Three Horned Dinosaur – Aurora Triceratops – model kit

Aurora Prehistoric Scenes Triceratops – model kit
with the Lava Pool Base extention

I finally tackled another model kit build after a short hiatus. This one is an original Aurora Prehistoric Scenes, Three-Horned Dinosaur (aka: Triceratops). Added on to the build is the Lava Pool base extension which lines up with both, the Triceratops and The Allosaurus original base.

I painted the whole dinosaur with a van dyke brown and yellow ochre undercoat before painting layers of Blue, Gray and Black for the skin color. The horns are off-white with some textures. The main modification I made to this dino was turning its head to the left to create a more dynamic pose. I built the figure, cut off the head and repositioned it by building a new neck area to support the head twist.

 

The Lava Pool extention was created/designed by myself. I shaped it to align with the edges of the Trike base and the Allosaurus base which also has the volcanic activity present upon it.

This is another one of my favorite dinosaur model kits and I’m glad to have the opportunity to build this again. The first time I had built it was over 40 years ago!

 

 

Aurora Prehistoric Scenes Styracosaurus – model kit

Aurora Prehistoric Scenes Styracosaurus – model kit

 

I was finally able to build another model kit after a long hiatus. This one is the Revel re-issue of the Styracosaurus. Included with the kit is the Carboniferous Forest base extension (You can get one from Jurassic Arts) and my little Carnosaur in the background peeking through the trees.

I painted the whole dinosaur with a van dyke brown and yellow ochre undercoat before painting layers of green for the skin color. The horns are black/white/gray and silver. The only modification I made to the dino was adding the skin at the back of the mouth as seen on many reptiles.

This is one of my favorite dinosaur model kits and glad to have the opportunity to build this again. The first time I built it was 40 years ago!

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parlor of horror – model kit post

Model kits for your favorite monster and sci-fi films!

A Gallery of newer, limited edition model kits

The new model kits coming out lately are amazing. Small model kit companies can afford to license a small run, limited production amount of kits for films which makes it cost effective.

However, it also makes some of these kits very scarce and expensive, especially if you had missed the original release and are now buying though a second party.  (scroll over pics to see kit info and companies)

These are some pretty fantastic kits:

Attack of the 50 ft woman

Attack of the 50 ft woman

Black Scorpion

Black Scorpion back view

black sunday kit

dusk til dawn – resin crypt kits

dusk til dawn – resin crypt kits

The Land Unknown

One Million Years BC – Joseph Laudati

Talos from Jason and the Argonauts

The Bride of Frankenstein

The Giant Behemoth – Joe Laudati sculpt

The Thing 1980 Alchemy Works

The Time Machine

Them!

Them!

veronica carlson

Frank Villa paint job – The Ghost of Castle Mare

 

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Some companies have been releasing alternative bases for established kits.

Caput Mortuum

Monster scenes limited bg

monster scenes back ground /base

Jeff Yagher Gigantics plastic bases

Jean Louis Crinon Cemetery Base

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Below, I have some kit-bash designs. A kit-bash is when a modeler takes different parts from different kits and makes his own scene from them.  (scroll over pics to see info about builders, painters, and companies)

Kevin Lewis Kit Bash Tar Pit Vulture, Tree, plus

Kevin Lewis kit bash

Frank Villa TotenKorps kit bash

Frank Villa Forgotten Prisoner kit bash

David Dockerty King Kong diorama

David Dockerty King Kong diorama Styracosaurus

David Dockerty King Kong close up

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Here’s some of the recent Prehistoric Scenes kit add-ons:

Zuniceratops Alchemy works PS kits

Alchemy Works – Stegosaurus

Plateosaurus – Alchemy Works

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And lastly, these are some older kits and I wanted to show some amazing paint jobs the builder’s have executed.
 (scroll over pics to see info about builders, painters, and companies)

Rich Danison – Aurora PS Cave bear

Giant Polar Lights Godzilla

Dwayne Whitehead build and paint

Dwayne Whitehead build and paint – grave robber

Dwayne Whitehead build and paint sabertooth

The victim zombie – James Nichols

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Large T Rex by Bob Morales of Dragon Attack Studio is 26” long!

