This dramatic mini diorama looks great and was very simple to build. I started with the Konami Trading kit of Sky One. I simply glued the tail to the main body and that was it. The kit is pre-painted. For months the little Sky One graced my shelf on its little black display stand. I realized that I wanted to display the UFO interceptor more dramatically.

I thought the jet blasting out of the water would be perfect. The base measures 4½" by 5" and is ¾“ thick. The water is celluclay, acrylic paint and Future floor polish. I’m working on a more in depth article on how to model water, but here are the basics:

Mix celluclay and water until you get an oatmeal like consistency. Sculpt the water and waves with your hands. After the material is set up (about 12 hours) you use your favorite paint. I used Apple Barrel acrylics, but oils would work fine. Iused a mix of blues and greens, then dry brushed the whitecaps. After the paint was dry, I sprayed on several coats of Future. That is the ingredient that will give you a wet look.

After the Future had cured, I drilled two small holes about 1/8th inch into the rocket exhausts of the model and corresponding holes into the base. I used epoxy to mount two dowels into the base. I mounted the Sky One model to the dowels. I made slight adjustments as the epoxy cured.

Once the model and supports were set I used white glue to attach cotton balls to the dowels. I worked the cotton to make it look like fluffy billows of smoke and steam. I used enough cotton to conceal the dowel supports. Reference photos of any rocket or shuttle launch will come in handy at this point. The last thing I did was paint the edge of the base black.

Image: Top view

Image: Launching Head-On!

Image: From above