SidB's Repaints - Revisiting the Past

[Shonisaurus]

Gorgeous touch-ups, this year's Doug sculptures daspletosaurus and baryonyx are clear candidates for the best dinosaur figure according to Prehistoric Times.

[SidB]

Thanks, and agreed, @Shonisaurus , they certainly merited the effort to bring out the detail in Doug's work.

[SidB]

The original green Papo Parasaurolophus was a fairly decent sculpt for its time, with plenty of typically paponian detail, of course. But even then it had some egregious errors, one being the ridiculous teeth in its beak. Honestly, I'd grown tired of the color scheme, so we repainted it to match the much more dynamic coloration of the recent repaint.





As you can see, the re-paint format that Papo executed was followed quite closely, with some improvements. But that's not all ... .

[SidB]

Gone are the silly teeth in the beak.



That was an annoying detail that marred the original.

[SidB]

Gone are the terribly incorrect fingers on the front feet, replaced by hooves, courtesy of milliput and paint.



This was a fun little project. The fine Safari Edmontosaurus will be a future candidate for "hoofication" too.

[Bokisaurus]

Very nice improvement on this figure.
Yeah, it really showed it's age quickly , but somehow I'm very fond of this figure 😃 maybe because during its time, I was very excited by it.

[SidB]

It's true, most all of the Papos were amazing for their time, but this one didn't age so well. But I must say, it displays really nicely now, even among the PNSO's. It's great to be able to give some of these figures a new lease on life, rather than jettisoning them, especially because of the nostalgia factor, to which you allude.

[Shonisaurus]

Gorgeous new look for Papo's parasaurolophus. I honestly also like that the toes of the front legs are replaced by hooves. More realistic version than Papo's initial. With the change or modification of paint it gives an improved appearance. You have done a great job.

[SidB]

Thanks, @Shonisaurus . Really, the replacement of the fingers with hooves was the decisive factor in going ahead with the project. I mean, I could  have just gone ahead and bought the Papo repaint - but what's the point, it continued to have the worst faults of the original: the beak teeth and the lack of hooves. So we proceeded, using drilled metal pins at the back of the hands to re-inforce the milliput, which added some bulk to the very fragile looking hands, giving some substance to the replacement hooves. I'm quite pleased with the outcome. As it has been said, "nothing succeeds like success."

[Dusty Wren]

I had to go look up what the original hands looked like, and whoa, yeah, yours are a massive improvement! They look perfectly natural and blend in with the original sculpt well. The paint job looks great, too.

[SidB]

I had to go look up what the original hands looked like, and whoa, yeah, yours are a massive improvement! They look perfectly natural and blend in with the original sculpt well. The paint job looks great, too.

Thanks, as you well know, there is great satisfaction in going the process of research, weighing the options, making the decisions and then doing the actual work. I have a local artist who works with me on these projects and it's all a lot of fun. Yeah, the hooves make a huge difference. I wouldn't  have been satisfied without making that change. The original fingers were far too delicate - the hooves and the increased mass of the tissue behind them gives a proper impression of the weight and presence of the animal, I think.

[irimali]

Really nice color scheme on the Parasaurolophus! 

[SidB]

Really nice color scheme on the Parasaurolophus!

Thank you. The old color scheme (green tones) was okay, but I eventually tired of it. I display many of my Papo figures with the PNSO's, Vitae's and a CollectA or two, because of the density of textures and compatible colors - this Parasaurolophus now looks great alongside these, instead of being relegated to the storage box.

[SidB]

Not content with the upgrade of the Papo Parasaurolophus, I also tackled the somewhat iconic and retro Brachiosaurus. Obvious major pose issues and the gross anatomy had to remain untouched. but I was very unhappy with the position of the external nares high up on the skull, and the depiction of five digits in the manus and four in the pes. I wanted to de-emphasize these retro aspects of the sculpt, so here is the result. No repaint was attempted, only the touch-up on and around the feet. Feel free to checkout the original review on the DTB.

Overall image:



Removing the external nares from the top of the head to a position halfway or so towards the end of the snout:



Reducing the hind digits by one:



Reducing the manus to one digit. I decided not to alter the position of the innermost toe. May later, we'll see. Note the extension of the wrinkling on the lower leg onto the now hidden digits. I like, in particular, this aspect of Chris' work.

[SidB]

Gone are the terribly incorrect fingers on the front feet, replaced by hooves, courtesy of milliput and paint.



This was a fun little project. The fine Safari Edmontosaurus will be a future candidate for "hoofication" too.

P.S. I enlarged the image of the hooves on the Parasaurolophus  for better clarity.

[Shonisaurus]

You have been great.How have you reduced the rear toes of the brachiosaurus Papo by one? What techniques do you use to reshape and give a new look to collectible dinosaur figures? Your palaeo-artistic work is very creative and interesting.

[SidB]

@Shonisaurus , to answer your question, I'll pass along Chris' comments on it: " For the bracho, I first took a pressing of the skin texture using a product called 'blue stuff'. The I shaved down the toes and sculpted the new shape with millput. Lastly, while the milliput was still soft, I pressed the blue mold into it to recreate the skin texture." Obviously he took meticulous care to ensure a considerable degree of precision. Finally, after adequate hardening, the worked areas were primered and then repainted, carefully ensuring that the colors were exactly matched. Quite typical of his work. I  must say that his main area of subcreation is in the sphere of Warhammer, of which he has a huge and growing collection, including many modifications and innovations. I'll see if I can forward you an example of his craft.

[Shonisaurus]

S @SidB Thanks for the info. She asked because she has been great. She did not know that the process of transforming a toy dinosaur figure was so laborious. It is a work of Chinese metaphorically speaking.

[Kapitaenosavrvs]

Loving it.

[SidB]

Loving it.

Thank you. it's a privilege to have the opportunity to share, for sure.