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Brian Mennenoh
22 articles

Ancient Red Dragon

January 10, 2023 · in Figures · · 13 · 1.2K

I purchased the .STL file from Lord of the Print a while back and the printed and assembled model sat on top of my computer for quite a while. I wasn't looking forward to fixing all of the seams, there was a lot of sanding and filling to do in some small, cramped spaces for my big hands. So many needle sharp spikes. A friend posted on Facebook a model they had painted up for a painting contest being held by the sculptor. So, I had to give it a shot, I spent the first day and a half fixing all the seams and getting stabbed by spikes. Then I spent the next 5 days painting. I followed the old school D&D description which mentioned the blue fade on the wings and the eyes that become internal flame over time. The black fade on the spikes was my daughter's idea. I am incredibly happy with the result, I made the contest deadline. Now, after posting it and seeing the competition on Instagram, I honestly don't have a chance, but it really doesn't matter. I have a great finished piece and some of the other entries are really incredible. There's always another level!

Reader reactions:
11  Awesome

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13 responses

  1. Another beautiful sculpture, Brian @brithebuilder
    The paintwork turned out really great, those black fade on the spikes as proposed by your daughter was a wonderful idea.
    Well done.

  2. Thanks @johnb! I agree, the kid always pushes me to make cooler stuff.

  3. Excellent build and paint work.

  4. An amazing job, Brian!
    Indeed, your daughter's idea was brilliant!

  5. Thanks @fiveten. The kid likes to make me work. It is for a contest and all.

  6. I don't know about the others, but this is a pretty darned nice level you're at here. Beautiful work and a great result!

  7. Thanks @tcinla. I appreciate it. If you're on Instagram, check out #lotpcontest... there are a lot of amazing artists.

  8. One fearsome looking dragon.

  9. Brian,

    Your Dragon is nothing to sneeze at. It conjures up " House of the Dragon" and "Lord of the Rings" which is popular with many age groups.
    With science fiction you can always say " I deny your reality and create my own." I like what you've done with the wings in the back with blue/gray edges and the spikes look like ivory with the darker ones reminding me of a Rhinos horn. The horn being made up of material similar to hair. Its refreshing to see other peoples work outside of the military theme. Seeing different materials being used for modeling, 20 years ago if you said you printed a kit you'd be laughed at or label as being strange. The times are a changing.

    Two thumbs up.

  10. @chinesegeorge - Thanks!

    @stephen-w-towle - Much appreciated. I'm incredibly happy with my work on this piece... I'm also a realist, looking at the work being submitted for the contest, the judging will be challenging indeed, I don't think my piece is in the top 5... top 10 maybe... If I had the time, there's definitely more I could have finessed with the highlights on the brighter red scales. They are a little messy in spots. I'm also quite happy I didn't have another week to put into obsessing over it. Deadlines are good for pushing us to see what we can get done in a short amount of time. Contests like this are good for realizing we still have room to improve.

  11. Great job on this, painted beautifully!

  12. Thanks @v1pro - I appreciate it Bob!

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