Re: dinosaur reconstructions ...

[binder@zk3.dec.com (vitam gustare)]

> For those (like 
> me) on very tight budgets a realy interesting range of models is availible 
> from a company called Glencoe, these are reissues of 1960's models of 
> skeletal reconstructions which are (I Think) based on AMNH exhibits (T.Rex, 
> Stegosaurus, and as it is called on the box, Brontosaurus)

That is correct.  The original issue of these kits was by the Ideal Toy
Company in the late '50s, and they were done from the then-current AMNH
mounts.  I bought all three back when they were first issued but have
long since lost them.  A new Glencoe T. rex cost me $12.50 two years
ago.

> and could be the basis of several  interesting conversion projects 
> (articulating the "Tail Dragging" Rex to a "Bakker Stance" would be a real 
> challenge and yeild dramatic results)

Actually, it wasn't that much of a challenge at all.  :-)  My amateur
reconstruction isn't PERFECT, but I think it very good.  For interested
model builders, here are the basics:

o   Omit the next-to-last segment of the tail (7 or 8 vertebrae).  The
    remaining pieces can be filed a little to smooth over the slight
    mismatch.

o   Reform the tail by a combination of gently bending smaller pieces
    and cutting/breaking/regluing larger pieces.  The final tail is
    still curved a little to the left but is essentially straightish
    and in the current shape, with the end "sagging" a little.

o   Rebuild the left foot by a combination of gently bending and
    cutting/regluing to make the toes curve "upward," so that when the
    model is leaned forward to place the body just above the horizontal
    they will stand properly on the ground.

o   Bend the left leg a little at the knee by gluing, then sawing
    through, filing a little from the condyles, and regluing.

o   Rebuild the right leg by gluing it with the knee at 90 degrees
    instead of straight, and do a LOT of gap filling.

o   Rebuild the right foot, much like the left, except this time the
    toes should hang downward as they do when the animal picks up its
    foot during walking.

o   Install the right leg swung toward the front instead of toward the
    back.  I actually rotated it through about 65 degrees.

o   Mount the skull so that it hangs on the intended notched end of the
    neck, but instead of at right angles to the neck, it aims forward.

The modeling cement I used was Tenax - it welds much better than
Testor's or other usual brands, and it's FAST.  You can hold an
assembly in place, drip the cement in with a small paint brush, be
still for 15 seconds, and then put the solid assembly down.  Tenax
makes a VERY solid bond.

There was a significant amount of filing, scraping, and filling done
throughout the process; for fill material I used mostly shavings and
chips removed during the filing and scraping, with some chunks cut from
the sprues to fill large gaps.  Tenax made this process a dream because
it dissolved the small chips almost instantly so that I could pat and
push them into position with the brush or with a modeling knife.

After assembly, my gray-plastic model was sprayed with Testor's "flesh"
aerosol plastic model paint and then brushed and wiped with a much-
diluted Floquil Polly-S mud color to yield an irregularly mottled
brownish result.  I mounted it on a redwood board, making a staple to
secure the left inner toe and putting one vertical wire brace under the
thorax.


Like Spike, I have no connection with Glenco, but I did have a great
time putting together my T. rex, who now has a proud place on the
mantel in my bedroom.

-dick

|   Omnes hic mentes mihi sunt, non Collegio Armorum Digitalum.   |