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Another Mother Meerkat Question

Home Forums Windstone Editions Ask Melody Another Mother Meerkat Question

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  • #1674124
    fatalbeauty
    Participant

      sooo been thinking, what if the master mother meerkat was found and made to be like a LE batch on Ebay of like 30? you did that with the lions, they had a new mold made just for that…..I think mothers would sell like hotcakes! I know a TP one sold in 2013 on Ebay but I couldn’t find much more than that since the listing was too old….and you could release more of the babies in the store like you did when you sold the mother bears on Ebay…..or just make a ton of mother meerkats so we can all buy one from the store……and or you could add wings to her and or the floor ones as well so they would look like the ones from your The Veligent in the regular store! I know they’re low priority but I think there’s a need/want of them from all of us….and I know also probably low priority, but the floor ones at least known where they are and they are pretty much all ready to be cast yet are stuck sitting there sad on the floor!

      and I’m not sure if this one is her but I’ve seen a meerkat in this spot in two pictures, she doesn’t seem to be the floor ones…..

      zmeerkat

      zmomma

      4 things I'm looking for:
      1. Mother Meerkat
      2. production color Sitting Young Oriental dragons to be made in more colors besides VF
      3. Female Griffin – Siamese with White
      4. September Raffle Prize 2022 AHD Male Griffin

      #1674152
      Melody
      Keymaster

        Aw, I wish we could do small batches of stuff like that, maybe someday!
        It isn’t that easy to re-make old pieces. ( I don’t think the meerkat is retired since we never really made them in production in the first place)
        The molds would need to be remade, even if we could find the original ones, and those are all packed away somewhere in our storage building.

        #1674163
        fatalbeauty
        Participant

          you’ve done the small batches before, the lions were made from a new mold, their COAs talk about it….you made more of the baby bears in small batches to go with the mother bears when they went on Ebay…..

          also couldn’t you make a day of it? play see what I can find in the storage building, sounds like it would a fun day to me! just think of what could be hiding in there!

          and the floor meerkats are just sitting there on the floor, wouldn’t making a mold for them be easy enough? most of them look already done and ready for a mold? and way back when you said on I think it was a meerkat baby COA that the whole family was getting ready to be cast or something to that effect in 06 or 07, I was poking old threads yesterday….

          meerkatprototypes

          meerkatprotypes

          also question still left hanging, is that the mother meerkat in the picture 2 of my first post and again linked below? I can tell it’s a meerkat but it’s a little too blurry to see if it’s her…..

          zmomma-1

          and making small batches for ebay of like 15 to 30 did well on Ebay when you did them before, the lions, the dogs, the bears, the tabby and licking cats….they would sell again easily as would the mother meerkats if you did make them….ideally I’d love mother meerkat to just be a regular store item but if it gets them at least made, Ebay works too….and you said way back when in 06 and 07 that they were probably coming soon in the height of the Meerkat Manor days I believe the thread was…..I know they would sell if you gave them a chance!

          4 things I'm looking for:
          1. Mother Meerkat
          2. production color Sitting Young Oriental dragons to be made in more colors besides VF
          3. Female Griffin – Siamese with White
          4. September Raffle Prize 2022 AHD Male Griffin

          #1674221
          drag0nfeathers
          Participant

            When I was at the factory I remember seeing these up in Melody’s office and I don’t think its “the” mother meerkat but one of the family? Hard to say… that was almost 10 years ago. There were many beautiful pieces there that will sadly probably never make it to mass production. Large wolf, Potter cat, hatching llama, Grand pegasus? (I don’t remember if that was the official name or not) among numerous others. (I’m still waiting for the Lion Kirin someday)

            Fantasy creatures are primarily the current focus. Not that there isn’t a niche market for the animals I’m sure. I do remember the mother meerkat is a really big sculpture and that may have a lot to do with it too. Right now Windstone isn’t really even casting Emperors very much (primarily for ebay it seems) and there is undoubtedly a HUGE demand for those judging my current ebay resale prices. Same with Kirins and to a point Unicorns, Flapcats, and Griffins seem to only be released in small batches with the major focus being primarily dragons and grab bags.

            Even if the mother meerkat is on the shelf back there that might not be the material a mold would be cast from and if there is a mold in storage it’s probably deteriorated by now. I think they’re made of a latex/rubber sort of material. Pretty sure gypsum is what is poured into the mold, but not what the molds themselves are cast from. I’d also love to see many of Melody’s under loved works in production as well, meerkats included! I’m just not sure if it’s really feasible for them at this time, especially with all the growth and demand we’ve seen the past few years on the Facebook group. It’s all about supply and demand.

            If only we could clone Melody! That would solve all our problems! On the other hand, just say the word and set me loose in Windstone’s storage building and I’ll deep dive for buried treasure any time! LOL!

