The Dinosaur Toy Blog

Review and photos by Dan Liebman

Having released their premier piece in the form of the “Tyrannosaurus vs. Triceratops” diorama, Sideshow continues to build on their new Dinosauria product line with this second statue. Choosing the Carnotaurus as a subject matter seems a bit of a surprise, although the species did achieve some level of popular recognition after appearing in Disney’s “Dinosaur” in 2000. Although we know a great deal about the animal’s appearance, the Carnotaurus remains something of a freak among theropod dinosaurs. It possessed a relatively long neck, thin jaw, smallish head, tiny forearms, and forward-facing eyes. The distinctive brow horns are what give the creature its name, which means “flesh-eating bull”.

Interestingly, Sideshow has eschewed the potentially pretentious characteristics of a diorama piece. Instead, the Carnotaurus appears by itself, in what the company refers to as a “maquette” statue. Logistically, this is still a very similar piece. The polystone figure has a sturdy metal peg sticking out the bottom of one foot. This is carefully maneuvered into a hole in the base, which provides all the stability necessary to display a deceptively precarious-looking statue.

This durable design allows the dynamic qualities of the scene to become instantly apparent. The Carnotaurus is posed in a full run, charging forward with jaws agape, powerful legs and massive feet propelling it across a parched, cracked landscape. Sharp-eyed observers will notice a smaller three-toed trackway moving concurrently with the Carnotaur; whether these prints could be from a prey animal remains open to interpretation. A single stray log decorates the earthen base; it is otherwise a monochromatic foundation that keeps the eye appropriately focused on the action at hand.

Naturally, the head of the beast becomes the main focal point, and the artists know this. As such, it is detailed lavishly in knobby osteoderms, bony scutes, and a startling arrangement of genuinely sharp teeth. Both the tongue and the roof of the mouth glisten realistically, while the eyes convey the intangible terror of an ancient predator; something that is not especially intelligent, but doesn’t really need to be.

The notoriously tiny arms of the Carnotaurus point directly toward its posterior. It is hard to say if this animal could comfortably hold its arms in such a position, but given the intensity of the scene, it is likely this aspect was intended to convey the animal’s sudden acceleration. The feet appear appropriately avian, from their leathery texture right down to the dewclaws. While Sideshow’s premier Dinosauria statue seemed to possess a relatively smooth appearance in the feet of the animals, this Carnotaurus is lacking no such detail. Even the toes and ventral surfaces of the animal demonstrate excellent texturing. The toe claws have a slight sheen, impressively simulating the horny sheath that would have formed over the claws in life.

The Carnotaurus sastrei is also one of the few dinosaurs for which fossilized impressions of skin have been discovered. This pebbly surface is visible in many areas of the Carnotaurus maquette, suggesting the artistic team (which included Steve Riojas) has indeed done their homework. The predominantly sandy hue of the animal is complemented by brown patterns across the dorsal surfaces, imitating the “break up” of color that is often seen in ambush predators. One of the more subtle elements of the creature’s palette includes a set of cool colors. Dark blues run down the feet, while the flanks are deeply tinged in green. This further accentuates the primeval characteristics of the Carnotaurus, a massive predator of reptilian lineage that is both believable and beautiful to gaze upon.

Time will tell just how long this reconstruction of the Carnotaurus is considered scientifically accurate. For the time being, there isn’t very much to complain about. It’s the most affordable (and possibly the most impressive) Dinosauria piece Sideshow has to offer so far, and its epic scale lends a total length of 18 inches. Elegant and exciting, this statue will appeal to any serious dinosaur collector willing to shell out the coin for it. From stubby head to spiny tail, this statue is like seeing the Carnotaurus for the very first time.

