Gwangi's Dioramas (2015 Contest Entry, pg.5)

[Gwangi]

Halichoeres, the blood is actually just those sticky gel-like window decorations you can find in Halloween stores. For what it's worth, the squashed minion is literally a piece of yellow squash. Wasn't the Gryposaurus entry yours? That was one of my favorites.

Ha, how resourceful! Yep, the poopin' Gryposaurus was mine--glad you liked it!

I don't know if you're familiar with the "Dinosaurs Attack!" series of trading cards but there was one sticker in the set that depicted a Parasaurolophus eating a baby, body parts falling off and all that. Your picture reminded me of it.

[Pachyrhinosaurus]

Lots of carnage; I like it! The one you used is my favorite as well but the ankylosaur one comes in at a close second.

[Halichoeres]

Halichoeres, the blood is actually just those sticky gel-like window decorations you can find in Halloween stores. For what it's worth, the squashed minion is literally a piece of yellow squash. Wasn't the Gryposaurus entry yours? That was one of my favorites.

Ha, how resourceful! Yep, the poopin' Gryposaurus was mine--glad you liked it!

I don't know if you're familiar with the "Dinosaurs Attack!" series of trading cards but there was one sticker in the set that depicted a Parasaurolophus eating a baby, body parts falling off and all that. Your picture reminded me of it.

I don't recall ever having seen those, but the image of a Parasaurolophus eating a baby is pretty rich!

[Gwangi]

You can see the rest of the cards here...
http://www.bobheffner.com/dinosaursattack/

[LophoLeeVT]

Me too did you see my picture as well yes i kniw it has bad quality but i really hard for it.😉

[Gwangi]

Me too did you see my picture as well yes i kniw it has bad quality but i really hard for it.😉

I saw all the pictures but I don't know which one was yours.

[Arul]

Me too did you see my picture as well yes i kniw it has bad quality but i really hard for it.😉

At least your diorama is on the list, because my diorama isnt i dont know why.

Gwangi, nice sig Gwangi btw each diorama has a name on it post

[Gwangi]

Me too did you see my picture as well yes i kniw it has bad quality but i really hard for it.😉

At least your diorama is on the list, because my diorama isnt i dont know why.

Gwangi, nice sig Gwangi btw each diorama has a name on it post

Yeah, but I think most of them had the photographer's actual name and not their user name.

Love your sig. too, it's perfect, he has that exact same look.

[Megalosaurus]

I don't like the minions in general.
But I really love the Brachiosaurus/Minions diorama. 

[LophoLeeVT]

that was GWANGIS, by the way

[Gwangi]

Alright, it's that time of year again. As many of you already know my entry for the contest was #40 "Expedition archive photo #21, Central Africa, 1933" which ended up in 12th place with 46 votes. That's the most votes I ever got and more than I expected so I want to thank everyone who liked my entry enough to vote for it.

I have been wanting to do a B&W retro style diorama using Invicta figures for a LONG time. Finding a setting I liked was the hardest part and I had actually been putting it off for a few years now. I figured I would need a swampy location but settled on a creek instead which worked out well I think. This year I had trouble coming up with ideas so I finally went for it on this one and I think it's my best entry to date.

Part of the reason I kept putting it off aside from location is that I REALLY wanted the Invicta Apatosaurus in the diorama. It's not there, I still don't have one. The dinosaurs you see include the Papo, Carnegie and Invicta Brachiosaurus models. The Invicta Stegosaurus and Diplodocus, the Carnegie Apatosaurus and the Schliech Allosaurus. I really wanted a predator in my diorama and I wanted it to be a Morrison formation theropod. The Schleich Allosaurus was the one I felt had the most retro appearance. Now you guys know why I was looking for one this past summer. In the final entry it's hard to find but it's there. I had to move it way in the back because it's much larger than I had originally anticipated!

The picture itself along with the title make my vision rather obvious. It's supposed to look like an old weathered photograph from an expedition taken long ago. It is very much inspired by old "lost world" movies like "King Kong", "The Lost World", "The Land Unknown" etc. etc. which is why it required retro models to work.

So first off, here is the original unedited photograph of my entry. The pictures were taken in a stream and despite their heft I had a hard time keeping the sauropods from floating away!


Cropped version.


Final version.


A different attempt at weathering and aging the picture.


There were other photographs taken that almost made it into the contest.




This one was a strong contender and made it into the editing process. I really love the Carnegie Apatosaurus in these shots. She's mostly obscured and underwater in the picture I used. Her back arching out of the water in these pictures really make this look like an old Nessie photograph. That said, I wasn't sure if the voters would even be able to tell that it was a dinosaur.




Some location shots. This is the exact spot where the photograph was taken.


You can see my backpack in this shot!


Of course there are fishes here too. They really enjoyed sifting through the sediment I stirred up. In this picture are black-nose dace, red-side dace and creek chubs.


And finally, a couple "selfies"!




Thanks again everyone and congrats to the winners! Already looking forward to next year's contest and I already have my diorama planned. Going to be hard keeping my mouth shut for a year.

[Arul]

What beautiful place and very nice setting of the figure i love the concept that you made, you make retro version looks so beautiful, old but gold 

[Ezikot]

I liked your entry and voted for you.
Really nice concept!

[Gwangi]

Thanks guys. I totally agree Arul "old but gold". Thanks for the vote Ezikot!

[Federreptil]

I loved the concept and execution and one vote is from me. The outdating figures are a special theme in the collecting of dinosaurs. Some like the Schleich Allosaurus becomes more ridiculousy. Other like the Invicta Diplo keeps their own beauty an right. So it's a fantastic idea to transform this in an old photograph. So well done and I'm curious about next years entry.

[Kayakasaurus]

Great Diorama! Something about semi-aquatic Sauropods is so cool!

[Bokisaurus]

Your piece stand out from the crowd since it is so out of the ordinary. I like how you used the technology to bring the viewers back to some forgotten time. The vintage effect tied it all together.
Oh nice location, too. I love it when people post photos of the locations they visit, it's part of the fun and story telling.

[A.Garcia]

Thanks for these pictures- it's nice to see them. I really liked your picture and it came this close to getting my vote... I wish I had had one more. I'm glad it got plenty of recognition. I like the use of reflections, and the "film" concept works well for the narrow picture. The second edited option is great, too- that hump-backed Apatosaurus reflection is perfect for the theme.

You found a beautiful location for pictures, it looks like a lot of fun. Those "cliffs" have potential, too (like the spot where the sauropods are standing between you and your pack).

[DinoG]

It did get my vote!

[Gwangi]

Thanks everyone!

Garcia, I've actually used this creek for a number of outdoor pictures. My first contest entry picture was taken in the same creek as well as some of my review pictures (Battat T. rex, Schleich Carnotaurus, CollectA Acrocanthosaurus etc.)