            Got a busted Windstone?
            drag0nfeathersdesign@gmail.com
            *OPEN for repairs*

            *SEEKING GRAILS*
            Arc-en-ciel Emperor
            Siphlophis Male Dragon
            Calypso Hatching Empress
            Ivory Moss Sitting Baby Kirin
            Tattoo Mother Kirin
            Emerald Tabby Male Griffin
            Tie Dye + Orion Hatching Royalty
            Indigo Rockfish + Flame Tabby Little Rock Dragons
            Dragon Quail + Obsidian Frost Old Warriors
            Betta Sun Dragon + Male Dragon
            Dreamscape, Orion, Poison Dart, Fireberry, Spangler + Tigerberry Dragons

            #1674229
            Melody
            Keymaster

              It’s not ME that needs cloning! It’s Gina, Marco, the painting crew, and the casters. And Susie. And the finisher, Jaz.

              #1674231
              etruscan
              Participant

                Fatal said – “you’ve done the small batches before, the lions were made from a new mold, their COAs talk about it….you made more of the baby bears in small batches to go with the mother bears when they went on Ebay…..”
                Those small batches were about 15 years ago!

                Windstone is a much smaller company now, the Windstone collectors universe has changed (for better or worse) thanks to Facebook, and Windstone is using their limited time and resources to produce the most popular items. Whatever Melody may have said years ago [… and you said way back when in 06 and 07 that they were probably coming soon …] doesn’t change the situation today.

                Asking for small batches of items with uncertain appeal – especially those that would need to be recreated or have major repairs before production – almost certainly is unrealistic (and I’m speaking as someone who also would like to have a Mother Meerkat).

                It will be interesting to see how popular the PYO capybara actually is. Perhaps the capybara will give a boost to the meerkats, but I’m not holding my breath!

                #1674232
                etruscan
                Participant

                  It’s not ME that needs cloning! It’s Gina, Marco, the painting crew, and the casters. And Susie. And the finisher, Jaz.

                  And then you would need a bigger building …

                  #1674253
                  fatalbeauty
                  Participant

                    okay, scratch the Ebay idea then I guess, I thought that might be easier….I still think if a bunch were made for the regular store whether it was the mother or the floor meerkats, they would sell easily, we Windstoners will buy almost anything if you put it in the store…..and those meerkat castings are already there the floor and mystery meerkat, a new molds could be made, the old molds aren’t needed here…..it has been done with older castings of the lions and the baby bears when it was found there was only a few baby bear castings left after the move……

                    ….but I guess I should to go into why I would really love these to be made and why it would mean so much to me….ever since I found out what a meerkat was at the zoo or the Wild Animal Park now called the Safari Park, I would spend most of my time there watching the meerkats, watching them dig/clean out their tunnel openings everyday, watch them dig up buried bugs left there by the keepers, watch them get up on their hind legs and watch for hawks, etc, it took awhile for anyone with me to convince me to look at anything else….then when Meerkat Manor came on TV, a new watcher appeared, my now deceased but still just as much loved, Jinyxy was getting up as close to the screen as she could to see the little guys….if the babies came on, she’d get even closer, putting her little nose up against the screen close, fascinated by them….so I always associate them with her watching them and moreso since she passed in 2019 and guess it just kinda feels like if I had one, it would feel like I was closer to her again…..It’s not just a sculpt to me, it’s a memory of a much better time when she was still alive……I don’t have any pictures of her watching them but this was her……

                    141507

                    and more pictures of what we’re all talking about there if anyone newer here is reading….

                    mothermeerkat1

                    and her with her family of other castings….

                    meerkatprotypes2

                    4 things I'm looking for:
                    1. Mother Meerkat
                    2. production color Sitting Young Oriental dragons to be made in more colors besides VF
                    3. Female Griffin – Siamese with White
                    4. September Raffle Prize 2022 AHD Male Griffin

                    #1674258
                    Melody
                    Keymaster

                      The ‘kat in the bag is the large meerkat, we never produced him, or any of these. I call the one sitting down “the mother”.

                      #1674271
                      drag0nfeathers
                      Participant

                        I’m really sorry about your cat Jinyxy. I can definitely relate to that kind of loss. Maybe if the capybaras do really well the concept you’re describing might be reconsidered. We can hope anyway.

                        The thing with the castings though that exist in Melody’s office are just that, they are more than likely castings from the old molds. You can’t make a new mold from a gypsum casting. Gypsum castings are what the molds make. The original sculpture they make the molds from is an entirely different material that I believe is baked before a mold gets cast from it. THAT is the missing piece of the puzzle that makes it a lot more difficult to do then it sounds like it would be. I would image at this point wherever THAT key is, it’s probably deteriorated quite a bit and would require a lot of restoration before a new mold could be made off of it. Melody can correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m fairly certain the gypsum statues that you are seeing are of little to no help in the mold making process.

