BrantWorks: Scale Model Dinosaur Skeletons

About

We all make models; building and refining models in our head is how we make sense of the world. To understand how a dinosaur is put together it's really helpful to handle each bone, look at the hidden details, see how each connects to those around it, and view an entire skeleton from all angles. That's what a good accurate scale model allows.

Here you'll find descriptions of such models; each represents the original animal as faithfully as possible. Most were produced as kits, however some are rare or long out of production and it's difficult to find information about them, so one aim of this website is simply to document these models.

1/12^th scale Apatosaurus louisae skull

I collect the best models I can find and use them to further refine complete skeletons to a more original state. This usually involves re-sculpting or detailing individual bones, updating the skeleton according to new information and articulating the whole into a realistic composition. This requires good research skills, a myriad of crafting and sculpting techniques and an eye for detail. A full skeleton is a complex thing and it takes time and patience to construct. Most of my models remain a work in progress; I continue to refine them as time allows and as new information becomes available.

Skeletons

Our understanding of dinosaurs has changed so much in recent years and, with a little perseverence, good information is not hard to source. For me, researching and refining a skeleton model is a rewarding puzzle. Each individual bone is a challenge and a subject in itself while a correctly articulated whole is a symphony of form, pose and structure.

Why skeletons? Because they are the most tangible dinosaur artifacts we have. Gigantic fossil dinosaur bones are elemental, surreal, and fantastic objects that we can actually touch! They bridge the worlds of the real and the imagined better than anything I know.

 I find fleshed-out dinosaur reconstructions less interesting, mainly because they necessarily rely on a large amount of guesswork. They're also quickly outdated. Short of a Wayback Machine we’ll never really know what a T.rex actually did look like; the colors, patterns, scales, feathers and horn it was adorned with. At least a dinosaur skeleton can, with enough fossil evidence, be reconstructed with great accuracy. Despite this, much contemporary dinosaur art still contradicts skeletal evidence and most representations in popular culture are based more on tradition than any reality.

Unfortunately, even dinosaur skeletons are often poorly presented, and a reconstruction in natural bone (as you will find here) is rare indeed! We seem to expect these magnificent animals remain incomplete crumbling relics; mere shadows. To be fair, one reason for this is simply that the bigger animals are so huge that creating full-scale reconstructions is prohibitively difficult and expensive. Working with scaled-down versions is a very practical and insightful alternative—not to mention great fun.

Brant