Build Your Own TMNT Sewer Lair in 4 Hours | How To

This is my custom TMNT Sewer Lair for the Channel’s giveaway winner! Worked on the structure this week then will create the furniture in next episode.
This project took me about 4 hours and cost about $80 in material to make.
If you missed out on the NECA Lair or customs are too expensive, hopefully this motivates you to make your own!
Tools I used:
T Square
Retractable Knife
X Acto Knife
Hot Glue Gun
Hack Saw
Paint Brushes
Hot Wire Hand Tool
Proxxon Hot Wire Table
Materials
2 pieces of 1inchx24inchx24inch Foamular XPS Foam $14
3 cans of spray paint $21
Magnets $7
Acrylic Paints $10
Lighting Ring $15
Sunco 12 Pack Goof Rings for Recessed Light Fixture Living Room Can Light Goof Trim Ring, Outer Diameter 8.6-inch, Inner Diameter 6.2-inch, Matte Finish, Flush Mount, 5-6 Inch, White a.co/d/749PE7d
1 inch diameter PVC pipe $5
PVC pipe fittings $5
Silly Winks $1
Sticker bumps $2
Don’t overpay for a diorama if you could make you could make your own! This is one of the easiest dioramas I have worked on when I first started. Now that I have had done more diorama builds since then, figured this was a great time to revisit.
Enjoy!!

[@armandoherrera6822]

4 hours, so fast 💨 great video as usual

[@thomasgoesnostalgic]

Not accounting for paint drying haha I’d go do other things then 😂

[@kohlithink_3256]

Great work man, you’re the dio king dude

[@thomasgoesnostalgic]

Thanks bud! Appreciate that!

[@nymphsandshepherds]

This is awesome. You have patience I Don’t have.

[@thomasgoesnostalgic]

Haha it does test your patience figuring stuff out but once you figure something out it feels like a victory 😂

[@RynMyers]

Nice work man! 4 hours is pretty fast!

[@thomasgoesnostalgic]

Yea! This was the first time I actually timed myself so lots of stop and go with the stopwatch. When it was all said and done the final timer was at 3:58. Of course that was spread out throughout a few days because I would do little by little but if I was to buckle down one whole day I could probably knock this and the furniture out I think. Spend most of my time waiting for paint to dry 😂

[@darthprime4916]

Wow! Thanks For Doing this.

[@thomasgoesnostalgic]

No prob!! Furniture coming soon!

[@AlphaProto]

This turned out good. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us.

[@thomasgoesnostalgic]

Thank you and of course! Love sharing this hobby with everyone!

[@titusdioramasandactionfigu1788]

Amazing work as always. Look at that display room. Nicely done.

[@thomasgoesnostalgic]

Thanks dude! Haha they’ll be a room tour coming soon!

[@chasecummings1529]

Looks phenomenal brotha

[@thomasgoesnostalgic]

Thank you!!!

[@moonwalk6803]

amazing job

[@thomasgoesnostalgic]

Thank you Moonwalk!

[@Prisonmikeisfromdaklink]

Nice work my dude!

[@thomasgoesnostalgic]

Shell yeah! Thank you so much!

[@jdioramasjdioramas2814]

Tom all your work is splendid and dope I need one bro thanks for display of dios

[@thomasgoesnostalgic]

Thanks J! Always appreciate you stopping by!

[@emilflognoid1532]

Too cool

[@thomasgoesnostalgic]

Thanks dude!!!

[@matthewle6529]

Great tutorials. Thank you

[@thomasgoesnostalgic]

Thanks for checking it out! Almost done with all of the accessories!

[@ShionAkasuki]

Impressive

[@thomasgoesnostalgic]

Thank you! Appreciate you checking it out:)

[@ashdnu]

slay

[@thomasgoesnostalgic]

Thank you!

[@Wildwes1981]

Looks good buddy Now your going to have to redo your original one haha 😂 very nice job tho 👍

[@thomasgoesnostalgic]

Hahaha I can’t! Has too much sentimental value! Haha you are crushing it too dude!

[@Wildwes1981]

Ya can’t wait too start my channel 6 building got some cool ideas for it

[@ChuckCanada1]

Thomas I grew up in the 1980's, you named your channel aptly. :p Lol for real though this is sick. I mean I'm thinking of making one now after this. I just hope generation 1 TMNT toys aren't that expensive. It would be really cool to get a set of the old toys if I could.

