TRON Legacy - Flynn's Arcade 1:12 scale diorama

Hello fellow TRPF and model makers. I am a huge TRON Legacy fan and have seen the movie about 3-4 times now (IMAX edition) and there are so many things I can imagen that I want from that movie, and one is ofc the Ducati Sport 1000 used in the movie. I can not afford a 1:1 scale of that bike just yet, but I can afford a 1:12 scale version. The one I am talking about is the one Autoart models produce. It needs some changes and that is what I am planing now. I contacted them in order to get some help in the matter and on standby for answer.

Here is a collection of different angles from the movie.



I am also planing a 1:6 lightcycle diorama fight between C.L.U and Sam, but that is only in the planing stage.



Any questions, just ask.

I had a conversation with Autoarts regarding decals. Non of the models they offer comes in black, meaning it will be a custom job for the paint and the decals. I do not atm have any solutions for this but will figure something out.

Re: TRON Legacy - Ducati Sport 1000 "Cafe Racer" and 1:6 scale Lightcycle Battle Dior

RPF member Mr. Nagata came through with a good tip. Check out the post and level of details on the decals.

http://www.therpf.com/f11/custom-water-slide-decals-57768/#post795370

Re: TRON Legacy - Ducati Sport 1000 "Cafe Racer" and 1:6 scale Lightcycle Battle Dior

Okay, I just decided that the Ducati need a 1:12 scale diorama and what is not more suited for that non other than the Flynn's Arcade as seen in the movie before the grid

Re: TRON Legacy - Ducati Sport 1000 "Cafe Racer" and 1:6 scale Lightcycle Battle Dior

I just bought a set of Flynn's Arcade tokens. They will be used in the diorama

Re: TRON Legacy - Ducati Sport 1000 "Cafe Racer" and 1:6 scale Lightcycle Battle Dior

As all of you Tron fans already know, the arcade is a real existing house and Google Maps is a great source of information regarding details about the house. Flynn's arcade. Here is some more info, but not as helpful, so I think I need to send an email and ask for help regarding the building size.

The other thing is that I have decided to make the neon sign out of el wire and I found a great source with different thickness which allow me to get really really close.



So lets move on with that email.

-------- edit --------

Here's the link to the el wire company I am considering using
http://www.thatscoolwire.com/wizard/

Re: TRON Legacy - Ducati Sport 1000 "Cafe Racer" and 1:6 scale Lightcycle Battle Dior

I myself picked up a 1:18 scale Ducati Black Monster die cast vehicle I picked up off of eBay to use for a Sam Flynn custom I've been planning to make (basically, a Real World Sam Flynn figure). I know it may be far off from the Ducati used in the film, but I'm not complaining.

Here's a picture of the real Black Monster.

Re: TRON Legacy - Ducati Sport 1000 "Cafe Racer" and 1:6 scale Lightcycle Battle Dior

CB2001 said:

I myself picked up a 1:18 scale Ducati Black Monster die cast vehicle I picked up off of eBay to use for a Sam Flynn custom I've been planning to make (basically, a Real World Sam Flynn figure). I know it may be far off from the Ducati used in the film, but I'm not complaining.

Here's a picture of the real Black Monster.

Click to expand...

Hi. The bike used was a Ducati Sport 1000 with custom tail lights and exhaust system. The Autoart 1:12 scale is the only one out there of this bike, as far as I know. So I will make it screen accurate, aka paint it black, replace the decals, make the Hull building in 1:12 scale also as screen accurate as possible including pavement, the street and lamppost. Its the "Before the grid" diorama. The neon sign will be made with el wire. So I contacted or rather sent a request to Culver City and asked for measurements of the building. That is how far I have come.

Re: TRON Legacy - Ducati Sport 1000 "Cafe Racer" and 1:6 scale Lightcycle Battle Dior

This is a reproduction of the tail light used on the Ducati and is delivered by JC/PAKBIKES Sport Classic Specialties



The 1:12 scale by Autoart is $55-70,- on ebay and is a quality detailed model, so I would recommend it

Re: TRON Legacy - Ducati Sport 1000 "Cafe Racer" and 1:6 scale Lightcycle Battle Dior

- Here is a nice 3 part series about different materials. Since I am new to scale modelling a house I must locate open source information like what is available in this series. I will need a structure and ontop of that structure I will use self drying clay that can be painted.

