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WILLIS O'BRIEN'S GWANGI ARMATURE ?
(Originally posted online in 2003)
I present here, some actual photographs that I have had in my possession and misplaced them for a number of years but recently found. Could this armature be one of the versions for O'Brien's never made Gwangi project? The armature looks like it has never been used; there is absolutely no corrosion or bits of rubber on it. It looks like vintage O'Brien work and almost identical to the one Ray Harryhausen was holding in 1972 but the one pictured here might be another version of Gwangi (I am not sure). I am guessing that the Gwangi idea was conceived in mid to late1930's? These color photographs were obviously taken much later. I do not know who currently has possession of this armature. Person who gave me these photos is a semi-collector. I can get in contact with him, but I never followed-up. UPDATE 10.31.13: I was contacted by MARK D. WOLF and apparently, these are print copies of his original photos. He is the mysterious person whose hands appear in the photos! For Ol' Timer stop motion veterans, Mark's name in the Stop Motion & FX community might be known to some. His involvement with this animation craft goes back to the 1970's.
You can see the amazing workmanship in the above two closeup photos of the Hip block and the Chest block The hip & chest blocks were not machined but most likely were sand cast aluminum (at a metal foundry) then cleaned-up, de-burred, machined, and thread-tapped which finally held four swivel rod components; the two leg swivels, the tail and lower torso swivel. The upper Chest block also held four swivel rods. Also look at the individual hinge joints; each one has a pair of flat bearing washers. I am not sure if they are bronze washers or maybe a fiber washer material.
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The armature that Ray is holding seems to have a very similar overall anatomy/proportions but you can see that the hip block casting and the chest block casting look different. The skull looks the same!
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This bad photo copy image was posted by Dan Anderson at the Stop Motion message board. This is absolutely identical to the armature photos that I posted above. Look at the hip block casting; it has a center opening where the tail swivel and torso swivel meet.
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The great Willis O'Brien ..... a pioneer and so much talent. After Kong & Joe Young the "studio suits" even in those days were very short-sighted to see the potential of other stop motion projects that O'Bie had. His personal life sometimes in turmoil but perhaps Stop Motion was his "release" from his problems. Just think about King Kong and the very large, heavy, and probably stiff puppets that he animated ...... the Kong / T-Rex battle scene was astounding ..... two massive puppets and especially the T-Rex. All done without frame grabber. Willis could clearly "see it in his mind". Just Pure artistry, sweat and perseverance.
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