Parking Lot Diorama 1:18th Scale

When collecting models, having a dedicated space for those models is a must, especially in 1:18th scale as they take up premium real estate in your house don’t they? I’m certainly near the point where I can’t display any more, how about you?

Anyway there comes a point where we slow down buying models due to space and this brings on the feeling that we need to buy accessories to enhance our models, these being figures, tools, garage equipment and much more are available to buy these days.. these purchases lead to one thing normally a diorama being planned and eventually built.

So that’s something I’ve really considered in the past as there are some really good DIY ones out there. But it takes time, money, patience and skill.. not everyone has all of these in abundance including me. So when I learned about this one I had to order one to go on my shelf, I’m glad I did.

So you may have seen Gfans or Tomica have done Dioramas in the past and present but those are 1:64 scale, but generally not 1:18th ones. This one is unbranded as far as I know, its large enough to fit a 1:18th Mercedes Sprinter in so its a good size and should fit most, if not all 1:18th scale model cars, its constructed of wood with 2 wooden sides, top and bottom pieces are also wooden. the two pieces of Perspex sit in runners to form the side and front open sections of the Diorama.

The inside has green floor and markings with wheel stops at the back of the lot, there is a very cool CCTV camera which is poseable and looks very nice, even looks like you can see the CCD part of the camera. There is a opening fire hose compartment with a fire hose inside, the piping runs up the side and the 90 degree angles are 3D printed, that pipe runs only the ceiling along with the air venting which is all made of metal parts, a very nice touch. There is also another white pipe which may be intended for the air vent system, in the midst of the industrial looking pipework and venting is a LED strip light which looks like a proper light not just strips stuck to the ceiling. My only minor gripe is that there is a big connector block in the ceiling and I feel that it could have been done using soldering and heat shrink tubing , its only minor though and really doesn’t matter that much to the overall look of the diorama.

When you put a model in the diorama its easy to see why people build realistic dioramas, they really do add some realistic aspect to the cars, with the light on it looks fantastic and I would say there is enough room for a figure or two and maybe some garage accessories. The build quality is solid and has a hand built feel to it. The top is solid enough to have a couple of diecast on top of it, however I would not put any pressure or significant weight on the top due to it only having 2 fixed sides.

I liked this from the moment I unpacked it and put one of my models in it. It is a well made product and considering there is not many of these types of diorama’s about make it a must have centre piece for your favourite model.