I recently created a scale model of Zoo de Vincennes's famous bull elephant Siam, deceased in 1997. This isn't exactly memorabilia but I thought some people might find it interesting. I didn't get a chance to see this animal in person but I gathered whatever images I could find from the internet, books and videos to make my scale model. It is done in 1:22 scale with the real Siam being 10.5 ft tall at the shoulder, my model is 14.5cm. This animal was one of the most impressive tuskers, I wanted a model for my display case so I sculpted him.
Amazing sculpture!!! The detail surpasses nearly every commercially available model of this species. At 1st picture looks like there's a nipple (which are present in bulls), he probably has a genital sheath as well? Using a museum specimen for reference would be handy. It's very fortunate that Siam was preserved. Today the best tuskers are incinerated, like Raja in Emmen zoo recently was... A pic of Siam in Paris Natural History museum.
Now that is impressive. Thank you for sharing your art. You mention a display case? There is more? Maybe a gorilla?
This is a superb model; thank you for posting the pictures. I was fortunate to see “Siam” many times in Vincennes Zoo and, more recently, have seen him mounted in the Paris Zoology Museum; he was definitely the most impressive elephant I’ve ever seen. Congratulations on an excellent model that perfectly captures his appearance.
Thank you all for your comments. Thank you for your comment, it seems we have the same user name. Yes my model is anatomically accurate with every detail from the real elephant's anatomy. It is unfortunate that so many great zoo/circus tuskers are now gone including, Siam(Paris), Radza(Emmen), Shenka (Circus Alberti), King Tusk(Ringling), Ziggy(Brookfield), and Sahib(Circus Atlas) among others. Thank you Tim, I would have loved to see this specimen in person, he must have been absolutely majestic. Hopefully one day I can make it to the museum in Paris to see the taxidermy display. Hi zooman, sorry no gorillas as my main interest is with elephants. I often sculpt scale models in my free time as a hobby, here are some of my other sculptures. African elephant cow African forest elephant cow and bull calf Indian elephant cow
All other sculptures are marvelous. Are you planning to cast your models or make a 3d scanning? Because I would love to buy one, and surely other people want them too It's extremely hard to get a realistic model of modern elephants, they're mostly toys with wrong proportions (though sometimes anatomically correct). The few realistic ones are African bull by Paleocraft studios and 1:48 proboscideans by Eofauna studios (which have tail hair as your L. cyclotis). Paleocraft African Elephant Resin Model Loxodonta africana | Eofauna
Thank you for your comment, I actually own the Paleocraft elephant and the six Eofauna models. The paleocraft has some hip anatomy errors it is a nice model. The Eofauna figures are amazingly accurate and lifelike, some of the best elephants I've ever seen. I agree that almost all elephant replicas on the market are very inaccurate and just badly sculpted, that is why I decided to make my own. I sculpt in clay but also digitally in 3D on the computer so some of my models are available for sale via 3D printing. I currently have an Indian cow, bull and calf for sale. My shop is here: Red Elephant Models on Shapeways Please note my models are hard nylon plastic, hollow and unpainted. They are all in 1:22 scale also.
Hi Zooman, I work in the tv/film industry as an artist but my day job is mainly drawing. Sculpture is something I taught myself through trial and error, I recently got back into the hobby after about a 5 year break. Since starting again my goal is to make each new model as life like as I can. I have visited many zoos over the years and always take hundreds of reference photos on each trip. Observing the animals first hand really helps me to depict their anatomy correctly when I'm sculpting. On several occasions I've actually sculpted on the spot while at the zoo.
Hello elephas_maximus, Ich interessiere mich sehr für Ihr Modell „Siam“! Kannst du mir ein paar Bilder schicken? Vaquita
