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

[Bokisaurus]

Wow, another beautiful ceratopsian joins your herd! Very nice and congratulation, that's a really impressive figure.

[ceratopsian]

@Fenestra, thank you. I do indeed do quite a bit of gazing!  It's relaxing. B @Bokisaurus, thank you. The herd grows!

[postsaurischian]

  These three ceratopsians are oh so cute. It's a pleasure to have a look at your Flickr Lu Feng Shan album.
       They're all soo beautiful and I'm in love with your Achelousaurus!
       (I feel an upcoming urge to order my next Shan model )

[ceratopsian]

  These three ceratopsians are oh so cute. It's a pleasure to have a look at your Flickr Lu Feng Shan album.
       They're all soo beautiful and I'm in love with your Achelousaurus!
       (I feel an upcoming urge to order my next Shan model )

Thank you @postsaurischian  - I too especially love the Achelousaurus.

Onto today's offerings.

First up, the Papo Pentaceratops.  This is the first Papo model I've ever bought, but I couldn't resist such a striking ceratopsian.  I do like it very much, even if it looks a bit strange in the foot area when it's in rearing mode, as its claws are raised well off the ground.  Still, I knew before I bought it and I'm happy to live with that.  I do like the level of detail, for instance the care with which paint has been applied to the soles of the feet and the back of the frill.

[ceratopsian]

While I'm on a roll, I'll add a few more head shots of models I've bought over the last few months but never got round to putting up....

The partially feathered, roaring Tyrannosaurus rex from CollectA:



The CollectA Carnotaurus:



And the exclusives from Fukui Museum in Japan, purchased through Brett - Neovenator and Baryonyx:




If you want to see full-resolution images, you can visit my Flickr albums
https://www.flickr.com/photos/69501171@N03/albums/72157710218082567
https://www.flickr.com/photos/69501171@N03/albums/72157710217716017
https://www.flickr.com/photos/69501171@N03/albums/72157710214349552
https://www.flickr.com/photos/69501171@N03/albums/72157710214100257

[Shonisaurus]

Nice Ceratopsian pickup. Honestly, Papo's pentaceratops are very beautiful, and because of the criticism, very well done and in detail. I congratulate you.

[ceratopsian]

@Shonisaurus: thank you!

Today's offering is my Wild Safari Stegosaurus.  @Doug Watson - I loved your sculpt so much that I thought it would be shown off to advantage by a Martin Garratt work-over. Just as this thought was crystallizing in my mind, @postsaurischian posted his photos of his custom version by Martin.  So I commissioned one too.  My only instruction to Martin was that it should be different from postsaurischian's!











I particularly like the way the dusky pink of the gular armour is picked in the centre of the splodges on "Sophie's" back.  Also the "rocks" used to decorate the base are a bit different from usual - I like the white limestone effect.

If you wish to see yet more photos or high-resolution versions, here is my Flickr album for the Stegosaurus:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/69501171@N03/albums/72157710242000036

[Fenestra]

That looks fantastic!
I'm happy to see that mr. Garratt decided to "honour" Doug Watson's colours of choice somewhat, because I think the yellows and browns really compliment this beautiful figure. 

[Shonisaurus]

The said figure improved with his new "makeup" my congratulations to Mr. Garratt.

[postsaurischian]

Today's offering is my Wild Safari Stegosaurus.  @Doug Watson - I loved your sculpt so much that I thought it would be shown off to advantage by a Martin Garratt work-over. Just as this thought was crystallizing in my mind, @postsaurischian posted his photos of his custom version by Martin.  So I commissioned one too.  My only instruction to Martin was that it should be different from postsaurischian's!

Another very beautiful Sophie! I especially like the dots on her back.
I've made a similar experience with the CollectA Edaphosaurus. My only instruction to Martin was that it should be different from yours .

[ZoPteryx]

Awesome Safari Stego repaint!  For some reason, I really enjoy seeing non-standard color schemes on Stegosaurus.

[Jose S.M.]

Beautiful new look for the Stego and I also like that it seems to enhance the already existing paintjob instead of erase it.

