Time for me to reach back into the Pleistocene age and work on some Woolly Mammoth miniatures. More specifically, the Woolly Mammoth from Dee Zee Miniatures. Dee Zee sells a number of Pleistocene era models in the beasts line and this includes three different Woolly Mammoths (two full sized and one calf). I picked up three of the larger models some time back and finally decided what to do with them.
Most Dee Zee beasts are all metal models, but these are resin castes with metal parts. I assume this is due to the size of the kits! The resin is caste with a very nice level of detail, which makes painting quite easy. The minis come in the usual Dee Zee zip lock bag with a paper sticker and label.
The resent body is one piece and caste rather nicely. It does have a bit of resin flash along the center line that needs some work (which I could have done a better job in cleaning up). Due to the position, you will need to use both a hobby knife and small file to get rid of it fully. This is really only an issue on the top of the miniature, as the lower inconsistencies are pretty hidden, due to the nature of the model.
The model comes with three white metal detail parts. The first is the tail. this glues on the back of the model and matches up reasonably. Being metal, you can also bend it a little to give some variation. The other two parts are the tusks. These attach to the model front and need a little work to set well, as there is not enough of a pin area to work with. Additionally, these come molded straight. To get a nice curved effect, you will have to take your time and work each piece with your fingers to get the look you want. It does take a little patience! On the plus side, this also gives you the option of working them in different ways to give variations, should you want multiple kits (like I did).
Once I had assembled the kits, I then attached them to 75mm x 50mm bases. It did take a little trimming to get them to fit the may I wanted, but this only required some snipping with hobby trimmers, so no problems. I decided to go with a iconic dark brown theme, so next was the painting.
As it is just a furry creature, the pint job was straight forward. I sprayed the entire model with Krylon dark brown camo paint. Once dry, I hit the entire surface with a dark brown wash. I then dry brushed up three shades of browns to get the effect that I wanted. Once the fir was done, I painted up the tusks using various shaded of tan to white. Painted the eyes, mouth and trunk details. I then worked on the basing, following my standard fantasy effect. All three took about four hours from wash to completion. I’m quite happy with the final result.
The final look of the kits is quite nice when your done and will add a lot to any collection. Pricing is under $20 for each model and is not bad for a kit of this size. Cleaning and tusk work takes a bit of patience to get looking right, so be prepared for that. With that said, you will be happy with the final result and your wallet will not be too empty from the experience! Definately, worth a shot if your looking for some solid looking mammoths.
- Manteuffel