Diorama trophy for SBS Transit

A farewell diorama trophy for an SBS Transit director: a bus on the road, an MRT train lit below, and a caricature of the recipient.

Client: SBS Transit
Service: Scale Models
Delivered: A lit transport diorama with a caricature figurine
Occasion: A farewell for a departing director

Brief us on a model Send a brief

Footprint of the base, as designed: 357 x 160 mm
Height of the base to the road, as designed: 126 mm
Rounds of 3D renders before building: 2

What we brought

What we can do
We build your network into one scene
A bus stop and road on top, an MRT train in a lit tunnel below, all on one compact base.
How we look after you
You see the whole trophy before we make it
Renders marked the sizes, lights, switch and figure, so the layout and plate were agreed before anything was made.
What you get
A trophy that is unmistakably theirs
The recipient's caricature stands beside the name plate, and the tunnel lights up at the flick of a switch.

Gallery

The whole project at a glance. Drag or swipe to browse; tap a picture to enlarge it.

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The finished piece
The finished trophy, figure and all.
The bus above, the train below.
The bus pulled in at its stop.
The train head-on in the lit tunnel.
Lights along the tunnel roof.
The switch and power socket on the side.
The briefThe trophy in its acrylic case.
Design & fitment · First designRenderThe first design, with its sizes.
RenderWhere the bus, train and figure sit.
Design & fitment · Second designRenderThe second design, with the name plate.
FabricationThe bus stop platform and shelter roof.
Benches, panels and a bin.
The track on its ballast bed.
The road deck with its bus lane.
Build and assemblyLights fitted along the tunnel wall.
Wiring the base, trees waiting beside it.
Nearly complete, the figurine still apart.

The build

How we built it

5 steps, from the brief to the finished piece. Pick a step to jump to it.

The brief

Step 1 of 5

Display: Clear acrylic case, tunnel lit inside
Personal touch: Caricature figurine and name plate

At Additive Inn, our 3D printing studio in Singapore, we made a diorama trophy for SBS Transit to thank a departing director: a bus on the road, an MRT train in a lit tunnel below, and a caricature of the recipient.

The finished trophy inside its clear acrylic case, with the caricature figurine standing behind the bus stop and the name plate in front — The trophy in its acrylic case.

Design & fitment

Step 2 of 5

We modelled the whole trophy in 3D first, marking the lights, the switch and the figure's place in the case.

First design

The first design, with its sizes.

Render
First design

Road, bus stop and lit tunnel on one base, with the bus, train and figure placed inside the case.

Render
Second design

Added the purple and orange name plate, and offered a waist-up figure to keep the trophy lower.

Render

Fabrication

Step 3 of 5

We made, primed and painted the parts: bus stop shelters and benches, the track on its ballast, the tunnel walls and the road deck with its bus lane. The figurine was 3D printed, primed and painted by hand.

The bus stop platform with its benches and shelter roof, painted grey, laid on the workbench — The bus stop platform and shelter roof.

Bus stop parts from above: white benches and shelter panels with green trim, a bin and small signs on a grey platform — Benches, panels and a bin.

Close-up of the track: rows of brown sleepers on a bed of textured grey ballast — The track on its ballast bed.

The road deck painted black with yellow lines, white lane markings and the word BUS, above the track — The road deck with its bus lane.

Build and assembly

Step 4 of 5

We wired lights into the tunnel, set the road deck over the rail, and added flocked grass, model trees, the bus, the train and the name plate, then cased it in clear acrylic.

A painted tunnel wall on the workbench with small lights fitted along its top and red wires trailing behind — Lights fitted along the tunnel wall.

The open base from above, with red wires running through it and a tray of green model tree tops beside it — Wiring the base, trees waiting beside it.

The trophy nearly complete on the workbench, with the bus, train and name plate in place and the figurine on a stand beside it — Nearly complete, the figurine still apart.

The final build

Step 5 of 5

The finished trophy: a bus at its stop on top, a lit MRT train in the tunnel below, and the recipient's caricature beside the name plate.

The finished trophy from the front: the caricature figurine standing on the grass beside a tree, the bus on the road and the train below — The finished trophy, figure and all.

The details

Up close: the bus at its shelter, a train head-on in the lit tunnel, and the switch and socket on the side.

Close-up of the model bus on the road deck beside the bus stop shelter, with a model tree and flocked grass behind — The bus pulled in at its stop.

An MRT train seen head-on inside the curved tunnel, with small lights glowing along the tunnel wall — The train head-on in the lit tunnel.

The MRT train lit from above under the road deck, running on its track along the tunnel — Lights along the tunnel roof.

The side of the trophy base with a round switch and a power socket, flocked grass and a model tree on top — The switch and power socket on the side.

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Diorama trophy for SBS Transit

What we brought

We build your network into one scene

You see the whole trophy before we make it

A trophy that is unmistakably theirs

Gallery