My first homemade model!

You are venturing now in not so easy territories. Felines are really hard to get their facial geometry correct and antelopes are graceful creatures that turn into nightmares to sculptors. You are performing very well. Maybe producing too much at once but that's your enthusiasm and that's also good. Next step is maybe to give more time to a certain figure and give to it a second thought. You're performing very well, look at that antelope, but I feel you can do it even better and surprise yourself with what you can do. Please keep your enthusiasm and I hope you try to make an unusual fox species.

Thanks for your kind words! Yes it's my enthusiasm (for get species not done by major brands) what make me produce so much. I don't think that is a bad thing I already give my figures to second toughts to a couple of friends before , in fact that is what made me turn the marbled cat into a bay cat

OK, I already have some species in the list of "to do" but I will think in a fox for you hehe. A shame that for my favourite fox species (Tibetan) I already have a figure so I must think in a different one.

That's defintely a good thing that you want to make unusual species.
Must be a little challenging but a Blanford's fox is surely a beautiful species and nobody made it yet.

Ohhh hmmm well... maybe next time! I've started with a different fox species and the shape is already defined... too advanced for reshape it into a Blandford's without start almost from zero

I didn't know it was already taking shape, it was just a suggestion. However, no reshaping, of course, I am sure you are making a very interesting species.

Well, time for an update!
Probably my modelling activity will slow very much from now, as I spent my holiday week and tomorrow I return to job, so I will have little time for figures.

Again (characteristic of my fish-memory) I forgot to make a general shot of unpainted models before start painting. I realized I tend to paint first the tiny figures and end with the bigger ones, I don't know why.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]


1. Wilson's bird of paradise (Cicinnurus respublica). In a response to a collector friend who asked me if I will do any bird of paradise. I had no intention of made one, as they're small and difficult to sculpt with those special feathers, but I've chosen the easiest one and here is it. Also the easiest to paint: full of primary colours that don't need to be mixed for obtain the correct colour
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

It's a tiny thing! Size compared with Takara Tomy Japanese crested ibis:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Probably the Southlands short-beaked echidna is my only other animal native from New Guinea, so here are together:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

2. European hamster (Cricetus cricetus). Maybe the most beautiful rodent of the world, and a species that I have a special fondness with. Also, sadly, more and more endangered everytime.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Rodents rules! Here with my homemade pacarana. I think the hamster is saying: you? you a rodent? you're kidding me! You're a horse!
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

And here riding the CollectA's reed deer, one of my few other European animals
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

3. Common goliath beetle (Goliathus goliathus). I wanted to have some insect for diversify my collection, but of course, only giant ones can be made with an acceptable scale with my other animals! Despite that the model is too big, but there is no way to make an smaller one without losing all the acurateness.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

And the Congo Basin family grows again!
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

And now, some bigger models!

4. Ivory-casqued hornbill (Rhinoplax vigil). An extremely endangered species due to the hunting pressure for the "ivory" of the bill, this bird will be extinct very soon probably. And no zoo had a chance to make an insurance captive population outside native range This figure fallen to the ground when I put in a table for photograph. The tail and two toes broked. I glued the tail again, but I was unable to find the toes. I've made two new ones with wire and glued to the leg. Without these toes the figure would not stand upright.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I've made it after showing my figures to a zoological expert friend. He told me the animals that he would effort more for get a chance to see in a zoo, one was this hornbill and the other was...
5. The giant armadillo! (Priodontes maximus). Making this figure required a looot of patience for all the scutes of the carapace, tail, legs, head and even underparts!
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Brazilian family happy to welcome a new member!
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

And here compared with Schleich's giant pangolin. Perfect couple for explain evolutive convergence
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

6. And by last... This figure was made because our collector friend Roger, famous for his collection of foxes, suggested me to made a kind of fox. After thinking a bit, I've chosen this species. A common and very widespread medium-sized North American mammal with distinctive and colorful coat, should be one of the most well known animals on Earth, right? However, this species is absolutely neglected from zoos, wildlife documentaries, natural history museums, social media and, also, animal figurine world... I can't find an explanation! But I had this little contribution for honouring this forgotten species, that easily is the most beautiful fox species in the world: the grey fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus).
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Here meeting my other foxes!
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

And here with another North American pal:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Wonderful, wonderful! Let me start with the fox. It has a fantastic face! I also second everything about what you said regarding the lack of grey foxes in this hobby. Despite suggesting to you another species, this is the species I expect every year to be released by Safari and the wait goes long. Why not? I really wished that fox was mine.
Incredible also the tiny beetle, you are really expanding your talent to several kind of animal figures.
I love really a lot also the armadillo. How could you make such an intricate figure in a short time? Those are also a kind of nightmare to sculptors. I really wish a long life to your new hobbby and I hope you will continue your adventure anytime your free time allows.

Thanks for your kind words! Yes I'm proud of how the fox resulted. It looks a bit coyotish rather than foxie, tough is fine.
Yes the armadillo was a nightmare to sculpt but with patience and passion one can get everything! And no worries, I'm continuing and will do until my paste box is empty haha

This topic began with one model the 21 october and we are looking at a menagerie the 28 october!

You are very brave

I like people who think, First time ? Ok go for it ! And suddenly they can't stop producing and improving. Thank you to be here Pardofelis

I wish one of the brands will release your species :)

Great figures and excellent species choice!

Great figures and excellent species choice!

Kikimalou wrote:

I like people who think, First time ? Ok go for it ! And suddenly they can't stop producing and improving.

