African dry landscape scene

This pictures are of an African dry Scrub scene that was done for our friend Phil, he has given me the ok to share it with you, so i can contribute to the diorama area of this forum, the scene represents the dry season and some bushes have gone very dry, there is also a large young tree that has fallen, and you can still see the stump and part of the trunk on the ground.

This scene was produced for Phil's epic African Savanna Diorama.
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It looks awesome. It will look great on his diorama. Thanks for sharing the pictures with us.

Thank you, glad you liked it, his diorama is already extremely detail, and the more detail he keeps on adding, the more it will be just like a piece of the real thing, and with Ana's exceptional talents, the sky is really the limit for Phil and his challenging ideas and overall goals.

When Danny discribed the scene, I thought it would be perfect, then he sent me some line drawings with all of the dimensions and his vision was something I wanted to include. For those of you who remember when I first started posting pics on LG, I had a fallen tree, it still had foliage on it, but all of the colors were yellow and brown, as if the tree had fallen not too long ago. Well in my opinion, I didn't ever like the foliage, I used lichen and it was just too thick, a real tree would have shed most of it's leaves by the time I recreated it for the diorama, but that was what I had available to me. After deciding on adding the scene to my diorama Danny sent some pics, and all I could say was WOW!

There is also more to come, Ana is making me an animal scene that will be totally different then anything produced by the major brands, and I already ordered a custom baobab tree from Danny that should be finished in the next week or so, I should have it on the model to replace the Schleich tree the next week after that. Things are coming along really well, all of these improvements are because of meeting everyone on these sites who makes comments and suggestions. If it weren't for all of you, and people like Danny and Ana, it would not look half as good, and I would be very limited in what I could do as far as species of animals is concerned. My only regret is that I don't have more space, I could use 5 times as much space and still not have enough room to display all ot the mini scenes that are in my mind.

With that said, I will have pics up as soon as pieces arrive, or I make more plants for India. I did do some work today on the new plants that are coming. I made a really nice model of a strangler fig, I first made a wire frame, with roots spread out so it stands up, a thick center trunk, and a bunch of upper branches after the spiit. On top of that are the arial roots, and vine like roots that run all the way down the tree trunk. I baked and painted this main trunk, and I have pics for the journal, but until I start to add foliage I have other things to do so it may be a day or two, but the journal will be current as things come together. I also put a few of the fake leaves on the stalk of one of the Philodendrons just to give a better idea of what the final plant will look like, so look for those photos tomorrow. I didn't do all 11 leaves, just 3 but it gives a great representation of the finished product.

Very fine scene and wonderful marabut stork !

So realistic, your photos make it look very atmospheric too. It will look really fantastic in Phil's diorama.

Here is what we can see what is possible, when you diorama guys come together!
This is a seperate branch from the animal-collections, because this goes up into deetails and higher levels!
And what deetails!
Our Danny came up with fantastic zoo diorama's and scenes, and next to that, the highest level of modelling and models for his zoo.
Secondly Phil came up with superb diorama's, with help or not, the idea's were already good, the finishing gets better with every time and deetail!
Phil, don't under-estimate yourself, it is the idea first, the making is another thing, and that needs practice and maybe help from other people, but that doesn't matter!
You take your diorama's up to a level, that will come near to Danny's at the end this way...
And then third, but not the last actually, there is Ana with her fantastic skills in drawing, painting and skulpting, and she produced such wonderfull top of the bill models for some of us!
We are just a lucky bunch of people together i guess...

Great little scene, and a wonderfull marabu stork indeed!

I love that stork as well, but it is 1:12, way too big for me, and not that Danny would sell it even if it was the right scale, I already asked:-)

I like marabu storks, in FL there are wood storks passing through in the winter, and here in CA there are some native cranes, both of which I love, and I may have to have some custom made marabu storks made. I have the Noah's Pals pr of stork, and they are on the diorama at the water hole, but my eventual goal with reguards to birds is to have some guinea fowl, maybe a group of 3 or 4 running through the brush, several African vultures, and some marabu storks. Maybe around a carcass. Right now I have a list of 10 animals that Ana is making, not all at once, but she has the list so it will be a while before I do any birds. After the next scene and the animals she is sculpting after that, the African animals will be done. Then it will just be up to me to finish the landscaping. It is sort of sad, I have been working on this diorama for almost a year, the final results has changed several times, but soon I will be working on India full time.

