Hi folks! Here’s the “dinosaur” part of this forum.
As a wee lad, I built and loved all the Aurora 1/13 Prehistoric Scenes snap kits (still got 'em all, too!). I have all the original issues, but I am aware that Monogram (maybe Revell, too?) re-leased some of them during the 80’s, like the big T-Rex, Triceratops, Styracosuarus, Pteranodon, Wooly Mammoth, and Allosaurus.
My question pertains to the Allosaurus:
The original Aurora release featured a big ,wagging toungue, complete with a virtual tsunami of saliva flowing from it. I suppose this was supposed to indicate the beast’s ravenous appetite for flesh!
Did the later Monogram releases include this somewhat unsavory feature? I seem to remember that it did not. And if not, was the toungue a new part, or a re-tool of the original? I only have the original Aurora issue, so I can’t compare.
Just wondering!
Alright, just in case any new folks out there don’t dig back a few pages to check out old posts, I’m gonna refresh this one, cuz I really wanna know!
I’m pretty sure Revell re-issued the Wooly Mammoth in the late 80s. I can’t answer your question about the Allosaurus 'cause I’ve never seen those Aurora kits… This saliva feature sounds cool though! I’m sure it would have been popular with the kids when they released the Jurassic Park dino kits… I’ve only ever built a couple of the Airfix dinos, then scratched a few more.
Thanks for the reply, DJ. Was Aurora stuff popular in the UK?
Actually, I have two original Aurora Allosauri: one unmodified with the drooling tongue, and one were I not only cut off the spit tsunami, but I also stuffed the tongue back into it’s mouth.
I reckon I was a pretty sharp kid to keep one unadultered!
I’ll never part with 'em, but I can appreciate the value of keeping those classics in stock condition.
Now I just wish I hadn’t repainted and detailed up that 16" Kenner Alien I got for Christmas in 1979 …
Aurora stuff was, is, and ’ ll be popular EVERYWHERE…And forever !
My forty years old Forgotten Prisoner ( still waitin’ to be made ! ) isn’ t a true testimony of that…?! Unfortunately, most of my Aurora’ s are nothin’ but fadin’ memories, now…But I could even remember how Poor Mummy was crushed to death ( … ) by my RED wooly mammoth in one savage bedspread battle !
The word " collector " didn’ t exist yet…! 
Aurora, as far as I can remember, was never really that popular in Belgium (where I grew up), and their kits are just so old that any releases are most often only grabbed by either complete novice (who probably will never do any more modeling!) or by those ‘in the know’. I got on e-Bay the XB-70 Valkyrie kit from Aurora and there’s little to be done with that kit, honestly… It’s all wrong. But I guess, when it came out in '63, before the real thing even flew, it must have been a killer!
Speaking of Aurora Valkyries, I saw one the other day in a shop near here going for 8,000 yen ($67 US). The box looks perfect, and as far as I could tell all the pieces and paperwork were intact.
Is that a decent price? I’m not a collector, though.
I got mine for about US$30, but it’s the '69 re-release with the orange/red sky on the box art. I’m not a collector either so I can’t tell you if that is a decent price. I bought it to build it, but was not aware that there were so many major mistakes in the kit…
I’ll avoid it, then!
Thanx!