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Car-eating transformer dinosaurs hungry for Fayette County Fair

By Frances Borsodi Zajac fzajac@heraldstandard.Com 3 min read

While Megasaurus has been a staple at the Fayette County Fair for many years, the 2015 fair will mark the first Pennsylvania appearance of the famed, car-eating, transformer dinosaur with this brother Transaurus.

Combining the appeal of transformers and dinosaurs, Megasaurus and Transaurus will appear together at 7 p.m. Aug. 5 during the popular Monster Truck show in the Chevron Outdoor Arena, located on the fairgrounds in Dunbar Township.

“”Megasaurus and Transaurus were built at the same time, but they went their separate ways,” explained Mike West of Wild West Entertainment, based in Alliance, Ohio. “We got Megasaurus, and Transaurus went to a fellow in Florida. We ended up bringing them back together.”

The two crowd-pleasing, fire-breathing transformers are amazing creatures. Each stands about three stories tall. The Wild West Entertainment website noted that Megasaurus, the bigger of the two, weighs over 50,000 pounds while news reports indicated Transaurus weighs around 40,000 pounds.

“Megasaurus was built on a Sherman tank frame and Transauras was built on an armored, personnel-carrier frame,” West explained.

The dinosaurs are brought into an arena while still inside their frames. Once there, like transformers, they rise out of their frames and unravel their bodies to show off their true height and abilities. They have hydraulic arms, claws that grab and jaws that like to chew.

The website carries vital statistics for Megasaurus, noting he has 15,000-pound crushing force in each claw and 15,000-pound biting force as well as 30,000-pound lifting force.

West said of Transaurus, “He’s pretty much the same machine — a whole different look but pretty much the same set up.”

Both transformers eat automobiles. The website notes that Megasaurus prefers four-wheeled drive vehicles. They scoop them up in their arms and begin to tear them apart with their jaws.

Despite their enormous size and reputation, these cyborgs garner more fascination than fear.

“It’s a big kid draw — kids love them,” said John Blaney, fair board treasurer who is in charge of the Chevron Arena.

“We do it for the kids,” said West.

In fact, Megasaurus and Transaurus take on heroic roles that pit them as good against evil. The website shares the tale that the transformers were created when leaders of a peaceful, unnamed island commissioned their scientists and engineers to come up with a solution to eliminate deadly man-eating creatures that were animal mutations reborn from the Jurassic Age by early testing of atomic bombs.

“The kids are totally enthralled with the announcer telling the story,” noted West.

The crowds never seem to tire of the show with West operating Megasaurus for the past 16 years.

“Megasaurus and Transaurus are the longest-operating exhibition entertainment acts in motorsports,” said West.

The addition of Transaurus enhances a show that’s already a draw and has played venues around the country, including Las Vegas.

“We’re already so busy that I didn’t notice any increase in bookings,” said West, who purchased Transaurus three years ago. “We’re already booked for 16 shows in August.”

At the Fayette County Fair, the transformers and Monster Trucks help beef up the mid-week crowds.

“It’s a pretty big draw,” said Blaney.

For the transformers, it’s another night of car-crunching, fire-breathing and entertaining. And the crowd loves it all.

More information is available at www.megasaurus.com.

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