Available from Amazon.com $169.99

During the Mesozoic Era, the dinosaurs were the undisputed rulers of the land. However, more watery environments were ruled by other reptilian denizens. The waterways of North America during the Cretaceous period 75 million years ago were stalked by the massive 50 foot alligator Deinosuchus. With a name that fittingly means “terrible crocodile” (although it’s actually a giant primitive alligator), Deinosuchus likely preyed on turtles, fish, and the occasional thirsty dinosaur. Although the initial specimens of this monster, two fossilized teeth, were collected by geologist Ebenezer Emmons in North Carolina in 1858, the genus Deinosuchus was not established until over 50 years later, in 1909.

Deinosuchus is not exactly a popular prehistoric animal, but it has been released at least a few times in figure form, notably by Safari Ltd for the Carnegie Collection and most recently in the newest Sideshow diorama. The Schleich version was released in 2004. This figure, at a little over 11 inches long, is one of Schleich’s largest non-sauropod figures and is quite impressive. It is scaled at 1:40 so if you were the Schleich guy standing there, I’d be runnin’! Aside from the noticeable scutes running along its back, the figure’s skin has a wrinkly elephant-like texture, which is inaccurate for any crocodilian and it should instead be scaly and covered with scutes all around. The color scheme is a mix of different shades of green with some black. The primary shade is evergreen, with darker green around joints and on the skull. There is also a light yellow-green on the skull. The claws and ear openings are painted black, and the jaws are rimmed with black. Overall I think it is quite a bland coloration when compared to the spectacled patterns of most modern crocodilians, but it is reminiscent of the coloration of a large alligator. The teeth are dark tan and the inside of the mouth and tongue is dark pink. The eyes are yellow with slit pupils. While the pose is somewhat static, I think it’s better than the pose of Carnegie’s Deinosuchus.

While it’s a hefty hunk of plastic, Schleich’s Deinosuchus is probably one of the least accurate released. The sculpt is altogether a very sloppy reconstruction. The limbs, particularly the hind limbs, are very crudely sculpted. The patterns of scutes on the animal’s back are likewise very simple and crude, with little detail. The tail is very short and generic and does not resemble a crocodilian’s tail at all. The skull is an inaccurate mess. It looks as though the sculptors tried to emulate the broad snout of an alligator but failed miserably by making it way too fat and rounded and leaving out a lot of detail. It just ends up looking like three lumps squashed together when viewed from above. The teeth are absolutely atrocious and look nothing like the teeth of an alligator or crocodile, being too lumpy and mashed together. With all the modern alligators alive in the world today which could have been used for reference, it almost seems like someone at Schleich simply sketched out their own vague mental image of what an alligator looks like and used it for the model. The severe lack of accuracy in almost all aspects of this figure is inexcusable. The Carnegie figure is better for the sole fact that it actually resembles something that could have been a real live animal and not a cartoon.

In the end, it works as a generic giant crocodilian and is quite impressive, but I really only got this Deinosuchus figure to further flesh out my Schleich collection and I like it well enough. Even though it has been retired for a few years there are still a few online stores selling it for the retail price of around $16 or $17 so if you’re interested in big ole prehistoric monsters I’d jump on it now before it’s gone for good.

Tapejara is a pterosaur from the Cretaceous deposits of Brazil. Historically, several species have been referred to this genus, each species was differentiated based on the shape and size of their head crests. Safari’s offering shows a tall semicircular crest and a long prong protruding from the back of the head, this arrangement is characteristic of the species Tapejara imperator. However, recent studies looking into the anatomical diversity of Tapejara showed that T. imperator is sufficiently distinct from all other forms of Tapejara to warrant status as a new genus – Tupandactylus. So, although Wild Safari label this figure as Tapejara, strictly speaking it should be called Tupandactylus.

Although the colour scheme in the Wild Safari figure is reminiscent of the Tapejara featured in Walking with Dinosaurs, those featured in the program had crests characteristic of “Tapejara navigans“, another species in need of a new genus name. The true inspiration for this figure was clearly this piece of palaeoartwork featured on the Blog del Paleontologo, the pose and colours are an identical match.

