My first homemade model!

Hello!
With the acquisition of some figures obtained in a trade, my collection reached 96 figures.
Then I planned something. The figure number 100 must be something very special. And I think that nothing can be more special than the first homemade model made by the owner of any collection of itself.
So I'be found a new toy shop full of dreamed CollectA figures. I wanted a lot, but I bought just three. So I can mantain the order and reach 99. This happened yesterday.
Today I was ready to start my new adventure. I went in the late morning to buy a modelling paste. SuperSculpey was the one recommended by the shop owner and also recommended by forum members so I've bought it. I also bought acrylic paints (until now I repainted my models with aquarell pencils).
I decided that my first model would be the Dall's porpoise. A dreamed, wonderful and distinctive wonderful species. Easy to paint as it have only two plain colours. And I've tought that is easy to sculpt too (a smooth skin should be easier than a furry one).

First I contructed a wire skeleton. Dall's porpoise is the biggest of the porpoises and vaquita is the smallest, so I've tried to do in proportion scale to the Safari LTD vaquita.
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Then I made a tinfoil covering for the skeleton. This way I don't waste modelling paste, and also is easier to bake.
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Now it comes the most difficult part. The modelling. I went putting pieces of SuperSculpey over the tinfoil, and tried to give shape and realism. Is not an easy task. Make a smooth skin is probably more difficult than a furry skin, I think. Everywhere are noticeable the bumps and hollows. The caudal fin had a bit ugly shape. Probably I didn't should to extend the wire skeleton into the caudal fin. But well, it's done. Also is extremely difficult to avoid the fingerprints over the skin. I tried to smooth everything, but new fingerprints are added as I touched. Well, it could be worse.
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I put it in the oven following the paste instructions about temperature and time of baking. During the baking, one of the flippers curved badly, but well... let it pass. Here is the model just out of the oven. I waited some minutes for colding. Still a bit hot, but I had no patience. I MUST start to paint!!!!
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I've decided to start by the white belly. Because painting black over the white is, I think, more sure than painting white over the black: it reduces the possibilities of dirt blackish spots by fingers in the white part.
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Then I've started with the black body...
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And here, finally, the product finished!!!!!
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For the eyes, I use a liquid ink pen. Then they remaint shiny over the matt black of the skin.
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Very nice first figure :)

Thanks dear friend :)

Well done! Interesting to see the construction process; I am surprised it had to be baked. Are you planning to make more?

Sorry but yesterday I was in modelmaker fever mood! I baked four more species in the evening and painted today in the morning :)

See needle for size comparison. Notice that the butterfly wings are made from a Collecta tag
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Ornate butterflyfish, Chaetodon ornatissimus. Butterflyfishes are some of my favourite fishes and this species is one of the nicest. I didn't intended that the center of gravity went to the head, but it's fine, then it looks like the fish is feeding.
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Fea's viper, Azemiops feae. Maybe the most beautiful viper in the world? Safari LTD Good Luck Minis chameleon behind.
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Underside, I think they have dark grey bellies so I've painted as such
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Maybe my most ambitious creature. And also one I've planned to do since begin with the idea of homemade models, months before buying the materials for the real start. Rajah Brooke's birdwing, Trogonoptera brookiana. One of the few insects enough large for make it more or less to scale with my bigger animals, and the first arthropod of my collection. The body, legs an antennae are baked but of course the wings, made of plastified paper?, can't be heated. So I made the body and legs (difficult task, as they're really thin), put a tinfoil ball under for avoid deformation during baking (well, the antennae went downwards, but the body stands on its legs that is what I wanted), and once baked, I glued the wings themselves in the natural position of the species, leaving a hollow for attach after to the body, and once dry I glued the wing conjunct to the body. Naturally, while the glue is fresh one wing side went down to the surface , so I've put a thin object under so both pairs of wings are at the same level and both separated from the surface under.
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Of course, the underside of the wings must be accurate (a common fail amongs butterfly figure makers are doing the underside identical to upperside)
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And finally, one of the most beautiful of all the waterfowl: the African pygmy goose, Nettapus auritus. Takara Tomy crested ibis and Kaiyodo Adelie penguin behind. Slowly my mammal-dominated collection starts to have some nice birds.
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rogerpgvg wrote:

Well done! Interesting to see the construction process; I am surprised it had to be baked. Are you planning to make more?

