Animals

[stenfalk]

The laborious work on the small herd of Scottish cattle show gradually success. Another cow is finished and - it seems to be a miracle - even capable to eat independently !









Thus the herd has grown by a further member and now looks like this:





The lovely woman in the middle is a figurine sculpted by Alex. I've set it to enable the comparison of size:



Now only one cow and one calf are missing to the completion. Maybe I can do this later this month. Then I would be really relieved...

[Graeme]

The herd is looking fabulous! t=The grazing cow is great,

Don't forget the bellowing cow you showed us before because that is a really, really good pose.

[Beano Boy]

What Magical Story`s of such Great Tales,I could write using all of those.
( Alas I cannot obtain them. Enough said. )
As the Brilliant Artist that you are,your output grows as does your chosen pathway in life my friend. From Fiddle Wood where real Gnomes live I bid you Very Glad Greetings. BB

[stenfalk]

What Magical Story`s of such Great Tales,I could write using all of those.
( Alas I cannot obtain them. Enough said. )
As the Brilliant Artist that you are,your output grows as does your chosen pathway in life my friend. From Fiddle Wood where real Gnomes live I bid you Very Glad Greetings. BB

Paul, i thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your little stories everytime illuminate my world a bit.

The herd is looking fabulous! t=The grazing cow is great,

Don't forget the bellowing cow you showed us before because that is a really, really good pose.

Graeme, sometimes it happens on my workbench as in the bible: "You know, he who is last shall be first and he who is first shall be last." But the cow you miss is exactly the third one still missing in the herd. And her fur grows slowly...

[dirk]

Absolute great, Torsten !

This herd looks very good - I like it very well !

[stenfalk]

Dirk, your judgment always means a lot to me - thank you very much!

[Cryns]

I love your Highlander herd.
Can you tell us if we can use them outside the Scottish Highlands somewhere before the 20th century?

[Cryns]

Dear moderator,

I made a mistake twice in the German spelling in the title of my Stenfalk Dogs post: I think it must be Harzer Fuchs and not Harzner Fuchs.
I must have confused the spelling of the Harz mountains with the spelling of the Grosslockner which is a mountain too.
Could you please correct that and remove this reply?

Thank you!

[stenfalk]

I love your Highlander herd.
Can you tell us if we can use them outside the Scottish Highlands somewhere before the 20th century?

Mr. Cryns, you are the man with the difficult questions. Well, who can we recommend the highland cattle?

It's known Highland Cattle are an old breed to have grazed the rugged Scottish landscape since the sixth century. I am convinced that this cattle could be found from 500 AD in the whole area of the British island. It's also known these animals (or their ancestors) were the only ones who were allowed to pass the Hadrian's Wall from north to south. With a use in appropriate diorama themes the builder should not necessarily make a mistake.

But the following aspect is also interesting: It's still a matter of debate as to whether they were an origin of Scotland or - believe it or not - imported from Scandinavia perhaps with the Vikings when they invaded Great Britain. The theory gains wide acceptance amongst Highland breeders. It builds on the assumption Highland Cattle are the results of the blending of two ancient Asiatic breeds, the 'Bos Longifrons' and the 'Bos Primigenius'.

Both breeds had migrated from the Far East and Mongolia to the region of the Black Sea. The evolving breed migrated slowly west and north to the Baltic shores approximately 6000 years ago. From there emigration to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland was a very small step.

So there is no 100% certainty that the highland-like animals have appeared on the European continent even before, but there is also no definite exclusion. The fact is they are still today rather small-sized animals, which in this size could fit well into the earlier epochs.

I hope i could help.

[Cryns]

Thank you so much for the information Stenfalk.
This makes me wonder if the long Haired highlanders and the Himalayan Yaks could have similar ancestors.

[Beano Boy]

Those cattle trotted everywhere they had a Drover to tap them along.
The famous Rob Roy MacGregor,comes to my mind everytime I see them.
A Legend in his own lifetime.



The site of Rob`s house above,yes it certainly needs some work. BB

[stenfalk]

This entry can be deleted.

[stenfalk]

The question is interesting and i have studied something in my documents. Now i believe this relationship can be negated. But nobody can be sure about completely. The research allows quite different interpretations, even and especially in the age of genetics. However, it is very likely that the domestic cattle and the yak come from different origins. The common ancestor is almost as far removed as that of cattle and whale. But there are many millions of years ago. So, the yak is more closely related to the American bison.

But the Zebu have the same origin as other european cattle, asian Bos Primigenius.

And also within the existing prehistoric races, there were probably already adaptions to the respective climatic and geographic conditions.

I hope i haven't created more obscurity now.

[Carlos]

I admire the way in wich you make the fur and hair of your animals.
And the poses.
These cattles are a master work.

[Beano Boy]

Interesting research. BB

[Susofrick]

I think cattle like this are mentioned in some old sources about old Scandinavia so they would probably look nice in a Viking village. They look very nice now too, of course! As do all your animals! I am totally horrified for the day when you start selling more than your shepherds! My wallet and bankaccount will be empty in a second! And your wallet and bankaccount will be full of money!

[stenfalk]

Carlos, thank you so much, this is very friendly .

BB, .

Gunnar, i hope this day will come but i think also i still wait a while until your bank account has a volume a bit higher .

[Susofrick]

Oh my, then I have to stop buying at all! :-(

[stenfalk]

Good things take time to ripen.

I hope it does not look arrogant to say, this also applies to Scottish Highland Cattle in miniature. But today i finally can show off my little herd with all the scheduled members. And i'm pleased, i think it can be said so...













Besides, i've completed a set with old english war dogs - the "Pugnaces Britanniae".





I like them very much, they look massive and powerful . The light colored standing Mastiff has already been cast in resin, also the Wolfhound on the right side of the following photo:



Here you can see both together again like they look before the painting (ootb).





The two new co-workers of the casted Irish Wolfhound are these - one in a sitting position and one attentive, pausing motionless.





Indeed, now i really don't know which set should do prepared as next for the sale. What do you all mean?

[The Talking Horse]

cattle first please, i'm sure the sales will soon pay for the dogs and all the other excellent sculpts.