|
|
Post by mynameisbrent on Oct 12, 2014 19:45:44 GMT -5
The PS line was of course my favourite, but as a kid I collected just about every dinosaur model kit I could find. There was one series that I really liked and I wonder if anyone else remembers it. To my knowledge there were three kits in the series, and I believe they were made by Lifelike. (They might have been produced by a different company, but the primary dinosaur figures definitely used Lifelike molds.) Each kit contained one primary dinosaur, a styrofoam landscape base, a scenic cardboard backdrop and an assortment of prehistoric plants, animals and humanoid figures, all in scale to the primary dinosaur figure. A set of acrylic paints was also included, to paint the styrofoam base. I had kits featuring a Stegosaurus, a Brontosaurus and a Tyrannosaurus Rex. These are the only three kits in this series that I am aware of.
If anyone else remembers these kits, please let me know. I thought they were pretty cool.
|
|
|
|
Post by artdecovampire on Oct 13, 2014 0:10:38 GMT -5
Hi Brent. These are 'The World of ...@ series of kits by Pyro. They're pretty rare and hardly ever seen. MIB versions now go for huge amounts. These are discussed in another thread in the 'Other Dinosaur Models' section where there is tons of stuff about Pyro and the later Linberg models re-releases.
|
|
|
|
Post by mynameisbrent on Oct 13, 2014 1:01:56 GMT -5
Hi artdecovampire! Thank you for the information. Being new to this forum, I will no doubt ask some questions that have already been thoroughly discussed. So I apologize in advance for any redundancy. I will try to pore over as many threads as possible.
|
|
|
|
Post by artdecovampire on Oct 13, 2014 12:50:42 GMT -5
I do it all the time. I'm a big pyro-lindberg fan. I remember finding an info sheet that had been updated from the original in T Rex JP box and waxing lyrical about it. I then read an old thread and found that my great discovery wasn't new after all. I'm really interested in what you have to say or recall about these world of kits as I could never afford one as a kid. They were imported in to the UK but they were petty pricey even back in the seventies. I'd love a real close up of the inside of a complete one. Particularly the foam base unit.
|
|
|
|
Post by TAY666 on Oct 13, 2014 17:26:19 GMT -5
Yeah. Don't worry about bringing up stuff that's already been covered.
No one here will be upset about it.
We just love talking old dino kits, and aren't really hung up on procedures.
|
|
|
|
Post by mynameisbrent on Oct 14, 2014 1:48:52 GMT -5
This series of kits really appealed to me because each one was its own little prehistoric world. Other than the PS series, these were the only dinosaur models that possessed that quality. I got them at Toys R Us and although I don't remember the original retail price, I don't recall them being unreasonably priced for kits of their size and contents.
The styrofoam bases were unique to each kit. Each one had hills, plateaus and areas suggesting water. There were indentations where the feet of the large dinosaurs were to be placed. The smaller animals, plants and human figures could be placed as in the box photo or as the builder wished. These elements either stood on their own or had small attached bases to help them stand. One exception were the large horsetail plants included in at least one kit. These were to be pushed into the styrofoam base. The cardboard backdrops were also unique to each kit and depicted typical prehistoric scenery.
I remember an insert (which might have been fairly large) included with each kit, depicting and describing all of the plants, animals and humans.
I visited this Toys R Us store on a regular basis, and I only saw these kits the one time. And I never saw them at any other toy or hobby shops. So they might have had limited availability from the start. Like all of the best dinosaur toys, these kits were completely historically inaccurate, but they were really cool.
|
|
|
|
Post by artdecovampire on Oct 14, 2014 12:01:05 GMT -5
You've got it spot on there Brent. Pyro LIndberg and Aurora will always be my favourite kits. For their day, Airfix kits were the most accurate dino kits on the market, but despite the high prices they command on E Bay they are deadly boring. They suffer from the British desire to make toys and other kids stuff educational. Luckily that's faded and now we sometimes make things fun. American kits were always better, they were often bigger, better colours, moving parts and wackey subjects. Monsters, comic books and dinosaurs. I love a Lindberg kit even now, opening the box and taking out those odd shaped parts. They're so much fun to kit bash and cheap as chips (Fries to you) as they say in the UK I remember opening my first Airfix dino kit in the late seventies and thinking...Where is the modular base. This no prehistoric scene!
|
|
|
|
Post by mynameisbrent on Oct 14, 2014 15:31:32 GMT -5
Something that contributed to many kits being disappointing or not living up to expectations (at least for me) was the use of paintings as box art back in the day. These paintings usually depicted the featured dinosaur as a fearsome yet majestic beast surrounded by a lush primeval landscape, dripping with colour. The actual completed model could never live up to the expectations promised by the box art. If a company tried to use a fanciful painting as box art today they would no doubt be sued for false advertising straight away.
That being said, the paintings on the PS boxes do depict the actual models fairly accurately. But the fact that Aurora needed to edit out certain elements from some of the early box art indicates that even back then, consumers had their limits. It was acceptable to depict the contents as being more fantastical than they really were. But showing a Saber Tooth Tiger fighting with an Allosaurus on a box that contained just the Allosaurus was frowned upon.
I actually like the original version of the Cave box art. The Allosaurus looks like a creepy prehistoric Peeping Tom, lurking around the entrance.
|
|
|
|
Post by TAY666 on Nov 15, 2014 23:26:10 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by psgreat on Nov 17, 2014 13:03:50 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by desslock on Nov 23, 2014 21:35:19 GMT -5
Those both went for very reasonable prices! I spent a lot more on both of them. I would love to get the Trex to complete the set.
|
|
