@ThomasNotTom did you know on which brand each of the figurines were from. Although I probably suspected that the tamarin was from Papo.
Miniature Animal Figure Collection
- Thread starter ollielloyd
- Start date
I shall take a look when home - but it's a mix of Papo and schleich figures.
I'm not so good with paint, and I'm worried that my hand would slip and I'd mess it up. I find working with different coloured clay easier.
Quite interesting, DaLilFishie! It's amazing to see that all your figures are aquatic animals and most are fishes. You live up to your nickname
Also interesting to see that you use paste instead paint for making the colours.
I suppose that you're aware that many of the figures you do exist in brands (mostly Japanese), so maybe you can add them for company
And now my turn:
As most of you know, I discovered a new world when I acquired my first sculpting paste, then being able to do species I like that are not represented in any brand.
Slowly I was approaching the number 100 of my homemade models. I'm a bit silly with numbers but, as I wanted that my 100th figure would be something very special: my first homemade, I also wanted that my 100th homemade is something special: a more elaborated and difficult and more splendid model. So after thinking it what could be, I've chosen the Great Argus Pheasant (Argusianus argus). Mainly because of the user @Great Argus as he's the most active member on this thread and always likes my posts. So I wanted to honour him. (And much later, he also had the same idea of doing this species, tough he chose a relaxed pose).
First, I present you raw, unpainted. Well, once I saw images in the internet and compared with my result, I found it quite unpleasant. It don't have the correct shape or position of wings. Only taxidermized argus pheasants can be like that. A real displaying argus should have more rounded, higher wings that overlaps in the top. I passed some time deciding what to do. So much work done for coming back. I planned to break the wings and put it higher, but it's a very risky operation. Finally I decided to keep it this way. It's not so shocking after all and one can be used to this. Anyway this pheasant is not making a courtship display, because then it would have the head hidden instead screaming. So I finally left as a "crazy argus pheasant in a position that will not impress any female"
And now, the final result, painted!
The detail of the head is maybe what I get best. I sculpted the muscles, the wrinkles around eyes and the ears, and remarked them in a lighter blue. This is the "good side" as the other side is more hidden by the wing due to the position of head.
And of course, for finish, my classic comparison shot, with my bunch of Bornean/Sumatran pals!
WOW! That paint job is particularly wonderful!!
Kakapo
Well-Known Member
New acquisitions from yesterday:
Safari LTD big-eyed thresher shark (Alopias superciliosus)
Schleich mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus). It replaces my CollectA one. It's the first time I replace a figure in my collection
Schleich wolverine (Gulo gulo)
Safari LTD spotted eagle ray (Aetobatus narinari), of course for repaint
Eikoh monkfish (Lophius litulon)
Yujin/Takara Tomy matamata turtle (Chelus fimbriatus)
Safari LTD big-eyed thresher shark (Alopias superciliosus)
Schleich mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus). It replaces my CollectA one. It's the first time I replace a figure in my collection
Schleich wolverine (Gulo gulo)
Safari LTD spotted eagle ray (Aetobatus narinari), of course for repaint
Eikoh monkfish (Lophius litulon)
Yujin/Takara Tomy matamata turtle (Chelus fimbriatus)
Hello there everyone. I have decided to surprise you all with a relatively new figure that my family and I were able to successfully obtain as a late Easter gift for myself. Not to be a bragger or anything but regardless of that, I was able to finally own and acquire a Beauty of the Beasts figurine. And although it did cost my family and I approximately some $65 U.S dollars to pay for the figure. In my opinion however, it was quite worth the money and shipping costs. But now here is my relatively quick review on the small, but still rather magnificent Beauty of the Beasts Oncilla.
The figure itself is exquisitely painted, and is relatively accurate to that of a real life specimen. It is also very well sculpted for sure, as one can expect in the high-quality and design from the brand, for it really is quite the gem indeed. Although I did manage to witness the preview photos of the figurine for being rather small in size before my family eventually bought it. I honestly had no idea onto how the figure was going to be quite small in stature in person. (Which is fine by me, for I have been wanting to acquire a smaller species of wild felid for quite some time now, and thus I had no problem when it came to comparing it with my mostly pantherinae figurines). Now since the figurine is made of mostly hard clay and cast with resin. (which the former can be very fragile at times) I have been doing my best to successfully prevent any major and minor accidents that might occur, so that I can have a good chance of keeping this well-made figure relatively unscathed for a long term period.
