Tar Pit

[becdecorbin]

If you think that only a Woolly Rhino got trapped. you're
wrong. This kit (bought second hand) was a bigger trap
for me than the hapless Coelodont. So much right and so
much wrong in one effort. A real ache!

The parts are more effective than the whole. The vulture
(not yet photographed) was a bad mold. One side came out
well defined with feathers. The other side was shallow and
had no feather pattern, just oval bumps.

Never having experienced such a problem, I laid a harder
paint over a softer paint (A BIG NO-NO!) and the cracking
is visible on the surface of the "tar". Likely enamel over
acrylic. Arrrrgh!

Mr. Rhino doesn't sit evenly on the tar; I filled him with
expanding polyfoam for weight, but the foam expanded
below the "waterline" and must be carved out.

The tree (a few breaks here and there) came out okay, and
is probably the best feature. The kit was a steal when I
paid for it, but it just didn't come together.

I don't think I'll keep it for much longer.

[becdecorbin]

I think that I shall never see, a piece as lovely as a tree...

[becdecorbin]

sans Vulture

[becdecorbin]

La Brea, here I come.

[cromagnonman2000]

Yes, the tree is one of the best features of the kit, its size really anchors the scene and gives it some impressive scale. This is my favourite PS kit of them all.

[becdecorbin]

Perhaps not tightly-focused. I'll take another stab at this very soon. The Vulture. I filled in his mouth with Green Squadron putty. A little customization that worked. But not as permanent as all that.

Attachments:

[scooke123]

Too bad you have such a rough kit to start with - you may not want to give up on it - try some different technigues and experiment with it before you get rid of it!

[TAY666]

I agree.
Even with all the headaches, I would keep on going.
Maybe set it aside for a while then come back at it fresh.
The overfilling isn't really that hard to fix. Just a little time consuming.
The wing problem is something a little more involved, but if you want to try to make a go of it, you could put the detail back in. Just heat the tip of your hobby knife over a candle and press it into the feathers to put some detail in.
Yeah, it would be a lot of work, and time consuming. And probably no one but you would notice. But it is stuff like that, that will make you really proud of the results when finished.
And it is a good way to hone your modeling skills.

[skid]

Yes!!! Keep going! My vulture also had feather issues with the sculpture on only one side. On my kit I spread a thin watered down layer of milliput where needed and ecthed more feathers in. As for the rhino I used "thick" fast-cure super glue, then used a "kicker" for an even faster set. I then "milliputted" him down. Before the putty got too firm I sculpted in some of the "splash". I'm not a pro modeller by any means, but I got the results I wanted. Maybe soon I can get a pic up on Trevor's site