                        Got a busted Windstone?
                        drag0nfeathersdesign@gmail.com
                        *OPEN for repairs*

                        *SEEKING GRAILS*
                        Arc-en-ciel Emperor
                        Siphlophis Male Dragon
                        Calypso Hatching Empress
                        Ivory Moss Sitting Baby Kirin
                        Tattoo Mother Kirin
                        Emerald Tabby Male Griffin
                        Tie Dye + Orion Hatching Royalty
                        Indigo Rockfish + Flame Tabby Little Rock Dragons
                        Dragon Quail + Obsidian Frost Old Warriors
                        Betta Sun Dragon + Male Dragon
                        Dreamscape, Orion, Poison Dart, Fireberry, Spangler + Tigerberry Dragons

                        #1674281
                        fatalbeauty
                        Participant

                          I’m really sorry about your cat Jinyxy. I can definitely relate to that kind of loss. Maybe if the capybaras do really well the concept you’re describing might be reconsidered. We can hope anyway.

                          The thing with the castings though that exist in Melody’s office are just that, they are more than likely castings from the old molds. You can’t make a new mold from a gypsum casting. Gypsum castings are what the molds make. The original sculpture they make the molds from is an entirely different material that I believe is baked before a mold gets cast from it. THAT is the missing piece of the puzzle that makes it a lot more difficult to do then it sounds like it would be. I would image at this point wherever THAT key is, it’s probably deteriorated quite a bit and would require a lot of restoration before a new mold could be made off of it. Melody can correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m fairly certain the gypsum statues that you are seeing are of little to no help in the mold making process.

                          thanks for understanding, losing her definately was a very hard loss….I guess I’ll just keep up hope that the capys do well and maybe meerkats will follow, or maybe one of the few people with one of the old ones or the Ebay one wants to sell their’s to me one day!

                          understood, my brain keeps thinking of the lions’ new mold and the baby bears and wondering why they worked but I dunno, picture of lion’s quote about it below…..perhaps Melody you could clarify on all this?
                          zlionquote

                          4 things I'm looking for:
                          1. Mother Meerkat
                          2. production color Sitting Young Oriental dragons to be made in more colors besides VF
                          3. Female Griffin – Siamese with White
                          4. September Raffle Prize 2022 AHD Male Griffin

                          #1674284
                          Bodancia
                          Participant

                            fatalbeauty – so sorry about your kitty cat Jinyxy. What a beautiful cat! I can see how you would love to have a Mother Meerkat statue, to help keep her memory alive. What a fun memory! However, from everything that Windstone has told us, you are just not going to find a Windstone mother Meerkat. They are simply not available, and realistically never existed. And it does seem rather unfair to be critical that Windstone has no current plans to make them. Windstone and Melody consistently bend over backwards to go beyond what is required.

                            But just because Windstone doesn’t have the Meerkat you are looking for, doesn’t mean you should abandon hope. There are other companies that do make Meerkat figurines. Some are really very wonderful! For example, Toscano has a whole line of Meerkats, as individuals and in family units. Look into some of these other companies, and you may find the perfect MeerKat for your Jinyxy. I hope you can find one, or two!

                            Always looking for a lovely GB Young Unicorns, TP Male Dragons or TP Male Griffins!

                            #1674286
                            fatalbeauty
                            Participant

                              fatalbeauty – so sorry about your kitty cat Jinyxy. What a beautiful cat! I can see how you would love to have a Mother Meerkat statue, to help keep her memory alive. What a fun memory! However, from everything that Windstone has told us, you are just not going to find a Windstone mother Meerkat. They are simply not available, and realistically never existed. And it does seem rather unfair to be critical that Windstone has no current plans to make them. Windstone and Melody consistently bend over backwards to go beyond what is required.

                              But just because Windstone doesn’t have the Meerkat you are looking for, doesn’t mean you should abandon hope. There are other companies that do make Meerkat figurines. Some are really very wonderful! For example, Toscano has a whole line of Meerkats, as individuals and in family units. Look into some of these other companies, and you may find the perfect MeerKat for your Jinyxy. I hope you can find one, or two!

                              thanks, she was awesome but taken way too soon, strokes ;-; …..but I can’t give up! gift ones are out there, at least one Ebay is out there, maybe someday maybe Melody will make some….I’m not one to give up! hope is still out there!

                              I’ve looked at other meerkats, nothing really compares to Windstone in quality and beauty and there’s a lot of dead eyes goofy faced ones out there on the internet!

