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Author Topic: Test repaint: Safari Marsh Dragon  (Read 3316 times)

Offline Hobby Services

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Test repaint: Safari Marsh Dragon
« on: July 10, 2016, 12:06:33 AM »
Safari Limited is a toy company best known for making lifelike animal models, but they've also got ranges of dinosaurs and (more recently) a mythical creature range including quite a variety of dragons.  Their stuff is a moderately firm plastic with pretty decent paint jobs (for toys, anyway) and has enough detail that I thought it would be worth trying a custom repaint.  This is sold as a "Marsh Dragon" and retails for about $17.



I had to clean a few mold lines and remove quite a bit of lettering from the belly, followed by a bit of resculpting of the scars that produced.



The factory paint job used a similar but simpler color scheme in more garish colors.  I prefer more muted tones, especially for a swamp dweller.



The fins are slightly flexible and you can bend the tail a bit if you apply enough pressure, but all in all it's less bendy than Bones stuff generally is.



Pretty happy with the quality of the sculpt.  Plenty of detail and a great pose.



Kids these days have much better toys than we did when I was a young 'un.



Measures about 9" long (and would be longer nose to tail if it was stretched out straight) and stands over 4" tall, which strikes me as a very suitable size for a 28mm dragon.




Offline marianas_gamer

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Re: Test repaint: Safari Marsh Dragon
« Reply #1 on: July 10, 2016, 01:00:04 AM »
Nice job, especially the eyes  :-*
LB
Got to kick at the darkness till it bleeds daylight.

Offline Argonor

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Re: Test repaint: Safari Marsh Dragon
« Reply #2 on: July 10, 2016, 04:18:06 AM »
Very cool model, and great pj!

I have been pondering about using Schleich and other toy dragons for wargaming, but haven't considered repainting them.
Ask at the LAF, and answer shall thy be given!


Cultist #84

Offline DeafNala

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Re: Test repaint: Safari Marsh Dragon
« Reply #3 on: July 10, 2016, 11:46:48 AM »
FANTASTIC! The Big Scaly Beasty painted up WONDERFULLY. Your choice of colors & brushwork are SUPERB. VERY WELL DONE!
Such a BEAUTIFUL creation really does deserve a base though.
I'd NEVER join a club that would have me as a member.  G.Marx

Offline Hobby Services

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Re: Test repaint: Safari Marsh Dragon
« Reply #4 on: July 10, 2016, 01:11:00 PM »
Very cool model, and great pj!

I have been pondering about using Schleich and other toy dragons for wargaming, but haven't considered repainting them.

Thanks.  They're definitely an inexpensive option compared to actual gaming minis, and many of them are painted well enough to look okay on the tabletop as-is.  Myself, I can't resist fiddling with factory paint jobs even on gaming prepaints like the D&D and Heroclix figs, so repainting "toy" figs isn't much of a stretch.  You do have to cherry pick a bit to find sculpts with enough detail and character to be worth the effort but as I said above, kids these days have way better quality toys than I did forty or fifty years ago.

I note the Safari and Schleich dinosaurs and prehistoric mammals are very popular with VSF/Pulp gamers as well.

Offline PhilB

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Re: Test repaint: Safari Marsh Dragon
« Reply #5 on: July 10, 2016, 05:42:10 PM »
Love that marsh dragon! Greatwork!

Schleich figurines make great kitbash sources. Here's "Black Magga" for Pathfinder's "Rise of the Runelords" campaign:


And after painting:



Yeah, I know, I already posted this bad boy here. But y'all started a new thread, and... I couldn't resist.

Now all I have to do is figure out how to use the leftover bits. <g>

Offline Hobby Services

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Re: Test repaint: Safari Marsh Dragon
« Reply #6 on: July 10, 2016, 05:55:59 PM »
To be honest, it was your Black Magga thread that inspired me to start looking around a bit more thoroughly at the local craft store's toy aisle.  Still considering ripping off your idea and making a full-body version of the beastie for use in Deep Wars or a full-blown aquatic RPG adventure.  One of the neater critter designs Pathfinder has given us.

