Theme park business brings dinosaurs back to life
A YORKSHIRE theme park company has brought dinosaurs back to life with the creation of a five-metre-long animatronic dinosaur.
Themesparx, based at Fall Bank Industrial Estate in Dodworth in Barnsley, was approached by Paultons family theme park in Southampton to create a fully-functioning baby Tyrannosaurus Rex.
The company spent five months creating the dinosaur, which is three metres high, using an aluminium frame and a latex exterior.
The T-rex has been unveiled at the theme park in Southampton as part of its new immersive 4D experience ‘The Lost Kingdom’.
Themesparx managing director Matthew Kitchen-Dunn said: “This project has really pushed our boundaries as it’s different to anything that we’ve ever done before. It’s been a great project to work on and we’ve had a lot of fun in the process.
“It’s a great sight to see, and I’m impressed with my team that we’ve managed to create something that looks so realistic. It’s great when a project like this comes to an end and we can showcase it to the rest of the world.”
The animatronic dinosaur is fitted with cameras, microphones and speakers to ensure maximum safety when in operation. It weighs 40kg, and has been designed to be as lightweight as possible.
Themesparx, which set up in 2013, designs and makes all their products from concept through to installation. The company specialises in making animatronics or models that move independently – most recently working on designs for an animatronic Shaun the Sheep ride in Sweden.
The company, shortlisted in the Newcomer category at the BusinessDesk.com’s Yorkshire Business Masters Awards in 2015, currently employ a team of 11 and has a turnover in the region of £1.2m.
It specialises in developing and delivering bespoke themed solutions for theme parks, but also work with shopping centres, themed restaurants, visitor attractions and exhibition stands.
Over the years, the company has worked with popular tourist attractions around the UK, including Alton Towers, Legoland and London Dungeons.
It also supplies its products internationally, most recently working with theme parks in Sweden and Norway, and exporting as far afield as Russia and China.
Kitchen-Dunn said: “It’s been such a whirlwind ride to say that we only set-up three years ago, but we take unbelievable pride of where we are today and the T-rex is another string to our bow.
“We get all sorts of work from around the world so sometimes we get a project completely out of the blue and we have to really think about how we’re going to do it. But, we love a challenge and I couldn’t be more proud of the finished project.”
