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

[ceratopsian]

I'm still catching up.  The next item to show you is a model by SenSen, the Chinese artist, which arrived a few weeks ago now with Sophie the Stegosaurus.  This was my first order placed through Dinosaur Darkroom and everything went perfectly.  I like herbivores and youngsters, so couldn't resist SenSen's Camptosaurus and juvenile in 1:20 scale - so not too large, and very appealing as an animal not often made into toys or resin models.  I could also have ordered a Neovenator in hot pursuit, but I'm not keen on having too many prey/predator scenes in my collection.  I left Martin Garratt to follow his own choice, just asking him to soften the base with some foliage.















If you want to see high-resolution images (or a few more), here is a link to my Camptosaurus Flickr album:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/69501171@N03/albums/72157710333772981/with/48545897166/

[Halichoeres]

Another beautiful job by Garratt, and of course a really nice sculpt too. I agree that not every herbivore needs to be fleeing from a predator. Also, what an odd choice to make it Neovenator, from such a different time and place.

[ceratopsian]

Another beautiful job by Garratt, and of course a really nice sculpt too. I agree that not every herbivore needs to be fleeing from a predator. Also, what an odd choice to make it Neovenator, from such a different time and place.

SenSen might have been thinking of the taxonomically disputed Camptosaurus prestwichii (= Cumnoria), which is at least known from the UK.  But I agree, the dates can't be made to fit!  Must admit I hadn't thought about this before, as I simply dismissed the other model as not something I wanted.

[ceratopsian]

Still catching up with the last few months....  This time not custom models but a pair of off-the-peg ceratopsians.  I have an occasional sentimental streak.  Quite early on in my collecting I bought Rebor's Stegosaurus hatchling, "Clover" - though I draw the line at displaying him chewing on his clover leaf.  I hadn't bought the matching "Jolly" the Triceratops but then a few months ago suddenly felt the urge to track one down.  It was a complicated sequence involving seeing a Chinese model on eBay, which I realised was a bit too similar to the Rebor.  I couldn't find one locally and ended up buying one from Australia - a bit of an expensive treat, given the postage and customs dues!  I don't display Jolly wearing his Father Christmas hat!

A few photos:









And a couple of shots of the Schleich Diabloceratops as well:





Here's the links to my Flickr albums for these two models for hi-resolution (and more) photos:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/69501171@N03/albums/72157710483402232

https://www.flickr.com/photos/69501171@N03/albums/72157710533213421

[Shonisaurus]

@ceratopsian The triceratops breeds coming out of the Rebor shell that I also bought several years ago is not plastic but polyresin. Schleich's diabloceratops is made of plastic.

[ceratopsian]

@ceratopsian The triceratops breeds coming out of the Rebor shell that I also bought several years ago is not plastic but polyresin. Schleich's diabloceratops is made of plastic.

You are of course correct. A silly slip and I have corrected it. Thank you!

[Killekor]

Congratulations for your new acquisitions, Ceratopsian!
Both figures are wonderful.

Killekor

[Fenestra]

I have the chinese version of the Triceratops baby in my collection and of course it's a blatant ripp off of Rebor's Jolly. 
Rebor's Jolly looks much more dynamic and the egg she is in is far more realistic.
You've made the right choice. 

[Gothmog the Baryonyx]

That Camptosaurus diorama is stunning

[Syndicate Bias]

Is there a collection thread for ceratopsian? Or is this it? I'm interested in seeing a group photo

[ceratopsian]

Is there a collection thread for ceratopsian? Or is this it? I'm interested in seeing a group photo

Yes, this is my collection thread. I couldn't manage a group photo of everything. Just not enough space to pose the models!

[Syndicate Bias]

Is there a collection thread for ceratopsian? Or is this it? I'm interested in seeing a group photo

Yes, this is my collection thread. I couldn't manage a group photo of everything. Just not enough space to pose the models!