We crossed replies but I think that my previous message answered your question!

Congratulations nice job I love in particular African pygmy goose
I did not know her before beautiful colors I saw images on the web

Congratulations on a great job! I especially like the goose, and the butterfly.

Stunning models, you did a great job. Thanks for showing!

Another artist in the rush: Congratulation Pardofelis

Hahah, thanks everybody!!

Once started, I can't stop....! Like in the previous day, I've sculpted and baked yesterday and painted today in the early morning :)
But this time, the new batch was a disaster :'( :'(

Just out of the oven, showing the problems during baking...
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1. Giant freshwater stingray, Himantura chaophraya (now Himantura polylepis I think, but I'm too used to the old and suggestive name!) I was able to got a nice surface without bumps, unlike in the porpoise. But, as seen in the photo above, during baking... some bubble-like bumps appeared in the left fin!
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And now a travel to South America!
2. Pacarana, Dinomys branickii. This one went almost perfect... except by the legs, that before baking are well leveled with the four feet flat touching the ground... but during baking they deformed a bit and the result is not touching the ground with the whole feet. Also the body went a bit inclined to a side... But I think that despite that it deserves to be displayed :)
I know, the muzzle don't have the best shape... but it was already baked when I noticed.
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Probably the worst enemy of the pacarana is the jaguar... this giant rodent is a pretty decent meal!
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3. Blue-throated macaw, Ara glaucogularis. This one was pretty decent, but... the tail was deformed during baking. I know that thin parts tend to bent downwards during baking, so I've put a tinfoil ball behind the legs and made a slope-shaped tinfoil structure for under the tail. But the latter structure was not enough straigth apparently, so the tail have a curve in the middle...
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Maybe this is a relatively common ethological scene? a phoretic macaw... using a tapir as a free car
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And by last:
4. Jabiru (Jabiru mycteria). For this one, I'm proud of the head, bill and neck... but the body is meh and the legs are just terrible. But why are they terrible? Well, in first place, it's enormously difficult to attach small SuperSculpey strictures to a thick wire! But this is not the main reason. The reason can be seen in the first photo, with the still unpainted models. Well, in this forum and STS I've stated various times that I dislike figures with bases, and I avoid when possible. I feared that a so tall figure standing over thin vertical legs would not stay upright. But I wanted to try. I made a bracelet-shaped tinfoil structure around the figure and tried to put in the most vertical position possible for having the gravity center in the correct zone. Then I turned on the oven and waited. But in a certain moment, the bird and the tinfoil structure around fallen together over the oven plate! This deformed the legs, that went horribly inclined as seen in the first photo avobe. The only solution was to break the toes and glue them in the correct position. Well they was not completely broken, as the paste allows a very minimal possibilty of bending, so this was enough for correct the position and make the bird stand upright. I'm happy to being able to have an upring standing tall, heavy and thin-legged wading bird without base, but I would prefair that all four toes touch the ground!
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And since I spent my jaguar and tapir as companions for the other South Americans, this time I use the CollectA's maned wolf, that is thinking "yes I said I like to eat birds, but not mamooth-sized birds!"
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Beautifully made. The pacarana is especially good. It looks like the Jaguar likes a baked pacarana too 

You're off to a fantastic start! Great work all around. I really like your species selection!

Very beautiful figurines and great specie choice

Very good looking creatures!! Please do more!

Already a big and great production Pardolfelis.

I know you will probably ùake better ones later because we all need to learn to improve, but what you made is already very good.

Thanks everybody for the so kind words!! :* :* :*

Shanti wrote:

Please do more!

