This kit has a nice presence because of its large size and anatomically it isn't too bad apart from the very simplified skull, but I decided to embark on a project to make it much more accurate and also dramatically alter its posture.
I'm basing the new pose and using image reference from the beautiful Holotype display at the Carnegie Museum of NH.
Thought I'd resurrect this thread from the grave and post progress here for anyone that has this kit or is interested in the potential it has in transforming into a museum quality centrepiece. I haven't really attempted anything of this scale before so I'll be learning as I go.
I decided to start from the ground up by beginning with the feet.
First off I removed the ankle connector tabs and sharpened the claws by carefully whittling down the plastic with a scalpel. Then I cleaned up and further defined the joins in the toe bones with a file. The feet thin out and become ambiguous in detail towards the top of the ankles so I created volume and more accurate shapes with Milliput plaster. Never used the stuff before but it is pretty easy to work with and, once dry, leaves some irregularities perfect for realistic looking fossilised bone.
Next I tackled the tibia and fibula bones.
In the kit these are moulded as one, blocky piece so I separated the two bones with a small saw then smoothed and rounded off each with a heavy file. The plaster was then used for filling out and sanding down to form more accurate shapes for these bones of the lower leg.
That's where I'm up to so far. If there is some interest in this, I'll show progress as I go.
Eventually I'll repaint the whole thing and assemble a frame to restructure the skeleton into its new stance.
Thanks for looking.
