in all, HYDRA island was a quick and relatively easy build. I might have planned it a little better, but flying by the seat of my pants is always part of the thrill. I hope you enjoyed this look inside the process and that it inspires you to create your own action figure environments. Until the next time…
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