I'm currently at it maybe at a lower rythm, but I have three waiting to be baked and one more being sculpted just now

It is incredible what you've done in such a short time. You are irretrievably addicted and that's great!
Figures are looking wonderful to me, I love that driving macaw and the strange named rodent. I feel I am watching again in this forum the start of the beautiful story of a great artist.

Wow! What a collection of figures you have made. Very good work. Congratulations!

I really like that ray, bubbles or no. Beautiful! That kabiru also...

Thanks everybody! You're all very kind :)
I've painted my last batch yesterday, except by one figure. I will try to paint it today, if I have some free time. Then I will show your the report as always :)

And now I've painted that last figure and I'm ready to show to you :)

These was modeled on 23-24th, baken on 24th (yesterday), and all but one painted yesterday, the cat was painted today.

With my enthusiasm for start I've forgot to take the picture of the just-baked models before painting. So one of them has already began to be painted
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1. Olm (Proteus anguinus). A collector friend told me that he was surprised because I still didn't included any amphibian in my homemade collection. So I've done this for him hehe
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It has been a hard work, because it's tiny! Attaching the legs to the body, and then the toes to the legs, it's more difficult than it seems See hazelnut for size comparison:
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2. Annamite striped rabbit (Nesolagus timminsi). My most favourite lagomorph since ever!
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3. Jame's flamingo (Phoenicoparrus jamesi). Without doubt the best flamingo species. Same friend of the amphibian asked me: when will you have a greater or caribbean flamingo? So I've replied: Never! I will do the James's! Of course the other species are not enough obscure for my tastes... and in my opinion, they're not so beautiful and distinctive. He was a bit deceived, as he prefair the graceful longer-necked Ph. ruber hehe
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4. Bornean bay cat (Catopuma badia). It intended to be first a marbled cat, but I realized that I've made too big for that. So I've chosed a bigger cat species
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I know, I'm not the best person capturing a feline facial expression This cat looks like quite surprised by the sight of something extraordinary... an ufo maybe
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And here with assorted cats from big brands for comparison
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5. And finally, what I consider as my masterpiece!
Jentink's duiker (Cephalophus jentinki). Originally intended to be a zebra duiker, but as in the cat, I've made too big for that. I'm not good calculating sizes! So I've chosen a bigger duiker species, and this couple of species are my favourite duikers, so the choosing is easy.
This piece resulted in a challenge. After finishing the general shape, I had the idea of doing it with a foreleg lifted. My idea was baking with a tinfoil support around belly and sides that make it to be enough elevated for allow the three hooves reach the soil. Legs don't have wire inside (I prefair to not use wire when appendix are thin, as it's more difficult to sculpt around it), so the figure can't stand before baking. But making a perfectly-matching tinfoil structure was impossible! No matter how many times I reshaped it: the figure went forwards, backwards or to one side always. So I've decided to risk and bake it lying on a side! This is risky, because legs can bend during baking, and also the surface in contact with the oven plate can leave a flat marking. But it worked!!!!! The figure can stand perfectly leveled with the three hooves touching the ground (tough it have a little stability problem: the least touch is enough for make it fall sideways!). And no marks appeared in the surface in contact with the oven plate.

For that I've decided to not make a fur sculpture, because this species fur is very short, silky, like the one of an okapi. So it's more realistic if I din't sculpt the hair (and also much more easier to do hehe)

Honestly, I'm very pround of this one. The strange facial sculpture of this species, that looks like to have the skin too small for it's skull and bony ridges apear around eyes and nearby, was made with precission. The shape of the lips, the facial glands, the horns... I've realized it with enough acurateness. In the real figure is easier to see than in pictures. But well, here is it!

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And here my Congo Basin faunistic collection starts to grow a little! Welcome to the family little duiker! (Schleich mandrill and Papo okapi)
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Wonderful figurines again :)

Wonderful figurines, remarkable species good work

Wow the Catopuma badia is particularly nice.