Silvanusaurus' Customs - New Megalosaurus Photos

[AcroSauroTaurus]

Ok, that makes sense. Well, whatever you decide to do, I'm sure it'll look good.

[Megalosaurus]

YYYYYYEEEEEEEEESSSSSS!
A MEgalosaurus!

Well, that little figure is based in the paleo art in my signature. I've seen that figure in several colors, let me see... I like this:


Do you already have a base figure in mind?

[Silvanusaurus]

Do you already have a base figure in mind?

No, that's what I'm trying to decide at the minute. I suppose a fairly generic theropod would work... any suggestions?

[AcroSauroTaurus]

An Allosaurus would probably work the best, with the similar body plan and all, so you wouldn't have to do much work.

[Silvanusaurus]

I have a new idea for the next project... I think I'll customise an updated 'modern' Megalosaurus, but I also want to make a figure based on the Crystal Palace Megalosaurus:

which is of course very out of date, but I love the design of it, and really want a version to display on my shelf, as a tribute to the history of dinosaur reconstruction. It will be cool to have both that vintage one and a modern one next to it.

[stargatedalek]

The Favorite S2 Allosaurus would be my recommendation, it needs a lot of fleshing out but if anything I think that sounds convenient for your plans

[Silvanusaurus]

The Favorite S2 Allosaurus would be my recommendation, it needs a lot of fleshing out but if anything I think that sounds convenient for your plans

What size is it?

[Halichoeres]

The Favorite S2 Allosaurus would be my recommendation, it needs a lot of fleshing out but if anything I think that sounds convenient for your plans

What size is it?

It's about 1:50 scale, maybe a shade smaller. I'd say it's comparable in size to the Papo Velociraptor, if that's a useful reference point.

[Silvanusaurus]

Hmmm... it's a good suggestion but I think I might need to use something a bit larger, and with less pre-existing detail. I'm thinking about using the Megasaur 'Saurophaganax', it's cheap, easily available, and easy to cut up for repositioning. And the pose is quite dynamic already. They are quite well detailed for what they are, but I wouldn't feel like I was sacrificing a nice figure if I covered a lot of it up.

[E.D.G.E. (PainterRex)]

Someone, safari/carnigie or especially papo needs to make a line of outdated dinosaurs that comes with a little card that explains why it is wrong and how. Like a crystal palace set would be amazing! especially with the details of Papo! Great job on the baryonyx! I cannot wait to see your next projects!

[Silvanusaurus]

Someone, safari/carnigie or especially papo needs to make a line of outdated dinosaurs that comes with a little card that explains why it is wrong and how. Like a crystal palace set would be amazing! especially with the details of Papo! Great job on the baryonyx! I cannot wait to see your next projects!

That's a great idea! It would amazing to be able to get all the different crystal palace creatures, and others based on early outdated paleoart... 

[Silvanusaurus]

I'm finally making a Megalosaurus, but I'm trying to decide whether it should be scaley or feathered. I'm leaning towards proto-feathers at the minute, as it offers more interesting possibilities for what could otherwise be the very definition of a generic theropod. As far as I can tell from a brief bit of research, there is no direct evidence either way for Megalosauridae. Does anybody have any thoughts on the liklihood or not of Megalosaurus being feathered? Also, if it were feathered, what is the most likely placement of proto-feathers on the hands of non-winged theropods?

[Lanthanotus]

I'm finally making a Megalosaurus, but I'm trying to decide whether it should be scaley or feathered. I'm leaning towards proto-feathers at the minute, as it offers more interesting possibilities for what could otherwise be the very definition of a generic theropod. As far as I can tell from a brief bit of research, there is no direct evidence either way for Megalosauridae. Does anybody have any thoughts on the liklihood or not of Megalosaurus being feathered? Also, if it were feathered, what is the most likely placement of proto-feathers on the hands of non-winged theropods?

No evidence/citations from my side, but personally I'd lean to a scaley, non feathery or only minorly feathered reconstruction due to the mass of the animal and the environement it lived in. If we suggest endothermy/gigantothermy, a tropical hot environemnt and a mass of  ton or so, any feathers that go furhter than just for plain sexual display on some specific body parts but for insulation, the feature may become more harmfull than usefull due to the danger of overheating.

[Silvanusaurus]

Wouldn't that also rule out the liklihood of extensive feathering on a T rex, which is much bigger?

[spinosaurus1]

imo, megalosauridae could of had feathers. but at this point, we have little no no evidence of any form of integument for this group, ergo it is open to interpretation. i honestly have no problem with either interpretation but i do agree that with you adding them would bring more distinction to your figure compared to the mass production of what is usually seen with megalosauridae. i really like your style of sculpting an i cant wait to see what distinguishing features you would add to your sculpt.

[AcroSauroTaurus]

imo, megalosauridae could of had feathers. but at this point, we have little no no evidence of any form of integument for this group, ergo it is open to interpretation. i honestly have no problem with either interpretation but i do agree that with you adding them would bring more distinction to your figure compared to the mass production of what is usually seen with megalosauridae. i really like your style of sculpting an i cant wait to see what distinguishing features you would add to your sculpt.

The only evidence of feathers on megalosaurids is Sciurumimus, but its a juvenile, so we don't know if they lost their feathers as they aged.

[Takama]

It has been Argued that Sciurumimus was not a Megalosaur anymore and instead, it was a Coelurosaur of some kind

[Silvanusaurus]

It has been Argued that Sciurumimus was not a Megalosaur anymore and instead, it was a Coelurosaur of some kind

Yeah, this is what I gathered.
I'm now thinking of abandoning feathers for this piece, and just trying to create the most dynamic scaled version i can. I'm feeling too uncomfortable about feathering this species just for the sake of it, and i don't want to be half-hearted about applying them, I don't think only partial feathering works very well for me.

[Lanthanotus]

Wouldn't that also rule out the liklihood of extensive feathering on a T rex, which is much bigger?

Indeed, but as far as my knowledge goes there's not yet evidence for (extensive) featheres on large tyrannosaur species. While it's proofed for small species it may still be possible that large species had none or only during specific stages of their youth (much as several mammal species only have fur as babies, like sea elephants or such, or the feathers on chicks of ostriches that are more extensive than on adults). However, as Tyrannosaurus lived in a slightly different climate than Megalosaurus, the problem of overheating may have not been as present for this species. After all, feathers or not (or to put it "scales or not") is something you can only make an educated guess about for most species, so it depends on which arguments you'd like to follow.

[Silvanusaurus]

I've started work on the Megalosaurus; funnily enough I've combined parts from the Papo Allosaurus (which I got cheap as part of a larger lot, so I thought I might as well take advantage of it) and the 'knock-off' of it; the 'Saurophaganax' made by Megasaurs. As seen in this photo, I've butchered the heads and mangled them together to give it a longer snout, giving it a closer resemblance to fellow megalosaurid Torvosaurus. I've tried to base this on the proportions of a Megalosaurus skeletal by Scott Hartman. Obviously the remains of Megalosaurus are very limited, but from what I gather it's suggested to have had a large head, and robust arms and body. The Allosaurus' body is too lithe and the arms too long, so I'm shortening the arms and am going to add a lot of 'robustness' to the overall body, while maintaining the dynaism of the sculpt and following it's musculature.