In-Progress : Velociraptor
16-12-07 : Another Dinosaur...
I've got an urge to do another Dinosaur now that the UC Hard Graph dio is getting nearer to completion and what better Dinosaur to do than the Velociraptor from Jurassic Park!
Like the Corythosaurus that I completed a few months back, this was a kit I got during the Jurassic Park hype of the early Nineties. Until now, it has been hiding away in a box in my shed, but now I plan on making something special with it.
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I started off by pulling it all apart (luckily the glue I had previously used was pretty crap so it came apart really easily) and re-gluing everything :
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But when I began reassembling the model, I can across a problem with the hands. The locating pegs on the arms had broken off and were unusable. To remedy this, I had to pin the hand to the arm using a small brass rod and two locating holes which I drilled out using my ever useful Pin Vise. A dab of glue on either end and wha-la. |
Next up is to fill all the gaps with putty and begin sanding it back. Here's the final test fit :
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06-01-08 : Painting the mouth ...
Finished up painting the insides of the mouth today. I need to do paint the mouth this way as it would be impossible to paint it once the head is assembled.
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The jaw was painted with a custom paint mix of 75% White mixed with 25% Red which was applied with my Air Brush. Each tooth was hand painted with White for a base color to work with. I then gave it all a good Clear coat and once that had dried, I used oil colors to create a purple color to shade the tongue a little to make it stand apart from the rest of the jaw. As for the teeth, I would think that the 'Raptor would not have access to a toothbrush, so I gave them a wash with a Yellow Ochre/White mix to give them a discoloured look. |
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I've also added putty to the body to fill the seams and such. It's going to be fun sanding this one back ... not.
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06-03-08 : Crap! Been a while since I worked on this one!
With the Zeta Gundam build reaching it's end, I thought I'd return my attention back to the Velociraptor. I've sanded back most of the putty - well enough to allow me to prime the sucker.
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After all that sanding, I realise yet again how much I hate sanding and how much more I hate sanding back these styles of models with lots of bumps and creases that need to be there. After I sanded it back, I took a needle file and slowly filed out the grooves and creases to try and return them to how they look before the putty was added. Next up, I will mask off the jaw which has already been painted, and prime the kit. Once the primer dries, I will have to go back over everything again and double and triple check for faults to re-do. |
29-03-08: Finishing up sanding...
Finally finished sanding the 'Raptor! I primed and re-puttied everything again and then sanded it back for a second time.
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I then primed again and sent over it for a third time. There were only a couple of small problems that time so I fixed them and re-primed.
Quite a bit of time has been spent filing out the groves along the back, neck, legs and arms of the kit to try and return the details to how they looked before the putty and sanding. I have also begun to add texture using the primer and sponge technique I used when making the Corythosaurus, and a little thinned putty dabbed on with an old brush.
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This is a picture of the first layer. Once it dries, I will repeat the process again until I get the right texture I want for the skin. Not far from painting now.
30-03-08: Painting the 'Raptor.
Did some painting today. Painted the eyes first with the Candy technique - Black, Chrome, Clear Yellow, Clear Green in that order. Once the eyes dried, I masked them off with some Blu Tak and painted the body.
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For the body, so far I have used Olive Drab around the head, joints, feet and hands; Olive Green around the areas with the Olive Drab as a highlight color; Desert Yellow as the main skin tone; and finally Brown for the pattern along the back as well as highlights around the eyes and under the jaw.
If I get time tomorrow, it will get a clear coating so I can apply various washes and then dry brush to highlight the skin patterns.
02-04-08 : Working on the base...
Made the base for the 'Raptor today. I went with a simple forest floor scene for this one - a few broken branches, longer grasses and some leaf litter trying for a sort of prehistoric autumn scene.
First up, I found some twigs from the tree I recently cut back out the front of my house. I then got some air drying clay and moulded a patch of ground which I placed the twigs on and pressed in firmly :
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| Once the clay was dry, I air brushed it with Tamiya Flat Earth so if there were any missed spots of turf, then brown would show through. I also highlighted a few areas with some Olive Green, again as a precaution if any turf was missed : |
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| After a coating with some Spray Adhesive, I sprinkled on a layer of Green flock : |
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| I then placed some Long Grass throughout the scene (in particular through the gaps in the 'branches'. The grass was fixed into place with some white PVA glue : |
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| I finally finished up the scene by adding some mixed herbs I 'borrowed' out of the pantry. Mized herbs are great for leaf litter that would normally be found in forests : |
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I have also added a few different washes to the 'Raptor (Burnt Sienna and Burnt Umber to be specific) which has highlighted most of the skin creases and folds.
Next up, I will finish the base and attach the beast to it.