# Aurora Tar Pit



## jbond (Aug 29, 2002)

Here's my build--got a pretty good deal on this on ebay, came in the box with all the parts, just not on the trees--and a few broken locator pins:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lazymodeler/sets/72157625156181701/


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## Xenodyssey (Aug 27, 2008)

That's a really nice diorama and paint job. The vulture finish is especially good, cuaght my eye straight away. The grass on the verge looks great as well.


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## Matthew Green (Nov 12, 2000)

Why are the model kit companies doing kits like the Black Widow when they could be repopping these? The Tarpit is the first model kit I ever saw. I was 6 at the time and it fascinated me. I have never owned one and won't be paying Ebay prices. I would love for this to be done again.


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## SpaceCrawler (Mar 22, 2010)

I agree. I loved this as a kid and would buy it again now.

Sean


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

I keep seeing new, old models on here I never saw when I was a kid, and that was some years ago. I remember the Aurora monsters and comic book heroes when they actually came out the first time but I never knew of this one and all the other dinosaur and animal kits. Yours looks great and it really stands out with all the nice detailing. A great model to put on the shelf.

Bob K.


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## louspal (Sep 13, 2009)

Great paint-up of a nice kit. Nice textures and good goo!


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

Me too, the Tar Pit was possibly the first model kit I ever saw as well, and the built-up in the shop and its box art stuck in my mind, right up to 1994 when it was the first Prehistoric Scenes kit I bought in an attempt to find all the kits I saw as a kid. I posted a built-up Tar Pit here a few months ago too, but yours is painted much better!


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## jbond (Aug 29, 2002)

I was emotionally invested in this one--this line of models really got me into collecting. I just remember seeing those boxes with that incredible artwork and it was like a jolt of pure crack every time a new one was released. I do think this particular kit would do very well--it was never reissued after 1972 I think and it was literally the centerpiece of the Prehistoric Scenes line--all the other models were clustered around that one. It's just an amazing tableau and wonderfully elaborate. Thanks for all the comments.


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## Parts Pit Mike (Jan 3, 2001)

Hey JBond.. It's a great looking build up .. but you are missing the original "Meat Chunk" that goes into the Vultures Mouth.. seriously.


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## Mitchellmania (Feb 14, 2002)

Tar Pit was one of my favorite Prehistoric Scenes!!! You did a fantastic job on this!!!


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Matthew Green said:


> Why are the model kit companies doing kits like the Black Widow when they could be repopping these? The Tarpit is the first model kit I ever saw. I was 6 at the time and it fascinated me. I have never owned one and won't be paying Ebay prices. I would love for this to be done again.


THe kit is pretty cheap on eBay. You can get a complete boxed Tarpit for $50 +/- if you shop around. If you dont want a box or parts on the sprues think $30 with some patience. It really is a cool kit.


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## otto (Jan 1, 1970)

Well done! Thats a GREAT built up!


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## jbond (Aug 29, 2002)

If you check the photo set again I do have the "meat chunk"--the paint on it was drying when I took the first photos so it's in the last few shots I took. Believe me, it was the first thing I looked for when I opened the box!


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## MonsterModelMan (Dec 20, 2000)

jbond,

LOVE IT! this is such a great kit! I have mine started already...it's been in the "open project" list for some time...gotta get back to mine but yours turned out GREAT!

I'm glad that you also included the meat chunk...I too thought it was missing from your kit until you posted that it had been drying and you added a few pics with it! That meat chunk part seems to get lost on most of the kits I've seen! In fact, I had to have a resin one made for my kit as I bought a build-up from eplace...really cheap!

MMM


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## jbond (Aug 29, 2002)

The meat chunk is just emblematic of what made these Aurora figure kits so great--those sick little details no one else would think of. Just the IDEA of this kit--a massive, dying animal trapped in gooey black tar with a vulture dining on it before it's even expired--is something no other model maker of the era would have even considered. And then add the saber tooth tiger kit, with optional legs positioned so the claws would fit directly into the open wounds on the rhino's body. And unlike a lot of other figure kits, most of the Prehistoric Scenes kits actually lived up to the box illustration because the figures were sculpted in a deliberately exaggerated, melodramatic (yet convincingly detailed) way.


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## Mystic Colin (Mar 4, 2010)

Looks awesome, great build!

I have to say, I don't know why, but for such a small piece, that meat-chunk really really adds a lot to the kit. Just that one extra detail that really takes it a step up. It is like the cherry on top of the milkshake, or some such.

Again, terrific work!


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## IanWilkinson (Apr 23, 2010)

Excellent build and paint job! - i begged my parents to get this kit for my birthday in the early 70's.. and they did to my amazement! - as the price of this kit in the UK was a lot more than the monster kits were.. infact it was one of the first animal type kits i got!... i think the animal trapped inside the tar and the Vulture waiting for a meal made the kit for my young imagination!


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

Yep, I only managed to get the Cro-Magnon Woman kit out of my parents, and I think it was the relative expense of the kits that was the determining factor here in the UK. Someone else mentioned to me that the Prehistoric Scenes kits were pretty expensive in the UK, and their unusual box art may have persuaded many parents to stick to the safer subject matter of Airfix kits.


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## Bobj812 (Jun 15, 2009)

Very nicely done - and of course is much, much better than what I built when I was a kid! I loved this kit (and the whole prehistoric and dinosaur line). I loved that you could swap out the legs on the saber-toothed cat so it would be clawing the back of the rhino. Good times.


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## Guest (Nov 11, 2010)

A little late to the party here but I wanted to add my kudos as well. A super job that brings back a lot of childhood memories. Of course if I'd tried to build that as a child it would have been a nightmare. I love these old kits and watching pros like yourself bring them to life in a way I once never thought possible. Thanks for sharing.


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## jbond (Aug 29, 2002)

Thanks for the comments--this is definitely the first time I've ever been described as a "pro" so my aging heart swells with pride... 

These kinds of kits are a vacation for me after doing spaceship and vehicle kits where I have to do an ungodly amount of filling, sanding and masking. There's a much bigger margin for error and you can get a huge amount of mileage out of drybrushing which gives you a great effect quickly and easily.


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