My first homemade model!

[Isidro]

Hello!
With the acquisition of some figures obtained in a trade, my collection reached 96 figures.
Then I planned something. The figure number 100 must be something very special. And I think that nothing can be more special than the first homemade model made by the owner of any collection of itself.
So I'be found a new toy shop full of dreamed CollectA figures. I wanted a lot, but I bought just three. So I can mantain the order and reach 99. This happened yesterday.
Today I was ready to start my new adventure. I went in the late morning to buy a modelling paste. SuperSculpey was the one recommended by the shop owner and also recommended by forum members so I've bought it. I also bought acrylic paints (until now I repainted my models with aquarell pencils).
I decided that my first model would be the Dall's porpoise. A dreamed, wonderful and distinctive wonderful species. Easy to paint as it have only two plain colours. And I've tought that is easy to sculpt too (a smooth skin should be easier than a furry one).

First I contructed a wire skeleton. Dall's porpoise is the biggest of the porpoises and vaquita is the smallest, so I've tried to do in proportion scale to the Safari LTD vaquita.


Then I made a tinfoil covering for the skeleton. This way I don't waste modelling paste, and also is easier to bake.


Now it comes the most difficult part. The modelling. I went putting pieces of SuperSculpey over the tinfoil, and tried to give shape and realism. Is not an easy task. Make a smooth skin is probably more difficult than a furry skin, I think. Everywhere are noticeable the bumps and hollows. The caudal fin had a bit ugly shape. Probably I didn't should to extend the wire skeleton into the caudal fin. But well, it's done. Also is extremely difficult to avoid the fingerprints over the skin. I tried to smooth everything, but new fingerprints are added as I touched. Well, it could be worse.


I put it in the oven following the paste instructions about temperature and time of baking. During the baking, one of the flippers curved badly, but well... let it pass. Here is the model just out of the oven. I waited some minutes for colding. Still a bit hot, but I had no patience. I MUTS start to paint!!!!


I've decided to start by the white belly. Because painting black over the white is, I think, more sure than painting white over the black: it reduces the possibilities of dirt blackish spots by fingers in the white part.


Then I've started with the black body...



And here, finally, the product finished!!!!!

[Isidro]

For the eyes, I use a liquid ink pen. Then they remaint shiny over the matt black of the skin.

[Beetle guy]

Nice first one Isidro!

I am planning on making some poison dart frogs in december, also with Supersculpey.

For a next go ;-)
You can use Isopropyl rubbing alcohol. By brushing it over the sculpture to remove scratches, fingerprints or tool marks.
After that mix some water with the alcohol until you have about a 1:1 ratio. Brushing the sculpture with this mix will smooth out the surface.

[Isidro]

Oh! This will be a great tip for the so smooth cetaceans! Thanks! (tough I don't know if a rare chemical product will be easily available somewhere)

[bmathison1972]

Nice first one Isidro!

I am planning on making some poison dart frogs in december, also with Supersculpey.

For a next go ;-)
You can use Isopropyl rubbing alcohol. By brushing it over the sculpture to remove scratches, fingerprints or tool marks.
After that mix some water with the alcohol until you have about a 1:1 ratio. Brushing the sculpture with this mix will smooth out the surface.

Oh this is a good tip. I don't make many, but when i did, scratches and tool marks were my biggest issue I couldn't overcome to my satisfaction. I'll consider the alcohol next time.

[bmathison1972]

Oh! This will be a great tip for the so smooth cetaceans! Thanks! (tough I don't know if a rare chemical product will be easily available somewhere)

isopropyl alcohol is basic rubbing alcohol bought over the counter in many stores. That being said, not sure how available it is in Europe. Shipping alcohols is difficult because of their flammability.

[Beetle guy]

Oh! This will be a great tip for the so smooth cetaceans! Thanks! (tough I don't know if a rare chemical product will be easily available somewhere)

You can get it at Amazon or some other webshop or probably in the drugstore.

[Isidro]

Sorry but yesterday I was in modelmaker fever mood!    I baked four more species in the evening and painted today in the morning

See needle for size comparison. Notice that the butterfly wings are made from a Collecta tag


Ornate butterflyfish, Chaetodon ornatissimus. Butterflyfishes are some of my favourite fishes and this species is one of the nicest. I didn't intended that the center of gravity went to the head, but it's fine, then it looks like the fish is feeding.


Fea's viper, Azemiops feae. Maybe the most beautiful viper in the world?


