Stegosaurus
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3D Printing excites me when it comes to Dinosaur models. Plastic models are few and far between with the Tamiya diorama series and the new Pegasus models the only ones that could be considered 'scientifically accurate'. Resin kits are well sculpted and detailed, but cost a small fortune. With the invention of the 3D printer and with services like Shapeways, I can now get a lot of these 'scientifically accurate' dinosaurs for a fraction of the resin prices.
I've been wanting to paint up a Stegosaurus for years now. I once missed out on a chance of getting a resin kit of Jon Raders Stegosaurus and have been itching ever since to paint one. That's where Shapeways has come to my rescue with this fabulous 1/40 scale Stegosaurus from digital sculptor Manuel Bejarano.
It took a few weeks to get to me after a couple of weeks lead time and a week in the post, but when I got it, I quickly grabbed the air brush and got to work.
I began by painting the lighter shade of green to the undersides of the model and then took Olive Drab and did the top half, making sure to add some shading around the folds and creases of the skin. Next, I took some brighter colours of red and blue and air brushed the plates along the back, starting with red at the lower center and then around the edges of the red with the blue. I repeated this for all the plates and then tidied up by going back over the edges with the Olive drab. Some small details like the toe nails, eyes and the beak were hand brushed on.
For the base, I wanted to create a forest scene, so I added a large plaster rock first then used some sticks and Woodlands Scenic Foliage to create a fallen log and undergrowth look.
I loved this model but some of the print was visible which is totally my fault as I chose the default print method on Shapeways instead of paying a little extra to get the detail print (I know that for next time now!).
If you are interested in Manuel Bejarano's 3D prints, you can order them via Shapeways here : http://www.shapeways.com/designer/mb-cg?li=pb