Model Kits – Cro-Magnon Woman and Sabertooth Tiger refurbish – Aurora Prehistoric Scenes

 

Aurora Prehistoric Scenes

Cro-Magnon Woman
Sabertooth Tiger

Once again, these kits are no longer available, have never been reissued and haven’t been made since the 1970’s.

The Sabertooth Tiger was part of a ‘used lot’ collection that I had purchased from eBay with missing and broken pieces. The Tiger itself was in- tact and had minimal painting done to it. It was missing the base and accessories. I was excited to get this because when I was young I had won a model building contest with this kit, second place; I got a trophy and a gift certificate.

The base I used was in the ‘used lot’ box and I’m not sure what kit it comes from. I made some changes, adding a big rock on one side and a small tree. I originally planned on putting leaves on the tree but decided I liked the way it looked without them. I made the deer leg with clay to match the one in the original kit.

 

I sprayed the kit with gray primer so I could start painting from a neutral color. The original color of the kit is a tawny orange and many people leave it unpainted but I wanted to go with a more natural color of today’s Mountain Lion.

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The Cro-Magnon Woman I purchased separately. It was a complete kit, previously used and partially painted but not built.

I didn’t care for the paint job so I sprayed it with primer and started from scratch.

She came with two sets of legs for the builder to choose from. Most people go with the flat footed stance because it’s easier to place her on the base. I used the ‘action’ legs which look more animated.

It is impossible to get her standing on one foot using glue. To solve the problem, I positioned her right foot on a grass clump. I took a straight pin and heated it until it was glowing. I pushed the pin up through the base and into her foot and leg. A little crazy glue to keep her from spinning and you get a nice action shot of her jumping away from the snake.

 

The snake is usually positioned in the tree on the base, but I never liked the way it looked – it always looked unnatural. So, I found a Sabertooth Tiger skull in my ‘used lot’ box which I believe is from The Cave kit and positioned it on the base to form with the contours of the snake.

In my next post, I will show the Allosaurus with my own custom base.

 

Model Kits – Cro-Magnon and Neanderthal Man refurbish – Aurora Prehistoric Scenes

 

Aurora Prehistoric Scenes

Cro-Magnon Man
Neanderthal Man

A few months back, I purchased some original, 1971 – 75, Aurora Prehistoric Scenes kits. These were never reissued through other companies and the original molds were lost or melted down for scrap. Trying to purchase these, in the box, un-built, is nearly impossible without spending a small fortune on each. So, I purchased a used, previously built ‘lot’ with some missing pieces.

The kits were not in great shape with broken parts, old glue, and spaces in the seams that could not be re-glued.

So, it was my little project to refurbish these and bring them back to their original glory.

As you can see the kits had huge spaces that I filled with liquid plastic (Tamiya modeling putty). I sanded the areas smooth with fine grade sandpaper. I hate seams so I tried to fill and smooth most of them away.

I had to build a new foot for the Neanderthal Man.

I had to build a new tree for the base of the Neanderthal man model kit. I also built a new spear for the Cro-Magnon Man.

I sprayed both kits with gray model surface primer so I could start with a neutral color and paint them from scratch.

I found a good combination for skin tones using brown, eggshell white, and orange. I used different amounts of white to differentiate between the Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon’s skin tones.

I’m currently using acrylic paints instead of the usual oil-based model kit paints because they offer better control over color mixing. But that means having to spray the whole kit down with a fixative after its done or the paint will chip and peel. Spraying it in some ways brings out the colors a bit more and it gives the skin a natural shine, even though I’m using a matte finish.

I’m very happy with the finished product and to have saved these kits from ending up in the trash.

I also purchased the Cro-Magnon Woman and the Sabertooth Tiger. I will show the refurbished kits in my next model kits post.