                              4 things I'm looking for:
                              1. Mother Meerkat
                              2. production color Sitting Young Oriental dragons to be made in more colors besides VF
                              3. Female Griffin – Siamese with White
                              4. September Raffle Prize 2022 AHD Male Griffin

                              #1679709
                              Nightcrow
                              Participant

                                I’m really sorry about your cat Jinyxy. I can definitely relate to that kind of loss. Maybe if the capybaras do really well the concept you’re describing might be reconsidered. We can hope anyway.

                                The thing with the castings though that exist in Melody’s office are just that, they are more than likely castings from the old molds. You can’t make a new mold from a gypsum casting. Gypsum castings are what the molds make. The original sculpture they make the molds from is an entirely different material that I believe is baked before a mold gets cast from it. THAT is the missing piece of the puzzle that makes it a lot more difficult to do then it sounds like it would be. I would image at this point wherever THAT key is, it’s probably deteriorated quite a bit and would require a lot of restoration before a new mold could be made off of it. Melody can correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m fairly certain the gypsum statues that you are seeing are of little to no help in the mold making process.

                                thanks for understanding, losing her definately was a very hard loss….I guess I’ll just keep up hope that the capys do well and maybe meerkats will follow, or maybe one of the few people with one of the old ones or the Ebay one wants to sell their’s to me one day!

                                understood, my brain keeps thinking of the lions’ new mold and the baby bears and wondering why they worked but I dunno, picture of lion’s quote about it below…..perhaps Melody you could clarify on all this?
                                zlionquote

                                A very late reply, but that description you posted only says that they didn’t have any old *castings* of the lion, so more were made from new molds. As drag0nfeathers says, the key here is that there’s an original sculpture that’s used to make the mold, and then castings are made from the mold. Presumably they did still have the original lion sculpture, so new molds could be made from it and then used to produce new castings.

                                Your kitty is very beautiful, and losing her must have been a great loss. I hope one day you can find a Windstone piece that will serve as an equally beautiful memorial!

                                Interested in buying or trading for: GB Pebble Sitting Red Fox in dark grey, Lap Dragon Test Paints (Water Sprite, Glacial Pearl, Opulence, Pastel Rainbow, and many others - see my Classifieds ad), Blue Morpho OW, GB Pebble Loaf dragons in blue/aqua/teal, and Griffin Test Paints (Black Rainbow or Frosted Jade).

                                #1679718
                                fatalbeauty
                                Participant

                                  I’m really sorry about your cat Jinyxy. I can definitely relate to that kind of loss. Maybe if the capybaras do really well the concept you’re describing might be reconsidered. We can hope anyway.

                                  The thing with the castings though that exist in Melody’s office are just that, they are more than likely castings from the old molds. You can’t make a new mold from a gypsum casting. Gypsum castings are what the molds make. The original sculpture they make the molds from is an entirely different material that I believe is baked before a mold gets cast from it. THAT is the missing piece of the puzzle that makes it a lot more difficult to do then it sounds like it would be. I would image at this point wherever THAT key is, it’s probably deteriorated quite a bit and would require a lot of restoration before a new mold could be made off of it. Melody can correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m fairly certain the gypsum statues that you are seeing are of little to no help in the mold making process.

                                  thanks for understanding, losing her definately was a very hard loss….I guess I’ll just keep up hope that the capys do well and maybe meerkats will follow, or maybe one of the few people with one of the old ones or the Ebay one wants to sell their’s to me one day!

                                  understood, my brain keeps thinking of the lions’ new mold and the baby bears and wondering why they worked but I dunno, picture of lion’s quote about it below…..perhaps Melody you could clarify on all this?
                                  zlionquote

                                  A very late reply, but that description you posted only says that they didn’t have any old *castings* of the lion, so more were made from new molds. As drag0nfeathers says, the key here is that there’s an original sculpture that’s used to make the mold, and then castings are made from the mold. Presumably they did still have the original lion sculpture, so new molds could be made from it and then used to produce new castings.

                                  Your kitty is very beautiful, and losing her must have been a great loss. I hope one day you can find a Windstone piece that will serve as an equally beautiful memorial!

                                  except that newer info has come to light since then…..Melody makes the original, that is molded then she carves into the new one to make the finer details, that one is made of gypsum then she takes a mold of the newer one when finished so the old original clay one/first one isn’t needed to make a new mold…..so the gypsum meerkats that live on the floor and any later casting in gypsum of anything can be made again with a new mold off of that….

                                  I’m still hoping that I will find one of these someday or that they will be made again so I have that loving memory sculpture to remind me always of my amazing Jinyxy……

                                  zwipcapyquote

                                  4 things I'm looking for:
                                  1. Mother Meerkat
                                  2. production color Sitting Young Oriental dragons to be made in more colors besides VF
                                  3. Female Griffin – Siamese with White
                                  4. September Raffle Prize 2022 AHD Male Griffin

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