THE BLACK PHONE

A 1:24 scale diorama inspired by the horror thriller film “The Black Phone” starring Ethan Hawke, Mason Thames, and Madeleine McGraw. The fear-inducing 2021 release has both terrifying and paranormal elements that give it a unique twist. 

“Finney Blake is a shy but clever 13-year-old boy who is abducted by a sadistic killer and trapped in a soundproof basement where screaming is of no use. When a disconnected phone on the wall begins to ring, Finney discovers that he can hear the voices of the killer’s previous victims. And they are dead-set on making sure that what happened to them doesn’t happen to Finney.”  —thebucketrider 

CONSTRUCTION

The entirety of this project was small and simple but the process was far from it. I oft have these amazing ideas in my head but when it comes to production, I sometimes get like a deer in the headlights.

I started with three pieces of scrap wood cut from an antique dresser drawer bottom measuring 5″x 5″ each. One for the floor and two exterior walls were all I needed for this small corner diorama. 

Interior walls and floor (made of craft foam from Dollar Tree) were covered in joint compound, dried, sanded, and sponge-painted gray for an unfinished concrete basement room aesthetic.

Wall cracks and a window were added per reference photos from the film and given a rusty paint effect. The window slot was cut out of the foam wall and stir stick slats were glued in. Some tulle fabric was added as an outer window screen. 

After designing and painting them, I affixed the 5″x5″ pieces of craft foam onto the pieces of wood using Gorilla wood glue. 

The exterior walls were primed with two coats of black Rustoleum spray paint to act as a base for some waterslide decals of movie graphics with which I printed and decorated the outside of the box. 

Large popsicle sticks were added to the top and sides to cover the joints between the foam and wood and to make nice, neat, clean box lines and painted glossy black to match.

ACCESSORIES

Now, I scoured the internet looking for a 3D print file of a vintage phone but unfortunately couldn’t find one. It would have taken me a while to design one in Blender, so I decided to skip that for now and use clay.

I was gifted some polymer clay and decided to use that over air-dry clay. It was my first time using it but I knew I could save time by popping it in the oven vs. waiting overnight. It cooled relatively quickly and was ready for paint.

Crude as it may look, it turned out OK for being 1:24 scale and me not being a sculptor. Two strikes right there.

The smallest possible phone cord I could make was 28 gauge wire wrapped around floral wire for a tight curl. I racked my brain trying to come up with a smaller alternative, but nothing was coming to me (see: deer-in-the-headlights).

I super-glued the phone and cord to the foam wall in the appropriate spot, failing to remember that cyanoacrylate doesn’t like foam; it melts it. So that was a whole other problem that needed to be addressed, and by addressed I mean repainting the spot the glue ate. Well, lesson learned – er – reiterated.

The mattress took me four attempts. The first three looked like something out of a dirty rural trailer owned by a deranged Barbie doll. That’s about the best I can do with that description.

The last one was made with help (desperately needed at this point) from a tutorial courtesy of Bentley House Minis. I used more craft foam, cotton rounds, and fabric from a thrift store-bought shirt with a small striped pattern that would work well for a vintage mattress. I abandoned ship on the buttons or “divets” because  of the small scale and the lack of both a strong enough needle and patience. If you’re in the mood to make one, I highly suggest checking out that video because I cannot do it justice.

After I finally constructed the mattress, I weathered it with a Dremel sander and some dark washes to look like it had been sitting in some decrepit basement.

I ended up making a crudely-built box spring from stir sticks and coiled floral wires. It was not really to be seen, but to be a low foundation for the mattress with just enough of the painted rusty springs visible for photographic purposes.

FINAL PRESENTATION

I have a wonderful little photo booth box that illuminates the subject quite well. I used that for shots of the 90-degree exterior structure showcasing decals adorned with vinyl borders and blood drips. They were coated with three coats of Triple Thick Gloss Glaze to maintain a “wet”, glistening look.

The interior shots were much harder to obtain in the fashion I envisioned. If you don’t know by now, I am a HUGE fan of the channel Abandoned Miniatures which features skilled miniature craftsmanship and gorgeous cinematography. I’m still learning these techniques and playing with different cameras and settings. I was barely able to get one short (albeit decent-looking for a newbie) end shot of the final project. I just don’t have enough light power to get the photos and video I’d like. Everything in due time, no?

Here is the time-lapse video of the process. Please feel free to leave me questions/comments. My goal is to build a warm and friendly crafting community for you all. Thank you for reading and hope to talk to you all soon!