Ah I see I'm gonna have to do some scrolling then 

What is your absolute favourite model in your entire collection?

[ceratopsian]

.........
Ah I see I'm gonna have to do some scrolling then 

What is your absolute favourite model in your entire collection?

S @Syndicate Bias, Scrolling is good!  My collection thread does not show everything I own - I think when I first joined the forum, I put some special things into individual threads, for instance my first commission of a Nasutoceratops:

http://dinotoyblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=4318.msg127308#msg127308

Also I put some things occasionally in Recent Acquisitions.  I had been thinking recently that it might be worth taking photos at some point of some of the things I have that haven't made it into my collection thread.

All my recent photos have gone onto Flickr - so another way of looking at my collection would be to look at my Flickr account.  I put models into individual albums but also into broader albums like Martin Garratt projects, Ceratopsia, Sauropods, CollectA models, categories like that.  But again, it won't be a complete view of my collection.

Very hard to say what is my absolute favourite - I would probably give you a different answer on a different day.  Of my resin models, probably the Achelousaurus by Lu Feng Shan, run a close second by Bingni's Sinornithosaurus.  But I love them all.  Of my repainted "toys", perhaps the Mantellisaurus, or Earth108's Diplodocus - or the pair of CollectA Spinosaurus. Or......

Of my plastic toys and similar, perhaps the Battat Diplodocus, or the PNSO Ankylosaurus or Spinops, or the......  I love many of them for many different reasons, e.g. the first one I bought, or something that reminds me of a particular palaeontotological development (like the old Carnegie Maiasaura sitting on her eggs), or the first PNSO I bought when they first became known in the West, or an animal I'm fond of.

[Libraraptor]

This is still a great collection thread!

[ceratopsian]

Thank you for the various comments above.  I am especially pleased to hear from @Fenestra that it was a good choice not to buy the Chinese "version" of the hatchling Triceratops instead.

Today will be a very photo-heavy post and I'll split it into a couple of entries.  This is the final resin model that came recently and the largest, with the most varied animal action - hence the larger number of photos. 

Continuing my ceratopsian theme, here is SenSen's model of an Einiosaurus relaxing by the side of a stream, a juvenile at her side. The youngster is alarmed by the troop of Troodon, fishing just across the water.  The mother keeps a watchful eye open but knows they are no threat to her.  As usual the model was built, painted and based by Martin Garratt, who made the "stream" to connect the main base and the add-on with the troodontids (which was sold as an optional extra).  I saw a comment that someone else who had one found that the troodontid base didn't fit snugly against the larger Einiosaurus element - Martin very cleverly removed that problem for me.  I asked Martin this time to create quite a sober colour scheme for the large herbivore.  The skill lies in the detail he created within that sober palette.

A word on my collecting philosophy: I am aware that the "mother" (or "father") Einiosaurus watching over her partly grown (and single) youngster is very mammalian behaviour imposed on a ceratopsian dinosaur.  It probably didn't happen like this.  But I collect mostly from an aesthetic perspective.  I'm happy to hold simultaneously my appreciation of the beauty of the model and the drama of the moment, along with acceptance that it might not represent accurately animal behaviour.  I'm also aware of taxonomic issues with Troodon.  But I'm happy to think troodontid.

On to the photos:

The back of the mother: I love the spotted pattern.


The pair together: once you look at the adult's frill, you see all the tonal variation Martin introduced:




The startled youngster's gullet!  I can hear a squawk emerging, partly fear, partly bravado.






The first glimpse of the cause of the trauma disturbing the adult's nap in the heat of the day:


And a first look at the whole thing: you can see how Martin managed to unite the Einiosaurus base and the smaller Troodon base so seamlessly and artistically:


To be continued shortly!

