Gamera

Brad: This wasn't aimed at me but still thanks for the link to Dan's Dinosaurs webpage. I wish I had the money and the talent to do some awesome models like these.

Sure thing, Gamera!

Me, too!  There are some really beautiful resin kits available, and though I understand the cost of producing them, the price keeps me from buying any of them (at least at this time).

I'm still trying to decide whether to spring for the Corsair Armada resin kit of the old USS Ranger, which is $150.  A lot of geld, and I really have to think about my budget in that case.

Brad: This wasn't aimed at me but still thanks for the link to Dan's Dinosaurs webpage. I wish I had the money and the talent to do some awesome models like these.

The older Tamiya kits are somewhat behind the times, as Al pointed out, but the newer ones are a little more accurate (though, true, Al, you have to supply your own feathers! )  Look for their newer T-Rex, for example.  The old one is a tripod/tail-dragger, while the newer one reflects more current understanding of how the bones fit together.  It even comes with a paleontologist figure, for a "Jurassic Park" dio.

Lindberg also has two generations of dino kits.  They have the old LifeLike/Pyro kits, which were fun for me to build as a kid in 1970, but which are really just toys you assemble, like the smooth-skinned Tyrannosaurus or Apatosaurus (fmr Brontosaurus (the Corythosaurus in that series is probably the best), and with serious fit issues.  But they have newer kits, developed in the wake of "Jurassic Park" that are better (like a Velociraptor).

Revell-Monogram have re-issued the old Aurora kits, true, but those, too, are more fun for young kids to snap together and play with.  If you're looking for museum-quality detail, they're not for you.

If you are looking for something extremely detailed and accurate to the latest theories, you'll most likely get resin, and pay some hefty prices for it.  Here is one site where you can see the kinds of exquisite kits are produced today:

stores.homestead.com/.../StoreFront.bok

or you might consider buying finished toys, which, while being toys, are relatively well detailed and can be repaintined or modified.  Museum gift shops often have some nice examples, and here is another website for a seller who carries various lines:

www.dejankins.com/.../About_DeJankins.html

I also used to browse Link and Pin Hobbies, but that seller appears to have closed up and gone out of business.

Hope that all helps!

Brad

Try Atlantic(?) models.

Yeah, the Tamiya kits are the most accurate according to modern knowledge although as AJ pointed out what we know these days is changing so fast even they're not totally accurate. The Revell and Lindberg kits I believe were designed back in the '50s-'60s and so are almost totally inaccurate such as the tail-dragging T.rex. So I guess it would depend on if your son insists on accuracy or if he just wants a cool looking dino in which case I think any would fit. Maybe you should just go to Tamiya's, Lindberg's, etc websites and let him look at them and decide which ones he wants?  

AJ: I think I've said it before but yeah, great work there, love the concept and the execution. Makes me want to try a 'Valley of Gwangi' dino, just need to kitbash some vaqueros (Mexican cowboys)!

Here you go.Most are more than affordable.

http://www.squadron.com/SearchResults.asp?offset=0

Cadet Chuck

Dinosaurs and Humans did not exist together in the same time period- I'm just saying.   

Really? You mean

and

weren't scientific texts?

Chuck, it's fantasy. It's based on the 1960's comic books Turok, Son of Stone. That's why there's a label "Turok, Son of Stone" visible in the first picture.

Dinosaurs and Humans did not exist together in the same time period- I'm just saying.  Nice dio, any way!

ajlafleche:

Nice dino diorama!

As for who sold dinosaur kits,

did Lindberg re-issue some old kits from Life-Like a few years back?

Phil_H

Note that the Tamiya dinosaur kits are (were?) 1/35 scale and may provide some interesting diorama opportunities.

The Tamiya kits reflect relatively newer research, but do not incorporate the latest theories and findings such as the likelyhood many dinos were feathered.

Here's a dio I did a couple years ago using the Tamiya velociraptors and a couple 54mm figures:

I'm pretty sure Revell reissued some of the ex-Aurora dinosaurs a few years back. Some of these should still be available.

Note that the Tamiya dinosaur kits are (were?) 1/35 scale and may provide some interesting diorama opportunities.

I have seen some in the Squadron catalog recently.

Theres a dino kit from Tamiya at the hobby shop I visit, Viloceraptors (spell check) I believe, dont know a price,

My LHS, has plenty of them in stock, Tamiya and oldies from Jurassic Park the movie which nowadays are more on the collectible side.

Do a search on Google for Tamiya Dinosaur kits and you'll come across some other brands as well. Dino kits are very popular in Japan.

Here is one result from Mega Hobby.