Underside, I think they have dark grey bellies so I've painted as such


Maybe my most ambitious creature. And also one I've planned to do since begin with the idea of homemade models, months before buying the materials for the real start. Rajah Brooke's birdwing, Trogonoptera brookiana. One of the few insects enough large for make it more or less to scale with my bigger animals, and the first arthropod of my collection. The body, legs an antennae are baked but of course the wings, made of plastified paper?, can't be heated. So I made the body and legs (difficult task, as they're really thin), put a tinfoil ball under for avoid deformation during baking (well, the antennae went downwards, but the body stands on its legs that is what I wanted), and once baked, I glued the wings themselves in the natural position of the species, leaving a hollow for attach after to the body, and once dry I glued the wing conjunct to the body. Naturally, while the glue is fresh one wing side went down to the surface , so I've put a thin object under so both pairs of wings are at the same level and both separated from the surface under.



Of course, the underside of the wings must be accurate (a common fail amongs butterfly figure makers are doing the underside identical to upperside)


And finally, one of the most beautiful of all the waterfowl: the African pygmy goose, Nettapus auritus. Takara Tomy crested ibis and Kaiyodo Adelie penguin behind. Slowly my mammal-dominated collection starts to have some nice birds.

[bmathison1972]

The butterfly and goose are particularly nice!

[Isidro]

Once started, I can't stop....! Like in the previous day, I've sculpted and baked yesterday and painted today in the early morning
But this time, the new batch was a disaster 

Just out of the oven, showing the problems during baking...


1. Giant freshwater stingray, Himantura chaophraya (now Himantura polylepis I think, but I'm too used to the old and suggestive name!) I was able to got a nice surface without bumps, unlike in the porpoise. But, as seen in the photo above, during baking... some bubble-like bumps appeared in the left fin!



And now a travel to South America!
2. Pacarana, Dinomys branickii. This one went almost perfect... except by the legs, that before baking are well leveled with the four feet flat touching the ground... but during baking they deformed a bit and the result is not touching the ground with the whole feet. Also the body went a bit inclined to a side... But I think that despite that it deserves to be displayed
I know, the muzzle don't have the best shape... but it was already baked when I noticed.


Probably the worst enemy of the pacarana is the jaguar... this giant rodent is a pretty decent meal!


3. Blue-throated macaw, Ara glaucogularis. This one was pretty decent, but... the tail was deformed during baking. I know that thin parts tend to bent downwards during baking, so I've put a tinfoil ball behind the legs and made a slope-shaped tinfoil structure for under the tail. But the latter structure was not enough straigth apparently, so the tail have a curve in the middle...


Maybe this is a relatively common ethological scene? a phoretic macaw... using a tapir as a free car


And by last:
4. Jabiru (Jabiru mycteria). For this one, I'm proud of the head, bill and neck... but the body is meh and the legs are just terrible. But why are they terrible? Well, in first place, it's enormously difficult to attach small SuperSculpey strictures to a thick wire! But this is not the main reason. The reason can be seen in the first photo, with the still unpainted models. Well, in this forum and STS I've stated various times that I dislike figures with bases, and I avoid when possible. I feared that a so tall figure standing over thin vertical legs would not stay upright. But I wanted to try. I made a bracelet-shaped tinfoil structure around the figure and tried to put in the most vertical position possible for having the gravity center in the correct zone. Then I turned on the oven and waited. But in a certain moment, the bird and the tinfoil structure around fallen together over the oven plate! This deformed the legs, that went horribly inclined as seen in the first photo avobe. The only solution was to break the toes and glue them in the correct position. Well they was not completely broken, as the paste allows a very minimal possibilty of bending, so this was enough for correct the position and make the bird stand upright. I'm happy to being able to have an upring standing tall, heavy and thin-legged wading bird without base, but I would prefair that all four toes touch the ground!


And since I spent my jaguar and tapir as companions for the other South Americans, this time I use the CollectA's maned wolf, that is thinking "yes I said I like to eat birds, but not mamooth-sized birds!"

[AnimalToyForum]

Wonderful models, I think your skills are increasing!

[Isidro]

Time for a new batch!

These was modeled on 23-24th, baken on 24th (yesterday), and all but one painted yesterday, the cat was painted today.

