STS Model Painting Month 2022 - Works in Progress

Shanti wrote:

Wow, very nice progress folks!!
I own the sitting tiger too, I know how small it is!

Still didn't have a chance of starting my project but hopefully there is enough of May left!

thank you Shanti !

there is no rush, there is plenty of May left!
it is exciting to see everyone's models - I remember last year!

George wrote:

Thanks! Although I liked his dark colour well enough, and would probably have kept him original finish if I had an ongoing prehistoric or deer collection to add him to, it just seemed a really good opportunity to play with bringing cave art into a paintjob, not something I've ever had chance to do before. I could do a horse one on a primitive-type mould, though, maybe CollectA's Exmoor or Mongolian would make a good prehistoric Lascaux horse!

I hope you get a chance to do that George, I love those prehistoric horses - I am excited to picture it now :)

Jill wrote:

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that is a pretty horse model Jill, and I like how more attractive you have made it now that you have put on an all white coat :)

Wonderful  job on all the tigers!

 I found my victim!

At last, I started my project!
First I cleaned the model with some dish soap to remove all dirt and grease. After that I looked over it for some seams or rough spots but there were very few. I removed and smoothed everything with tiny files. Than I primed the fox with a brush on primer. When it was dry I started with the pastels and lots of reference photos. Not much yet but it is a start!

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It looks beautiful so far.

Thank you!

Looks great already Shanti I love the softness of the pastels. Just a question: did you use double-side tape to stick it on the stick ( ) or did you use something else?

Thank A-J!
I used a drop of super glue. Hopefully I can remove without lots of damage.

the first half of the stripes are added
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(not only to the tiger )

Shanti wrote:

Thank A-J!
I used a drop of super glue. Hopefully I can remove without lots of damage.

I sure hope so too, but is seems very convenient for painting (I have used double sided tape for something similar, but I had to replace the tape after a day or two...)

The tiger looks amazing!!!

The fox and tiger look gorgeous so far!

Indeed!

The progress pics look nice so far… along with interesting commentary I’ll have to read more carefully. That Megaloceros digital painting is great and would look good printed as an accompaniment to the finished model. I’m happy to see the Funrise horse- I have a set of them from when I was little so it will be special to see this one with custom paint. The rare color is turning out well on the Schleich tiger, and the tiny stripes on the Britains tiger are lovely. The soft colors so far on that fox fit the sculpture really well.

Here is my progress- no paint yet but the preparation and adjustments are done. I shaved down the seam lines and excess plastic, then decided to cut/reshape the feet a little bit (the original Britains sculpture has better feet, I think). While the hooves of this copy might be good for a different animal, an okapi’s hooves are rather small and unassuming relative to the rest of its body.

For the snout, I decided not to sculpt the protruding tongue. I think my sculpted snout makes the head slightly longer than the original, but I’m satisfied with its accuracy. This is what it looked like after adding the mouth, nose, and a tiny bit on the underside of the jaw:

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I decided the face needed to be a little higher or more convex in front of the forehead/eyes leading to the nose, so this is the final result after adding to the top:

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You are all so talented !!!

Shanti, what fox model is that ?

Wow, all of these projects are looking amazing! So many stripes out there!

The blue tiger is GORGEOUS coloration, wow, I cannot wait to see it complete. And the fox, so soft like a watercolor painting come to life right now. The sculpting on the okapi face is incredible, so much talent in this thread.

I haven't had a chance to work on this guy in a week, so here is the very first coat of blocking in darks and lights I did last week. A long way to go.
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sunny wrote:

that is a pretty horse model Jill, and I like how more attractive you have made it now that you have put on an all white coat :)

Thank you! It is my hope to bring out the best in these models, which were not given the best of paint jobs but which I think deserve one. :)

A.R.Garcia wrote:

I’m happy to see the Funrise horse- I have a set of them from when I was little so it will be special to see this one with custom paint.

The one I am painting was actually from my childhood, very well loved. I have since found less abused versions of him, and decided to give the old man a new life!

That Okapi looks wonderful! So beautifully sculpted!!
The grey horse will look stunning, I am sure about that!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]: The fox is a 3D print resin by Nicola Behr (nb-arts.de). It was a bonus figure for a horse resin I bought from her.

It's great to see so many nice models coming to life with the new colors It makes me happy to see all of that

The tiger is just so unique, I'll be so excited to see it finished. And it's getting closer too!
The okapi has the cutest face now, what an improvement!
The fox is very beautifully shaded and the grey horse is looking awesome too

Last week I started customizing my dog model (Papo 1/12 Rough Collie to 1/9 Sheltie). Almost all body parts except for paws and tail are resculpted. I added more fur and sculpted a new head. This week I want to start painting. He's already covered in gesso, waiting for the colors I can't choose between tricolor or blue merle    
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Ooh, so many projects starting to take shape or progress, the two tiger colours are especially interesting to watch as they fill in and gain their stripes, as it's such a very different take on the same kind of animal - not only the colouration of the coats, but your two different painting styles bringing them to life in different ways.

The fox is adorable, the faint and delicate colour stage right now as the pastels build up looks almost like an art piece which could be finished off with features right now and left looking that beautiful, but I'm looking forward to seeing how the colour carries on deepening with more layers.

The okapi looks greatly improved already, with his new replacement nose and adjusted face, it's amazing how these little basic made-in-china type knockoffs can really come into their own with a little work and careful consideration to tweak what's bad about them and up the realism.

And the dappled grey is going to be lovely, I can already tell from how well you've placed the light and dark parts. Even more special for being your childhood copy given a second life!

Oh Ana, that Shelti looks gorgeous even without colors!! I couldn't chose between your two color suggestions, both would look beautiful on this dog!!

Thank you George!!

I call my tiny fox finished. I still see many things I could try to do better but before I ruin him I close this chapter.

More photos in the "finished" thread.

For painting small parts on such tiny models I use microbrushes. They come in different sizes. Very handy to use!
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For the roaning I use a pencil and colored pencils. The eyes are three colored with tiny tiny brushes.

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Everyone's figures are coming along so nicely! I have the primer and base coat on mine. Now to figure out the spots! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

It will look good but a lot of work ahead of you!