# Aurora Prehistoric Scenes



## MODELGUY (Aug 15, 2000)

As a kid in the early 70s,they were situated on an endcap next to an endcap of the Glow Monsters,and in many ways were equally as COOl.The smallest of the kits [Cromagnon Man ,Woman ,Neanderthal Man] went for [I still remember it] $1.27.The same price as one of the Glow Monsters,excluding Zilla,Kong and Witch.. The artwork on these boxes was awsome too. Could be in the same ballpark as J. Bama.And the different sizes [1/13 th scale],and locking bases was a nice touch.For us collectors,the later releases by other companies for some of the kits was well appreciated.And with the coming of this great Auction site many of our collections[little more pricy] have been complete. THESE WERE JUST TOO COOL---.WHAT WERE YOU BEST AND WORST KITS OF THIS SERIES? Break down the answers if the question is'nt specific enough.


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## MonsterModelMan (Dec 20, 2000)

I do remember these and have collected the whole set either as originals or re-issues. I like how they all tied together to make a story with interlocking bases. I also had to have all of them...because if one kit was missing from the whole scene...it just didn't look right to me as a kid.

My favorite: I particularly remember the Flying Reptile as a kid and that probably remains my favorite in the series! He used to attack my monsters from the sky!

The worst: has to be the Jungle Swamp! Too many pieces that don't add anything to the story IMHO.

MMM


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## Cro-Magnon Man (Jun 11, 2001)

Wow, another poll, and on one of my favourite series.

The best PS kit: Tar Pit (best Aurora kit full stop, in fact)
The scariest/cruellest kit: Tar Pit
The best box: Jungle Swamp
The most verstile kit: Cave (any wall piece/roof piece fits any other, any combination)
The most detailed kit: Sailback Reptile
The best base: Woolly Mammoth
The most realistic mammal: Cave Bear
The most realistic dinosaur: Three-horned Dino (you can always file the teeth away)
The most unrealistic kit: Allosaurus
The most stiff/poorly posed kit: Flying Reptile
The best 2-base match-up: Armored Dino and Allosaurus
The most chunky/imposing kit (apart from T-Rex): Spiked Dinosaur or Mammoth
Most surprising subject matter: Tar Pit/Giant Bird
Best thing about T-Rex kit: ingenious, posable into almost any position/stance
Worst thing about T-Rex: cardboard backdrop is bland and unexciting
Worst aspect of whole series: the bases when placed together give no room between creatures, they're all bunched up, when it looks like they will all have their own territory


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## F91 (Mar 3, 2002)

I liked the TarPit, Neanderthal and Sabertooth.


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## xsavoie (Jun 29, 1999)

The best were probably,strangely enough,the prehistoric mammals series.It's a toss of the coin between the Woolly Mammoth and the La Brea Tar Pit for being the best of them.The Mammoth looks majestic,while the TAR PIT shows a very imaginative tragic scene and is quite well detailed.Although I liked the Triceratops and Styracosaurus fine.The Cave Bear and Sabertooth Tiger are often underrated for several reasons,such as small size,small base,and perhaps,especially as the Cave Bear is concerned,not being exotic enough,since bears are still common today.Loved the Cave People too.Unfortunately for T-REX,too big and the fact that the upper mandibule moved insted of the lower jaw,the moving tale,etc,meant sacrificing authenticity.Still good and impressive looking kit though.The worst kit of the series,although I never had the Swamp,seems to be the CAVE.Ankylosaurus' spikes were too straight and other small inaccuracies,but still not bad for a kit.Pteranodon was in a flight mode,which means that he looked odd on the rock.The ALLOSAURUS kit looked like an animated figure,rather than a replica of the real thing.Dimetrodon,especially with the extended base,looked quite good.If these kits would have been manufactured to stand in a single static pose,then their legs,etc. would have been sculpted to be more realistic.But since they were made for the younger audience,the multi pose element might have been a plus at that time.


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## Cro-Magnon Man (Jun 11, 2001)

Nearly all of the Prehistoric Scenes kits look very much like creatures in Ray Harryhausen films. The Styracasaurus, for example, is almost exactly like the one in 'The Valley of Gwangi'; the Triceratops is almost exactly like the one in 'One Million Years B.C.', as is the Cave; the Giant Bird appeared almost identical in 'Mysterious Island', and so on. Most surprising, the Cro-Magnon woman box-art is almost identical to Nova the cavegirl in Planet of The Apes, except that the Cro-M Woman has a shell necklace which Nova didn't. Nearly every Prehistoric Scenes kit, I believe, was inspired by a film of the time.


