The Top 5 Women in Dinosaur and Fantasy films from Yesteryear

My Top 5 Women in Dinosaur and Fantasy films from Yesteryear

(films 25 years and older)

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5) Jane Seymour – Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger – as Farah
If playing chess with an intelligent Mandrill isn’t enough, she comes face to face with a troglodyte, a giant walrus, and a saber tooth tiger.

4) Victoria Vetri – When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth – as Sanna
She escapes being sacrificed to the sun god, clashes with the dark-haired tribe, and eventually makes friends with a dinosaur, all while just barely keeping her tighter-than-a-glove bikini top on. (note: in the uncut version, the bikini top does come off.)

3) Caroline Munro – The Golden Voyage of Sinbad – as Margiana
The tattooed eye on her hand calls forth the great Cyclops centaur for a battle of good vs. evil. A handful of 1970’s Hammer horror films playing alongside Lee and Cushing and even bigger roles in At the Earth’s Core (Amicus) and Star Crash clinch the spot for her.

2) Fay Wray – King Kong – as Anne Darrow
She is the ultimate damsel in distress, taken by force, but enduring and surviving a savage world.

1) Raquel Welch – One Million Years BC – as Loana
It was the fur bikini that entranced the world. A young Raquel Welch becomes a star despite not a single word of dialogue in the film.

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Honorable mentions:

Jessica Lange – King Kong (1976) – as Dwan

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Barbara Bach – Caveman (1981) – Lana

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Tanya Roberts – Sheena, Queen of the Jungle (1984) – as Sheena

recommended by Bubbawheat, http://flightstightsandmovienights.com/

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Martine Beswick, also from One Million Years BC (1966)

suggested by Alharron

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Your suggestions for honorable mentions are welcome.

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Also check out:
My Top 5 Women in Sci-Fi flicks of yesteryear

I will be doing a Top Five Women in Horror flicks of Yesteryear soon…

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.

 

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