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1/20 White Rhino

Discussion in 'vBench (Works in Progress)' started by gorgosaurus, Jun 19, 2013.

  1. gorgosaurus Active Member

    Country:
    Denmark
    Some friends and I have a little "Fauna Modelling" thing going - fits in well with the intention behind my Dinosaur models to show these wonderful extinct beasts simply as animals behaving naturally in their environment and not as monsters. Anyway, to get the ball rolling, here´s a brief little sbs with my first attempt at portraying some contemporary wildlife.

    Sean Cooper is known to those of us who model prehistoric animals for his outstanding and wonderful sculpts of extinct mammals at "Paleocraft". Give your eyes and imagination a treat and take a look through his website at http://www.paleocraft.com/index.html especially the Catalogue, In the Works, What´s New and Gallery sections.

    Coop´s 1/20 White Rhinoceros, Ceratotherium simum, cost $93 + shipping and comes as a one-piece casting along with resin groundwork and a pine-wood plinth.
    [IMG]

    Clean-up and prep-work really were minimal for once, so it was an all too seldom pleasure to get on with some painting very soon after receiving the kit. Here it is with a coat of my favoured primer, Army Painter´s "Skeleton Bone".
    [IMG]

    Next, a glaze of Golden´s "Asphaltum Glaze" - a not quite carbon-black acrylic medium with some extender added to increase working time. I brushed it on, left it for a short while and then dabbed it off the raised surfaces with a sponge. In this way I´ve "pre-shaded" the model, defined shadows and highlights for any further work and accentuated the details in the sculpting. I think a glaze has a stronger effect than a wash and the shadowing can still be seen through any overlaying layers of thin acrylic paint that are not completely opaque. Several more glazes and some washes will no doubt come to be applied later.
    [IMG]

    This is the model after a few varied tones of a light neutral grey have been applied.....
    [IMG]

    ..... and here after a little drybrushing with some even lighter nuances of grey and some thin washes of Golden´s Umber, Raw Sienna and Burnt Sienna.
    [IMG]

    More greys soften the interaction of the tones for a more subtle and natural look.....
    [IMG]

    ..... overlaid with some discrete washes self-mixed earthy-tones.
    [IMG]

    Time to stop now and seal what has been achieved so far with a coat of clear varnish from a spray can. I think I´ll go for matt rather than the customary gloss, as the microscopically rough surface may accentuate some of the detailing to be done later on the hide. Next up, detailing work on the ears, horns, nostrils, mouth and hoofs, then some dirtying and distressing.

    Spike.
  2. Johan Well-Known Member

    Country:
    Belgium
    That's brilliant ! Nice sculpt ! I had a look at the site - for some items one is redirected to another site I noticed where they have a beautifully sculpted Thylacine available.
    With the current scientific efforts to clone extinct species there might be interest for such sculpts.
  3. tonydawe A Fixture

    Country:
    Australia
    Hi Spike,

    An interesting departure from your normal Paleo subjects. Like the subtle washes and tones on the Rhino.
  4. NickM Well-Known Member

    Country:
    Australia
    Awesome sculpt and paint job, Spike. You've really captured the leathery hide of the rhino.
    It's always refreshing to see some non-military subjects posted.
    Cheers
  5. Gerry Active Member

    very nice ! love what youve done with the hide/skin, Spike, and what a great sculpt
    Gerry
  6. FigureLover A Fixture

    Country:
    Australia
    Very nice work
    Ben
  7. Jamie Stokes Well-Known Member

    Country:
    Australia
    A tip of the hat to you!

    It's good to see such techniques applied, and the 'less is more' school of thought works here. I think sometimes I push the contrast a bit too far, and while effective, I need to reign it on some.

    Then I see your approach, and can see how you do it, often in a sequence that is logical, and obvious once I think about it.

    And this is cast in one piece!!
    Wow!!
    Cheers
  8. theBaron A Fixture

    Country:
    United-States
    1/20? I see a cross-over with Maschinen Krieger :D

    Thanks for showing your steps, Spike, it's very instructive for me.

    Prost!
    Brad
  9. gorgosaurus Active Member

    Country:
    Denmark
    Thanks for the positive remarks guys.
    Yes, I like "less is more" and low contrast painting. But, inspired by my reference books and photos, I had originally planned really going overboard on the muddying with this one ...
    [IMG]
    ..... now I´m not so sure I want to cover some of the subtle detailing. We´ll see how things develop.

    Ma.K 3, Brad? Yes, I can see this thing staring down a rusty old Kröte.
    Spike.
    Jamie Stokes likes this.
  10. gorgosaurus Active Member

    Country:
    Denmark
    Hmmmm ... I seem to have covered those soft greys over anyway with some earthier tones.
    [IMG]
    Spike.
    Jamie Stokes likes this.
  11. Ferris A Fixture

    Still looking good.
    If you're in doubt about the mud, why not only muddy his bottom half? Would make a nice contrast.

    Cheers,
    Adrian
  12. gorgosaurus Active Member

    Country:
    Denmark
    Yes, Adrian, feet, legs and belly will definitely get some mud - but a sinister voice keeps whispering in my left ear to turn the the whole thing into a mud-cake! Maybe I should have bought two!
    Spike.
  13. Chibi New Member

    Hi Spike

    My tuppence worth for what it is ... erm... worth (probably not even worth tuppence) would be to forgo the mud.
    It makes for an excellent study of a White Rhino.
    You'll need to get another for a mucky one imho! lol

    But he/she is your beastie and good luck, is looking great.

    Didn't realise that there were models of fauna available. Purely academic though as I ain't got the rhino! (Victorian slang for money)

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