Alchemy Spinosaurus Conversion

[malinkh]

Hi everyone,

I've had the Alchemy Spinosaurus Conversion kit in progress on my workbench for a long while. I was wondering if anyone has successfully built it. The issue that I am having is with the heavy weight of the head and how to secure it in such a way to: a)keep it on for the long term and, b) balance out the weight of the head by adding some form of weight to the tail section.

I would welcome any ideas that anyone has used to solve these problems. By the way, I have successfully secured the arms on the beast in such a way with washer and screws to allow them to move freely. If I can find a solution to the head issue, I can move forward with the build.

Any thoughts that you have would be welcome...

Ken

[TAY666]

The head will stay on with the normal kit parts to hold it.
That is how I did it for the PS display at WF
www.tylisaari.com/models/shows/wf2014/ps/pswf1450.jpg
The advantage of that, is you can still swivel it if you want.

It does make the kit top heavy though.
Not sure where would be the best place to add counterweight. Feet, tail, body?
Probably going to have to experiment to find what works best for you.
A lot will depend on how you plan on keeping it.
If you plan on having it in a fixed pose, you will need a different approach than if you want to keep it mobile.

[malinkh]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and picture. I notice you have the dino in a more upright position that I was planning on posing him. I would like to have the body more horizontal with the head in a lower position and the fin more parallel to the ground. That is why I am having the issue with the weight of the head. I appreciate your comments.

[TAY666]

Yeah, if you are going to go that way, then you are going to need weight in the tail.
Probably somewhere around where the big tail section meets the next tail section would be my guess.

[glen]

I built one more upright too. To make it not top heavy, I filled both legs up to the knee with concrete.  Seems to work pretty well. I want to build a custom base to display it.

[malinkh]

Thanks for sharing your experience with the kit Glen. To counter the weight in the head, adding weight to the legs (and possibly the tail) would make the beast more balanced. I'm still thinking about how to deal with the head so that the position can be more horizontal. From all of the pictures and information I've seen or read about the Spinosaurus on the web, his habitat was more inclined to swamps or water. The base that came with him is volcanic. Nevertheless, I am going to use that base for displaying him. I would enjoy seeing any pictures you have of your Spino if you are willing to share them...

[TAY666]

Oh, so you want to pose yours kind of like my Allosaurus
www.tylisaari.com/prehistoricscenes/mykits/allo/myallodone02.JPG

[malinkh]

Hi Tay,

Yes that is more in line with how I would like to pose my Spinosaurus. When you "Google" images of Spinosaurus, most of the pictures show the dinosaur in a more horizontal position. That is what I would like to replicate with the model kit...

[TAY666]

If I was going to try to straighten out the head a bit, here is what I would do.
I would heat the back of the head just above where the jaw joins.
That should allow you to straighten out the head-neck bend. Not sure how far you would want to take it. But you should be able to get it from that 90 degree bend down to around a 45 degree bend without too much trouble.
Then it would just be a matter of building up the area under the jaw with putty to get the jaw where you want it to be.

[malinkh]

I finally resolved my problem with the weight of the Spinosaurus' head. I decided to only make the front arms and the tail mobile, (I may even solidify the tail before it is finished.) I ended up drilling a hole from inside the body under the head into the head and secured it with a thick self tapping screw. I also glued the head on with epoxy cement. I then had a lot of trouble keeping the legs from loosening up to hold the weight so I cemented them in place, also with epoxy. As it turns out I did not need to add weight to the tail. The creature now stand in the position that I wanted him on its own. Here are a couple of pictures of where I am with the kit prior to filling in more seams and priming him.


www.tylisaari.com/prehistoricscenes/gallery/displayimage.php?album=278&pid=2090#top_display_media

www.tylisaari.com/prehistoricscenes/gallery/displayimage.php?album=278&pid=2091#top_display_media

I also need to eventually secure the lower jaw on the dino. I am happy with the pose, and now can move forward with the build. I do have a paint scheme in mind... I may post a couple pictures of it during the painting process, or just reveal him when he is finished.

[TAY666]

Oooo!
That looks good.
Interesting look right now with the variety of parts.

[artdecovampire]

Changing its stance as you have is a great idea. It really looks like an original kit and not a conversion. The PS Rex is a very distinctive kit, especially the big scale textures on the body. The stooping pose with the long arms near the ground gives it a very primeval and vicious look as though its staggering about in a swamp. The sweep of the tail as you currently have it balances it visually too. In fact you've changed my mind about this kit. If I ever get hold of one or decide to sculpt my own parts, this is what I will be aiming at. Excellent.

The Allosaurus on the other hand has a pretty universal look about it and all of the Alchemy head options don't need much thought to make them work. The body texture on this one is easy to alter using paint.

I'm interested to see how you do the paint your Spinosaurus. Such big kits look impressive anyway and all they need is an all over colour with a lighter underside, but that sail is crying out for a bit of extra colour isn't it?

Congratulations

[malinkh]

Hi Bill,

Thanks for your comments....

When I did a "Google" search for "Spinosaurus" and looked at 'images' of it, most, if not all of the pictures were with the sail being horizontal to the ground. So that is the look that I was trying to achieve. The main challenge was that the weight of the head was very heavy compared to the rest of the body. I struggled with how to achieve this look, keeping the head on, and allow it to stand on its own. With that conquered, I can now focus on filling in the seams, priming it, and painting.

I do plan on painting the underside a lighter color than the body, adding some stripes and patches of darker color on the upper body and having a punch of color on the sail. This will be a fun kit to complete now that I've overcome the challenge of the head. The only thing that I wish was different is the base. It came with a volcanic base where this creature mostly lived in the swamps. I've already started painting the base. This creature and base will butt up against the T-Rex base and be connected to the main layout via the Trachodon, which is on the other side of the T-Rex base. Anyway, a lot more fun to come...

As you probably already know this, Mike still has this kit for sale in Production while he is still in operation this year. Hopefully, you'll be able to acquire or make one for yourself. What I really am impressed with the sculpt is the details of the head and teeth on the beast. A nice mean scowl...

I'll definitely post pictures of the creature when I've completed him.

Thanks, and take care,

Ken

[artdecovampire]

Morning Ken,
Casting those teeth is not an easy process. They are just dying to trap some air. Having cast similarly detailed items, broken railing stumps, for some military modelling I once poured a little resin in to the bottom half of the mould and poked the small cavities with a cocktail stick releasing the air. I then let it cure, assembled the mould halves and poured the rest. It was a laborious process and added to costs. I once lashed up a pressure vessel and got some quicker results but it was leaky old thing and never worked well! I dare say Mark will have similar obstacles to cross with the Bryonyx which has more of a toothy grin!

[malinkh]

I finally completed the Spinosaurus. Here is a picture of the final result and a link to my album in the gallery:



Ken Malina's Spinosaurus

[scooke123]

Turned out great - very colorful!!!!