Aurora Godzilla – MotM Prototype (1973) – my custom rendition – Part II / painted

This is my fully painted kit modelled on the MotM prototype planned by Aurora before they went out of business. (more details here)

 

I was originally going to paint Godzilla in green tones but having the red and white Tokyo Tower made the whole kit start to look like Christmas themed colors. So I went with Gray tones for this one. I mounted it on a stained wood base for that extra classy treatment.

 

I decided to put a couple of flags out front as are usually present at local landmarks and parks.

 

I also made the small tank that was present in the original prototype. It came out decent enough 🙂

 

I was careful to get the eyes to have a 3d effect. It’s a new technique that I may use on certain kits from now on.

 

The nameplate is from Cult of Personality but I made a custom name plate holder with some sea plants and trilobites.

 

I took the buildings from the Aurora Godzilla kit base and made a universal background that can have many uses. Below are some pics from different angles.

  

Here’s a pic with the bg. behind Rodan and Gorgo.

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undertone painting

go go Godzilla!

Tokyo Tower ripped to shreds

resculpted face

Godzilla custom kit

Godzilla custom kit

elongated tail

The destroyer of worlds

burnt out city raised for bg.

I used washed out colors for effect

different angle

city in ruins

custom nameplate holder

universal city bg. behind Gorgo and Rodan

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Parlor of Horror – monster model kits, by Mike K

You can also view my Gallery of kits

Aurora Godzilla – MotM (Monsters of the Movies) Prototype – Model Kit

 

Aurora Godzilla – MotM (Monsters of the Movies) Prototype (1973-ish)

In the 1970’s Aurora was planning a second GODZILLA model kit under their Monsters of the Movies line. The kit was in design stages and complete prototypes were made.

There are a few images of the kit which look somewhat different from each other. The kit never went into production as Nabisco took over Aurora Model Kits and basically dismantled the company.

There was also some video/film of the making/sculpting of the project. Kudos to PHILSEP for finding/saving/posting this for fans of the old Aurora kits.

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Well, needless to say, ever since getting a glimpse of this kit prototype, I’ve been obsessed with What if…?

 

So, I built my own rendition of the…

AURORA GODZILLA MONSTER OF THE MOVIES PROTOTYPE

DETAILS:

I started with the standard Aurora/Polar Lights Godzilla kit. I modified the Godzilla body to resemble the Prototype kit. I made my own base from scratch emulating the MotM Prototype base.

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Polar Lights – Godzilla Form – modifications:

more robust body

reversal of forward moving leg and back moving leg

lengthened and extended arms – changed hands to hold tower pieces

Elongated and more animated tail

remolded eye brows/top of head/cheeks

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Cult of Personality – Godzilla wide jaw replacement

Cult of Personality Name Plate

Self-made name-plate holder – featuring trilobites and sea-plant

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Godzilla MotM Prototype Base: full sculpt

Self-molded base copying shape from historical pics.

Trees

Tower Platform

Rubble

Tower parts modified from N-scale Train accessories

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Background:

I assembled the city ruins from the original kit as a Universal Destroyed City background piece that can be used for any giant monster kit.

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I had a blast making this kit and have seen my sculpting skills get better with this project. I enjoyed putting my own ‘look’ on Godzilla’s head/face and making a more animated pose with his head twist, elongated tail and step. Now the kit is all primed and ready to paint, so be prepared for another post when the kit comes to life in full color.

Aurora Monster Models and Prehistoric Scenes Kits

Aurora Monster Models and Prehistoric Scenes Kits – Part II

When I was a youngster, I loved to build monster model kits. I would see ads in the back of Famous Monsters of Filmland and I would send away for them via mail order or have my mom take me to local hobby shops to purchase them. The premier company in horror model-kits back then (1970’s) was Aurora. I started with the Universal Monsters model kit collections and soon moved on to the Prehistoric Scenes Kits. Eventually, the kits I owned went to the big toy graveyard where all kids things seem to find their end. For the longest time I thought those model kits were gone forever. But recently, I have found many of the wonderful kits I enjoyed as a kid, still available for purchase.

Aurora Prehistoric Scenes kit molds were first bought by Monogram who only kept seven of the Dinosaurs and the Wooly Mammoth. Sadly they destroyed the other kit molds to reuse the material. Then Revell bought Monogram and re-released the dino kits (twice). Today you can still purchase many of the Aurora Dinosaur kits under the Revell label. Although the box art is different, the kits are basically the same as the old Aurora kits minus the bases and extra accessories.

the same Ankylosaurus model released through the years…

Many of the Aurora Monster Model kits were purchased by several different companies such as Playing Mantis, Moebius, and Polar Lights. It is a bit of work to hunt all of these down as they release them sporadically but you can get almost all of them. I have recently purchased, The Forgotten Prisoner and the Aurora Godzilla model.

On top of that there are several companies that release customizing kits under the “What if…” banner and alternative pieces market which are often called Conversion Kits. You can change the head of the original Godzilla to one that is more in line with the movies. You can change the heads of the Triceratops to create different horned dinosaurs such as the Torosaurus or the Monoclonius. You can change the head of Dr. Jekyll to match the original  film “The Fly” (which looks amazing). You can now buy Julie Adams to fit with your Aurora style Creature From the Black Lagoon, where she will be set in his arms like the famous scene from the film.

Today’s model kits are amazingly detailed and there are quite a few hobbyists that take great pride in the building and painting of these kits. Many are limited release and can sell for upwards of $200. There are 3 types of kits, plastic, vinyl, and resin kits. The resin kits are the most expensive and offer the most detail.

One new kit I’ve been waiting for is Gorgo, by the company, Monarch. It was supposed to be released last year but no one has heard any news since. I hope they continue there plans to release it, because it is a fantastic model. Update: model kit was released – you can see my build here: Monarch Gorgo Model Kit

Below are some links if you care to check out some more info and pics on the subject. Some of the pics used here are from these sites.

If you want to learn more about the Aurora Kits and product lines, a good place to start is with the documentary dvd, The Aurora Monsters: the model craze that gripped the world. You can get the dvd at monstersinmotion.com or Amazon.

www.monstersinmotion.com
www.geometricdesign.net 
www.culttvman.com
www.auroraprehistoricscenes.com
www.tylisaari.com
www.morbidmonster.com
www.universalmonsterarmy.com
http://creaturescape.com

Gallery of classic kits:

this model is gone forever, the molds were destroyed.

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Gallery of new kits and conversion accessories:

same body, different head, new dino.

Model builder vids:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAWsr3aI0Ic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlB_rkH2414&feature=youtube_gdata_player

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnWP3cg0olE