Offline PhilB

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Re: Test repaint: Safari Marsh Dragon
« Reply #7 on: July 10, 2016, 07:28:39 PM »
I've been thinking that the octopus central body, cut at the right angle and with a new maw crafted from greenstuff, would make a good "watcher in the waters" central piece, using the exact same tentacles. Kind of like a 2-for-one deal.

Time to warm up the dremel!

This said, your paint job on that marsh dragon is simply phenomenal, my black magga is a quick slap-together job in comparison. Plus, my dremel slipped and I gouged a bit out of the side of the plesiosaur's neck. <sob>

Offline Hobby Services

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Re: Test repaint: Safari Marsh Dragon
« Reply #8 on: July 10, 2016, 08:26:48 PM »
Ah, a little sculpting putty will hide any amount of dremel slippage.  :)

So what are you going to do with that decapitated dino body, anyway?  That's begging to be turned into some kind of chimerical nightmare, or maybe pressed into use as a headless body in a diorama with some cavemen harvesting it for meat or something.

Now that would be a neat objective piece for One Million BC inspired gaming, wouldn't it?

Offline Hobby Services

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Re: Test repaint: Safari Marsh Dragon
« Reply #9 on: July 13, 2016, 09:52:09 PM »
FANTASTIC! The Big Scaly Beasty painted up WONDERFULLY. Your choice of colors & brushwork are SUPERB. VERY WELL DONE!
Such a BEAUTIFUL creation really does deserve a base though.

That comment makes me wonder, what do people prefer for basing when it comes to very large models like this dragon?  I tend to avoid basing anything really big unless it absolutely requires one for stability, mostly because a huge base makes it very hard to maneuver a model on a tabletop crowded with terrain.  The 120mm Huge base models in the Privateer Press games are a good example of what a pain they can be, and they're way smaller than this dragon would need.

OTOH, a fancy diorama-style base is a fine idea for a showpiece model that's intended to sit in a figure case and maybe get used in RPGs now and then.  No worries about terrain there, and a good base can add a lot when done right.

So what do other people think?

Offline bandit86

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Re: Test repaint: Safari Marsh Dragon
« Reply #10 on: July 14, 2016, 05:35:29 AM »
That came out great, I use the toy dragon all the time and they work well.  I have that one but have yet to deal with it never liked the fins but your look good really like the belly work
http://bandit86.blogspot.com/search/label/Dragons
Barbarella: What's that screaming? A good many dramatic situations begin with screaming...
http://bandit86.blogspot.com/

Offline Vermis

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Re: Test repaint: Safari Marsh Dragon
« Reply #11 on: July 14, 2016, 12:10:29 PM »
That comment makes me wonder, what do people prefer for basing when it comes to very large models like this dragon?  I tend to avoid basing anything really big unless it absolutely requires one for stability, mostly because a huge base makes it very hard to maneuver a model on a tabletop crowded with terrain.  The 120mm Huge base models in the Privateer Press games are a good example of what a pain they can be, and they're way smaller than this dragon would need.

I think you make a good point about stability, and I think that a circular base for a long, thin model like this would also be a lot of wasted space. I'd still be tempted to put it on a base, but on something like a big rectangular or oval base. Depending on what it would fit on. Also depending on whether the game rules you use require measurement to and from bases, or models.

But I think it'd still be fine without a base, if that's your decision. It's been nicely prepared so far, anyway. ;)

Offline Hobby Services

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Re: Test repaint: Safari Marsh Dragon
« Reply #12 on: July 14, 2016, 10:47:31 PM »
That came out great, I use the toy dragon all the time and they work well.  I have that one but have yet to deal with it never liked the fins but your look good really like the belly work
http://bandit86.blogspot.com/search/label/Dragons

Nice work there, especially the conversion on the three-header (now one).  Your bases are lovely too, good argument for saying the heck with practicality in gameplay over aesthetics.

Still, there are so many hills and ruins and dense forest pieces in the local environment, and even little 50mm bases have problems with them.  Going bigger just exacerbates the problem.

 

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