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

[ceratopsian]

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year!  And trying out on my 1:18 BotM small ceratopsians a new trick of background removal on my i-Phone that a friend passed on....



It did rather odd things to the colour though, so perhaps one to abandon.

[Halichoeres]

It seems to have given them a bit of a blue wash maybe? I wonder if you removed the background and then adjusted the white balance if it wouldn't look a bit more natural. They are very cool little figures, I have the Protoceratops h. myself. Happy New Year!

[Crackington]

Bit belated,but Happy New Year to you too!  The mini creative beasts are brilliant aren't they, I got the Dromaeosaurus for Xmas too. Your snap is very good despite  the odd colouration - much sharper detail than my pic on my collection thread. Those tiny beasties are hard to capture. Might need to upgrade the phone at some point 🤔

[ceratopsian]

Thanks @Crackington. The little raptors are tempting. I'm very taken with the Linheraptor. 1:18 is a much more manageable scale...

[Bokisaurus]

Catching up! Great new addition to the collection. I also just got those BoTM small figures and they are absolutely amazing and fits well with my collection.
I got the mini Linheraptor and it's a gem!
I'm hoping to do a review of it to accompany my review of the larger version.
I highly recommend it😃

[Halichoeres]

Catching up! Great new addition to the collection. I also just got those BoTM small figures and they are absolutely amazing and fits well with my collection.
I got the mini Linheraptor and it's a gem!
I'm hoping to do a review of it to accompany my review of the larger version.
I highly recommend it😃

Looking forward to that!

[ceratopsian]

As am I, B @Bokisaurus. It would be a most welcome read. My little Linheraptor is due to arrive tomorrow!

[Halichoeres]

Couldn't resist the little bee-eater-of-death, I see!

[ceratopsian]

No, very little will power @Halichoeres!  Also I think I was influenced by the unusual appearance last summer of bee eaters in Norfolk - they actually bred and fledged young, very very rare for this country.  I didn't go to see them but many of my birding pals did, and I enjoyed lots of photos of them.

Couldn't resist the little bee-eater-of-death, I see!

[ceratopsian]

Finally, an update!  I have been experiencing a great deal of trouble with my hands and forearms, and so computer time - and also camera/editing time - has been greatly limited of late.

Despite the occasional inaccuracies (which have been discussed at length in the Haolonggood thread), I've been extremely taken with Haolonggood's two most recent releases, the Nasutoceratops and the Ouranosaurus.  A considerable amount of my pleasure from my models comes from aesthetic beauty, and these complex paint schemes attracted me at first sight.  So much so that I couldn't decide which to buy and went for both.  They are not expensive.  In the hand, I think the brown scheme has the edge - but that was more or less what I expected.

I ordered the Nasutoceratops on AliExpress from Jurassic Zoo Store.  They took about a month to arrive, which isn't bad.  The foam inserts inside the Haolonggood boxes are very protective and all arrived in good order. 

I immediately took the two out for a bit of exercise on the mossy area round our pond, in the spring sunshine!  They were pretty placid, I was highly excited!









I'm impressed at the factory paintjob.  It's complex without being fussy, and well applied - it's not a downgrade from the promotional images.  There are some seams visible in the plastic, e.g. under the chin, but only if you go out of your way to look for them and they don't intrude on display. I'm glad that there are no articulated jaws.

All in all, two excellent additions to my (pretty substantial!) collection of ceratopsians.  I'm looking forward now to the arrival of the Ouranosaurus pair. Thank you to you and your team, V @vampiredesign!

[SidB]

These pictures are just splendid @ceratopsian. Were they taken in overcast conditions or sunny? In either case, I like what I'm seeing. Like you, my enjoyment of a figure isn't derailed by the occasional design flaw or heterodoxy. I ordered the brown version, myself, and I think that these images validate that choice, though the bluish one is really fine too.

[ceratopsian]

Thank you, S @SidB!  These were just taken with my iPad, plus some cropping and a minimal amount of adjustment.  It was mixed sun and overcast - swiftly scudding clouds overhead.  Nos 1 and 3 were under light cloud, the others under full morning sun.  I love the details on the brown, like the touch of steel blue across the ridge between the horns.  The body on the blue is perhaps a little too "solidly" painted, with insufficient obvious variation, by comparison with the brown.  There is variation in fact, but it is dark on slightly less dark, so not so easy to see unless you are examining it closely.

