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The second I laid eyes upon Toys R Us' Edu Science Giant T-Rex Skeleton Kit I immediately thought " Now there is a kit-bash opportunity waiting to happen ! " At 36 inches long and a whopping 13 inches tall ( not actual 1:6 scale , which would require it to be 72 inches long and 26 inches high ) this model kit was close enough to promise some rather interesting fantasy mount possibilities . I have been wanting to create a dragon mount ever since I saw Jimbob-Wan's several years ago and this model kit encapsulated just about everything I could possibly want in order to bash an articulated mythic creature . The biggest question in my mind was whether or not the kit would be designed in such a way as to facilitate such customization . I am pleased to announce that yes , it is indeed designed in such a manner as to make an articulated version possible . This section of Geeb-O-Rama will take you thru a step by step process of transforming this static skeleton model into an articulated draconic mount and promises to be a rather engaging and fun kitbash . Now before I get underway on this project I am going to share my thoughts on why I felt this kit would work as a customizeable figure .  Anyone familiar with paleontology will know how easy it is to draw the wrong conclusions about how a creature might have appeared in the flesh based only on a skeleton , and that is exactly why I knew this kit would work as a fantasy mount opportunity even without considering articulating it . Adding the outside of this model is problematic only depending on how one wishes to approach the task . Should you wish merely to build it up and sculpt a covering over it with no intention of giving it poseability then you are really only limited by the gross features of the model . As an example , let's say you want to cover it with sculpey . Aside from deciding on what you want it to look like , it would really be just a matter of wrapping the skeleton in tin foil to bulk it out and create a sculpt with the polymer clay over that base form . Once sculpted you could use a hairdryer to cure the clay to hardness , prime it and paint it . Done . Depending on your resources you can approach the creation of a covering for an articulated version of this kit in a manner of ways ; for the sake of simplicity and the very fact that I am not set up within my studio to take the route of casting a silicon rubber covering my thoughts on creating a body for this skeleton kit to facilitate articulation and poseability was more along the lines of a costume suit . Think of it as a fabric jumpsuit or maybe a plush doll body . Taking this approach allows padding of the body with foam and or polyfil , dressing the figure and closing the suit with snaps or velcro . With a cloth or leather suit , you may then sew or glue on scales , or fur , or any details you might imagine . Sounds pretty easy doesn't it ? I reckon we'll find out as this project gets underway . Stay Tuned for further updates by checking the Updates section of Geeb-O-Rama .  I chose to start off this custom with the most important aspect of his articulation , the head and neck . If no other articulation is done , being able to pose these parts will enable me to still achieve some good dynamics .  A couple of years ago I picked up a ball and socket jointed scorpion toy , simply for the ball and socket parts . The main body segments are perfect for the T-Rex' neck , having both a suitable size and shape as the vertebrae of the model Rex . I removed the spacers between the scorpion's abdomen and cut off the anchor tabs allowing a wider range of movement .  The versatility of the articulation chosen for the head and neck brought to light a concern that will need to be addressed in the preliminary design stage , what happens if the ball and socket joints become loose or separate ? Were this an armature of the type used in stop motion animation such worries would not be of concern , but such as it is , there IS the real possibility that the " pop in " jointing of the neck section could loosen over time or even separate in posing . Before I proceed further I am going to need to decide how I am going to portray this creature , since I may need to design it in such a way as to enable me to take it apart for " fixing " like reattaching the joints if they come apart . In all likelihood this type of modularity can be disguised with horns , fins , harnesses and other decorative and utilitarian features of this mythical beast mount .  The head consists of two pieces , the skull and lower jaw . The model is designed to snap together in an open jawed pose , but with the pieces separated it can be fit in such a way as to have a closed mouth pose . This will likely be the easiest joint to construct for this beastie . Oddly enough there are two holes in the lower jaw that could have an axle inserted thru , which would then require only a post be attached extending down from the skull that the axle could pass thru , thus allowing the jaw to be opened or closed . The only drawback to this method is that with the mouth opened we could see the post extending down from the skull . I will probably decide on a notch and pin hinging system on either side of the lower jaw that can be snapped into the skull , executed in kneadatite .  To insert the yellow pin into the skull simply required a bit of dremeling to widen the post hole . Twist ties were used to place the skull in position upon the model to check fit and proportion . The dark red spacer is also from the original scorpion kit , added to strengthen the new neck . At this stage the skull is far too heavy which means if I go ahead with this particular neck articulation I will need to remove practically all the material inside the skull , leaving just the outer shell . Taking into account weight consideration , even removing the bulk of the skull's interior , choosing a sculpting material for the head means that I'll need to sculpt the head in a lightweight medium, most likely Paperclay . Creative Paperclay is for all intents and purposes papier mache in a stiff clay-like form , possessing the sculptural qualities of clay with the featherweight lightness of papier mache . Once finished , it is hardly distinguishable from traditional ceramics .  The dynamics of the neck articulation using these ball and socket joints is nicely demonstrated in these next few shots .  