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Into the Dragon's Den

Europa Park

Who’s afraid of a fire breathing dragon? We sure aren’t. The German theme park Europa Park asked us if we wanted to make an animatronic for a new section of the park. Following on from the experience we gathered during the new Bumba Dark Ride, we were happy to take on this challenge.

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The Dragon is the main villain in Europa Park’s original film “Fina and the yomis” and a recurring character in the park. The animatronic needed to be installed outdoors at the crossing of two new attractions and set within a rockwork structure. When visitors pass by, the dragon’s eyes open and shut and his mouth opens to let out smoke. On the other side of the rock, his tail moves from side to side.

Based on Europa Park’s model, our 3D modellers drew the contours of the face and ensured all parts of the head were ready to be produced. At the same time, our engineers started working on the internal structure of the head and tail ensuring that all the right gears were in place.

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The head was sculpted out of polyester and once dry, it was carefully painted and airbrushed using Europa Park’s guidelines. The dragon’s tail is made out of a flexible silicone skin which wraps over the metal structure.

We tested and programmed the movements of the eyes, mouth and tail in our HQ to make sure we could have a smooth build on site. Working during the night, we went into the dragon’s den and lived to tell the tale.

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