Another wonderful sculpt by the master skelmaker Shigeru Yamazaki. I believe this is the first of the Kaiyodo Dinoland resin model skeleton kits and is a classic. Being a hand-made garage kit and therefore produced in very small quantity, it likley sold out quickly and is now nearly impossible to find. I have never seen an original for sale, built or unbuilt. John Carlson, President of Monstrosities and the sole importer of Kaiyodo kits to the USA during the 1990's, told me he was unable to secure any stock of the Kaiyodo kit. In May 2011 I finally obtained an excellent recast version—see below for details.
The model measures ~55 cm from nose to tail tip, which sounds large but the model is surprisingly small and delicate. Although the original instructions state the kit is 1/20th scale it clearly is not. Adult animals are estimated to reach just over 2 m in length making this about 1/4th scale. It is also of it's time, so is missing a furcula (wishbone) and it also has a complex chest structure inspired by the early drawings of Gregory S. Paul. Although they were never part of Shgeru's sculpts, there are no scleral rings (eye bones), which is a pity as this would have properly completed the model in my opinion. Like all Kaiyodo skeleton models it was cast in of-white resin and the bones have a roughened and aged fossil patina.
Instructions
Double-sided single page kit instructions, printed black and white. These scans were kindly sent to me by Chinese collector Leonard.
Parts
Taiwanese Recast
Shown opposite are the parts from an excellent recast version made by a collector in Taiwan. I obtained it in May 2011 via a contact in China. All parts were perfectly cast with no trace of bubbles and almost no flash whatsoever. The resin is identical to the original Kaiyodo formula from what I can tell. Casting quality is so good that it's virtually indistinguishable from an original. Most of the parts are complex and very challenging to recast by any method. I don't yet understand the casting method used here but I'm impressed. The recast is characterized by numerous flat tabs and bars that act as sprues and part connectors. Apart from that it's flawless!After looking for a copy of this "Holy Grail" for 8 years I'm delighted with this recast. I plan to research and update each bone and assemble it in a custom mount.
Sightings
Horst Bruckmann Buildup
Build-up of the Velociraptor skeleton model (right) on Horst Bruckmann's Dinosaur model Collection website. Look in Galerie 1 to see it.
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Hobby Japan
Advert in Hobby Japan magazine circa 1996
(Kit advert right, original Kaiyodo full page advert far right)
Request
If you have additional information, resources, images
or can help with translation of the Japanese descriptions
of this or other Kaiyodo DINOLAND skeleton models
I am very keen to hear from you. Please contact me.