Here's an auction for a Ray Harryhausen monster. According to the auction it's an early model of the Dragon used for 7th Voyage of Sinbad. It claims the model was changed for production. (Different back spines, and horns on the head added for the production version)
But I don't know, the model for sale sure looks like the monster from The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.
Do you think the auction descriptions story is correct? Opinions?
Solium, I don't know if your opinion of this model is correct, or not. However, after examining all of their photos, and then taking a good look at the Rhedosaurus, if I had to make a decision on this one, I would go with the seller. They are presenting certificate of authenticity. AND the model looks like what they have described.
Thanks for taking a look and giving your opinion. I didn't mean to suggest the seller was dishonest, but perhaps mistaken with what he had in his possession. (Or the wrong photos were accidentally used for the auction)
Perhaps that is the Beast and it was modified into the Dragon. Or maybe not. The similarities are uncanny!
Harryhausen very frequently used the metal armatures for one creature to make a new one. Those armatures (made by his father!) were costly and took a tremendous amount of time to manufacture.
He may have used the armature for the Rhedosaurus to create the Dragon.
I'm going to check out my personal memorabilia to see if I can find the answer to this one.
Having read the seller's description, it appears he is selling Harryhausen's first dragon prototype from 7TH VOYAGE which he discarded since it looked too much like one of his earlier dinosaurs (maybe Rhedosaurus from BEAST FROM 20,0000 FATHOMS).
I have X-Plus models of the dragon and Cyclops from 7TH VOYAGE, and obviously they look like the last two photos in the ad and not the first three photos.
There's a lot of sci fi movie stuff up for auction if you google "Jerry Neeley".
If what he has pictured is what he is selling then yeah I would say he has the Rhedosaurus which (I imagine) is a lot more valuable than a early model of the Dragon from 7th. So either he used the wrong pics to illustrate what's up for auction or he is mistaken about the identity of the model he owns.
Edit: Oh heck I sent the seller a message to clarify. Not that I could afford to buy it anyway. But I want to know.
As I said before, it appears he's selling the early prototype of the dragon from 7TH VOYAGE which Harryhausen discarded because it looks like his Rhedosaurus.
As I said before, it appears he's selling the early prototype of the dragon from 7TH VOYAGE which Harryhausen discarded because it looks like his Rhedosaurus.
Oops! Sorry I misread your other post. Thanks for adding your thoughts. Your guys are probably correct. I will let you know if I get a response from the seller.
I changed one of my earlier posts after reading the seller's description.
For what it's worth, I would think some of the serious collectors with big bucks are also looking at this seller's offerings----Peter Jackson has a lot of Harryhausen's original models. I think he has Harryhausen's Talos model from JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS. He also has the mechanical Styracosaurus that was deleted from the original KING KONG and a flying Pfalz DIII fighter from THE BLUE MAX. Another collector told me Jackson has the scarf worn by Manfred von Richthofen when he was shot down and killed.
Update: No update! Going on day four and the seller hasn't responded to my questions. I know he got it because I got a auto reply my question was sent. Checked my spam folder nothing in there either.
