I found the story fascinating… The last northern white rhinos are guarded by a team of armed rangers at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in central Kenya. The conservancy housed three of the last five remaining northern white rhinos, but Sudan, being the only male, must be protected in order to save the species from extinction.
I got the vignette depicting the last white rhino from Scientific Models. It includes a 54mm scale figure of a Kenyan ranger as well as the rhino. Here’s the finished figure:
The figure was completed some time last year and the project came to a halt. The problem was the rhino… I just didn’t like the one supplied with the kit. I found another rhino kit in 1/35 scale, but was disappointed with that one as well. Finally, I located a 3D rhino model which looked really nice and decided to get it. A friend printed it out for me. Here it is, superb quality:
The images show the white rhino in various colors, from whitish-grey to sand and dark grey… I would say it all boils down to the weather conditions when the photo was taken.
What a fantastic idea for a dio! Kudos on the figure work- you have brought out the details in the sculpt really well. The Rhino is awesome looking too- the subtle changes in the skin color and the deep lines and folds are picked out with great precision.
Great idea. I worked with Kenyan Rangers for a week in the Tsavo safari park helping them with with cutting trails and setting up anti poacher stuff. Those guys are really dedicated and hard core … they also love the animals they protect and get into some serious fire fights with poachers on a regular basis … will keep an eye on this one _Dont forget to grind the rhinos horn down
Yeah, they try and do it as a deterrent and same with elephants sometimes when they de-tusk them. Not always guaranteed to work, and sadly, the poachers will usually kill them anyway. They are beyond barbaric really. We found a young female elephant about a week dead, and they had just chainsawed half her face off to get the tusks.
Johnny, I was in Kenya two years ago, from Amboseli and Tsavo to Masai Mara. The animals, the landscapes… wonderful experience. It is one of the reasons I decided to do this diorama.
Saw this story a couple days ago Mario @Maki, what a sad state of affairs that this species has been slaughtered simply for the “supposed” aphrodisiac effect of it’s horn while the carcass is left to rot in the sun. Kudos to the group of folks that are working to save and restore this magnificent beast.
Amazing! I felt very touched by this story at the time of the death of this last rhino a few years back. I saw the kit some time ago and I’ve been thinking of making something similar since. Great work, and great hommage!
_Dont forget to grind the rhinos horn down 
