Wren's Repaints: Paleo Sculpture Paraceratherium

[Dusty Wren]

I promised myself that this year I would stop thinking about repainting dino toys and actually do it, so here's my current work in progress.

I actually really liked the original colors on the Safari Deinonychus, but my figure came with some errors in the factory paint. Most notably, the reddish-brown stripe on the left side of the tail just kinda...vanished halfway up.



So this was a good candidate for my first repaint.

I primed the model with a white spray primer and blocked in the basic color plan. I'm keeping the original brown on top/white on the bottom color scheme, but it's a cooler brown and a warmer white this time. The face and feet are a mid-tone gray.



The underside got a cream-colored wash and some white drybrushing to brighten it up. I went with gray for the claws. Can we take a minute to just appreciate how good the sculpting on this toy is? Those little dromaeosaur claws poking out from under the feathers is such a nice detail.



Added some flashy white stripes to the tail.



And this is what it looks like right now. I'm happy with the basic color plan; I just need to figure out the details, like the color of the eyes. I'm thinking that the head needs some kind of extra detail to add some interest, too. Maybe white rings around the eyes?

[Ezikot]

It's a work of art, @Dusty Wren, congratulations!
In my opinion, it's already set, I wouldn't add anything. About the eyes, I wouldn't paint them just black glossy, but (dark) yellow with black pupil.
(Almost every day a forum member post pictures of a beatiful repaint... how many of you are that talented?!!)

[ceratopsian]

It's beautiful, really like it.

I would perhaps be cautious about solid white rings round the eyes - it might look a bit harsh. But as I can't paint at all, I'm probably not the person to be handing out advice!

[Dusty Wren]

Thank you, everyone!

My original plan for the face markings was something like what you see on an American robin. Sort of a broken white ring around each eye. But I also like Stolpergeist's suggestion of brow spots. I might have to mock up some designs on paper before I commit to anything.

[Bokisaurus]

Looks good especially for your first attempt.
Glad to see you handle the paint application not heavy handed.
How about adding some colors?😃

[Halichoeres]

Beautiful, well done.

[Shonisaurus]

@Dusty Wren You have done a very good job. Honestly, I really like dinosaurs and prehistoric animals with that muted color, for me it is the most realistic or at least the most prudent color that most dinosaurs and prehistoric animals can have since we will never know what they really were. I love the conservative colors in the figures. My congratulations.

[Dusty Wren]

Honestly, I really like dinosaurs and prehistoric animals with that muted color, for me it is the most realistic or at least the most prudent color that most dinosaurs and prehistoric animals can have since we will never know what they really were. I love the conservative colors in the figures.

Thank you, @Shonisaurus. I tend to like muted colors on my dinos, too. I went with @Ezikot's suggestion and gave him deep gold eyes, though, so he did get at least some color on him!



I ended up skipping the white markings on the face. I mocked up a bunch of different marking options in GIMP and didn't really like any of them, so his head is staying unmarked. He got two coats of protective varnish and then a matte spray sealant to de-shiny him.



I might need to make him a base eventually. He's prone to toppling over, and the varnish can only do so much to protect the paint. For now, though, I'm declaring him done.

[Stegotyranno420]

wow

[Dusty Wren]

The figure I was most excited about in 2020 was Papo's Megaloceros. I'm a big fan of extinct deer (if my avatar didn't give that away). Unfortunately, the seller didn't package the figure very well and the left antler snapped off in the mail. Since a similar fate may befall someone else's toy, I thought I'd do a write-up on how I repaired it.



I softened the plastic with some warm water and used pliers to insert a straight pin into the antler as deep as it would go without punching out the other side. I snipped off the pin about a quarter inch above the surface of the antler. I made a corresponding hole in the pedicle. I would have preferred to use a thicker wire (and a drill bit) for this, but I didn't have much of a flat surface on the antler side to work with.



I dabbed some E6000 glue into the concave part of the break and inserted the wire to join the pieces back together. Spoiler warning: this glue didn't work. The pieces peeled apart again during the painting process. I re-glued it with some two-part epoxy, and the repair feels a lot stronger now. Still, I think he's going to need a base. No glue in the world is going to hold this thing together if it falls off my shelf.

The pieces fit together snugly, but the join was still pretty obvious. So I made a coronet for each antler out of Apoxie Sculpt. The figure was missing this feature, anyway, and it hides the join nicely. I had some Apoxie left over, so I made him a penile sheath, after seeing this feature on paintingdinos' lovely custom Megaloceros for Loon.



Here he is, primed and ready for paint!

[andrewsaurus rex]

beautiful work on the Deinonychus, the eyes are beautiful.  I like conservative muted colours on dinos too.  Looking forward to seeing more of your work.

[Kapitaenosavrvs]

The Deinonychus came out perfect. It almost looks a bit like its made out of Metal. Wonderful work. Looking forward to the Megaloceres. I have to say, that he already looks good with the Primer. Like he's made out of Porcelain^^ And: What a shame :-D First the Paintingerror and then the broken Antler.

[Patrx]

That Deinonychus is magnificent! Great work. I'm sure the Megaloceros will be lovely too

[Dusty Wren]

Thank you for the kind words, A @andrewsaurus and @Patrx. I'm just about done with the repaint on the Megaloceros, so I'll get some pictures up in a few days.

@Kapitaenosavrvs, I think someone could easily paint this toy to look like a vintage porcelain figure, or a bronze statue. It's got a lot of big, bold details on it, so you could fake the look of other materials with the right paint job. Making some fake bronze bookends with a pair of Megaloceros would be a pretty cool project, honestly. 

[Halichoeres]

Great job with the rescue. It's a bummer you got a mishandled figure, but in a way I'm glad it went to someone who could salvage it. I like the bookend idea!

[Dusty Wren]

Great job with the rescue. It's a bummer you got a mishandled figure, but in a way I'm glad it went to someone who could salvage it. I like the bookend idea!

Thanks, @Halichoeres. I'm glad the antler seems to be staying put; my Plan B if it falls off again is to fill in the pedicle and say he's just mid-shed

In Deer of the World, Valerius Geist makes some predictions about Megaloceros' appearance: dark rostrum, white fur around the eyes and rhinarium and inside the ears, and a big rump patch. He also points out that a number of cursorial ungulates (like Marco Polo sheep and addaxes) have white legs and bellies, and since Megaloceros was a cursorial deer, it may have had a similar coloration. I'm not following Geist's interpretation to the letter, but I did use it as a starting point. Of course, I kept the cave paintings in mind, too.



Some close ups:





And one work in progress shot. I called this the blonde roast stage. I kinda liked the way he looked at this point; it reminded me of Ken Walker's taxidermy Megaloceros.

[Shonisaurus]

Nice representation in painting of the megaloceros of Papo has been more realistic and the details of the painting much superior. My congratulations on your repainting has been great.

[Kapitaenosavrvs]

Wow, this came out spectacular. Well done! Your Paintskills are superb. * looks at every mm of the Picures with his eys, to steal skill *

[Dusty Wren]

Thanks so much, @Shonisaurus and @Kapitaenosavrvs! Really happy with how the Megaloceros turned out, and glad you like him, too.

Hopefully I'll get another custom posted in this thread before the weekend. I finished repainting the CollectA Kamuysaurus, but it's been pouring all week and the humidity wrecks havoc on my spray fixative. Here's hoping for better weather tomorrow.

[Bokisaurus]

 Wry nice modifications and fix on this figure.
I love the repaint, really brings out so much of the details and really makes the figure eye catching, good job!😃 nice blending of colors, too.