My Prehistoric Scenes
Built-up Models

I spent a lot of time doing the seams on this model. The fit was so good, and it looked so sharp, I wanted to make sure I did an A1 job on it. I used my usual approach of putting on a little extra glue and letting it squish out to help fill the seams. Then I scraped off the extra, primered, then puttied. After I finally thought the seams were gone, then I would run it by quality control. In other words, my 11 year old daughter. She has a good eye for detail and loves to point out my mistakes. So, when I thought things looked good, I'd have her check them out and point out places I missed. When I would see a disappointed look, I knew I had it nailed.
After the seams were done, then I re-added the detail using my Dremel engraver. I used it to re-define the scales around the seam area that had gotten smoothed out with the sanding. The hardest part was actually all the spikes. Cleaning up the parting lines was a real bear. Especially on the tail.

I actually had fun painting this kit. Which is unusual for me. I mixed up a purplish-brown for the top shell, and a darker brown for the lower body and legs. Then I mixed up some brown and blue for the parts that stick up on the shell. The head uses the same dark brown as the lower body, but has some of the scales around the top edge are even darker. Gives more interesting look to it.
The spikes are a blend of yellow/brown/white. It doesn't show up in the picks, but each spike starts out lighter at the point and gets darker the closer you get to the body. Wish I would have had an airbrush to do them, I think it would have come out even better. I think I might go back and use this same idea on the spikes on his head as well. When I was painting it, it didn't occur to me that they were actually spikes. They seemed more like protrusions out of his head, but while taking the pictures, it hit me.
I found some very interesting stuff to use for my washes on this model. Most of the painting was done using acrylics (I am slowly being converted to the dark side here. I still use my enamels, but not as much as I used to.) I was looking for some more paints one day, and happened to find this stuff called "color float". Basically mix a couple of drops of a color in with some of it, and the color actually floats in it. Works great for the washes. You can spread the mix around and work the color down into the grooves without discoloring the rest of the surface as much as the other washes I have used. I also used this with a little bit of clear for a few spots as well. For example, the toe nails. They are done in a kind of clear gray. It colors pretty good, but still lets a little bit of the base color show under it. It adds depth, as well as making the color look a little more natural to the rest of the kit.

For the base, I used another new item I found.
First, I used some 2 part epoxy to put the 2 halves together, and recarved the detail at the seam. Then I used brown primer to cover it. Then went over it with a dark brown/black mix.
After that, I used my green enamel for the leaves and grass. (no particular reason for the enamel, other than the fact that it was the shade I wanted). Then I mixed some yellow ochre and brown for the stem and stump, with a little blush at the point where it broke apart. Then I blended a few shades of green to go over the grass. The leaves were finished with a little yellow/color float to get the color down into the veins of the leaves.
For the crater, I painted the inside black, and used red and yellow in the color float. I didn't really mix it together, so I got some red, orange, and yellow all showing a little inside the crater to make it look a little like lava.
Now for the fun. I used an item called "antiquing gel". It's kind of like a wash, except thicker and covers more. I tried using some of the black for the wash on the shell of the dino, but didn't like the results. It came out way to dark, because it darkened everything, not just the recesses. I thought I would give the brown a try on the base. I loved it. It's a lighter and brighter brown than the base. When I started going over it, the change was dramatic. It lightened things up, but still gave a nice feeling of depth. It really brought the whole thing together. I finished the base with a little bit of a black wash using the color float again. Just enough to help define the detail, without being overpowering.

A word of advice.
ALWAYS SEAL BETWEEN PAINT APPLICATIONS !!!
It's a good thing I followed that golden rule. When I tried the antiquing gel for the black wash on the back. I really didn't like the way it turned out. So I just went over to the sink and washed it off. Never had to worry about hurting the work I had already done before that.
I use a big can of Krylon clear matte. It's not really flat, more of a semi-gloss than a satin. Then I do a final coat of dulcote. One thing to keep in mind, the shine of the clear matte may hide a little detail that the final flat finish will bring back. An example on this project is the different scale colors on the face. After I painted it, it look perfect. The next day when I sealed the paint, it all seemed to blend together and be indicernible. When I finished the kit and hit it with the flat, I could again see the markings that I thought I had lost.
A few more words about the "color float" and the "antiquing gel". Both that I found are made by Delta Ceramcoat. Usually found in the craft departments. They both have extremely long working times. I think the bottles say over an hour. So I let the kit dry over night before sealing.