Mojo Fun: New for 2022

[Thialfi]

@Duna
S @SidB
Okay, I tested the internal metal rod theory on my Carnegie Mammoth.

Unfortunately I forgot to take before pictures of mine before I got started but my it's tusks were completely parallel to each other and they met past the trunk so the last 3 to 4  centimeters were almost like stuck together as one single big tusk, it looked awful.  I'm using the overhead image of Thialfi's Carnegie which actually has space between the tusks to illustrate how close together the tusks on mine were.  Both tusks were like the tusk on the top basically positioned straight up and down but on mine they were actually touched together forming one tusk/horn looking thing.  I went from something that looked much much worse than this...

and I ended up with this.

It took about 15 minutes to do both tusks.  All I did was warm up the plastic with warm water, then I inserted a 1.5 inch clothes pin at the base of the tusks as towards the sleeve they fit in, I cut the end of the pin and finished pushing it in with a flat piece of metal in this case a metal spoon.  Then I put a tiny droplet of grey putty to seal the small hole.  Then I bent the tusks carefully with my fingers and shaped them from the base.  You can't even see the scars.

You need to make sure than when you shape the tusk that one set of fingers clasps the base of the trunk while the other set molds the tusk gently to avoid having the metal wire poke out on the back end.  So easy smooth pressure does the trick.

Very impressive work on your Carnegie Mammoth, @CARN0TAURUS, seamless and such a big improvement. Thank you for sharing the process!

[CARN0TAURUS]

@Duna
S @SidB
Okay, I tested the internal metal rod theory on my Carnegie Mammoth.

Unfortunately I forgot to take before pictures of mine before I got started but my it's tusks were completely parallel to each other and they met past the trunk so the last 3 to 4  centimeters were almost like stuck together as one single big tusk, it looked awful.  I'm using the overhead image of Thialfi's Carnegie which actually has space between the tusks to illustrate how close together the tusks on mine were.  Both tusks were like the tusk on the top basically positioned straight up and down but on mine they were actually touched together forming one tusk/horn looking thing.  I went from something that looked much much worse than this...

and I ended up with this.

It took about 15 minutes to do both tusks.  All I did was warm up the plastic with warm water, then I inserted a 1.5 inch clothes pin at the base of the tusks as towards the sleeve they fit in, I cut the end of the pin and finished pushing it in with a flat piece of metal in this case a metal spoon.  Then I put a tiny droplet of grey putty to seal the small hole.  Then I bent the tusks carefully with my fingers and shaped them from the base.  You can't even see the scars.

You need to make sure than when you shape the tusk that one set of fingers clasps the base of the trunk while the other set molds the tusk gently to avoid having the metal wire poke out on the back end.  So easy smooth pressure does the trick.

Very impressive work on your Carnegie Mammoth, @CARN0TAURUS, seamless and such a big improvement. Thank you for sharing the process!

@Thialfi
I only practiced it on my Carnegie because it's older and the tusks were a mess.  You're very welcome but if you are going to do this, just remember that you need to aim the pin at the proper angle as close to the middle of the tubber tusk as possible, so you you need to start almost perpendicular to the surface then very quickly "turn" upward carefully by straightening part of the base of the tusk to get a clean shot straight into the base, then burrow the pin in slowly to avoid breaking it as the deeper you go the greater the resistance will be.  You just need to use some serious finger power without jerking, just steady even applied pressure so nothing gets damaged.  If I can do it...anyone can.