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## xsavoie (Jun 29, 1999)

I wouldn't be at all surprised that you are right CRO MAGNON.Well at least some of them were based on serious paleontological studies of those days.Of course today,many concepts have changed about the appearance of dinosaurs.Too bad AURORA didn't continue producing new kits for the prehistoric scene series.They were getting better at it.


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## Cro-Magnon Man (Jun 11, 2001)

There are photos of two Prehistoric Scenes kits which Aurora did not produce, the Stegosaurus and the Parasaurolophus, on Trevor's(TAY666) Prehistoric Scenes site, in addition to a whole wealth of other information about the series.


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## TAY666 (Jan 8, 2000)

Now here is a subject I can sink my teeth into. 

Best kit - toss up between Tar Pit and Trex.
The tar pit is just cool. Has to be one of the best OOB dioramas I have ever seen.
The rex was just massive, imposing, scary (especially with the glow teeth and eyes). Plus the posability of it was probably an engeneering miracle for the time.

Best to build - would have to be the armored dinosaur.
Virtually no seems visable when built straight from the box. Though the 2 part base can be a bit tricky.
Runner up would be the sailback reptile. Only thing that really takes it out of first place is the seem running down the belly. The base design make the 2 parts go together flawlessly.

Worst would have to be the flying reptile.
I have fond memories of it, as I think it was the first one I ever got. Also it was the first one I aquired when I got back into the hobby. But the kit and the pose just does nothing for me.

Swamp is actually cool, since you can use a lot of the stuff to detail other kits. Especially the trees that can be used with the sailback.

The interlocking bases really help sell the weaker kits in the series.
Also another reason the tar pit is important. Lots of kits connect to that single model. The options designed into the placement also help keep things interesting.

Anyone unfamiliar with the line, check it out
http://tylisaari.com/prehistoricscenes/main.htm


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## Cro-Magnon Man (Jun 11, 2001)

Yep, the Flying Reptile leaves a bit to be desired - it's a good job Polar Lights came along with a much better version of it! The Cave always strikes me as being a sort of customising kit for the rest of the line. It provides all the bones, weapons, rocks etc. that you might need to put on other PS kits. 
I've just finished the Jungle Swamp last week, after finding it at a toy fair about 11 years ago, in assembled but unglued/unpainted condition. I originally figured that the kit was so rare that I shouldn't build it, but on ebay nowadays it seems you can find any PS kit whenever you need it, so I felt it was safe at last to build the Jungle Swamp! So I've built and painted the whole series at last.


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## WShawn (Jan 10, 2004)

Okay, here's a question that's been haunting me since I was, like, 9 years old. What is that stuff coming out of the mouth of the Allosaurus? Drool? Shredded dino flesh? A plant?

Back around 1980 I did a little Super 8 stop motion animated film with my Prehistoric scene models. I shot it in our living room with a painted sheet for a backdrop. Set to "The Fortress of Solitude" cut from the Superman soundtrack, it starts with an idyllic tableau of various dinosaurs going about their business when a bright light appears in the jungle. It's the MPC Strange Change time machine. The T-Rex rumbles through the jungle to investigate. Coming upon the strange device, it beats the crap out of it and it explodes (offscreen). The other dinosaurs go about their business.

We cut to the debris of the explosion (filmed live action in our backyard) and come across the time readout device to find that the time machine has actually traveled into...the future!

Bet you didn't see that one coming.

Shawn Marshall
Portland, OR

http://www.marshall-arts.net


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## F91 (Mar 3, 2002)

Shawn, cool story, I did some animation as a kid too. BTW, there is a big scifi model contest up here near Seattle every October. There are a couple of guys from Portland that come up every year.


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## PRE-SCENES 2 (Aug 16, 2005)

I'll add in on this...My personal favorite is the Allosaurus. Why? That is the one kit that I received most for birthdays, holidays, for being special, favorite child, etc...(you get the picture.) I could not tell you how many of those kits I had (and destroyed). But all in all, I think they'er the best thing since milk chocolate and Jell-o! I do own the complete set and looking for other kits to add on to it..i.e. JP velociraptors ( the 5" high ones) and the dilophosaurus. I even added into the Cave Bear Scene the Aurora "Black Bear and cubs" kit. What else can you think of????


