Silvanusaurus' Customs - New Megalosaurus Photos

[spinosaurus1]

it is looking great so far. the texture looks awesome.

[Megalosaurus]

Fantastic.

[Mamasaurus]

Looking good! 

As far as the feather/scales debate goes, isn't it true that feathers insulate differently than fur? They can be for keeping cool just as much as staying warm. At least in extant birds. My chickens are at greater risk for sunburn and heatstroke if the roosters are rough on their hens and their backs get plucked. The furry footed hen I have does just fine in the Texas heat too. In fact, she's the oldest one I have, and handles the heat better than anyone else.

Maybe they're poor examples as far as large dinosaurs are concerned, but even ostritches have very strategic feather placement. The only naked or scantily feathered areas are places that are shaded, or easily tucked underneath the body.

I can see why you chose to go with scales though, and I'm really looking forward to seeing your progress 

[Silvanusaurus]

Yes, I still think feathers are plausible, though I'm going to save doing 'full on' feathers for another british theropod I may tackle after this one; namely Proceratosaurus.

Thanks for the comments!

[Silvanusaurus]

Heres a few shots of the ol' Megalosaurus, just about finished. (Aside from paint, of course) Please excuse the occasional blurriness, I don't have good lighting at my desk. No feathers, as you will see. So I wanted to make the scales as interesting as I could, perhaps sacrificing realism with their large size, though a lot of dinosaur figures do this anyway, and I hope it's not too blatant if the figure is aesthetically consistent.
Again, as with my other customs, I wanted to try and create something different to the pristine, clean, neatness of a lot of dinosaur depictions. Also, to move away from any kind of shrink-wrapped appearance, so he is very 'fleshy' but also quite crusty and knobbly. I don't know how reasonable the protrusions along his back are, they're a purely decorative element I sort of did in the moment. The only thing that hasn't been resculpted over the original papo allosaurus are the lower legs, feet and the front of the mouth. I think the head may have turned out too big, I had tried to scale it accurately, but I ended up adding more flesh than I'd planned.

I'm very much looking forward to getting him painted!

[smashtoad]

Brutal.  Looking forward to paint.

By the way....that hulkish TRex is amazing.

[AcroSauroTaurus]

Looks great! Can't wait to see what color scheme you have in mind.

[Derek.McManus]

It is an impressive piece, it does seem to convey a sense of power and purpose!

[Derek.McManus]

I have a new idea for the next project... I think I'll customise an updated 'modern' Megalosaurus, but I also want to make a figure based on the Crystal Palace Megalosaurus,
which is of course very out of date, but I love the design of it, and really want a version to display on my shelf, as a tribute to the history of dinosaur reconstruction. It will be cool to have both that vintage one and a modern one next to it.

Antediluvian Miniatures do a nice Crystal Palace Megalosaurus and indeed a small range of creatures based on this exhibition and also a range of adventurer figures suitable for this retro style.

[Mamasaurus]

Omg, I really like what you've done with this one I can hardly wait to see it painted!

I love the Crystal Palace models. As outdated as they are, they have a certain charm to them.

[Derek.McManus]

I agree with regards to the Crystal Palace models, after all the creators had very little idea about what they where trying to represent but they made very striking and eye catching sculptures!

[Tyto_Theropod]

I think this guy has to be my favourite of your customs to date - can't wait to see the paint job! For my part I like the extra flesh, you've managed to do what a lot of reconstructions seem to struggle with in that he looks well fed and muscled but suitably fit, neither a zombie nor obese. The spikes on the back make perfect sense as they are similar to those on crocodiles, which are obviously our closest reference point for the scale arrangements dinosaurs might have had. The court is out on whether a Megalosauroid would have been feathered or not, so I think that it is still perfectly fine to reconstruct them in this less radical fashion.

[pylraster]

Great use of green stuff, I think I might get some!

[Derek.McManus]

Green stuff is a wonderful asset for the modeller!

[Silvanusaurus]

Well, after a long time kept under wraps, here is my extensively customised Papo Baryonyx; whom I've named 'Grendel' (after the monstrous character from the Old English poem Beowulf), although he's also the titular 'Old English Fisherman' of my second place diorama entry this year...


Here he is with his 'child' who was also featured in the background of the diorama. A customised Carnegie Baryonyx attempting to emulate the features of the Papo. The sculpting and paint on this little one are not up to the same standards as I kind of rushed it at the last minute, when I decided to add another figure into the diorama. But he was kind of out of focus in the background anyway, so it didn't matter too much.

Grendel seems to have hit it off with ol' Jenny Greenteeth... perhaps more than just good friends? 

I'd be interested to get a normal Papo Baryonyx again to compare the two. I won't bore you with too many details but I just thought I'd list the specific changes I made:

- Repositioned the joints/angles of both legs and feet, and toes too (after much frustration of getting the balance right)
- Repositioned the neck and angle of the head
- Firstly repositioned, but eventually completely resculpted most of the tail with much more weight for balance
- Repositioned the joints of the elbows
- Repositioned the shoulders to hold the arms lower.
- Sculpted a plumper throat based on those of modern crocodiles
- Sculpted new folds of skin at elbows and knees
- Sculpted much bulkier neck, upper arms, shoulders, chest, back/spine, thigh, hips, giving much more of a hump along the spine and particularly over the hips, and a significantly fatter tail.
- Added additional protruding osteoderms (spikey bits) along the flanks, thighs and biceps.
- All the extra sculpted parts used a very crocodilian style of scale, which I don't necessarily think is realistic, but it works well with the overall look of the original figure, i think.
- Also I ended up having to sculpt extra padding beneath the feet/toes to aid balance (now he balances perfectly on two feet).

It took a lot of work, but I was very happy with how he turned out. I tried to create a much more natural looking, powerful animal; maintaining the details I loved of the original figure, while reworking the awkward pose and proportions. I know the details of the head have been said to lean towards Spinosaurus rather than Baryonyx, but I just think the sculpt of it was so perfectly done, that I didn't want to risk altering it. I could have altered the snout, but personally it's not an issue for me. Overall I'm much more happy with this as a Baryonyx on my shelf, than I was with the original figure.

The paint scheme was designed to compliment the 'sunrise over swamp-land' setting I had originally imagined for the diorama.

Let me know what you think.

[AcroSauroTaurus]

He looks great! You did an awesome job with him. Also, any update on the Megalosaurus?

[Dilopho]

The Carnegie one looks like their child

[Halichoeres]

Wonderful stuff! Thanks for the more detailed views of your work.

[Megalosaurus]

You enhanced a lot the original Papo figure. Its great.
And for the Safari one... sorry but it doesn't feel quite right. The head seems too big for that skinny neck.

Also, I'd love to see your Megalosaurus painted.

And...

I got chills in my back each time I see Jenny. Terrible job in the good sense.

[Dilopho]

Silvanu, how is Kronos the old rex doing these days?