And by now, you might be wondering and asking yourself on why there are no pictures of the figure as of the time that I had finished writing this post. Well it’s mostly because that I have little to no experience on posting random images here on the thread successfully, (please do PM me however if you do have any advice) and because of that, it may take a little longer than it should be for me to finally reveal the figure to you all.
~ @Austin the Sengi
The figure itself is exquisitely painted, and is relatively accurate to that of a real life specimen. It is also very well sculpted for sure, as one can expect in the high-quality and design from the brand, for it really is quite the gem indeed. Although I did manage to witness the preview photos of the figurine for being rather small in size before my family eventually bought it. I honestly had no idea onto how the figure was going to be quite small in stature in person. (Which is fine by me, for I have been wanting to acquire a smaller species of wild felid for quite some time now, and thus I had no problem when it came to comparing it with my mostly pantherinae figurines). Now since the figurine is made of mostly hard clay and cast with resin. (which the former can be very fragile at times) I have been doing my best to successfully prevent any major and minor accidents that might occur, so that I can have a good chance of keeping this well-made figure relatively unscathed for a long term period.
And by now, you might be wondering and asking yourself on why there are no pictures of the figure as of the time that I had finished writing this post. Well it’s mostly because that I have little to no experience on posting random images here on the thread successfully, (please do PM me however if you do have any advice) and because of that, it may take a little longer than it should be for me to finally reveal the figure to you all.
~ @Austin the Sengi
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Kakapo
Well-Known Member
In the reply section at the end of each post, in the lower part, you can see three buttons: "Post Reply", "Upload a File" and "More Options...". Click in the middle one, Upload a File, so you will be able to put a file directly in your message without need to upload it first to the Gallery as the upper buttons are for.
Well @Kakapo I really appreciated your help, and now here are the long awaited four posted images of the Beauty of the Beasts Oncilla figurine. (I hope you enjoy each one of them)
(01):
(02):
(03):
And finally, we have (04):
~ @Austin the Sengi
(01):
(02):
(03):
And finally, we have (04):
~ @Austin the Sengi
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Kakapo
Well-Known Member
This time a very mighty bird: the Kagu (Rhynochetos jubatus). Sole member of it's entire family, this bird, unable to fly and endangered, it's endemic to New Caledonia island (I think is the biggest endemic animal of that island). New Caledonia is an island that looks like extracted directly from Jurassic period. Notable vegetation are very primitive kind of conifers (many endemic species of Araucaria, podocarps, cycadas) and the most primitive angiosperm of the world, Amborella trichopoda. The kagu is a bird of the size of a hen or very slightly bigger. It shows its emotions (anger, fear, excitement) by opening the distinctively patterned wings and raising the ginormous crest on the head. So in this position I showed it. In 2009, I traveled to Paris with the main, almost only, objetive of see the Kagus at la Menagérie du Jardin des Plantes. At this time I was much more obsessed with birds than now, and I was into collecting feathers (now ceased). At this enclosure I got a fantastifabulous wing primary of the kagus, probably one of the most valuable and beautiful of all the many species that I got in my feather collection. Since then I've seen kagus at some other zoos, such as Berlin and Wuppertal, but it's a rarity in captivity.
Yes, I know that there is a decent-sized kagu figurine by Yowies, but besides the difficulty of getting Yowies from Spain, I never liked that figure with extremely stocky legs, too deep sculpt, thick bill and relaxed position. I wanted to do my own kagu like that:
Since I don't have, and probably will never have, a figurine of other New Caledonian species, I only can compare it with the closest cousins I have.
Good sized when compared with whooping crane...
but as you know, my Great Bustard turned to be rather a Giant Bustard...
(I love it anyway!)
Yes, I know that there is a decent-sized kagu figurine by Yowies, but besides the difficulty of getting Yowies from Spain, I never liked that figure with extremely stocky legs, too deep sculpt, thick bill and relaxed position. I wanted to do my own kagu like that:
Since I don't have, and probably will never have, a figurine of other New Caledonian species, I only can compare it with the closest cousins I have.
Good sized when compared with whooping crane...
but as you know, my Great Bustard turned to be rather a Giant Bustard...
(I love it anyway!)
Kakapo
Well-Known Member
After almost two years of deliberation about which model of Great White Shark should I get in my collection, yesterday I bought at a local commercial center the latest Schleich one. In my opinion, it's absolutely perfect. Here you can admire it's perfect proportions, the indented rear border of dorsal fin as in a worn individual, the lateral keels of the tail peduncle, the very well made facial expression...