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## MODELGUY (Aug 15, 2000)

Hey WSHAWN,I think that was saliva coming out of the Allosaurus mouth,because it was white in the instruction sheets.My opinion,made hime look more carnivorous I gues.I love these kits too and have the whole series,well some other company repops,but have em all,one thing not mentioned her to be I thought was very impressive on the PS line was the Artwork on the boxes,awesome--in my opinion,up there with James Bama's monsters.


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## TAY666 (Jan 8, 2000)

If you want to see some of the creative things you can do to add onto the line, check this page in my gallery section
http://tylisaari.com/prehistoricscenes/gallery/glu.htm
This guy does all kinds of neat stuff with extra pieces and bases.
I have even more pics he has sent me to get around to uploading sometime.


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## the Dabbler (Feb 17, 2005)

:freak: Aurora MISB Whooly Mammoth just sold on the 'auction' for $374.87.
Shaaaaazammm !!!
Dabbler


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## spe130 (Apr 13, 2004)

Nope. No market for those Prehistoric Scenes kits. Hell, the Enterprise B/C/E 1/2500 set that is being re-released was only regularly up to about $70 on ePay. :freak:


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## the Dabbler (Feb 17, 2005)

the Dabbler said:


> :freak: Aurora MISB Whooly Mammoth just sold on the 'auction' for $374.87.
> Shaaaaazammm !!!
> Dabbler


But then again, I just got a "Life-Like" sealed Brontosaurus for $7.99 tonight. ?? Any comments on the kits ? Save or build ?? Plastic or paper ?? :tongue: 

Dabbler


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## TAY666 (Jan 8, 2000)

spe130 said:


> Nope. No market for those Prehistoric Scenes kits. Hell, the Enterprise B/C/E 1/2500 set that is being re-released was only regularly up to about $70 on ePay. :freak:


True, the original Aurora went for that much in a sealed box.

You can still find reissues for about $30.
Which is right around the retail value of them the last time they were issued.

I know, because I managed to pick up 3 of them from Phoenix models about 3 or 4 years ago.


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## PRE-SCENES 2 (Aug 16, 2005)

Hey DABBLER, I'd say "do what ever your desire is". If it's one of those kits that is to nostalgic for building, put it in a glass case high on a shelf for future generations to enjoy with wonder. Otherwise, build it, paint it and put it in a glass case high on a shelf for future generations to enjoy with wonder. There is probably no right or wrong way to do it! It's your possesion that we'll covet. Just let us know what you did!

And deffinately plastic!!!!


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## the Dabbler (Feb 17, 2005)

You're right P-S2, 
I buy them for the fun of building, ( and the 'nostalgia' is part of it ) if they have "value", that's another matter. When I'm gone, ( and I haven't built them all yet ) if someone wants to save 'em or sell 'em, strip & re-do 'em, that's their perogative. I'm not in it for monetary speculation. This is supposed to be FUN !!
Even if it messes up someone else's idea of a "MISB" treasure !!
Build we must !! 
Dabbler


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## the Dabbler (Feb 17, 2005)

I decided to open up the Lindberg Stegosaurus. Box art/colors are sort of cartoonish and the kit isn't greatly detailed, but I'll improve on it. It'll be good airbrush practice and experience for when I move up to the bigger/better stuff like the T-Rex. I do have to say the sub-assemblies fit pretty well though.I have a few more dino kits coming from the "Bay" also.
( I think I just made a "Freudian Slip", typed 'klits' instead of 'KITS' !! ??? )
Dabbler


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## PRE-SCENES 2 (Aug 16, 2005)

Reflecting back in my younger years, I remember Some dinos that were molded in purple (with no detail but very smooth and shiney kits): such as the stego, bronto, trike, and I think the Coryth. There were little cave men wanting to pound the crap out of the said creatures. Does anybody know what I'm talkin' 'bout? Also the Airfix Dinos with the bronto and pteranodon that were new to the set of 10 or so, which i never did see the 2 kits but had the rest! There was a few more dinos from sets I can't remember the company names of. A greenish Dimetrodon with his legs all funked up. [NO freudian slip there!] I miss them!!

I almost forgot about those motorized models that had the same body but different heads. Cool, HUH?


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## F91 (Mar 3, 2002)

The purple dinos were from Pyro.


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