[Halichoeres]

That's a very snappy new suit on Sophie. Beautiful addition.

[ceratopsian]

First, thank you for your various comments on "Sophie".  @Jose S.M. and @ZoPteryx: yes, I too like the way Martin built on the existing colours.

Today's offering is Vitali Klatt's Olorotitan, as usual painted and based by Martin Garratt.  I actually bought this towards the end of last year but have only just got round to taking photographs and adding it here.  Unusually I bought this as a finished model from Urzeit, rather than directly commissioning Martin.  I had been looking for ages at the various versions of Klatt's Olorotitan that came up for sale on Urzeit, some by Martin, some by other artists.  I liked the model but didn't see a paint scheme that appealed completely - until this one came up.  I liked it so much that I bought it rather than buying a raw kit.  Just for once, it was nice to have a change and see exactly what the finished product would look like!  Also I liked this one so much that if I had asked Martin to do something different, I would always remember this one.











I particularly like the palette of rich brownish/red tones.  I love the way the stripes emphasize the thickness of the tail and the massive muscles it contains to power the hind legs.  I also love the patterning on the crest, and the way the yellow stripes on the crest are picked up in the soft and subtly coloured rainbow stripes on the underside of the neck.

My Flickr album link for high resolution images (and a few extra):
https://www.flickr.com/photos/69501171@N03/albums/72157710222703521

[Halichoeres]

I think you made the right choice. The patterns both bold and subtle make for a really rich, dynamic piece. There's enough visual interest to hold your gaze for a long spell.

[Jose S.M.]

That's a very elegant dinosaur!

[ceratopsian]

Thank you for the kind comments on my Olorotitan.

I recently mentioned in @Halichoeres' thread that I had commissioned @Jetoar to add Lystrosaurus to his line, Paleo-Creatures.  This was earlier in the summer.  I came up with a couple of image references, both by John Sibbick.  The first is a line drawing from my copy of Michael Benton's book "When Life Nearly Died".  The second is a painting I found on the internet - I wish I knew what book or magazine it was published in, as I would love to have a copy of it.  (I have a soft spot for Sibbick's work and indeed own a few originals.)




I find the dicynodont Lystrosaurus fascinating as the "great survivor" of the end-Permian extinction - and who could forget the title of the documentary M. Benton produced a good few years ago now, "When Pigs Ruled the Earth"!  (His account in "When Life Nearly Died" of the genesis of the documentary is most amusing.)  I wasn't too worried precisely which species Jetoar chose for his model.  He went for L. maccaigi at a scale of 1:20, which lived in what is now the Karoo in South Africa and which failed to survive through into the Early Triassic - though of course its close relatives did and multiplied.  I prefer to think of mine as a species that survived the mayhem!  The Permian Lystrosaurus were larger than their successors who made it through, as far as I can tell.  As we were going to show an animal that was in either a failing or recovering environment, we didn't want anything too lush in order to suggest hard times.  I asked for a pair - I like interacting animals.  I wanted one drinking - the shallow water doesn't show up well in photos, but it is there.

Here's some photos of the result.  Note, the larger tree trunk that appears in the background is not part of Jetoar's diorama.  The animals are too dark to look good against my usual black background and I didn't have anything perfect to use instead.  My white is a bit too glossy, so I wanted to conceal it!












You will notice there is a typo in the species name on the card.

Overall I love it.  The only slight problem is that the thin base curls up a bit at the edge, but a bit of BlueTac underneath will solve that one.

A link to my Flickr album for hi-res or more photos:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/69501171@N03/albums/72157710465444816

[Fenestra]

What a handsome couple. 
(Maybe you can glue the original base on some thicker wooden/plastic base or plaque to stop it from warping?)

[ceratopsian]

What a handsome couple. 
(Maybe you can glue the original base on some thicker wooden/plastic base or plaque to stop it from warping?)

That is a good idea. Thank you!

[Halichoeres]

Those are so cool! There are definitely not enough dicynodonts out there. I just reviewed the ones in my collection and all but perhaps one are discontinued, most for many years.

I'm also a big fan of Sibbick. How great that you own some originals!