Dinosaur World, Tampa.

 

Some pictures of our visit to the park:

 



Psittacosaurus Mongoliensis

                                                    Psittacosaurus Mongoliensis
This is one dinosaur I was willing to make; it looks agile, powerful and graceful. I saw a model from Procon which I liked and decided to do my own version. I did some sketching and got ready to go.

Just a bulk of clay to get the general features. I used aluminum foil  to go easy on the clay...it's not cheap.

                                                          

A look at the beast. No details, just getting the general shape.



Psittacosaurus mongoliensis looks fine after most of the sculpting is done. It's almost ready for baking.


 

Baked. Hard as rock.



Mesozoic Creatures

 Mesozoic Creatures: Another incredibly detailed set from TAMIYA: an infant parasaurolophus, an infant tyrannosaurus, an oviraptor, a hypsilophodon, a crocodile, and a tiny archaeopterix.

Easy set, not many parts to assemble.

Some filling is needed before painting. I put some base color in the croc's mouth.

The archaeopterix is sitting on the croc's tail waiting for a tree.

Beautiful set. A must for every collector.

Velociraptors (Pack of Six)

I got my Velociraptors (Pack of Six) by TAMIYA (you gotta love these guys). A little dissappointed about the size, sorry, I expected something bigger...but it's OK, it's a cool set and I'm extremely satisfied with the result.


The styracosaurus is from Michael's ($9.99), the big raptor (recognize it?) is one of Papo's awesome models.

 A couple of things I learned while assembling this kit: Respect the numbers!: If it says "leg 17"+"foot 11", just do it. Follow the instructions on the back of the box by the letter, you won't be sorry.

Not painted yet. I have some other kits from TAMIYA so, probably, these guys are going to join some diorama...I'll show you.

 Do one raptor at a time: Take only the 5 or 6 pieces that make up one model (including the base) and let the others alone. It's kind of exciting to remove all parts from the package when you get it but, trust me, it'll be chaos afterwards.


The velociraptors are highly detailed (I think nobody thought about feathers back then) but, in my opinion, some filling is needed to ease the gaps...just a little bit.

 Start with the legs: Attach the feet to the legs first; don't use a lot of glue,your fingers will thank you.All parts of this kit are small so it won't be neccesary. After the legs are done, attach the arms to the body. Wait a couple of minutes and do the rest.

Last words: Easy?...was this an easy kit to assemble? For me, it wasn't. I got big hands and some parts are really tiny, and the paint job can really get on your nerves, but...the outcome was spectacular. So the last words are: Go For It!!

Velociraptor

This was a birthday gift. I thought about giving my little cousin Axel something different for his birthday...and what else?? A dinosaur!!

Velociraptor with base color. Oven-bake clay (Sculpey) and acrylic paint



Another look.Teeth made of toothpics.




Finished sculpture with base.