With the first tests of the new neck articulation finished I am wondering if this level of jointing is really needed . Due to the size of this model , and the weight considerations I am actually leaning towards a more " old-fashioned " mode of poseability for this big guy : bendy wire . Of course , you might immediately think " Wait ! If you make the articulation " bendy " one day it's going to break , just like the arms of my Gumby and my Major Matt Mason arms and legs ! " This is actually where the sheer size and weight of this model comes in handy . Replacing the aluminum support rod that came with this model kit with a heavy gauge aluminum armature wire for sculpture would allow a high degree of poseability like these ball and socket joints , it would be heavy enough gauge to support the weight of the model , and at that size and strength , would have quite good longevity for the posing requirements . Lastly , a single wire " bendy " joint would make replacing a broken one simple . Just one final thought , as I've worked on these initial articulation tests , I am leaning towards picking up another of these model kits , maybe even two more . The quality of these skeleton models is quite excellent and it would be just fun to build 'em up stock and sculpt static bodies over them .  In order to test the functionality of a " bendy " wire armature for this figure I removed the rigid aluminum support bar and replaced it with a doubled over aluminum armature wire , restringing the skeletal components upon it . As a test this was successful , despite the fact that with no true anchor points for the wire the model doesn't have the necessary support strength needed for the stresses it will require to withstand . One thing I learned by executing this articulation test was that to articulate the skeleton using this method , I will have to make the skeleton more " lifelike " ; to clarify , adding foam spacers between vertebrae to replicate the cushioning cartilage in a real skeleton . This of course raises once again the question " Is this degree of articulation necessary ? " Were I creating this customization with the intent to animate it , then I might answer " Yes " to that question , but since I am customizing this skeleton for use as a figure mount the answer is actually " No " and the reason for that is this level of articulation becomes problematic when one considers the narrower focus needed for pose capability . More joints means less support strength and for the job required support is the primary consideration to concern yourself with . The real benefit I got out of performing this test was how it has helped me to decide the best way to articulate this figure for the purpose I have intended for it .  Playing around with the various articulation possibilities has aided me in deciding just how much articulation I am really going to need for this custom as well as what I will need to do in order to achieve that articulation . Not really surprising is the fact that I will need to approach this beast mount in a manner much like any other steed for 12 inch action figures that are articulated . The highlighted area in the photo above shows the section of the skeleton that will be static and rigid . Since the body of the Rex is going to need to support the weight of not just the overall figure but that of its rider , this will need to be the strongest part , so no articulation will be needed along the spine or the pelvis . Now because I want to articulate the legs of this beastie , it made me think that in order to make the legs as poseable as possible , ideally I should remove them as consideration for support features of the figure itself ( unless I want to alter the forearms to make them longer and capable of supporting the figure as well . Customizing this creature from a biped to a quadruped does have a certain appeal , but no moreso than keeping it bipedal , so what I am thinking is adding a fulcrum styled support rod into the pelvic area which will serve as the main support for the figure and allow a " see-saw " action of pivoting the body either up or down . This will free up the legs from having to suport the figure during a pose and thus allow me to give them a high degree of articulation .  Articulating the jaw will likely be the easiest task on this critter , and it sure is the simplest joint . First I went in with the Dremel and carved out a lot of the interior of the skull to lighten it , as I mentioned before , there is a great deal of weight in the head and it will only get heavier once I start sculpting the meat onto it . Using a round grinding bit I then carved out semi-circular indentations on the lower jaw , at the back of the mandible where I will be inserting the posts and where I will extend the post receptors down from the upper skull . Once that was done I took a drill bit and carved a posthole through either side of the lower jaw and pushed wooden dowels through the holes to form the pegs .  Mixing up some Kneadatite , I stuck two blobs onto the upper skull and mushed them down around the lower jaw and the pegs . Once I had done a wee bit of smoothing and making sure I had good surface contacts with the upper skull I pinched in the lower jaw to separate the two parts of the skull and let the Kneadatite cure . Once the Kneadatite had set up , I then reattached the lower jaw , did some last minute molding to make sure the peg holes were nice and tight on the dowels and let the putty cure to hardness . Rex now is able to open and close his mouth .  Putting the head and neck thru its paces , to see that everything is working as it should . I sprayed the neck joints with Testors Dullcote to make them a bit tighter . While I was putting these parts together I had an idea that to strengthen the entire neck articulation as well as to ensure that it doesn't pop apart I may end up binding it in fabric , prior to adding the padding and creating the neck sleeve . | Custom Thunderbolt | Fantastic Steeds | Fantastic Steeds2 | | ReelArts Blue Bulleteer | Shocker Toys | Cool Girls | Triad Toys | KiniKomix | KiniKomix2 | Custom Action Figures | eBay Auctions | AppleseedTribute | Macross Valkyrie | Planet of the Apes | Horse Sense | WeaversUpholsteryToo | ToyBiz_Iron Man | Dirty Pair | On Display | The OTHER Gorby | Obitsu | | Return Home | Updates | The Archive | Gorby Site Map | Geeb-O-Rama's Model Workshop | Geeb's Toy Box | Geeb-O-Rama Goodies | Movie Madness | World Of The Bizarre | Cool Beans | |
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