Kentoshi-sen by Glen McGuire - 1/400 - Bottle

[Keith Black]

 That is amazing, Glen. Great idea to use bonsai driftwood, I'd never heard of such. It looks tipsy or is that the Bundaberg whispering in the background? 

Edited May 28 by Keith Black

[BANYAN]

Now that is one unusual and interesting display base Glen. Kudos mate, it looks great. I am sure those pesky penguins would also agree (that is if you have managed to keep them away from the Bundy supply ;))

 

cheers

 

Pat

Edited May 28 by BANYAN

[Glen McGuire]

11 hours ago, Coyote_6 said:

I was thinking some type of faux jade or something but a little research didn't yield much in that arena.  😢

I did some poking around and did not find anything either, Steve.  Interesting idea though.

 

 

 

Edited May 29 by Glen McGuire

[Glen McGuire]

9 hours ago, Keith Black said:

It looks tipsy or is that the Bundaberg whispering in the background? 

I's pretty solid so it must be the Bundaberg!  

 

 

2 hours ago, BANYAN said:

I am sure those pesky penguins would also agree (that is if you have managed to keep them away from the Bundy supply ;))

They are forbidden to get near my Bundaberg.  I am very stingy with it!

[lraymo]

On 5/23/2025 at 8:06 AM, Glen McGuire said:

The funny thing is, Lynn, that I'm actually a very impatient person.

From this impressive build, its hard to believe that you're impatient!  It looks amazing, and the bonsai driftwood is very cool!

[FriedClams]

Knowing how inventive you are, I was wondering what you might do for a base.  Never expected bonsai driftwood, but what a great choice, Glen.  Looking forward to seeing the final completed display. 

 

Gary 

[Glen McGuire]

Thank you to everyone for your comments above.  Now I'm in a quandary and gotta ask for some help here.  Normally, I get an idea in mind about what I want the SIB presentation to look like and I'm rock solid about it.  This time, however, I'm waffling.  I've got 2 ideas and I cannot decide which I like better.  I keep going back and forth, so I thought I'd put it out for a vote on MSW and see which one y'all like better.  

 

For the first one, I stuck with the entire Japanese theme from top to bottom - Japanese whiskey bottle, bonsai driftwood cradle, and Japanese Zen garden base.  For the second one, I swapped out the Zen garden for a natural rock base (it came from my ranch so there is no Japanese tie).  

 

So if you would be so kind, please take a moment to look at the 2 pics below and let me know which one you believe is the better presentation.   

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for your help!

[François de Saint Nazaire]

Hello Glen,

I prefer the second one; it's a difficult choice. In the second one, the stone opens up the field because there's no border. I'm not sure if I'm being clear, but either way, it's beautiful!

🤔

[Knocklouder]

I agree with Francois, the second picture looks more open . Two votes for number two picture.  Tuff choice thought. Great work .

Bob  M.

[gsdpic]

Make that three votes for the second one.  I feel like the Japanese garden base competes with SIB for attention.  Either way, like Bob said, great work!

[tmj]

I too vote for the second one. That non-uniform slab of rock really makes it look natural and pleasing to the eye!

[Keith Black]

 Welp, the first one doesn't do too much for me but that second ONE! It's got my Zen-O-Matic 2000 vibrating on all eight universal cylinders. 

 

 All joking aside, Glen, the second one is really beautiful, the rock is just right.  You know, you ain't gonna have much of a place left you keep including stuff from the homestead in these SIB projects. 

[Paul Le Wol]

Glen, I agree that they are both beautiful, but I like the way that the black (?) of the Zen garden goes with the blue water..

[GrandpaPhil]

Glen,

  I personally like the stone base.  I believe it offsets the bonsai base.

[Thukydides]

I agree with the others that the second is probably the better option.

 

What I would suggest is there is a bit too much of a hard transition from the bonsai to the rock. To alleviate this you could add some moss around the base of the bonsai to allow for a transition to the rock. Not much, just a little to make it less of a hard line between the two.

[JacquesCousteau]

While I like the zen garden base idea, I agree that it competes with the ship for attention. The stone base looks quite nice, and I agree with @Thukydides about the moss idea.

[Landlubber Mike]

Hey Glen, I haven't been on MSW much the past few months but just found your log.  Wow, what a great job!  You're getting very good with these SIB builds!

 

For what it's worth, on the stand, I have a slight preference for #2 as well.  I like the concept of #1, but I think I prefer the simplicity of the tree over the stand.  Can't go wrong with either approach though.

[tmj]

1 hour ago, Thukydides said:

What I would suggest is there is a bit too much of a hard transition from the bonsai to the rock. To alleviate this you could add some moss around the base of the bonsai to allow for a transition to the rock. Not much, just a little to make it less of a hard line between the two.

I agree, however. I'd keep the moss, or whatever 'transitional-material' used tucked inside of the root mass, kinda like those Ponderosa Pines that can be found growing out of cracks in huge rocks with a bit of organic matter growing around the cracks and crevices. 

[BANYAN]

The second one (rock) for me also Glen.  You can always say the rock is from Japan   Seriously, I think the rock is more in keeping with a nautical theme.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Javelin]

Haven't been too active around here, but a great job on this SIB Glen. 

I'd also go for the second one, however I'd try to crudely break off the left part that sticks out towards the front. This would create a more compact contour. Love the moss idea as well, but it's up to you, the "hard line" doesn't really bother me, but the moss would add some colour. 

 

[Bryan Woods]

I like the Texas stone. It needs a touch of the artist in it. It plus I think the dish draws the eye away.

Edited 19 hours ago by Bryan Woods

[Coyote_6]

For what it's worth, #1 is good but #2 just ROCKS!!

 

#2 for me sir.

 

[Canute]

I like the #2 base, with a bit of green under the bonsai base. Gives an impression of the tree growing out of the base. My 2 cents. 😄