The Syndicate Scoop Vol. 1

The Syndicate Scoop Vol. 1

Hello folks. Welcome to the "Syndicate Scoop" Volume 1. In this episode, I want to show you something I have been working on for the past few months. This first volume is a bit of a departure from the Syndicate's intended purpose- to get feedback on WIPs (works in progress) as a way to get some thoughts on how to proceed.

In this case, I want to show you this project that I have been working on in conjunction with Lana Time Shop, which is mostly complete (pending some touch-up work). Lana commissioned the manufacturing rights to this diorama kit, so they will handle production once I establish the final cut. They have been acting as my Syndicate to date. This time I am not likely to be making any adjustments. However, I am always happy to hear your comments and suggestions.

It has been a long road, and the project has been through many iterations. It sits far from my original concept, as "Art by Committee" often dictates, but I am happy with the results. At some point, I might share some of the original plans... including (possibly) some images of "Baby Girl's" (the juvenile Sauroposeidon) mother... a full-sized adult Sauroposeidon named "Latifa."

This kit will be offered at 1/20 scale, so it was deemed cost prohibitive to include "Latifa" in the diorama. Initially, the acros were attacking baby Girl, who was walking behind Latifa, and Latifa was turning back to fend them off... in my first iteration, she was even crushing an acro.

The placard above takes the place of the Ancient Era Artistry logo that you will find emblazoned on all of my other kits to date because this is not an AEA production. As mentioned above, Lana will be manufacturing this piece, so it will be a standard urethane model kit offered disarticulated or built and painted by the talented artists in Lana's employ. I cannot wait to see what those artisans do with this piece!

Although I am not manufacturing it, I reserve the right to sell the kits retail, so they will be for sale for the same price as with Lana at ancineteraartistry.com. You will get your Saurian Syndicate 10% off and a unique loyalty gift if you buy from me.

Also, I reserve the rights to the intellectual property of the characters involved, so you may have already seen the acrocanthosaurus derivatives on my website. So far, we have "Acro-Tack", "Scarsdale Solo", and miniature versions of the acrocanthosauruses. There will be more to come, including Baby Girl, and potentially her mother.

As always within the Syndicate, what happens here stays here. Please do not share or discuss these images or the project. We don't want to spoil the debut.

The working title is "Don't Count Your Chickens," but Lana gets the final say on the title, so we will see. I am calling it that because at first glance, it looks like the acros have a good chance of taking the girl down. However, at a closer look, the tide might turn at any moment.

The acro pictured above is aiming for Baby Girl's front left leg, but Baby girl is able to push him off with her back left leg. Look closely, and you'll see "Al's" right foot off the ground. He will mount up to Baby Girl's leg in the kit.

Meanwhile, on the other side, "Buddy" (don't ask me why I name them these names-the names just come to me, so I use them) is starting to get a hold of Baby Girl's rear right leg. One might say she is doomed.

But if you are paying attention, you'll note that Baby Girl is falling off balance to her right side.

Or maybe she is intentionally leaning against the assault. Either way, if Baby Girl takes a dive, it is not likely that buddy will come out of this in a good way.

So, I say: "Don't count your chickens before they hatch."

As always, you'll find characteristics that make each character unique, including Al's amputated middle finger. We know from fossil evidence that these creatures were not reared with a silver spoon. They lived difficult, tumultuous, painful lives.

Also, I try to put my spin on these animals, given whatever room there is in the arena of speculation. When thinking about the incredible size and mass of these sauropods, I decided to include a wattle, like the kind of thing a turkey has on its neck. Supposedly, with a turkey, the wattle served to help dissipate heat. I figured that would be an excellent tool for a massive beast like a sauropod, so I included a wattle on Baby Girl. Baby Girl's wattle is conservative since she is a baby, but Latifa's is pretty intense. Hopefully, you will get to see hers one day. I added some fleshy spikey things on there as a warning to predators to stay away from her neck.

Also, we have never found any suaroposeidon skulls, so I thought, why not add a keratinous crown to their heads.

Here are a few more shots of the diorama:

What about a 1/35 scale version? Well, I typically offer everything I have made in 1/20 scale as a 1/35 version, but Lana prefers to do things differently. They asked for a separate 1/35 scale diorama with similar characters.

So, "Feast or Famine" is in the works. Take a look. This is VERY early stage, so don't judge me. This is just about getting the composition down and fleshing out the idea with the poses. I have yet to do any detail work, and of course, the base is just a stand-in. Baby Girl will not sink into the ground when done, either.

This will be offered in the same way, so plan to buy from Ancient Era if you are interested, pretty please.

P.S. If you got this email, and you did not sign up for the "Suarian Syndicate", it is because I thought you should be a part of it. I will NOT manually add you for future volumes. if you like it, and you wanna stick around, please sign up here:

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Thanks, everyone! Until next time...