Some new work on African diorama

I have been so focused on India that I have not posted anything on Africa . I have been putting bushes and elephant grass down on the extension, trying to get it ready for the wild dog scene that Ana is sending , and Danny brought up an idea that I had at the beginning of the build but did not do because of space. In the savanna there are these rock outcroppings called kopji 's. It is an African word, but I do not know the meaning. These rocks hold water all year so there is sort of an oasis around them with green plants and shrubs that animals can feed on even when the rest of the area is dry.

In my dio it is not a drought condition , so the trees are still green , and there are lots of bushes to feed on, but it is the end of summer so the grass is tall and yellow. Here are a couple of photos of the rock kopji that I am starting, this is the first version of the rocks , I have to fix the seams and do a final paint job, but overall I like the form I have chosen and the placement. I used cloth and plaster to make the rock , and if you look up photos of big kopjis there are fissures in the rocks from the water runnning through them in the rainy season so I chose the form of a split boulder. I will use clay to hid the seams , and add lots of green plants to the yellowing grass that surrounds the formation.

I hope you like the photos , the only problem I have is now the baobab tree does not fit anywhere and look good. I even tried moving the rockwork corner and putting it there but I did not like any place I set it. At one point I put it over on the original rock pool area in the raised place where the cape buffalo were and it is just so big that it looks out of place in that spot. Now I do not know what to do with it , but at this point my feelings are it will not be on the final diorama as it stands now. Maybe in the future I will do another Extension to put it on, I may even consider selling or trading it for , but that will be hard as baobab trees are one of my favorite and this one is a beautiful sculpture that I am very happy with I just do not know at this point what to do with it.

Well this is what you have all been waiting for ...
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I played Zoo Tycoon 2 with all the expansion,and most African species adored the kopje!

That is going to look awesome Phil. Sad about the tree though. Hopefully you will find a spot for it or build another extension to put it on.

Very fine kopjes Phil, but again it is too bad for your so spectacular baobab. You must find a solution and I'm sure you will.

It's looking great Phil, sad about the baobab tree though.

I finished the final form, I still have to paint it like a rock, the grey is just a primer because the paint doesn't stick to the cloth very well, but here is the complete structure. I still have some touch ups to make, hiding the seams and adding the smaller rocks that are going to be at the base of the highest rock. Small things like that. I had to remove a big portion of grass, and I just stuck it back up against the rock, I will get a new batch and glue it down and cover the entire base with the red earth so that the edges are hidden, things like that.

Here are a couple of photos, one from a front view and the other at an angle. I have decided to add a few animals to the formation, there are a few that I have to talk to Ana about making in the future, and until I do I don't want to spoil the suprise. Enjoy the photos...

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I have put the first coat of color on the kopji, (the grey in the other photos is a primer as the paint doesn't stick to the cloth I use to make it) I start with the darker colors and on rocks in the past I have done 3 coats. This coat is a mix of drk grey, burnt umber and yellow. If you look up pictures of kopjis there are no two that are colored alike, most have a distinctive shape, although there are ones that just look like small hills, and others that look like huge mountains. The next step will be to add the beige colors to the top of the rockwork. The photo I chose to use as my inspiration has a dark area at the bottom, and lighter greys and beige towards the top. I have gotten several painting tips from Ana and I am just waiting for a paint that will be a darker wash to go over the rocks as the final coat, so this set will be 4 coats.

Here is a picture of the rocks on the diorama, I have also added a few trees and bushes to the area
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The rocks and bushes look fantastic Phil !

You know I've already seen these kopje and I think they are very good. And they look very good on diorama too

Very fine Phil

I finally got the wash in, I ordered 3 colors, black, brown, and grey, but the only color that arrived was brown. The other two will be here when they are back in stock. I added the brown and it came out pretty good, but not quite what I was looking for, I think I need a more yellow tint to the color, but when the black comes in I am going to fill in the shadows and that will give it some depth when I photograph it with the flash.

Here is the photos I took.
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Very fine Phil.

Now we need to see some animals on to imagine the scale

They look really realistic Phil, I like how you've painted them a lot.

I think your kopjes look already very good Phil!

The word kopje comes from the Dutch language, as many words in the so called (South-)African language, which originates almost completely from the Dutch, as the Dutch farmers emigrated there.
It is spoken like an old kind of Dutch, and when you go there, you can speak Dutch with those people, you will understand eachother perfectly.
Kopje means little head actually, probably named like that , because they stood out in the landscape, as a little head.
We still have areas in Europe, so in Holland too, where you have streets with rounded stones, called kinder-kopjes in Dutch, which means little childrens heads.
They can be very slippery to ride on, specially on your bike.
In the "Tour de France" , they always have at least one etappe on those kind of streets.