These pictures are just splendid @ceratopsian. Were they taken in overcast conditions or sunny? In either case, I like what I'm seeing. Like you, my enjoyment of a figure isn't derailed by the occasional design flaw or heterodoxy. I ordered the brown version, myself, and I think that these images validate that choice, though the bluish one is really fine too.

[SidB]

Thanks for providing the lighting details. @ceratopsian . It makes me realize that I probably need to update my technology to take the next step up, photography-wise. BTW, I hope that you're able to get some effective help to ameliorate/ cure your finger and forearm challenges!

[ceratopsian]

Thanks S @SidB. I've been seeing a hand specialist physio for some months and it's improved considerably with a battery of daily exercises. But I still need to be careful not to do too much of the same thing for too long. The prognosis is it will improve further but I will need to keep up the strengthening exercises permanently. Just seems to be wear and tear associated with age rather than carpal tunnel or RSI. It's been exceedingly frustrating and depressing at times!  As is using voice recognition software!!

Thanks for providing the lighting details. @ceratopsian . It makes me realize that I probably need to update my technology to take the next step up, photography-wise. BTW, I hope that you're able to get some effective help to ameliorate/ cure your finger and forearm challenges!

[TooOldForDinosaurs]

Fantastic photos! I ordered the blue one but I'm starting to regret that I didn't go for the brown one. The complexity of the different fades are really beautiful. 

[SidB]

Thanks S @SidB. I've been seeing a hand specialist physio for some months and it's improved considerably with a battery of daily exercises. But I still need to be careful not to do too much of the same thing for too long. The prognosis is it will improve further but I will need to keep up the strengthening exercises permanently. Just seems to be wear and tear associated with age rather than carpal tunnel or RSI. It's been exceedingly frustrating and depressing at times!  As is using voice recognition software!!

Thanks for providing the lighting details. @ceratopsian . It makes me realize that I probably need to update my technology to take the next step up, photography-wise. BTW, I hope that you're able to get some effective help to ameliorate/ cure your finger and forearm challenges!

Glad to hear that progress is being made; ah, the joys of the aging process! Well, one day at a time.

[Halichoeres]

That's a fine-looking pair. Haolonggood definitely excels at paintwork. Sorry to hear about your hands; I hope the exercises continue to improve things.

[ceratopsian]

Yesterday I had a courier delivery from the PNSO AliExpress store. I was impressed with the look of their 99-piece limited edition bronze of "Hoffmann the Aurochs" when it was released in 2021.  I was drawn to the power of his stance, emphasised by his uphill plinth.  But I held off from buying it until last week.  I had been looking at it periodically in PNSO's store and charting the current price.  Finally I decided I really wanted it and took advantage of a decent reduction (not massive but it made a difference!)  And I have @TooOldForDinosaurs to thank for giving me the extra spur to take the plunge!

I often buy models because the subject reminds me of something in my past.  In this case, it was attending a weekend course on Stonehenge, at which the archaeologist David Jacques was the lecturer.  He has excavated the exceptionally interesting Mesolithic site of Blick Mead, close to Stonehenge.  The course included discussions of possible uses of the Stonehenge environment prior to the construction of monuments there, and one suggestion was that the configuration of the local landscape might have facilitated aurochs hunting.  The image stuck in my mind, and was strongly evoked by the PNSO model.

Here's a few shots of it on the chest of drawers in my dressing room:







He makes an excellent contrast in texture with his two feathered companions - normally they were spaced further apart than this so each can be appreciated fully, but I shifted them closer for a photo opportunity.  Despite the room lacking natural light, it's a good display place: the light from the lamp on the chest throws a warm golden glow over his burnished skin.  (I have the PNSO bronze Thalassodromeus as well, but that is displayed in the sitting room.)

[Dusty Wren]

Wow, that auroch is gorgeous! Congrats, @ceratopsian. He looks great with the other PNSO bronzes, too.

(This is really making me wish PNSO would release some prehistoric mammals in PVC.)

[SidB]

Well done, @ceratopsian , for your own personal 'bronze age'!