As any of you who follow the Indian journal, I am collecting the animals and making or having the custom plants made. This next diorama will be something I am looking forward to making. I don't know why, becasue all of the animals that I love are from Africa, but India has some very interesting species and I am really looking forward to the custom trees. The fig Danny is sending will be one of my favorite pieces in my whole collection, the pics of it were fantastic, and I can't wait for it to arrive. When I get home if I just set up a glass display case, it will be the center piece of the whole thing, along with the baobab tree I think it will be my number one pick. For what ever reason I have become very interested in plants, right now even more so then the animals. Don't get me wrong, I love animals, but right now my interest is trees and plants, I can't stop looking up the photos of my plant kits and just imagining how they will look when finished.

Oh, i thought this was a marabu made for you Phil...
But that doesn't matter.
How about the Starlux marabu then?
I made some quick pictures for you, comparing to the Schleich zebra.
I think it does look good in size together.

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If the colour-pattern doesn't suit you, you could always re-paint it.

And about the plants, well...all in nature fits and belongs together, isn't it...

Nice stork, I think I am going to have some custom made eventually, that way all of the flock will match, except in pose. I think I want 3 to be on a carcass with the vultures, at some point I will ask Ana to make them, but for now she is working on several animals, not all at once, but she has a list that will take her a while to sculpt with everything else she has going on.

I am not in a hurry, except to see the animals, her work is so fantastic that I usually can't wait until they come. Her time to sculpt doesn't bother me, it is when they are in the mail and I know it that I go crazy.

Well, i just had a very long phone-call with Torben again...
We talked about everything in the hobby, you guys here, your diorama, and Ana too, haha!
I think, you keep her so busy, that she doesn't have to work for anybody else anymore...
But if i can get my okapi calf in between, it would be nice.
I would have a long list for her too, but i see that i am on a very long list right now, And Torben told me, that he would like some models too...
Well, anyway, she could make it her business, as i told her before, and i hope she can live from it!

[Quote = "WILLYBACOMAN"] Well, i just had a very long phone-call with Torben again ...
We talked about everything in the hobby, you guys here, your diorama, and Ana too, haha!
I think, you keep her so busy, that she does not have to work for anybody else anymore ...
But if i can get my okapi calf in between, it would be nice. : Lol:
I would have a long list for her too, but i see that i am on a very long list right now, And Torben told me, hey that would like some models too ...
Well, anyway, could she make it her business, as i told her before, and i hope she can live from it! [/ Quote]

Willy, Ana makes my animals in between other things, so no worries, she has a list and goes in order would be my guess. She knows I am patient, and she does mine at a pace that I am happy with. I wish I could hire her full time, but there are others who want things so I know I have to share. Usually I give her a list of no more then six animals at a time, she now has two lists, both of them 5 figures, so I don't expect for them to be done until the middle or end of summer. The first scene she is hopefully ready to start soon, that is the secret scene where all of the animals are interconnected to form a single scene, when it is almost done I will post about it, and she will post the pics that she takes for me.

If I ever do a jungle diorama, I will have her copy your okapi, at least the feeding pose, they are one of my favorite deep forest animals, I will also have her make a drill, maybe a couple, after seeing the last one she made I am so fascinated by the figure I was thinking of having one made just as a display animal. I find myself checking the drill post frequently just to look at the photos of the figures, how obsessed is that

I can't wait for her to learn to cast, if she does that means besides my originals sculptures I can get copies of anything that she makes, that would make me happy.

Well, don't take me to seriously here my friend!
We all enjoy your passion on your diorama's, so when there is news in form of new models, that would be great.
I didn't order anything else from Ana then the okapi's yet, it would be nice to complete the whole family, and i can only recommend them to you for a deep-forest scene.

When you lack the room one day, you can always make little scenes of what you want, the ones that fit on to the shelves or glass-plates of your vitrines and kabinets.

I would like to see the models that Ana makes, before they are really come to the end(like she did before), as she knows that i am critical, and that i will take out the best in her.
No offense here, i am well aware of her skills, but i want to bring her up on the highest level, which she can do very easy and well, and which is in her own interest too.
And that is in the deetails sometimes, and i don't see any of her drawings and pre-models anymore the last months, which is a shame.
That doesn't say that i know better, because the artist is the best to know, but a critic eye never hurts in this case i think...