Chris Hess Custom Painted Cheetah Walkaround - Who Painted This Figure?

This figure is both one of my favorites and one of my most enigmatic. I picked it up as part of a lot on Ebay, and, with the help of a few awesome collectors, ended up discovering it was a Chris Hess cheetah  [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] As you can probably tell, though, the paintjob doesn't really match with the original. My guess is that someone bought one of the unpainted figures that were sold [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] and painted it themselves. Though who painted it and how it ended up in a lot of random figures on Ebay is where the mystery comes in. I adore the paintjob on this figure, and I personally think it's much nicer looking than the original. It seems to me that it was painted by an artist who knew what they were doing, because the level of detail (right down to the gradient down the body) is really impressive. The only clue I have to the identity of the painter is the CSM '04 under one back paw. It's really intrigued me for awhile now, and I thought it would be worth a try to do a walkaround here to see if anyone knows anything about where this figure may have come from.

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Mamma Mia !!!! This can simply nut be done much better !!!

WOW !!!

If it wasn't because it is not polite, I would be green with envy

If it is the Cheetah Christian Hess released in 1982 for the Wilderness Animal Series, I know @Whitelighteningwolf repainted some of them. Namely the koalas and wolf. Though, I have no idea if it is from that series neither if Fallon really painted it.
I only know that the figure is absolutely beautiful and that you are very lucky finding it in a lot and with such a great paintwork.

It's indeed magnificent!

SUSANNE wrote:

Mamma Mia !!!! This can simply nut be done much better !!!

WOW !!!

If it wasn't because it is not polite, I would be green with envy

Yes, I completely agree. I feel very lucky to have stumbled upon it the way that I did.

widukind wrote:

rogerpgvg wrote:

It's indeed magnificent!

Thanks, I think so too!

Roger wrote:

If it is the Cheetah Christian Hess released in 1982 for the Wilderness Animal Series, I know @Whitelighteningwolf repainted some of them. Namely the koalas and wolf. Though, I have no idea if it is from that series neither if Fallon really painted it.
I only know that the figure is absolutely beautiful and that you are very lucky finding it in a lot and with such a great paintwork.

WhiteLightning-Wolf is actually one of a couple of people who helped me find out that this was a Chris Hess sculpt, and provided me photos of the original paint so that I could confirm that this was a custom. So while this one wasn't painted by her, she had a big hand in helping me identify it. The '04 on the foot makes me think that it was painted in 2004.

And thanks, I feel very lucky to have it, especially since it was just by chance that I stumbled upon the listing.

VexVamp wrote:

Roger wrote:

If it is the Cheetah Christian Hess released in 1982 for the Wilderness Animal Series, I know @Whitelighteningwolf repainted some of them. Namely the koalas and wolf. Though, I have no idea if it is from that series neither if Fallon really painted it.
I only know that the figure is absolutely beautiful and that you are very lucky finding it in a lot and with such a great paintwork.

WhiteLightning-Wolf is actually one of a couple of people who helped me find out that this was a Chris Hess sculpt, and provided me photos of the original paint so that I could confirm that this was a custom. So while this one wasn't painted by her, she had a big hand in helping me identify it. The '04 on the foot makes me think that it was painted in 2004.

And thanks, I feel very lucky to have it, especially since it was just by chance that I stumbled upon the listing.

She was my hope to help you better in this regard. It may take a long time until you find who painted it but opening this topic there is always some hope. I agree that likely, the '04 is the year of the customization while CSM are probably the initials of the person who painted it.