[CARN0TAURUS]

Also I planned this on the base because I had determined that my issue on my figure was that when it was stored before shipping out that it must've been thrown in a pile with hundreds other figures.  So the weight of it being stored like that must've over time caused the tusks to come together, it must've been stored on its side at the factory.  So for instance once I curved the pin up a little I then also curved it outward a little too so that moved the ends of the tusks to my desired position.   Had the tips of the tusks been deformed too, I could have repeated the process on the tips of the tusks with a separate pin to move the ends how I wanted.  fortunately for me one pin at the base of each tusk did the trick on this figure.  On the Mojo Mammoth I might have to do one pin at the base and another at the tips of the tusks as well.  I'll have to wait and see how it looks after one set of pins and then decide.  I'll make sure to post the before and after photos

[CARN0TAURUS]

I've been meaning to ask, does anyone have a link to a video review of this mojo fun 2022 mammoth?  My google searches haven't turned up anything except reviews of other mammoth figures.  Surprisingly even the Dino Toy Blog doesn't have a review for this figure!

Even prolific reviewers like Andy forgot to review this one.  Why has this mammoth become like this forgotten thing?  I don't understand IMO it is the best mammoth yet made in PVC, at the very least until Eofauna decides to get around to making one.

[CARN0TAURUS]

I finally had time to tinker with this Mammoth and it's been a joy to try and add some highlights that I hoped would bring out more of the detail in this beautiful sculpt.  I gave it a preliminary round of dry brushing with three shades of brown.  Each time I made the shade just  bit lighter by adding a bit of white to creat more depth.  This is just the beginning but I like how much lighter he looks already.  It really highlights the wonderful sculpting on the hair.  I also tried to add more detail to the eyes, I looked at elephant pictures and I noticed that they have a small amount of pink in the corners of their eyes.  I tried to do this with a needle, just pushed a tiny amount of paint into the corner of his eyes, then I painted the eyeball with an amber like mix.  A lot of the elephant photos I saw the elephants have light brown almost gold colored eyes.  I then came back and added the dark pupils.  Boy, eyes are hard to paint!

[CARN0TAURUS]

Next I focused a bit on the mouth and the tip of the trunk with some flesh tones ranging from very light pink go redish pinks with brown and black highlights.  I did this because I noticed a lot of elephants have like spots on this tissue.

I also painted the nails using mostly a dark grey with some tan mixed in to give them a dirty look.

I haven't dry brushed the bottom part of the trunk yet, but this shows how much I've lightened the color on the figure after the dry brushing. 

[CARN0TAURUS]

The curvature of the tusks surprised me a bit, they look straighter in photos.  I am planning to reshape them a bit but not by much they don't need too much.

After seeing this in person, I have no reservations that this is in my opinion the best wholly mammoth available in PVC right now.  The sculpt is even more beautiful in person and the pictures don't do it justice.  One of the big issues is that it needed a lot more detail work from a paint POV but I can understand if Mojo was limiting costs.  I'm using my Eofauna as an example of how to add a little more life into this figure, it was too dark and missing a lot of detail...I still have a few more hours of work to make this even more detailed but already I can see the potential this figure has...I'd love to see a professional detail this properly, someone who could really elevate one of these to the level this sculpt deserves.

[CARN0TAURUS]

Look ma!  I got extra curve in my tusks! LOL!

This guy is tough compared to the Carnegie, the tusks are thicker and the plastic is more dense on the tusks, I got some movement but not as much as I anticipated.  I flared them out a little bit and turned them up at the base a little bit too so that now the trunk is in front of the tusks as opposed to behind them.

I haven't painted and weathered the tusks yet, but you really have to look hard to find the incisions where the metal pins went into the tusks.

[Stegotyranno420]

Nice curves, the only curves I care about 🦣 🦣 🦣

[CARN0TAURUS]

I think the left eye turned out better than the right.

[CARN0TAURUS]

Nice curves, the only curves I care about 🦣 🦣 🦣

Here is the before and after so you can get a better idea of the change.

[CARN0TAURUS]

Work continues on the mammoth.

[CARN0TAURUS]

Painting and weathering of the tusks is underway.

[CARN0TAURUS]

Once the sun comes out I'll be spraying this with dullcoat to seal all the paint in and protect it from chipping off.  I think I'm done messing with this one.

[Prehistory Resurrection]

[Prehistory Resurrection]