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Tag Archives: theropod

Lourinhanosaurus (CollectA)

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Marc Vincent | 6 Comments

Guest review by forumite Fooman666 – edited by Marc (Horridus)

Seeing as CollectA have taken many of us by surprise this year I think it’s fitting that I review one of their 2011 figures for my first review in quite a while. Today I will be looking at the CollectA Lourinhanosaurus, which in some aspects I believe is one of the best of the 2011 line up.

Lourinhanosaurus was a medium sized theropod from Portugal, more specifically the Lourinha formation which is where it gets its name. It was a member of the sinraptorid group of the allosauroid superfamily and was the first theropod found with evidence of gastroliths (swallowed stones used to grind up food). There have also been eggs found with fossil embryos that are believed to have belonged to the (only) species Lourinhanosaurus antunesi.

Now onto the figure. Simply put, it’s spectacular – apart from the head which we’ll get to later. It balances nicely on two feet which for once aren’t oversized as those on a lot of CollectA figures tend to be – they are suitably thin and birdlike with all the claws painted (even the tiny hallux). As we go up the legs we find the excellently sculpted body with quite possibly the best arms on any CollectA theropod to date. Finally, the wrists aren’t broken and the palms face each other (round of applause please).

Going back down the body we find the first problem with this figure – the tail. The tail looks fine from the side, but when inspected from above we see that it seems to lack any muscle at all, it appears as though the skin is simply hanging from the vertebrae. This isn’t a much of a problem as the other end of the body – the head. This is what lets the figure down. Perched on top of an overly skinny neck is quite a deformed head that simply doesn’t resemble the actual skull at all, the fenestrae are incorrectly placed and much too small and the pitiful excuse for crests looks more like two tiny lumps of clay put on as an afterthought. The skull appears to droop down and the teeth although actually individually sculpted appear more like block teeth without extremely close inspection. The bottom jaw lacks any muscle and doesn’t even attach to the neck properly, instead it’s sort of just hanging there. The inside of the mouth isn’t detailed either.

All in all, it’s a decent figure let down by a few small problems, whether these were sculpting issues or lack of research I’m not sure, but they certainly detract from what could have been a flawless figure of a rather obscure theropod. However, despite its flaws, it really shows how much CollectA have improved since their early days, and shows that they are at least doing some research on the subject matter. It appears that CollectA are going to a force to be reckoned with in the years to come.

The CollectA Lourinhanosaurus is available here

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Posted in CollectA, theropod

Tagged allosaur, CollectA, Lourinhanosaurus, theropod

Gallimimus (Battat)

Posted on August 23, 2011 by DinoLord | 4 Comments

Photos by Niroot ‘Himmapaan’ Puttapipat

Ornithomimids are a horribly under-represented family of dinosaurs when it comes to dinosaur toys. For such fascinating animals, this really is a shame. Fortunately, the few ornithomimid figures out there are usually quite well-made. The Battat Gallimimus is one of these.

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Made in 1994 (a year after the dinosaur’s appearance in Jurassic Park I should add), this Gallimimus is part of the now revered and rare Battat line, made for the Boston Museum of Science. Like the other figures in this line, the Gallimimus is an excellent sculpt and is quite accurate despite being almost 2 decades old. All the proportions are correct, and the wrists are not pronated (always a plus). The shape of the head is well-done, and the eyes are the appropriate size too.

In addition to being accurate, the sculpt is very well-detailed as well. The musculature in the hind limbs is well defined. For an animal that was probably a swift runner and relied on running as a method to escape predators, this makes sense. The skin detail is excellent as well, with realistic looking wrinkles and small scales. This is a detailed sculpt with no sloppiness whatsoever.

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The quality of no sloppiness also applies to the paint job of this figure. Unlike many other massed-produced figures, the Battat Gallimimus is painted very precisely. The eyes and claws on the hands and feet are especially well painted. The color scheme of this figure is rather pleasant too. It’s just a sandy yellow with brown stripes that fades into a white underbelly, but it looks very natural for an animal that lived in a desert environment.

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If there is one complaint to be made about this sculpt, it is the lack of feathers. Nowadays, it is thought that many theropods, ornithomimids included, had a covering of “protofeathers” on their body. However, Battat really can’t be blamed, as it was sculpted before this was known. The first feathered non-avian dinosaur was discovered in 1996, two years after this figure was released. If you can get past the lack of fuzz, this is still a very accurate figure.

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All in all, this is an excellent and well-made figure. If you can get past the lack of feathers, it’s a very accurate figure as well. As one of the few ornithomimid figures (there are no more than 4 I can think of at the moment), it is a must-have for any fan of this family of dinosaurs. Unfortunately, this figure, along with the rest of the Battat line, has been retired for a bit over a decade and is rather rare. Luckily, it is only one of the moderately rare Battats, and pops up on eBay every now and then. If you have a chance to get this figure you certainly should; you won’t regret it.

Many thanks to Niroot Puttapipat for providing the photos for this review. He very graciously sacrificed his own figure by taking it out of its box. Besides being an excellent photographer, Niroot is also an outstanding professional artist. Show your appreciation by visiting his DeviantArt page, which features many wonderful dinosaur illustrations and much much more.