Saichania (Dinomania Series 1, by Kaiyodo)

Kaiyodo is known for making excellent dinosaur sculpts with awesome coloring, for but many a fan’s grief, they’re sold only in Japan. from 2004 onward, some of these could be found in specialty stores across America, but the quantity was minimal and they were always gone very quickly. Series 1 was the only series released in America, under the name Dinomania, and it was comprised of several dinosaurs, reptiles, fish, and fossil replicas. One of these was the Saichania.

Saichania means “beautiful” in Mongolian dialects. It isn’t necessarily called beautiful due to the dinosaur’s aesthetics, but due to the great condition in which Saichania’s fossilized skeleton was found. Saichania was an ankylosaur unlike any other. It was covered in large, triangular plates across its back, sides and towards its belly (which was previously unknown for ankylosaurs), covered with smaller plates like chainmail on its softer sides, and it was a low slung animal due to its short limbs. Like all ankylosauridae, it had a club on the end of its tail.

The mold Kaiyodo made is simply the most accurate Saichania figure ever (Kinto was making one, but decided to leave it as a skeleton. THAT would be the most accurate one). The figure displays its triangular spikes perfectly, and armor everywhere on its body. The head sculpt look just like the fossil. The animal is posed as if it were ready to strike an enemy tarbosaur. The coloring is mostly tan, with a flesh colored underbelly, dark plates, and the only complaint I have with this color scheme is that its beak is covered with a hideous white, making it look as if Saichania had been drinking too much milk. But all in all, the sculp is extremely detailed, and so is its color. At around just 6 cm long, you’d have to hold one in your hands to completely appreciate it.

All in all, Saichania is simply “beautiful”. Accurate mold, good pose, good colors, and an easy build (All Kaiyodos come with candy and need to be built). It’s one of my favorite molds of any dinosaur line, and every thyreophoran lover should have one in his or her pocket for good luck. I was very lucky to have found one Saichania within the five Kaiyodo boxes I found in that store two years ago.

Available here

Review by Emperordinobot