Ray Harryhausen endorsed the Children of the Hydra limited edition bronze miniature skeleton warriors, by Raven Armoury, to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the release of Jason and the Argonauts.
The sculptures are rare but I do have number available including a complete set in silvered bronze.
Children of the Hydra
Silvered bronze
1:10 scale
Single: ÂŁ750
Rare single: ÂŁ850
Complete set: ÂŁ4,200
The complete set includes all seven skeletons plus an extra eighth sculpture – an arm emerging from the ground holding a sword.
Origin of the edition
Simon Fearnhamm (Raven Armoury) first met Ray Harryhausen several years before work began on Talos Awakes, after he was commissioned to make a sculpture of the Children of the Hydra’s Teeth. A diorama of seven miniature bronze skeletons set on a base of 2000 year old oak.
Ray loved the skeletons so much he endorsed the limited edition.
The skeletons are approximately one tenth life size and this sculpture is seven inches tall. Each sculpture was hand-made, carefully assembled bone by bone in wax then lost-wax cast into bronze. These bronze skeletons are no longer in production.
They were a numbered limited edition of just 250 skeletons in total, including the complete sets. The five sword wielding skeletons each had a different design on the shield. Alpha depicted Medusa, Beta a Lion, Gamma a Warrior, Delta an Octopus and Epsilon a Minotaur. The two skeletons with spears were Zeta holding a leaf shaped spear and Eta with a barbed spear. There was also an eighth sculpture called Theta which was a skeletal arm punching out of the ground holding a sword (representing the moment the skeletons emerged) – Theta was only available with a complete set and could not be purchased separately. There were 5 standard stances for the swordsmen and 4 alternate stances. The skeletons holding spears came in three different poses.
These sculptures were hand made by Raven Armoury in association with The Ray & Diana Harryhausen Foundation.
Based on effects characters created by Ray Harryhausen for a Charles H. Schneer Production.
TM & © Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Frozen in Time
A reproduction of the Talos animation model, captured in March 2014 for the Talos Awakes project.
Talos Awakes
Talos at the moment he comes to life in the 1963 cult classic, Jason and the Argonauts.
Talos
A half size reproduction of Ray Harryhausen’s Talos, sculpted in the 1990s.