Dino kits

[ctc]

So;

I remember discussing with folks here a series of dino models from the early to mid 70's.... windup kits. Glue together, from Japan I think. I can remember a Stegosaurus and a Triceratops and not much else. Anyhoo; I found this ad:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1975-newsprint-ad-PREHISTORIC-ANIMALS-HOBBY-KITS-version-2-Dinosaurs-/350648085776?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item51a4412d10

Is that them? Were there a lot more than I remember?

Don C.

[SpaceCrawler]

I know I was looking for them a while back. Still no idea who the manufacturer was though, so they are a bit difficult to find. Not sure if this ad is for the same kits, but it would seem likely. I had the Brontosaurus as a kid.

Sean

[PNGwynne]

Hmmm never heard of these--pretty cool

[mazinz]

I used to see that ad all the time in the back of Famous Monsters magazine

[ctc]

The plot thickens;

Just won this on ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1970s-PREHISTORIC-MONSTER-ANKYLOSAURUS-DINOSAUR-MODEL-KIT-no-reserve-/200917270049?pt=Model_Kit_US&hash=item2ec79a3e21&nma=true&si=j%252FtjnSn%252B1gMvmI5X%252FRp%252FpU4FM3Y%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557#ht_164wt_1398

It looks to be one from the set. It doesn't look like it has the motor, but you can see a notch on the body for the winding arm. I don't know if the mortor was lost, or not included. A lot of companies brought Japanese stuff like this over back in the day, and they'd often leave stuff like that out. (Like the motors and rigging for the Mattel Shogun Warrior models.) The package says Kresgees.... which makes sense. I remember getting the Stegosaurus as a kid and building it at my Great Granma's place.... which was downtown, which was where Kresgees was. They'd also be a good candidate for importing something like this.

I'm hoping the destructions are like a lot of these kits; either straight Japanese with English inserts, or the original Japanese ones with English printed over them. That way maybe I can see who the original manufacturer was.

Don C.

[DavidCoppola]

I had one in the early 1970s. It was purchased at a Two Guys store here in Rochester, NY.

[ctc]

So....

I got the kit today and it's definitely one of the wind-up ones, although it's been rejiggered a bit. No motor, and there's a plug to cover up the hole for the winding arm. No holes on the feet for the rubber washers either. The sprues contain some of the parts for the wind-up mechanism, although you don't use them. The box is Kresgee, the kit is Bandai. The instructions are a single sheet in English. (I remember the originals being a folded sheet.) So it looks like Kresge did a retooling of the original kits at some point. My guess is the non-wind-up ones were a later release.

It seems kinda weird. I know the Japanese stuff was pretty cheap in the 70's and early 80's; hence so much of it getting imported here by them weird little second tier distributors. (One of the reasons I have such a huge mech model collection is 'cos of how cheap and plentiful they were back in the day. Until Robotech, when stores realized they might have some value. *sigh*) It seems odd that they'd go through the expense of retooling the originals though.

Don C.

[tay666]

Yeah. The kits were made by Bandai.
I've managed to get 4 of them so far at reasonable prices.

http://www.tylisaari.com/models/dino/bandai/bandai.htm

Won't pay too much for them.
But for cheap, they are cool, fun kits to have.

[mazinz]

Yeah. The kits were made by Bandai.
I've managed to get 4 of them so far at reasonable prices.

http://www.tylisaari.com/models/dino/bandai/bandai.htm

Won't pay too much for them.
But for cheap, they are cool, fun kits to have.

Thanks for the link. The Tyrano clearly has a "Grumpy" from Land of the Lost look to him

[ctc]

>Won't pay too much for them.
>But for cheap, they are cool, fun kits to have.

Yeah. I got the Ankylo built, and I'm in the process of painting it. Kinda reminds me of the Pyro/Lifelike ones.... although the Ankylo head fits together. It's a good, solid kit.

....and I remember the "flailing action" walk feature from the Stegosaurus I had as a kid.

Don C.

[tay666]

Yeah I had one when I was a kid too. Think it may have been the Iguanodon.
I think it's fun watching them walk around. Only problem is, they are a real pain to fix if something goes wrong.
At least the way I build things. They don't come apart.

And I was surprised at how good the fit was on everything, especially considering the age, and how rudimentary the sculpts are.

[ctc]

>I think it's fun watching them walk around.

Hee heee..... The one I got has been retooled a bit so's to not have the motor. So no flailing action for me. (Unless I can find another one.)

>Think it may have been the Iguanodon.

That's one of them dinosaurs you don't see kits of too often. Weird, considering it was the first "official" fossil, wasn't it?

Don C.