Ceratopsian's custom paints and everything else: new 10 May 2024

[Bokisaurus]

Wonderful additions I'm usually not into skulls, but that protoceratops one is cool looking, plus that nest!

[ceratopsian]

Thank you.  I too usually prefer my dinosaurs to be fleshed and "alive"!

Wonderful additions I'm usually not into skulls, but that protoceratops one is cool looking, plus that nest!

[ceratopsian]

First of all, I'll carry on catching up with a few oddments that arrived earlier in the summer.  Having recently posted the Beasts of the Mesozoic desert environment, it seems silly not to put up a picture of the two other accessory packs.  As I previously noted, I originally bought the wetlands pack with the Buitreraptor.  I don't display the accompanying nest of eggs with it, as somehow they don't seem to fit the narrative.  So they are sitting in my "eggs and babies" display area.



I also went for the forest pack.  The tree really leans alarmingly.  I've tried sundry methods to support it but none has worked.  Here it is with the Schleich Kentrosaurus (Conquering the Earth), who seems to have ejected the Microraptor it came with.  (He went off and joined my pack of Microraptors!)  I wouldn't have bought the Schleich in the ordinary course of things, but in May I visited a little museum in northern Spain at Salas de los Infantes.  A superb museum with excellent dinosaur displays.  I wanted to support their gift shop and this is what I came away with.  If possible, I like buying a model I can associate with a visit to somewhere special.




Next up, the three new Vitae models that came earlier this week.  I'm quite happy with them.  They are quite toy-like but really charming.

I have a preference for herbivores, so couldn't resist the Wuerhosaurus and the Zhejiangosaurus (despite any possible misinterpretation of the former's plate shape and despite the paucity of the remains of the latter). 







I like the elegant curve of the Wuerhosaurus viewed from above.  I love the broadness and low centre of gravity of the Zhejiangosaurus: he would be very tricky for a theropod to turn over to get at his belly.







I almost didn't buy the Chilantaisaurus, but in the end I couldn't resist those unusual blue stripes.  He will stand unsupported but probably not for long.  So I'm going to keep him on his little plastic support, unless it's a special occasion!





And finally a "breadth" comparison:



I have also taken some photos today of Martin Garratt's repaints of the CollectA Estemmenosuchus and Dimetrodon but they can wait for another day I think!

[ITdactyl]

Thanks for sharing these photos.  'Confirmed my expectations about the vitae models... I'll definitely repaint mine once they arrive.  I definitely love the sculpts but I'm not a fan of the paint aps.

[ceratopsian]

@ITdactyl: The paint jobs are indeed quite basic. I will be interested to see what the sculpts look like with a different style of paint scheme.

[ITdactyl]

I will be interested to see what the sculpts look like with a different style of paint scheme.

;)Probably from some of our more artistically inclined and talented friends here.

I'm not a talented painted myself (colorblind too)... it's just that I have the same opinion of these Vitae figures as the recent Safari figures. I love the sculpts, I'm okay with the color application on the prototypes but I'm not too happy with the paint job out of the factory.

[Reptilia]

I have also taken some photos today of Martin Garratt's repaints of the CollectA Estemmenosuchus and Dimetrodon but they can wait for another day I think!

Soon please! Can't wait to see those Garratt versions, I'm sure they look wonderful!

[DinoToyForum]

Thanks for the great photos!

[ceratopsian]

I promised I would post the custom painted and based versions of the CollectA Dimetrodon and Estemmenosuchus that I commissioned Martin Garratt to create.  Tonight I'm showing the Dimetrodon.

I loved the sculpt but didn't like the paint job.  I appreciate the reasoning behind the choice of colour and pattern - camouflage for an ambush predator.  Nevertheless, it struck me as too blotchy and too lime green.  My commission to Martin was very general indeed: get rid of the blotches and the lime green!  Plus I'm not a fan of articulated jaws.  Waggling the mouth open and closed isn't something I do with my models.  The other problem with this particular toy was that creating the jaw articulation also created a very unsightly "panel" effect in the creature's neck.  Whenever I looked at photos of this Dimetrodon, my eye was immediately drawn to this line in the neck.  So I asked Martin to remove its articulation.  I didn't mind his mouth being open to show off the interior, but I didn't need to see right down to his tonsils.  (I'm really not sure Dimetrodon had such a thing, but I liked the phrase!)  I asked for a modest base, nothing too sophisticated, just a bit of greenery and somewhere to stand.

Here's the result:















When I removed him from his packaging, he was rather larger than I had expected - he is quite substantial and has turned out to be an imposing beast.

As always, I am very satisfied with what Martin produced.  I can't paint at all myself - art was the only subject at school at which I was poor.  All these many, many years later, I can still recall the feeling of discomfort and even dread as I looked at the white rectangle of paper in front of me and wondered what on earth I was going to fill it with.  But I can appreciate what others do for my pleasure!

It will probably be a few days before I have time to go through my photos and make the selection for Estemmenosuchus.

[mgaguilar]

That Dimetrodon is gorgeous!!!

Geez, could you imagine if CollectA invested a bit more into their paint schemes?
I'd pay $10-$15 more per figure if they just added one more color variety and complementary tones.

[Mackeral]

It's a beauty 

[ceratopsian]

Thanks both of you. @mgaguilar: better original paint schemes would be wonderful. But I guess we just have to accept that we collectors are probably not the chief audience CollectA is aiming at. Yes, they are aware of us. But presumably the chief consumers are youngsters and their parents out to buy toys. I would also suspect they would not want to pay extra for something more artistically satisfying. I would also love to know how many minutes it takes a factory worker to paint each toy. I suspect very few indeed.

[Halichoeres]

I always love seeing your customs. Thanks for the details on the Vitae figures; it whets my appetite for the ones that will be waiting for me when I get home from traveling.

[RobinGoodfellow]

I was sure that Collecta could be one of the best Dimetrodon on the market with a proper color scheme.. 
Congrats 

[ceratopsian]

@Halichoeres: thank you and enjoy your travels!

@RobinGoodfellow: to be honest, I was surprised at how fabulous the Dimetrodon turned out.  It's even better than I expected.

[Jose S.M.]

The Dimetrodon looks beautiful!

[ceratopsian]

And now for Martin Garratt's version of the CollectA Estemmenosuchus.  My brief was the same as for the Dimetrodon: Martin's choice of colour and pattern, with a modest base.  I wanted it to lose the random blotches of the original and the jaw could be fixed in position.  I told Martin the pair would be displayed together and I guess this influenced his choice of finish: the Dimetrodon is matt, the Estemmenosuchus glossy, so they make a good contrast.  The Estemmenosuchus' glossiness made it something of a challenge to photograph, though it looks good on the model itself!

A selection of photos:













And finally, here it is waddling off into the distance!



Its spotted back is especially beautiful, so I am going to make sure I display it on one of my lower shelves where the  pattern will be easily appreciated.  I also like the way he changed the original solid black of the eye.  Martin is good at small details that add to the effect of the whole.

[RobinGoodfellow]

..and even the Estemmenosuchus is wayyyy better with that gorgeous painting scheme.. 
I think that Collecta strongly need to seriously re-think about all  color schemes for prehistoric creatures because the actual ones really hide the sculpting process under them.. 

[ceratopsian]

.......
I think that Collecta strongly need to seriously re-think about all  color schemes for prehistoric creatures because the actual ones really hide the sculpting process under them.. 

Very true!

[Flaffy]

Oh my... Martin definitely did the Estemmenosuchus justice!
Looks like a completely different figure without the sloppy, poorly applied and unpleasing factory paint.
Really brings out the details on the figure.