Return to the Crackington Formation

[Halichoeres]

A very cool look at historical paleo-art, really quite impressive efforts given what was known at the time. My eye was immediately drawn to the Mastodonsaurus skull on the facing page!

[Halichoeres]

Oh, and happy belated!

[Crackington]

Thanks @Halichoeres and I agree, @Stegotyranno420, the Iguanodon would make a good subject for Creature Comforts. I can just imagine it regaling the viewer with all it's seen in 170 years!

I promised to show another book addition I recently obtained, and quite unexpectedly. I was at the National Trust centre at Dunstable Downs for a day out recently (it's very beautiful with views for miles from the chalk downs) and came across a book sale. There she blowed for a couple of pounds Michael Benton's "Reign of Reptiles" from 1990:



Though a bit dated now, it is beautifully illustrated, both with some great fossil photographs and palaeo artwork:





I was particularly taken with this diagram showing the immense age of the Earth and the relatively recent ascent of complex life. One of the best pictorial representations of deep time to my layman's eyes:



Keep your eyes peeled folks, bargains are waiting to be found if you like your old stuff 

[Halichoeres]

What a cool find. I like the puffin-style Dimorphodon on the cover.

[ceratopsian]

Does it say who did the illustrations?

[Crackington]

Good question @ceratopsian and it took me a while to work out who the main palaeo artist was. The book lists a team of four artists at the front end, but tucked away in the end credits is acknowledgement of who did what.

It appears that one Graham Rosewarne is responsible for the reptile images and dioramic paintings, but rather unhelpfully listed as responsible for "Dinosaur reconstructions".

In order to be sure I looked him up on t'net and Love in the Time of Chasmosaurs site came to the rescue. Some articles on the artist's later work, clearly in the same style:

https://chasmosaurs.com/2022/08/21/vintage-dinosaur-art-on-the-trail-of-the-dinosaurs-part-2/

I was unfamiliar with his work before, but he is clearly very talented and original, as noted by @Halichoeres, with the Dimorphodon as Puffin on the front cover.

[ceratopsian]

Thanks. Not a name I was familiar with at all.

[japfeif]

That spread in the booklet makes me a little wistful--three of those four genera have barely ever been attempted since!

Oh no doubt for sure! I often wish some of the current, moderately-priced companies (e.g. CollectA, Papo, Safari) would perhaps focus a little less (not a ton...just a little!) on the newer & oftentimes more obscure genera and give us some of the classic (and still relevant!) genera from the Marx/MPC roster...Sphenacodon, Cynognathus, Moschops, as well as a nice Dire Wolf, Ceratogaulus, Megatherium (woefully underrepresented!)...

[Crackington]

I've been a bit busy with work and other things lately so haven't had a chance to update this thread much. I do actually have a few things to shamelessly flaunt, including a Holy Grail model I've been after for years!

I'll try and add these new additions soon. However the first thing to catch up on is a rather bitter sweet acquisition, as it comes from the collection of the late Anthony Beeson, the founder of the Collecta figures and great collector in his own right. This is the Horseshoe Crab:



This is the actual sample model sent to Anthony by the Company for his approval. Although an extant animal, this did cause quite a stir on the Forum when released due to its general excellence and to its "living fossil"status:



It really is a remarkable model and an animal that's always intrigued me as its changed so little since the time of the trilobites (I can feel someone coming on to correct me here!). The detail is great and is particularly striking when you turn the crab over for the full alien face-hugger effect:



Anyway it's nice to own a piece of Anthony's collection. I never met him, but think he greatly helped raise the prehistoric model game with Collecta, particularly going for less produced figures and often recent discoveries. He also wrote some good articles on our hobby for Prehistoric Times. RIP.

Thanks to Dr Admin for informing the Forum about Anthony's collection sale on eBay and to @Blackdanter for reminding me of this with his Cherilea purchase in his collection thread.

[SidB]

Terrific for you to connect the present with the past with such visual impact, @Crackington . It's good to honour people of worth.

[ceratopsian]

I'm glad it found a good home!

[Halichoeres]

It really is a remarkable model and an animal that's always intrigued me as its changed so little since the time of the trilobites (I can feel someone coming on to correct me here!).

Well, actually....