And the thing that make me love this model soooo much: the Lorenzini ampullae sculpted! I think that it's the only shark figurine by western brands that shows that character. Admire also the nostril shape, and the very well done double row of lower mandible teeth (much better than the very blunt/too big teeth of the otherwise perfect Safari model). Upper mandible have no teeth, except some very shallow unpainted marks, but this is no problem for me.
Enjoying a fine flesh of fresh mackerel.
Great White Sharks are the top predators of the ocean. Nobody can challenge them. Or this is what this individual believed... until a bad encounter happened!
Here all my sharks (sorry, some cropped!):
And the thing that make me love this model soooo much: the Lorenzini ampullae sculpted! I think that it's the only shark figurine by western brands that shows that character. Admire also the nostril shape, and the very well done double row of lower mandible teeth (much better than the very blunt/too big teeth of the otherwise perfect Safari model). Upper mandible have no teeth, except some very shallow unpainted marks, but this is no problem for me.
Enjoying a fine flesh of fresh mackerel.
Great White Sharks are the top predators of the ocean. Nobody can challenge them. Or this is what this individual believed... until a bad encounter happened!
Here all my sharks (sorry, some cropped!):
Oh wow, what a great model! They even included the ampullae of Lorenzini!After almost two years of deliberation about which model of Great White Shark should I get in my collection, yesterday I bought at a local commercial center the latest Schleich one. In my opinion, it's absolutely perfect. Here you can admire it's perfect proportions, the indented rear border of dorsal fin as in a worn individual, the lateral keels of the tail peduncle, the very well made facial expression...
And the thing that make me love this model soooo much: the Lorenzini ampullae sculpted! I think that it's the only shark figurine by western brands that shows that character. Admire also the nostril shape, and the very well done double row of lower mandible teeth (much better than the very blunt/too big teeth of the otherwise perfect Safari model). Upper mandible have no teeth, except some very shallow unpainted marks, but this is no problem for me.
Enjoying a fine flesh of fresh mackerel.
Great White Sharks are the top predators of the ocean. Nobody can challenge them. Or this is what this individual believed... until a bad encounter happened!
Here all my sharks (sorry, some cropped!):
Some recent additions to the collection
Eastern Blue Groper (Achoerodus viridis), a large and intelligent wrasse from southeastern Australia, and a popular species with snorkellers and divers. This one is a male, the females are smaller in size and orange.
Pug-Headed Mudskipper (Periophthalmodon freycineti), a primarily terrestrial fish that still needs to take a dip every now an then to keep it's skin moist. Found in the Phillipines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and northern Queensland, where it inhabits mudflats, mangrove forests and tidal creeks. Can be quite hard to spot them against the similarly-coloured mud when they are sitting still!
Salmon Snailfish (Careproctus rastrinus), a deep sea species found in waters around Japan. The "tentacles" on the chin are sensory barbels used to find food in the deep, where sight is of little use. I didn't realise the white clay I used to mix the colour had glitter in it until I baked it... oops.
Had a bit of pink clay left over from the snailfish, so I decided to make Stegophiura sladeni, a deep sea brittle star. This species has much shorter arms than other brittle star species.
Eastern Blue Groper (Achoerodus viridis), a large and intelligent wrasse from southeastern Australia, and a popular species with snorkellers and divers. This one is a male, the females are smaller in size and orange.
Pug-Headed Mudskipper (Periophthalmodon freycineti), a primarily terrestrial fish that still needs to take a dip every now an then to keep it's skin moist. Found in the Phillipines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and northern Queensland, where it inhabits mudflats, mangrove forests and tidal creeks. Can be quite hard to spot them against the similarly-coloured mud when they are sitting still!
Salmon Snailfish (Careproctus rastrinus), a deep sea species found in waters around Japan. The "tentacles" on the chin are sensory barbels used to find food in the deep, where sight is of little use. I didn't realise the white clay I used to mix the colour had glitter in it until I baked it... oops.
Had a bit of pink clay left over from the snailfish, so I decided to make Stegophiura sladeni, a deep sea brittle star. This species has much shorter arms than other brittle star species.
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Kakapo
Well-Known Member
Latest additions:
1. Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) by Papo. I knew that if I ever get an Eurasian lynx it would be the Papo one. It have good size, nearly perfect sculpt and very good paintjob. The only flare is that it's a bit glossy.