Part 1.

Part 2.

Part 3.

Re: TRON Legacy - Ducati Sport 1000 "Cafe Racer" and 1:6 scale Lightcycle Battle Dior

- This is going to be a fun project and I am not copying anyone else's work. "Virgin ground"

Re: TRON Legacy - Ducati Sport 1000 "Cafe Racer" and 1:6 scale Lightcycle Battle Dior

Oneminde said:

Hi. The bike used was a Ducati Sport 1000 with custom tail lights and exhaust system. The Autoart 1:12 scale is the only one out there of this bike, as far as I know. So I will make it screen accurate, aka paint it black, replace the decals, make the Hull building in 1:12 scale also as screen accurate as possible including pavement, the street and lamppost. Its the "Before the grid" diorama. The neon sign will be made with el wire. So I contacted or rather sent a request to Culver City and asked for measurements of the building. That is how far I have come.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, though I knew that the Black Monster wasn't the same model as the motorcycle in the film. But, I couldn't pass it up as it was the closest thing I could find at the time I purchased it. I definitely wish you the best of luck in your endeavor and can't wait to check out the end result.

Re: TRON Legacy - Ducati Sport 1000 "Cafe Racer" and 1:6 scale Lightcycle Battle Dior

CB2001 said:

Thanks for the info, though I knew that the Black Monster wasn't the same model as the motorcycle in the film. But, I couldn't pass it up as it was the closest thing I could find at the time I purchased it. I definitely wish you the best of luck in your endeavor and can't wait to check out the end result.

Click to expand...

Its a long process and many parts need to fall into place, so I have something that will kickstart the project today. Update will follow

Re: TRON Legacy - Ducati Sport 1000 "Cafe Racer" and 1:6 scale Lightcycle Battle Dior

This image shows the scene in the movie that will be the inspiration for the diorama. I am also working out the size of the building - more to come.....

Re: TRON Legacy - Ducati Sport 1000 "Cafe Racer" and 1:6 scale Lightcycle Battle Dior

- I have spent some time trying to get a rough height of the building. The reference is included in the image. I am well aware that the angle is not straight on the building and that such an angle will make the building look taller than it is in reality. My calculation gives this building a height of circa 850 cm or 27.8871 ft. Scaled down to 1:12 and I am dealing with 70.83 cm or 27.88 inch according to. I have included a picture and a stand alone link to the picture. The scale height is one of the reasons I need to cut portions off from the building and street, after all, what matters is the Flynn's corner and the Ducati, but I also want to keep the entire facade of that section to give a sense of a complete building.

Re: TRON Legacy - Ducati Sport 1000 "Cafe Racer" and 1:6 scale Lightcycle Battle Dior

Very interesting, Oneminde. You're certainly doing your research, and you've definitely put a lot of thought into it.

Re: TRON Legacy - Ducati Sport 1000 "Cafe Racer" and 1:6 scale Lightcycle Battle Dior

CB2001 said:

Very interesting, Oneminde. You're certainly doing your research, and you've definitely put a lot of thought into it.

Click to expand...

Well, what is the point in doing anything unless you try your best right. I am looking at the distressed building in the movie and wondering if I should try to copy that or keep it at a more moderate level, sort of a blend between when the arcade was open and the 2010 version. Super clean is not natural anyway, so there need to be some discolouration, colour gradations, a hint of shadows, even the bricks varies.

When it comes to soot and dark areas that is weathered, that is easy. 3M™ Dry Coat Guide Coat (09560) - its a fine black powder used in the automotive industry that one apply on the area you applied spackle or body filler to reveal cracks, dents and hills / valleys on. I am sure that if you or I in this case ask a nearby car painting company if you can purchase some I am sure they will help, if not, this product is available online. Applying it is not hard either, get 2-3 different make up brushes - hard and soft - and start applying it slowly step by step. Its hard to get off, so its recommended that one apply less than one need and add afterwords until one reaches the weathered level one desires. I can also collect natural soot and fine sand to apply it, that will also give it a natural weathered look.

