Time for another journey to the world of true minatures, and smaller they rarely get. German forum member MIXVS MINIMAX currently works on his interpretation of Giraffatitan, here however I want to introduce you to two of his smaller creations. The Velociraptor and Protoceratops regarded here are not two pieces in one set but are sold seperately. However, since our 2nd rank bad boy villian/hero theropod victoriously thrones on its natural prey, I found it fitting, to show you the more lively version of that aswell.
All figures of the line are made to 1:72 scale, which leaves the figures regarded here rather small, their round bases just measure a mere 2.5 cm in diameter, the dinos standing atop not much larger. Including the base the Protoceratops stands 1.5 cm tall, the Velociraptor 1.9 cm. Both figures require some assembly. That in turn requires some cleaning (cutting off sprues), a steady hand and some super glue. A fresh scalpel and fine tweezers are a great help here. The casts are made from a light grey plastic/resin that, despite the very fine details and thin legs or tails is surprisingly strong. Nevertheless, these are no toys for sure.
The models come unpainted and adding a paint job that gives respect to the details can be quite a pain. It is worth the effort though, since the models come with all details you’d expect from an up to date reconstruction of the species. Every toe and finger is sculpted, eswell as eyes, nostrils or feather fluff.Be careful when applying paint, too thick and a lot of the fine details vanish.
Now, the models themselves: The Protoceratops stands firmly on four legs, the head every so slightly tilted, guarding its nest. That seems freshly dug, around the nest a shallow ditch suggests the animal scraped all the dirt together to form the ring wall for the seven eggs. As expected, the Velociraptor suggests some more action. The small theropd thrones upon a dead Protoceratops. Did it kill it or just found a deceased one? Your paint job can determine that if you want, both versions are possible, though the Protoceratops looks like it was rather healthy before its death, quite unlike the Placerias in the Coelophysis mini diorama. The raptor stands well balanced, claws raised and arms/wings spread upon the body.
Both models come in a small matchbox sized cardboard box, nicely decked in printed descriptions and pictures of readily painted models. The inside of each box gives a short description of the species aswell as detailed instructions for assembly. Highly recommended!
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Very impressive!