Ah, the Iceberg Lounge! A wretched hive of scum and… Wait, that’s not right. Well, it’s still full of ne’er-do-wells. It’s just a bit classier than one might expect.
I’ve always enjoyed the interpretation of Penguin as an underworld crime lord posing as a respectable business man. It gives him a sane outlook that most of the other Rogues lack. Using a club like the Iceberg Lounge as a front is exactly what he needs. I, for one, needed it on my shelf!
This project knocked around in my head for years. It wasn’t until I constructed my Darkseid throne room that the Lounge started to really take shape, though. I used a similar technique for both: the curved wall acting as a backdrop. In this case, I opted to create the details of the backdrop in Illustrator. You can see in one of the WIP photos that I printed out the backdrop on several sheets of paper in order to test the size. I then had the full backdrop printed as a poster at PosterBrain. Some double-sided tape holds it in place.
Most of the Lounge was built using illustration board. The curved portions are usually poster board. The “box” was sized to fit on my current shelves. The “apron” part of the floor extends beyond the edge of the shelf, and thus I built it as a separate piece.
The railing is made from styrene rods. I heated them in hot water and then bent them in an approximate shape of the platform curve. The vertical rods are held in place from beneath the illustration board floor via blobs of magic sculpt.
The chairs are made from a styrene sheet and rods. The two lampposts are made from wooden craft parts. The tables are cut from a cardboard mailing tube, and wrapped in paper. The table tamps are tiny plastic balls painted white.
The seals are from the eponymous Schleich line of animal toys. I had intended to cut a piece of plexi-glass under the iceberg to facilitate the illusion of water, but there’s a reason most people don’t cut plexi-glass into funny shapes. It doesn’t work well. Maybe I’ll try again later.
If anyone else is crazy enough to try this, I’ll happily share the background art. Just drop me a line.
Created May 2014
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Easy: A simple parts swap. Little if any paint.
Basic: Some modified parts. Mostly a new paint job.
Moderate: New and modified parts.
Advanced: All of the above, plus a great deal of original sculpting.
That is FANTAStic! I’ve never imagined the iceberg lounge in scale, but it’s a natural environment for gotham’s rich and famous and larcenous.
oh, if only kenner’d actually made one… (We both know it would be out of scale, overpriced, look like crap, and after we bought it, we’d decide to make our own anyway. So imagine how much money we saved by Kenner not making one! gosh! Thanks, Kenner!)
I’ve just added it to my list of “things to do” (which I’ll never get to). ah, but i can dream…
Thanks, Jim! Let me know if you try one, too. I’d like to see it.
Love your job dude, let me congratulate you once again, and repeat the question that I did years ago, you do custom work orders? or some data from someone with such excellent talent like yourself?
Thanks! I’m pleased you enjoy my projects. I don’t have time to take on commissions, but I’m always happy to answer questions about making your own. Ask away!
Your work is always amazing… The whole scene was playing out in my head as I looked at your pics. As for the water, try clear silicone caulk… It’s what I use for model ship displays, it’s lights and you can smooth it over or pick it to get the scale you want. Thanks again for sharing!
Thanks! Glad you like it. I’ll give the caulk a look. Appreciate the tip.
Do you mind sharing with me the backdrop I went on poster brain and didn’t have much luck-thx
Email sent!
Great work would u share any more info on how you made this mesurements and stuff like u did with the arkham asylum u made, me and my boy almost have that one finished he enjoyed doing it with his dad thanks. great work on everyting here, i cant wait to see a laffco toy factory that would be cool or any joker hideout hahaha!
It’s great to hear you and your son building stuff together. I love it! I don’t really have any measurements for the Lounge, but I can send you the files to print. Drop me a line at casimir@pilliod.net and remind me.