Just kidding, I have no notes! This is a very cool keepsake for its provenance alone, on top of its being a great little horseshoe crab toy.

[Crackington]

Thanks for the kind comments every one.

I did hint at my recent acquisition of a Holy Grail model earlier on, so time for my big reveal, it's the crazy chrono chaos of the Aurora Prehistoric Scenes Jungle Swamp:



I have been after the kit for years and had to dig deep to purchase it. Although not in perfect condition, it was worth it to me and not too bad for fifty years old!



I had the kit and many other Auroras as a kid and always loved the colour and variety of the inhabitants. This shot allows site of Archaeopteryx in the small tree and Rhamphoryncus clinging on up higher in the canopy.



More soon!

[ceratopsian]

You are so lucky to have such things as a child!  I'd have been wild with joy to have had something like that.

[Crackington]

Thanks very much Ceratopsian. Yes, I was a very lucky kid and was able to gather quite a good collection with the Aurora kits mainly arriving at birthdays and Christmas. I also saved my pocket money sometimes though this always took an age!

The Aurora kits weren't actually too expensive, probably a bit cheaper than buying Action Man sets with vehicles etc, but were definitely special presents. Then as now collecting dinosaurs was pretty niche and I was also very lucky to have a friend up the road into the hobby; we spurred each other on! Supportive and patient parents were the most important factor though - thanks Mam and Dad!

The Jungle Swamp was pretty bonkers with its biota ranging from the Carboniferous to the Eocene, like Caprona in the "Land that Time Forgot":



The animals are:

Diplocaulus - climbing out of the pond
Kuehneosaurus - the Triassic flying lizard, very colourful in bright green!
Rhamphoryncus - one resting in the tree, the other in flight (alas, a casualty with its head missing)
Archaeopteryx- landing on the small tree
Snake - species unnamed but fortunately with its fragile tongue still there
Compsognathus - pretty crude figure though with correct posture. I wonder if this is the first widely available figure of the species (1972)?
Eohippus - nice little figure, and I found out it is a valid taxon again this morning- yippee!

Here's the booklet with descriptions of the inhabitants. Hope the text is readable:





More soon!

[ceratopsian]

At 1972 that's just a few years too late for me. It wasn't exactly that my parents weren't supportive. They bought me books for birthday and Christmas and as many trips to the library as I wanted. I think the problem was lack of information about what was on the market. Having a similar minded friend up the road must have been a great help! Farm and zoo animals were so much easier than dinosaurs. I had the Britains catalogue to pore over for hours at a time!  Hard now to remember those pre-internet days when acquiring information could be so hit and miss!

[Crackington]

Thanks Ceratopsian- yes having supportive parents was so important. You helped bring back some nice memories of being taken to the library by my Mam too.

Not having easy access to information then was also, in retrospect, important. For example, I'd never heard of the Marx or MPC models back in the 1970s as they didn't make it to my home town as far as I know. Fortunately, the Auroras, Inpros and Pyros did, but courtesy of a good toy shop in the town. Invictas were rarer for me and picked up on occasional visits to my Southern relatives in London.

Back to the Jungle Swamp - the box had also survived with the kit, though a bit battered as might be expected. Auroras had wonderful artwork and this one could even be the best. You can see the front image in the photos above but here's the back with the blurb:



The box sides show the other kits in the range:



Finally just a quick one for @Halichoeres. We had a discussion a while ago on what species the Swamp plants represented and wondered whether the trees were Lepidodendrons and the cycad-a-likes Bennettitales? The booklet names them as "Cycad trees" and "Cycadeoides" - not sure Aurora knew themselves what they really were! Striking models in any case.

[ceratopsian]

It's a beautifully illustrated box, that's for sure.

[Crackington]

Sure is Ceratopsian!

Your earlier comment on Britains toy animals makes me wonder what their prehistoric animals would have been like, had they made them?

They were really nicely done figures and I have the gorilla now in my collection. I suspect they would have out-done Inpro but perhaps not have rivalled the Invictas.

[ceratopsian]

I sadly sent a large box of my Britains animals to Oxfam a few years ago. Some were sticky by then. But I rather regret doing so. Among them were around 30 horses, all named. All I have now are two tiny platypuses, one nibbled by a mouse. I think they would have made decent dinosaurs for their historical period.