1:10 Tyrannosaurus Rex Dinosaur
Greta looking kit, easy to build. Well one out of 2 is not bad. I found it surprising that for the longest time there were no decent kits of a T-Rex skeleton. You would think it would be a no brainer and an automatic success.
The only problem I guess could be the structurally integrity of the model especially with the fragile rib section.
As I stated earlier 1 out of 2 is not bad. The thing looks great when finished. Putting it together was tested my patience. There seems to be 2 different kits on the market in the same scale as I have read reports of people having a quick and easy time assembling their skeleton. I am not sure if it is different models or if some models fit much better then others. Worn out moulds?
The kit is made of a vinyl type material, which has some good and bad points.
Pros
Impressive size
At over 36 inches long this thing looks great. You will need a large shelf to display this thing. The cool factor sure kicks in here.
For some people this is a Pro. Pre- finished colours - No painted necessary - The model comes in this light tan base colour with some dark brown wash, which looks fairly good. I guess if you wanted you could repaint the entire thing but I do not know how much of a better finish you can get unless you want a different look to your model.
Not a bad price - I got this for around $40 but I have seen it for as much as $150. So there can be bargains out there.
Material - The model is made of a vinyl type material, which makes it able to withstand quite a bit of abuse. This is a good thing as it is aimed towards kids.
Cons
Logo - Each piece has the manufacturers logo on it. It is mostly un-noticeable but is visible upon closer inspection. The logo can be ground off with a sanding drum but I would think some paint touching up would be needed.
Material - The flexibility of the material is not a problem for most of the model if it is slightly out but it is really noticeable with the ribs. I have done a lot of bending and twisting and still they do not line up properly and look good. I am seriously thinking of taking the hair dryer to the ribs in the hope that the memory of the material will straighten them all out or I can position them where they will stay where I want it to. Since I got my kit used it is possible that being jammed in the box together permanently distorted some parts. I have seen photos of a new kit where the parts are laid out in a neat case so all the parts are protected.
Fit on the stand is not the best - The feet do not want to stay on the stand and like to pop out every so often. The pins could be 0.25 inches longer to make stay on the base. All the toes do not want to touch the base.
Fit was terrible - The deal breaker I think for most kids will be the fit of the parts. A lot of the parts just do not fit together. The parts fit with a peg in a hole. A lot of them needed to be cut and or shaped to fit in the corresponding holes. Even though the material is flexible I could not force a lot of the parts to fit together. This means a lot of kids will not be able to finish their model. Even with a parent's help a lot of these kits will not be finished. The amount of cutting, test fitting and more cutting needed to get the parts to fit together seemed to be high. I am not sure if the parts were supposed to be friction fit together but I had to use glue on most joints. I used some industrial type silicon glue on most joints but even then some joints came apart. For those that came apart I them used Gorilla glue. (the expanding foam type) If things got bad I was considering drilling holes and pinning the parts together.
Conclusion
I was very disappointed with the fit of kit. However since I had the experience and the tools I was able to finish the model and get a great looking Trex skeleton that I am sure will turn heads.
A warning for some that this could be a very frustrating kit to put together if you get a bad fitting one.
Most impressive
Great finish
Big is an understatement
The feet mounts just didn't want to stay in and always wanted to pop out.
This spacing was off so this rear support was always bent and strained so either it popped out or the feet popped out. I eventually had to cut this one and the front one down so the feet would stay in.
The fit of the feet on the base was not good at all.
The toe likes to hang in the air.
I am fairly sure that this bar was supposed to go in between the arms but this always put stress on the rest of the skeleton and make the feet pop out. Even cutting the bar shorter didn't help out so I eventually let it sit outside the 2 arms.
A coke can to give an idea of the size of the finished item.