Kit Information :
Scale : Unknown
Grade : Unknown
Made by : Lindberg
Completed : September '08
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Dilophosaurus
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The Dilophosaurus (the two crested lizard) is a curious dinosaur. Very little is known about it and its strange, but alluring, crests. Most people know this beast from the first Jurassic Park movie, where it was inaccurately depicted as a small scavanger which had a frill neck and venomous spit. In reality, it was a much larger beast, had no frill and there is no evidence to support that it spat venom. Due to these errors, I decided to take the official Jurassic Park model kit of the Dilophosaurus and modify it into something a little more 'accurate' than most people realise.
I recently picked this kit up, used, off of eBay for next to nothing. It was ideal as I was after a cheap kit for for my first attempt at modifying a Dinosaur model kit (didn't want to ruin an expensive kit if I couldn't do it!).
I began by reading up extensively on the dinosaur itself and modifying dino kits (in Ray Rimmel's excellent Dinosaur Model book which I also picked up from eBay). I decided to remove the frill and change the overall neck and head positions at the same time. Using some wire, I angled the neck the way I wanted then filled it up with styrene off-cuts. For the head, I repeated the same process but closed the mouth by removing the teeth and filling in under the jaw. I also changed the position of the arms and hands in a similar manner - wire was threaded through the arm and body then it was positioned, then fixed into place with some CA Glue.
The gaps were filled in with Milliput Epoxy putty and the texture of the skin returned with the aid of some texture stamps (made from Super Sculpey) and some wax carving tools. This was the most time consuming part of the build as it was very fine and detailed work.
Painting involved an inital layer of Desert Yellow, then a layer of Park Green on the top half. The crests were painted with a Red/Brown custom mix and the feet, hands and around the edges of the green were done with Nato Black. This was all topped off with a wash of Burnt Umber and Burnt Sienna, and a dry brush of a custom light blue and Sky. It was all sealed in with a top coat and a final flat coat.
For the base, I used real twigs from a tree in my yard to make the trees. These were sprayed with Spray Adhesive and sprinkled with some herbs from the kitchen pantry. They were fixed in place by threading a small brass rod up into them (via a hole made with my pin vise) and fixed into the board via a hole filled with CA Glue. I made the ground of the base in a similar way to the one I made for the Raptor. Air clay was layed down, sprayed brown and green, coated with green Flock and topped with herbs to give it a 'Autumn' look.
Overall, the modifications came out well and it was a nice challenge to attempt to modify such a kit. There are a few more Dinosaurs to come - next one might even be a resin kit! Stay tuned!
Update : 25th May 2009
This kit was entered into the 2009 ScaleACT Model Expo and Competition and I am proud to annouce that this build managed to take out 1st place in the Prehistoric Category!
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