My Aurora Prehistoric Scenes Collection video

My Aurora Prehistoric Scenes Collection video

I put together this video to showcase my Aurora Prehistoric Scenes model kits. All the kits were built and painted by me. Most of the ones in this video are original 1970’s kits, not reissues. Many of these were damaged and had missing pieces that I refurbished. For some I made minor modifications. I have more kits yet to be built that I will be working on in the coming year. Part II of my video will be made when they are complete. I did a voice over in my 1950’s style narration voice. it came out hokey but I left it in anyways. It was my dry attempt at humor…

Kits: Cro-Magnon Man, Cro-Magnon Woman, Neanderthal Man, Sabertooth Tiger, The Tar Pit, The Giant Bird, Allosaurus (2 kits), The Wooly Rhino, Dimetrodon

You can see photos of these kits and more here: Model kits by Mike K

Model Kits – Aurora Prehistoric Scenes – Giant Bird

Aurora Prehistoric Scenes

Giant Bird – Phorohacos

I bought this kit ‘new’ and complete in the box. It was originally released in the early 1970’s in the second wave of Aurora Prehistoric Scenes kits. It was never re-released so any that you may see on the market would be original Aurora product. This one cost me a bit more than others because of its new (unused) condition.

The only problem in building, which I remember from when I was a kid, was getting the body top (back) in place. It never seemed to fit exactly right. This prompted me to use super glue to build the kit so that piece would dry in a minute and not ‘pop’ off or move to a crooked position while drying overnight.

I always liked this kit because it was the same giant bird as in the Schneer/Harryhausen feature, Mysterious Island (1961). I built it as instructed with no modifications.

Be sure to check out all my other Aurora Prehistoric Scenes build-ups:

Allosaurus, Cro-magnon Man, Cro-Magnon Woman,  Neanderthal Man, Sabertooth Tiger,

 

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.

–
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