Velociraptor Skull

1:1 Velociraptor mongoliensis

Finished model by Horst Bruckmann  

In late 2009 I was fortunate to obtain an original kit in mint condition from the archive collection of John Carlson, President of Monstrosities (the sole importer of these kits to the USA during the 1990's).

While I normally limit my collection to full skeleton reconstructions I couldn't resist this model, mainly because of its historic value as part of the original Kaiyodo Dinoland series.

The model, by Kaiyodo artist Shigeru Yamazaki, looks great and is highly detailed, but in some respects is not as accurate as it could be (probably only because of insufficient reference material for some parts of the skull, remembering that for a 3D sculpture there is no cheating, every surface is visible and must be completed). Although I can't confirm it, it appears to be an early work, perhaps the starting point for the more ambitious full skeleton kits.

There are only three large parts to this kit, each requiring fairly extensive cleanup of molding artifacts (flash, stems, and air bubble spheres). When properly prepared it makes an impressive addition to any collection!

Instructions (single-sided sheet, 257 x 180 mm) 

Kit box: W 230 mm, H 115 mm, D 135 mm  

Views of raw resin parts
as shipped with the kit
(unpainted, no cleanup). 

Monstrosities Catalog
Advertisment from the Fall 1996 Monstrosities catalog (cover image image far right).