The ‘in-flight’ sculpt is very nice and the pose portrays a lot of movement, the arms are raised and the wings are gently arched as if they are catching the wind. The pectoral region is almost bulging with flight muslculature but the sculpt is otherwise very light. The animal is so lightly built, in fact, that the plastic is mostly thin and flexible. As you can see from the pictures, my figure seems to be inquisitively titling its head to the side, but this is because it was distorted in transport, as far as I’m aware the head would normally be held straight.

The figure has a 22cm wingspan. The main wing membrane joins the leg at the knee and there is an additional membrane in front of the arm (the propatagium). Tiny membranes are also sculpted linking the tail to the inside of the legs. There is another membrane too – the striking red membrane on the head between the two long prongs on the crest. This was a stunning creature!

The hands and feet are nicely detailed – the three clawed digits in each hand are individually sculpted (the fourth digit in the hand forms the leading edge of the wing) and the five toes are individually sculpted on each foot. The upper surface of the clawed digits have a nicely pronounced row of scales (this row faces downward in the feet because the soles are facing upwards). A similar attention to detail is present all over the figure. A fine covering of fur has been sculpted over main body of the animal, wrinkles on the wings and crest membrane give an impression of taut and slack areas, the bony part of the crest is covered with a delightfully rugose texture, it’s all very well done.

The colouration is equally well done, the main body consists of browns and yellows, the chest and parts of the furry underside are highlighted in white (somehow reminds me of a the back of a mature male silverback gorilla). The head is a rainbow of colours; blue, lilac, white, red, and black, all merged beautifully into a convincingly realistic scheme. Overall this is a really interesting and accurate figure of an intriguing animal, and an excellent price too. Good choice Safari!

Available from Safari.com (here) and Amazon.com (here)

The bear-sized pareiasaur Scutosaurus inhabited the semi-arid Late Permian landscape of Russia, likely being common on floodplains and in similar environs which would have supported in relative abundance what plant life could be found in that region 250 million years ago. Scutosaurus was an extremely robust animal reaching up to 8.5 feet in length and its skin was studded with bony scutes (hence the name, which means “shield reptile”) that would have helped to protect it from predators such as the massive Russian gorgonopsid Inostrancevia, with which Scutosaurus coexisted. Though it was not a dinosaur, Scutosaurus evolved a similar, but still primitive, erect limb posture to aid in supporting its heavy mass.

Permian figures, when they do get made, are all almost exclusively reproductions of Dimetrodon (to the point that most people these days think that Dimetrodon is a dinosaur), so when I heard that Safari was releasing a Scutosaurus this year it got my attention. The only other mass-produced Scutosaurus figures I know of are the Starlux version from way back when and the more recent green Lost World action figure, which is actually pretty cool, but not the most accurate. Safari’s figure is superior to them both. It is about 3.25 inches long and 1.5 inches tall, so it’s a very small figure, but is scaled correctly to 1:40. The figure is very, very rough and bumpy because its back and sides are almost completely covered by armor scutes. The colors are very earthy, with most of the body being a drab brown. There is dark brown running along the spine as well as a pair of rusty yellow stripes. This yellow color also runs along its sides. The color of the animal’s sides below the yellow stripes has an almost burnt look which is very eye-catching. The skull also has yellow markings on it. The eyes are very small and black. The figure is in a static pose with the mouth closed, but it looks good.

This is without a doubt the most accurate Scutosaurus currently available. Everything is proportioned almost exactly right. The shape of the animal’s bulky body, with its massive neck and shoulders, is reproduced beautifully. The skull of any extinct animal is always a test for manufacturing companies to get right but Safari nailed it here. The broad plates on either side of its skull are accurate, the chin spikes are not too long, and it has a small horn on its snout like it should. The general broadness of the skull is captured perfectly. These animals were built like tanks and this guy, decked out in so much armor, is no exception. The short, almost stubby tail and short, massive limbs complete the picture and culminate in one of the best figures ever produced for the Wild Safari line.

This is one of my favorite releases of 2009, not only because it’s such a perfect reproduction of Scutosaurus but also for the fact that it can be had for just $4 (US)! I recommend it to any and all collectors!

Available from Safari.com (here) and Amazon.com (here)