[ceratopsian]

Onto the second part, where I'll focus on the little troodontids at their fishing.  Before we get to the photos, I'll tell you the sorry tale of how I unpacked this model.  It had arrived during the day and was taken in by my husband.  I got back home after a long tough day and felt shattered - but I couldn't resist attacking the box (which didn't only contain this model).  Bad mistake and one I won't repeat.  The little troodontids were individually and carefully bubble-wrapped by Marilyn.  I unwrapped two - but the third somehow jumped out of my hand.  I was left holding the wrapping, not the dinosaur.  It lay on the carpet, both legs (so very thin!) snapped right through.  I felt a fool confessing to Marilyn that everything had arrived intact - but I'd been clumsy.  I left it until the weekend to attempt to fix it with superglue, the fall-back position being that it would go back to Martin.  It took ages, as the minute legs wouldn't hold together.  I needed to exert some pressure to help the join - but was afraid to exert too much.  Just as I was on the verge of giving up, I managed it - then went to have a strong cup of coffee to recuperate and shake with relief.  Anyway - the join isn't obvious, thank heavens.

One of the troodontids keeps a beady bird-like eye on the squawking Einiosaurus, perhaps checking that it's not about to lose its lunch to a curious animal happy to try out piscivory or worse!


Bird's eye view of two troodontids to show how much detail Martin packed into painting tiny creatures (think Kaiyodo sized pretty well)


Cooperating troodontids - or one contemplating stealing lunch?


In possession:


Looking greedily on - this also gives a feel for Martin's work on enhancing the diorama with his stream.


And finally, the "king of the castle" - not so absorbed in eating its fish that it isn't keeping an eye on the large beasts across the stream:


The scale of the diorama is 1:20, the Einiosaurus pair are numbered 52, the troodontids 61.  Both came with a "credit card" giving details in Chinese, as is the norm for SenSen.  Together the diorama is quite large - I was a bit worried whether it would fit easily onto my shelf.  But it does.  After the trauma with unpacking, I was most reluctant to remove it from the cabinet for its photo-shoot - but in the end I got my courage together!

I should also say thank you here to @acro-man.  This is the last model I bought through him before he closed his store.  It's one of my prize models.  I'm grateful to him for all the help and friendship he gave me.

So I'm up to date with my resins, although Martin has something in his queue.

If you want to see hi-res or yet more photos, here's the link to my Flickr album:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/69501171@N03/albums/72157710368703041

[Fenestra]

Beautiful. Everything. What a gem.
I really enjoy story telling dioramas. There is so much going on. Another gazer! 
The expression on the elder Einiosaurus face is great. You can almost hear him say: "YOU KIDS GET OFF MY LAWN!"

[postsaurischian]

    Wonderful diorama! I have been thinking about buying it for a few days, but decided against it because I already have the Krentz Einiosaurus
        and I have to take care of my (meanwhile) limited space options. It fits very well in your collection. Congratulaions!
        The option to have a complete Einiosaur family (the Krentz model is a "bull") was tempting but I have to limit myself .
        BTW: I had placed my Einiosaurus on the floor when I cleaned up the shelve on which it had been displayed. When I turned around I accidently
        gave him a kick and it broke into 4 pieces . I was so shocked! I packed it away and haven't been able to look at it for more than a year until
        recently when I sent it to Dr. Martin for garrattizing surgery. It now looks exactly as it did before. I'm soo happy to know the man .

        _{No, I've never placed any resin model on the floor while cleaning up since then.}

[ceratopsian]

@postsaurischian - what a terrible accident!  Your heart must have missed a beat. My shelves are due their autumn clean. I will remember your mishap.  I am so glad Martin's surgery was successful - your model is magnificent.

I know what you mean about space and the need to be discerning.  I have restrained myself recently from buying a couple of models. They did not fit so well with my collection's focus.

[acro-man]

Another vivid paint from Martin once again. And you have done a good job repairing it. The damage is literally invisible.
It would be great if we could see this one in the Diorama Contest, but would also be a spoiler cos we all knew who owns it 

I too have damaged toys and after super glueing them I pretend nothing happened.
Sometimes lying to yourself make life easier...