Here's a simlesimple way of making the blow-up cow:
Manipulate[ Show[ExampleData[Manipulate[Show[ExampleData[{"Geometry3D", "Cow"}], Graphics3D[Sphere[{-.1, 0, 0.05}, r]]], {r, 0, 0.5}, ContinuousAction -> False, SynchronousUpdating -> False] Changing r changes the size of the sphere. If your computer is slow, you may need to add the ContinuousAction -> False option.
