Review of Deranged Alley
Pop Up 1/12 Scale Diorama

Introduction

There are two things collectors love to do with their action figures - set them up in cool displays, and photograph them.  There are Facebook groups dedicated to the art of creating realistic, funny, and unique displays, and taking great photos of the figures in 'action'.

A new company called Extreme-Sets is making some of that a little easier.  They are producing 'pop up' dioramas for 1/12th scale figures (that's 6") that are perfect for a wide variety of licenses and characters.

I'm checking out their recent release called 'Deranged Alley'. This set is made up of 6 panels, each showing a very back alley-esque scene, that can be interconnected to create larger set ups.  This set is shipping right now, and will cost around $40.  They have a multitude of others in the works, including a 'sewer' set, a couple that look like ship interiors, creepy house interiors, and even a two story building facade.

Packaging - ***
The set of six panels and two dumpsters (more on those in a minute) come packed in a large, flat box.  It's pretty simple stuff, but it does have a small window to show the quality of the printed image on the top panel.  It's collector friendly of course - why would you need to damage anything to get them out? - but there's no instructions of any sort.  To be honest, they aren't necessary, but I still found it surprising in this day of extreme communication.

Quality - ****
The six panels are made from very heavy stock cardboard, and should last for quite some time. They aren't easy to bend, and the large size - 20" wide by 12" tall - means they are big enough for any figures up to 8" tall, although toys in the 6 - 7" range work best.

There are also two different dumpsters, with different graffiti. In the very first photo, you can see Dredd standing near one of these bins.  Again, they used very heavy stock, and you simply fold the sides together much like a small box. The fit is good, and assembly is easy.

Paint (Printing) - ***1/2
Each of the six panels has a very high quality printed image. I've included a photo of each of the six. Two of these are pretty Batman specific, one is very comic book superhero, one leans towards a radioactive future, and the final two are more generic alley fronts complete with a fence to block access.

This printing is sharp, clean and very high quality. The colors are bright, and there's plenty of them, making each background stand out.  Scenes that have a foreground and background to them, like those with the fences, have enough of a 3D effect to look good. They've also done a pretty good job lining up brick work from one panel to the next, which means when they are attached, there's less of a break in the visual content from left to right.

My one nit is with a few of the panels that have an abrupt break at the ground. For example, in the panel below there are pallets and garbage at the ground, and these don't flow quite as well into any ground piece you supply.  It's a minor nit though, and overall the chosen designs look great individually or in combination.

Design/Construction - ***
The six panels are designed to be connected allowing you to build a large set up. On one end of each panel are two large tabs. These two tabs can be inserted into the two slots cut into each panel about two inches in on the other end.  It's a simple system, but it works.

This method of attaching them works great for inside corners.  I have a photo later in the review showing two attached, forming an inside corner, and the fit is tight and clean.  However, when creating an outside corner, it means you'll have to bend the left edge of the panel that is in back. If you plan on keeping the arrangement with that outside corner (or even as an inside corner where the bend is still hidden), no prob. But it means that using that panel as a smooth, flat piece independent of the others isn't really an option any more.

I was a bit surprised - although I shouldn't have been, since I got exactly what they advertised - that there was no ground section. There's plenty of options to come up with your own, and I'll be using one of those this weekend when I put these backdrops to work with my One:12 Collective BvS Batman review, but at this price point a 7th ground panel would have been nice.

My other design concern is around the dumpsters. While the scale on the background panels is great, both dumpsters are much too small.  You can hide the issue in photos with a little creativity and forced perspective, but in person it's pretty obvious.

Fun Factor - ***
I wouldn't call these 'fun' on their own, but if you're into photographing your figures, or you just want to spice up your display, these will be invaluable.

Value - **
Here's the one gotcha - I paid $40 for this set. That's almost $7 a panel. That seems a tad stiff to me, but I suspect that as they produce more sets we'll see the price drop a bit.  Already other similar sets that lack a floor are around $35, and the $40 sets include more pieces.  Starting out however, these are on the expensive side.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not much.  While they are made from heavy cardboard they do bend, so don't be overtly rough when handling them and keep them stored in a way they can remain flat.

Overall - ***
If you're looking for some high quality backdrops that are much better than anything you could possible print off the Internet, these are perfect for you.  I like the alley set because it works with so many hero and villain characters, and I have a couple of the other sets on pre-order as well.

They are expensive though, and that's going to be the one factor that could negatively influence buying decisions.  I'm hoping that as they produce more sets they'll get some economies of scale, allowing them to drop the prices a bit (or add more panels) moving forward.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Quality - ***1/2
Paint (Printing) - ***1/2
Design/Construction - ***
Fun Factor - ***
Value - **
Overall - ***

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
There's lots of dioramas and playsets out there, particularly for 1/12 scale figures. I recently looked at the Mi World stuff you can get at Toys R Us.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

Discussion:
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