If you’re in London, you still have almost one week left to hurry to the Valence House in Dagenham and see a great exhibit on Ray Harryhausen’s dinosaurs and other cool “Dynamation” stop-motion models and art!
This blog post is a photo tour of what I saw, in case you cannot go.
Like it? Click it. Bigger pic.
Stomach-Churning Rating: 1/10 nice stop-motion animation models. Medusa won’t hurt you here.
I loooooooooooove Ray Harryhausen’s work, ever since I was a child and saw “Jason and the Argonauts” and many other films, plus “Clash of the Titans” once it came into theatres. There is the attention to detail in anatomy and locomotion, and the wondrous fantastic nature of even the more mundane creatures he animated, and the rich mythology that he drew from to inspire his creations. Modern CGI is great in a different way, but nothing I can think of in recent special effects truly beats (1) the skeleton battle in ‘Jason, and (2) the Medusa encounter in ‘Clash (to name what might be my top two faves). And so when I learned that several of the original (restored) models from those films were on exhibit in northeastern London, I requested to go there with my family for Fathers Day. Results:
Boom! Ole’ stony-gazed, snaky-haired gorgon of yore.
No deadly bow here, but the rattlesnake tail is.
Medusa concept art by Harryhausen; the “bra” was there for American censors but Ray thought it looked wrong and removed it in the final version.
Look out, Jason! Here come the Children of the Hydra! Yep, original (restored) articulated models. Joints are visible. They look ready to kick some Iolcusian butt!
Context of the exhibit- local chap befriended Harryhausen and convinced him to let him restore his models; and so here we are. On with the dinosaurs! (and other palaeo-things)
Gwangi model made in resin; non-poseable but made around time of the “Valley of Gwangi” film to help design the poseable models.
Gwangi climactic scene in church; concept art by Harryhausen.
Other ‘Gwangi characters: “Eohippus” (Hyracotherium), Ornithomimus and boy.
Cowboy lassoing an Ornithomimus as per the movie scene in ‘Gwangi? Yes please. (Harryhausen original) Jurassic Park had its T. rex lurching out of a forest to grab a Struthiomimus, intentionally mirroring the scene in ‘Gwangi where the titular Allosaurus–Tyrannosaurus hybrid chomps the Ornithomimus.
Poseable “Eohippus” original- with real fur! Great Dynamation too; very lifelike in the film.
Original Harryhausen concept art of the “Eohippus” show demo.
Suddenly, Ceratosaurus! (from “One Million Years BC”)
Styracosaurus original resin model. (from “One Million Years BC”)
Old school Polacanthus art by Alan Friswell. SPIKEY!
Old school Iguanodon art by Alan Friswell. MUSCLEY!
Panoply of archosaurs by Alan Friswell: pterodactyl, Tenontosaurus (made for the Frame Store special effects company in 2001) and tyrannosaur head (made at age 9).
Pterodactyl made at age 12, so don’t laugh.
Back to the fantastic beasts– original poseable hydra from ‘Jason!
Original Pegasus from ‘Clash! What a seamless blend of fur and feathers.
Original R2, I mean Bubo, from ‘Clash!
I forget the scene (the 1-eyed fates in ‘Clash?) but I like it. Original Harryhausen concept art.
Lunar leader from “First Men in the Moon.” (original)
Non-original (but based thereon) model by Alan Friswell, of nautiloid thingy from “Mysterious Island”.
Fiji mermaid by Alan Friswell.
“Hand of Glory” by Alan Friswell.
Pithecanthropus by Alan Friswell. Very Harryhausen in spirit.
Oddly, but somehow appropriately, there are ?350 year old whale bones on display in the hall next door, with a mysterious history.
WW2 bomb shelter in a “Victory Garden” outside the House. And the house is supposedly haunted. So take care when you visit…
What can I say? I loved it! Almost a religious experience; like seeing holy relics. Awesome in every sense of awesome.
Downside: you cannot grab the precious Dynamation models and play with them hands-on. I wanted to enact a furious Hydra-Gwangi battle. But alas, only in my imagination…
What's In John's Freezer? 
By the way, Eohippus is again the proper name! (Or at least, one of the proper names…) Hyracotherium in the late 20th Century sense turns out to be a paraphyletic grade of basal equoids, and true Hyracotherium is limited to a primitive member of Palaeotheriidae and not an equid at all.
David Froehlich’s 2002 study found that Eohippus is indeed valid (at least for the type species), but there are a series of other basal equids of similar grade.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229963781_Quo_vadis_Eohippus_The_systematics_and_taxonomy_of_the_early_Eocene_equids_Perissodactyla
Froehlich, D. J. (2002). “Quo vadis eohippus? The systematics and taxonomy of the early Eocene equids (Perissodactyla)”. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 134 (2): 141–256. doi:10.1046/j.1096-3642.2002.00005.x
Ahh was thinking about that when I posted but didn’t search around to check my memories; thanks- good to have the ref. “Even old New York was once New Amsterdam” 🙂
[…] Circus one became a must-see, so take a peek here. Then I had the joy of seeing a short-lived Ray Harryhausen exhibit in London. Childhood me would have exploded with glee. Very messily, but a happy end nonetheless. […]
[…] Harryhausen also has a special place in the heart (and minds) of a number of zoologists, palaeontologists, and others with a scientific interest in biomechanics and comparative anatomy. For example, the pterosaur palaeontologist Mark Witton, zoologist and Tyrannosaurus expert Dave Hone and evolutionary biomechanist John Hutchison. […]
[…] Harryhausen also has a special place in the heart (and minds) of a number of zoologists, palaeontologists, and others with a scientific interest in biomechanics and comparative anatomy. For example, the pterosaur palaeontologist Mark Witton, zoologist and Tyrannosaurus expert Dave Hone and evolutionary biomechanist John Hutchison. […]
[…] Harryhausen also has a special place in the heart (and minds) of a number of zoologists, palaeontologists, and others with a scientific interest in biomechanics and comparative anatomy. For example, the pterosaur palaeontologist Mark Witton, zoologist and Tyrannosaurus expert Dave Hone and evolutionary biomechanist John Hutchison. […]