Comparison with Mojo Fun (repainted) Iberian lynx:
2. The new Proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus) from Schleich, released in 2021. I always avoided Mojo Fun proboscis monkey despite being better, because it was very big. This one is much smaller and now it roams in the swamp:
Comparison with some other monkeys (Schleich mandrill, Mojo Fun Sulawesi black macaque)
With some other Bornean animals:
1. Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) by Papo. I knew that if I ever get an Eurasian lynx it would be the Papo one. It have good size, nearly perfect sculpt and very good paintjob. The only flare is that it's a bit glossy.
Comparison with Mojo Fun (repainted) Iberian lynx:
2. The new Proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus) from Schleich, released in 2021. I always avoided Mojo Fun proboscis monkey despite being better, because it was very big. This one is much smaller and now it roams in the swamp:
Comparison with some other monkeys (Schleich mandrill, Mojo Fun Sulawesi black macaque)
With some other Bornean animals:
Decided to make a model featuring two animals instead of just one, Odontaster validus and Antarctic Giant Sea Spider. Quite happy with how this one came out, I modelled and baked the legs separately from the body and attached them with superglue after everything had cooled.
Odontaster validus - The most abundant Antarctic sea star species. Known to gang up on and kill and feed on injured or weakened sea stars of other species.
Antarctic Giant Sea Spider - The largest sea spider species. Despite it's horrific appearance, it is harmless to humans and feeds by sucking the fluids from sea anemones and deepwater coral. It is not actually a spider, but a pycnogonid, a group with unclear relationships to other arthropods.
Odontaster validus - The most abundant Antarctic sea star species. Known to gang up on and kill and feed on injured or weakened sea stars of other species.
Antarctic Giant Sea Spider - The largest sea spider species. Despite it's horrific appearance, it is harmless to humans and feeds by sucking the fluids from sea anemones and deepwater coral. It is not actually a spider, but a pycnogonid, a group with unclear relationships to other arthropods.
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Although I had already made Abe's Coffinfish (it was the first model I made for the collection), I wasn't happy with the original (it was orange, didn't have an esca, lacked the species' distinctive spotting and the face looked nothing like it should) so I made a new, better one.
Abe's Coffinfish (Chaunax abei) - A deep sea anglerfish found off Japan. It rarely swims, instead using it's pectoral fins to walk along the seafloor, a more energy-efficient method of locomotion useful in the deep sea where food is scarce. It has loose skin that it can inflate to appear larger if threatened to dissuade predators.
Abe's Coffinfish (Chaunax abei) - A deep sea anglerfish found off Japan. It rarely swims, instead using it's pectoral fins to walk along the seafloor, a more energy-efficient method of locomotion useful in the deep sea where food is scarce. It has loose skin that it can inflate to appear larger if threatened to dissuade predators.
Attachments
Some other figures that I haven't posted yet
This cool pillbug, not sure which species, which has movable joints and rolls into a ball. Came with a chain so you can use it as a keyring but I took it off.
Underside
Horseshoe crab, again not sure which species. Has little wheels under it and moves if you pull i back and let go, but makes a horrible sound when you do.
CollectA Octopus, it didn't say which species but it looks like a Common Octopus to me. Pose is a bit unnatural but I'm not bothered.
A couple Yowie figures, too many to put photos of them all. Off the top of my head I have the Great White Shark, Porcupine Puffer, Dog-Faced Puffer, Bluespotted Ribbontail Ray, Eastern Spiny Gurnard, Potato Cod, Soldier Crab, Blue Linckia Sea Star, Hermit Crab, Banded Pipefish and Queensland Lungfish.
This cool pillbug, not sure which species, which has movable joints and rolls into a ball. Came with a chain so you can use it as a keyring but I took it off.
Underside
Horseshoe crab, again not sure which species. Has little wheels under it and moves if you pull i back and let go, but makes a horrible sound when you do.
CollectA Octopus, it didn't say which species but it looks like a Common Octopus to me. Pose is a bit unnatural but I'm not bothered.
A couple Yowie figures, too many to put photos of them all. Off the top of my head I have the Great White Shark, Porcupine Puffer, Dog-Faced Puffer, Bluespotted Ribbontail Ray, Eastern Spiny Gurnard, Potato Cod, Soldier Crab, Blue Linckia Sea Star, Hermit Crab, Banded Pipefish and Queensland Lungfish.