With my enthusiasm for start I've forgot to take the picture of the just-baked models before painting. So one of them has already began to be painted


1. Olm (Proteus anguinus). A collector friend told me that he was surprised because I still didn't included any amphibian in my homemade collection. So I've done this for him hehe



It has been a hard work, because it's tiny! Attaching the legs to the body, and then the toes to the legs, it's more difficult than it seems See hazelnut for size comparison:


2. Annamite striped rabbit (Nesolagus timminsi). My most favourite lagomorph since ever!



3. Jame's flamingo (Phoenicoparrus jamesi). Without doubt the best flamingo species. Same friend of the amphibian asked me: when will you have a greater or caribbean flamingo? So I've replied: Never! I will do the James's! Of course the other species are not enough obscure for my tastes... and in my opinion, they're not so beautiful and distinctive. He was a bit deceived, as he prefair the graceful longer-necked Ph. ruber hehe


4. Bornean bay cat (Catopuma badia). It intended to be first a marbled cat, but I realized that I've made too big for that. So I've chosed a bigger cat species


I know, I'm not the best person capturing a feline facial expression This cat looks like quite surprised by the sight of something extraordinary... an ufo maybe


And here with assorted cats from big brands for comparison

[Isidro]

5. And finally, what I consider as my masterpiece!
Jentink's duiker (Cephalophus jentinki). Originally intended to be a zebra duiker, but as in the cat, I've made too big for that. I'm not good calculating sizes! So I've chosen a bigger duiker species, and this couple of species are my favourite duikers, so the choosing is easy.
This piece resulted in a challenge. After finishing the general shape, I had the idea of doing it with a foreleg lifted. My idea was baking with a tinfoil support around belly and sides that make it to be enough elevated for allow the three hooves reach the soil. Legs don't have wire inside (I prefair to not use wire when appendix are thin, as it's more difficult to sculpt around it), so the figure can't stand before baking. But making a perfectly-matching tinfoil structure was impossible! No matter how many times I reshaped it: the figure went forwards, backwards or to one side always. So I've decided to risk and bake it lying on a side! This is risky, because legs can bend during baking, and also the surface in contact with the oven plate can leave a flat marking. But it worked!!!!! The figure can stand perfectly leveled with the three hooves touching the ground (tough it have a little stability problem: the least touch is enough for make it fall sideways!). And no marks appeared in the surface in contact with the oven plate.

For that I've decided to not make a fur sculpture, because this species fur is very short, silky, like the one of an okapi. So it's more realistic if I din't sculpt the hair (and also much more easier to do hehe)

Honestly, I'm very pround of this one. The strange facial sculpture of this species, that looks like to have the skin too small for it's skull and bony ridges apear around eyes and nearby, was made with precission. The shape of the lips, the facial glands, the horns... I've realized it with enough acurateness. In the real figure is easier to see than in pictures. But well, here is it!





And here my Congo Basin faunistic collection starts to grow a little! Welcome to the family little duiker! (Schleich mandrill and Papo okapi)

[Isidro]

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.



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


It's a tiny thing! Size compared with Takara Tomy Japanese crested ibis:


Probably the Southlands short-beaked echidna is my only other animal native from New Guinea, so here are together:


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.


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!


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.


And the Congo Basin family grows again!

[Isidro]

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.


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!


Brazilian family happy to welcome a new member!


And here compared with Schleich's giant pangolin. Perfect couple for explain evolutive convergence


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).



Here meeting my other foxes!


And here with another North American pal:

[bmathison1972]

I remember the first time I saw live grey foxes in the wild in Florida. From a distance I could see them scampering up a tree. I thought...man, those look like really big squirrels...but they look like carnivores...but climbing a tree like that? When we got closer, saw they were canine, and I read into it and learned they are only one of two arboreal canine species! The ones I saw were pups (they had longer tails, exaggerating the squirrel-like appearance); their mom was nearby but on the ground. I wonder if she was teaching them to climb?!?

I too have wondered how they escape toy manufacturers, even Safari's North American Wildlife line!

[Beetle guy]

You are really getting it Isidro! What a production!!  Nice!

[Isidro]

Thanks for your kind words  beetleguy

After some days of pause, I did another bunch.



This set contained a giant ibis (Thaumatibis gigantea), but it's indeed too giant! Similar in body mass to my jabiru stork!!! So I rejected it and I will sell raw to a collector friend.

Another of the figures is also a disgusting fail. I did a Blanford's fox (Vulpes cana) from Rogerio's suggestion, but didn't calculated well and the tail is too heavy. So the figure can't stand upright and need and object under the tail for stand!





With CollectA's fennec:


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.

[Advicot]

Loving all your new figures. 

[Isidro]

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!





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



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