Yes this is me, hehehehe. I have paste, I have paints, I have a brush and I have an oven. So I must continue making models until one of these components finish

I really appreciate all your nice words, many thanks Kikimalou, Widukind, Saarlooswolfhound and Lucky luke

I have a batch ready for the oven now, but I will do one more species from tomorrow.
Hugs! :)

Hello!
This time I only present you the just baked models. This was a bit of disaster and I will not start painting for now.
I wanted to do a giant ibis, that is one of my most favourite birds ever. Before detailing it, I made a photo together with the Takara Tomy japanese crested ibis and asked an animal expert if the size looks correct. He said that probably yes but also said that he never saw directly this species. Well, I've continued making it but I realized that is as big as my jabiru stork!!!!!! Too advanced to resize it I'm really really bad calculating sizes

And the second problem is also seen in the pic: I want to make a surprise for our fellow the Portuguese alligator, making a Blandford's fox as he suggested. But the problem is... that the center of gravity is in the tail!!!!! The fox don't stand if he doesn't have a support under the tail tip

So what I should do now? Sell the unpainted fox to Roger (or sell after painting it), and the giant ibis to somebody that don't care about scale (maybe Roger too), or sell it to a collector friend that lives in my city and then avoid the mailing? (SuperSculpey is very brittle and probably the ibis would arrive with some toes broken...) Paint them and keep them and get used to the discordance in scale as I did with many of my big brand models, and put an object under the tail of the fox as I did under the flippers of the CollectA's ganges river dolphin and CBIOV finless porpoise that also inclines to a side and don't stand in the correct position themselves? Or just forget these models and made the ibis again, and the fox again with the tail touching the soil for avoid gravity problems? I'm disgusted now, because the models are quite pretty but had these big problems

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Beautiful! You do have a gift!

What about making an add-on for the fox figure? Sculpt a log or bush to fit around or under the tail, and glue it on when baked?

Thanks for the suggestion! This will not convince me much, but I can do a circle of transparent rigid plastic with a wire attached to the center in vertical so the fox stands up without a very noticeable support. Anyway I'm waiting for the opinion of Roger, if he wants the model (either raw or painted) I will send to him. If he's not interested maybe I give both figures to a collector friend in my city, and paint the remaining ones. Then I will try to repeat the giant ibis at smaller scale. If both Roger and my friend are not interested then I maybe keep both figures in my collection despite the flares.

About the fox,I guess the solution is to add aluminium paper to modelled the tail befaore adding the clay.

Yes, for the next one but not for this already baked hehe

Of course

It makes me really happy knowing you gave some of your time to surprise me with a fox and a very unusual fox species. Thanks a lot for your consideration.
Please don't be disappointed when things do not go as you expect. I remember several other members having the same problems when they started sculpting. That's the reason why not everyone is able of doing their own models, it is not that easy and sculpting is just a part of the work, there is much science around. These experiences are part of the learning process. I believe, next time you make a figure with such a bulky tail, you will remember this experience.
Forgeting the figures is not a good idea, for the fox, once it is already baked, I think a conventional base won't destroy it. I don't mind having bases in my figures, that's one thing I learned to enjoy. You could try something like this you can see in my Fall For All fox.
Another point is that I unfortunately am not able of painting, my low vision doesn't allow me to do such job and you really paint very well.
I need also to know how much I have to pay to have your fox once you want to sell it to me, homemade figures are something that I usually cannot afford.Maybe we could work it privately.
The ibis is excellent for you despite the size, it is very fragile and to avoid to get it broken, you have to protect it very carefully what can increase the shipping expenses.



[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Great, we continue in private

unbelievable production! You have e real great ability to modell, sculpt and paint animals! big congratulations for that impressive work!!

Thanks mon ami :) I've just painted the Blanford's fox for Roger, once I've painted the remaining animals I will present them to you :) the ibis will remain unpainted and I will sell it raw to a friend for friend-price :)

Well, today I've painted the problematic models of the previous photo! Well, the ibis will be not painted as I will sell raw to a friend. And here are the remaining ones:

First, the Blanford's fox (Vulpes cana) for @Roger that might be interested in it! I've painted it, but as you know from previous posts this figure cannot stand upright, so I rejected it for my collection.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

With CollectA's fennec:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Next one is the ashy-faced owl, Tyto glaucops. A species that I like a lot and one of my favourites in the Tyto genus. Unfortunately, it failed to soil while I was painting it, and it broken a toe. I replaced with a tinfoil toe glued, but the foot looks deformed due to this restoration.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

The next one is the gyrfalcon, Falco rusticolus. My plan was an Aplomado falcon but it looked too big for me after sculpting, so I've painted a gyrfalcon instead. In fact it could fit better with a peregrine-sized (female), but for a male gyrfalcon is OK :)
Bending of the tail in the oven was an unpredicted flare
Making a harness of thread and getting the bird in horizontal position is more tricky than maybe you think!
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

After that, the first model that had no flares and problems! Less is nothing! The most beautiful of the squirrels, as its name implies: Callosciurus prevostii (Callosciurus means "beautiful squirrel"), the Prevost's squirrel. Not a rare species, but you maybe noticed that I have a soft point for striking-coloured mammals
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

And finally, as my ornate butterflyfish was bored alone, I did two companions for him as I loooove butterflyfishes very much :)
Blue-cheeked butterflyfish (Chaetodon semilarvatus), one of the common aquarium species but I like it a lot. And Meyer's butterflyfish, Chaetodon meyeri, that due to dietary needs is not kept in aquaria, and that is my favourite species in the genus :)
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]