When it comes to the leaf's, I am considering getting some from the outside - it is autumn where I live - and actually use that, cut out smaller leaf's, but that is organic material that in time will rot, so I better make digital scans of a bunch of leaf's, scale them down and print them out and glue them in place, its after all, just a few hundred leaf's or so... lol.

Distressed paint, flakes etc shouldn't be a problem either. But there is one thing I will not do and that is the blinking or flashing neon, I will just keep it all off or on. Its after all a captured moment in time like a 3D picture.

The Ducati will get a real leather seat instead of just plastic, it will be all black with the correct font on the gas tank and a fully working head light and tail light just like in the movie.

And I think that is it for today. I am still hoping someone in Culver city council or alike will come forth with blueprints and info, if not, then I am forced to use the reference's I get my hands on and that is less than what I want. But I nailed down one more thing and that is the areal photage which reveal's the curvature of the corner and some other reference pictures, and that helps me greatly.



You can view full size here

I changed the tread name to more suit the "new" purpose since I originally were only suppose to recreate the Ducati, the Flynn's arcade diorama became something more than I planned for. S*** happens

As for which one, I recommend doing what you feel the most comfortable doing. I mean, as awesome as it would be to have a Flynn's Arcade facade circa 1982, if you're doing a TRON: Legacy diorama with the Flynn's Arcade, basically recreating a scene from the film, then going with the aged/distressed appearance would be best (or going with the digital recreation seen on the Grid in the film).

If you did attempt a go-between, the closest I could recommend is what the Arcade could have looked like on January 15, 1990 would be the one I'd recommend (basically, according to the Flynn Lives ARG, that was the date that Flynn's Arcade was closed down, and that there was a major "last call" play of the games, in which a lot of people came out to play the games, including the TRON arcade game seen in the film). But, it's kind of hard to imagine what everything would have looked like at that moment.

CB2001 said:

As for which one, I recommend doing what you feel the most comfortable doing. I mean, as awesome as it would be to have a Flynn's Arcade facade circa 1982, if you're doing a TRON: Legacy diorama with the Flynn's Arcade, basically recreating a scene from the film, then going with the aged/distressed appearance would be best (or going with the digital recreation seen on the Grid in the film).

If you did attempt a go-between, the closest I could recommend is what the Arcade could have looked like on January 15, 1990 would be the one I'd recommend (basically, according to the Flynn Lives ARG, that was the date that Flynn's Arcade was closed down, and that there was a major "last call" play of the games, in which a lot of people came out to play the games, including the TRON arcade game seen in the film). But, it's kind of hard to imagine what everything would have looked like at that moment.

Click to expand...

True that. Your remarks about the timeline and when is very valid. One thing that makes the decision easier is the Ducati. Its only featured before and after the grid and both Sam and Kevin likes their Ducati (café racer) and the Ducati is very important in the context of this diorama. It is after all the "showstopper" while the arcade is the environment, while one might think it is the arcade that is the main attraction, its not. Considering the SIZE of the diorama, it makes one wonder ofc, that I understand. So while the ducati is the main attraction, I feel that the arcade both deserves equal attention and the neon sign was the trigger for the diorama. "I need a Flynn's neon sign in my life" and in time, a Tron arcade.

So with that being said, I will go for the scene I posted a picture of earlier and attempt a replication as close as I possibly can come. And its a "tall order" standing 27.88 inches from the pavement to the roof in real life. I have never done a diorama - never. I have never replicated anything in my life, so all of this is new to me, I think that is important as I progress. But that it is new will not stop me and do not mean I will fail in terms of accuracy, only that it will probably take me a bit longer than someone with 10 years of experience. However, painting and putting things together is not and I am a detail fetish, so I do not give things an okay unless I find it worthy of my approval.

The positive part is that while it will look expensive in the end, the materials will not be. Foamboards, balsa wood, glue, aluminium, paint, dust and dirt from outside (nature), plexiglass, el wire & transformer, incandescent bulb for the lamppost, clay and concrete, fake water etc etc. I am sure that I can get all that stuff for $150-200,- + the Ducati. The cost is not the issue, the doing is the one thing that is going to be time consuming... lol