[@thomasgoesnostalgic]

Haha I was trying to diversify and making retrospective videos on old toy lines. I have only done three but thinking of doing those in a LIVE format rather than long form video. Nostalgia as a whole is my passion. I love making dioramas that either mimic and reflect playsets we had in the 80s 90s or those ones I wish we had as playsets:) they have repro the originals so it might be easier now a days to get your hands on them!

[@Hamburger759]

Great job and great video! Would you consider looking at the Ramen Toys M.U.S.K. ? It comes with the sewer and a street level with a few acessories. It costs $200 shipped and pre-painted as well.

[@thomasgoesnostalgic]

I think the MUSK looks amazing but I probably won’t get it. I have to be really selective with space. My turtle display is pretty tapped out with dios but I think Ramens offering is fantastic!

[@user-dt2yf3mn4l]

Really like that u teaching hope u go into more details on future projects just subscribe to the channel.

[@thomasgoesnostalgic]

Thank you! And if there things in particular you want to see more detail just let me know :) I can try and incorporate tricks into other projects

[@user-dt2yf3mn4l]

@@thomasgoesnostalgic thanks I'm really trying to start doing these for my action figures

[@thomasgoesnostalgic]

@@user-dt2yf3mn4l absolutely these definitely help liven up the display

[@marvink1517]

Are the magnets the 3/4” size from hobby lobby?

[@thomasgoesnostalgic]

Yup those are the ones I use. Depending on the project I’ll use those in various sizes

[@jasonmartinez3468]

I missed my chance to order the neca sewer by one day not knowing there's a window for my kid... the price is ridiculous but still need one at some point for him I see them going for 650 on ebay.. anyone have any advice on how to get one closer to the 300 range price.. you think there will be another chance ever to order one though neca or waiting once people actually get them in Dec you think there will be some being sold for less than 600 ? Thank you

[@thomasgoesnostalgic]

Unless there is a Good Samaritan out there I don’t think you will be able to find it for less than $300 and I highly doubt NECA will release again. Custom options are available that’s why I wanted to show how affordable making your own is. Let me know if you need help:)

[@johndoe-db1ew]

Bro! You taking commissions?

[@thomasgoesnostalgic]

Sometimes! Depends what you are looking for!

[@johndoe-db1ew]

@@thomasgoesnostalgic I’m looking for a generic destroyed building. If you wanna do it let me know and I will give the specifics

[@thomasgoesnostalgic]

@@johndoe-db1ew yea let’s chat! I’m on same name on IG or same name under @gmail.com

[@johndoe-db1ew]

@@thomasgoesnostalgic ok, i just send you a message on ins

[@truerc]

Don't forget time is money as well. Everyone's time is not equal. But I'd say at minimum you're looking at $60 on top of just the cost of the materials. So make sure to factor that in.

[@thomasgoesnostalgic]

This is for people making for themselves as a hobby. So I can’t factor in cost of labor because whatever anyone wants to charge for a custom will vary. Unless someone is going to charge themself the cost of labor, doing this for your own collection would not be a proper measurement. But yea if selling, people can factor in whatever they would want to charge

[@truerc]

@@thomasgoesnostalgic Right, but I'm thinking even if I build this myself, my time would be better spent elsewhere. That's why I just bought it already made. Ends up being a better value.

[@thomasgoesnostalgic]

@@truerc but a hobby is something you enjoy spending your time doing. If you are doing something fun, do you charge yourself labor hours? This is a How To video so implied people watching are looking How To do this for themselves because it is something they find fun and enjoy. If you are buying one outright then you don’t need to build one. This is for the people who want to enjoy the process and have fun doing it. I am assuming if someone doesn’t enjoy using their time this way they can just simply not.

[@truerc]

@@thomasgoesnostalgic Absolutely if someone finds it fun, it would be time well spent. But some see building this as work, not a hobby, which is why focusing on the cost of materials alone might be a bit confusing.

[@thomasgoesnostalgic]

@@truerc it’s pretty straight forward. It’s building a diorama for toys. Toys invoke fun. Work is work and not fun. I hear what you are saying but I don’t know how to calculate what each individual person participating in a hobby values their time. All fun things involved some sort of work. Playing a sport involves work and stress on your physicality. Building a toy display takes work but is also fun. I am probably an outlier on this but mowing the lawn is fun. It’s hard work but when I’m done staring at the lawn I have a sense of joy 😂 so I guess different strokes for different folks. Thanks for your insight!