Bob Morales – T Rex

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All of these models, kit designs, paint-ups and photos are c/p their original owners, used here for information and learning.

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Important Links:

Need a missing part from your vintage (or not so vintage) kit? Missing a leg, a foot, an accessory? Stop by The Parts Pit. Members post requests for model kit parts they are missing and other members respond if they have the parts to sell or trade – usually cheap. I recently got two hands for my Allosaurus kit from posting on the page.

The Parts Pit Vintage Model Parts Trading Post – Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/556964584447471/

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If you’re interested in seeing info, painted kits, and vintage items in the Aurora Prehistoric Scenes line, check out, The Aurora Prehistoric Scenes Society on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/groups/123243567699484/

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Add on to your Aurora Prehistoric Scenes Kits with these new items from Prehistorix
http://voycestog.wix.com/prehistorix

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Bases for new and old Aurora Prehistoric Scenes Kits from Jurassic Arts:
http://jurassicarts.com/

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Check out everything you wanted to know about the Monster Scenes line from Aurora:
http://www.monsterscenes.net

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Alchemy is a company that has been delivering a lot of excellent kits including over a dozen Prehistoric Scenes kits to go with your Aurora originals. Alchemy Works Model Kits – http://thealchemyworks.com/

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Resin Crypt has been putting out some great character model kits including some of the recent female favorites shown above. Resin Crypt Model Kits – http://www.resincrypt.com/

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The amazing work by Jean-Louis Crinon can be found at the website: theexo.com/crinon/

To Own A Monster – Aurora Monster Model Kits

Check out my guest article on Halloweenforevermore.com

To Own A Monster – Aurora Monster Model Kits 

 

A brief history of Aurora Monster models and my growing up with them. I’m sure you all know how much of a monster model fanatic I am, this will give some insight to my introduction to the model kit world.

If you like, please share and leave a comment. Thanks!

 

Aurora Prehistoric Scenes Woolly Rhino

Aurora Prehistoric Scenes Woolly Rhino

Kit being built – before paint 2

Here is my Aurora Prehistoric Scenes, Woolly Rhino, garage kit.

There was no Woolly Rhino kit release from Aurora, so I built this using pieces of Aurora kits and sculpting my own details.

 

This kit uses the head from the Woolly Rhino in the Aurora Tar-Pit kit. I sculpted a body and made a base to match the tradition of the Aurora kits.

See my video for info on the build, sculpting, painting and creating the Woolly Rhino kit…

Robot Monster custom model kit

Robot Monster custom model kit

– conversion from The Mighty Kogar (Moebius – Monsters of the Movies) –

Here is my custom Robot Monster kit from the film of the same name (1953). The kit started as The Mighty Kogar kit from Moebius. I bought the custom Ro-man (robot monster) head from CultTVman. As I was building I decided I wanted to emulate a scene in the film where Ro-man kidnaps the young woman, Alice, and brings here back to his cave. I decided The Victim (Aurora/Moebius) would be the perfect scale.

 

I had to turn Ro-man’s hands upward to support his kidnap victim. This involved cutting them off at the wrist and reattaching them.

I changed The Victim’s tied-off halter top to something more closely aligned with the film. I changed the denim cut-off shorts to a skirt and I repositioned her right arm closer to her body so she would sit in Ro-man’s arms better. I molded bushy hair to match Alice in the film (the Victim model kit has straight hair).

 
I built my own base with scene-it products and a circular piece of Styrofoam.

The biggest challenge was getting the antenae glued to the helmet. One is a little bent but I don’t dare touch it.

Related articles:

Model Kits – AMT Gigantics (1975 – 1979)

Godzilla model kit w/conversion

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