Brontotherium (=Megacerops) (Mojö Fun)

Review and photos by Megalosaurus, edited by Plesiossuria.

In 2012, CollectA released a pretty nice non-conventional toy model of a Megacerops (=‘Brontotherium’). This was good news for prehistoric mammal collectors. But in 2013, Mojö surprised us with the release of four prehistoric mammals. This review is about one of those: Mojö’s Brontotherium. [The name Brontotherium is now regarded as a junior synonym of Megacerops, so the true name for this creature is Megacerops. For the most part I’ve edited this review accordingly, however, I’ve retained the use of the name Brontotherium in the title to remain consistent with Mojö’s terminology – Ed].

Measuring 2.75″H x 6.75″L x 1.75″W, its scale is about 1:30 (considering a real length of about 16 ft). The figure is in a walking forward stance. Its mouth is semi-opened, but it doesn’t appear to be foraging nor menacing a competitor, instead it seems to be opened for thermoregulation. Its ears, skin texture and musculature are too similar to that of a living rhinoceros. The horns are the correct “Y” shape we can see in fossils and the head is about the right size. Its feet have the right number of hooves, the tail is not hanging but is held in the air. If we compare this figure to the fossils, it is clear that the shoulder hump region should be taller.

Something that adds realism to any figure is the addition of details like genitals or an anus, but this figure lacks both. There’s a small cavity near the rear legs that may be a belly button.

The paintwork is this model is minimalistic. Be aware that the following comments are about my own model, so other pieces may vary slightly in color scheme and application. This model is painted in gray as the base color; I dare to say that it is also the color of the plastic itself. It has black shadows in most of the skin folds. On top of the head it has a dark shadow that continues through the back all the length of the animal. The tail ends in a black bristled tip. Also, the hooves are painted in black shadow, but with a quick and lazy dry brush stroke of beige. Its nostrils and eyes are also colored in a dark shadow; the eyes are painted in pure glare black. The interior of its mouth is painted pink all around; even its teeth are pink. The ears are gray with a single dry brush stroke of beige. The snout also received one dry brush stroke of beige. The horns are the most disappointing part of the paintwork, one would expect that the company would put more care and effort in the most recognisable part of the animal, but it’s not the case here. The horns are the same base gray, and each one has received one lazy, badly-applied dry brush stroke of beige in both sides.

To this point, a comparison between CollectA and Mojö Megacerops figures is unavoidable. You can enjoy Takama’s review and make your own opinion.
https://dinotoyblog.com/2013/02/10/megacerops-collecta/

Mojö sticks to a traditionalist recreation and depicts this animal very rhinoceros-like. Instead, CollectA depicts the animal more horse/bison like. CollectA’s figure pose is more dynamic than Mojö’s, but Mojö’s figure is more accurate than CollectA’s. The paintwork of CollectA’s figure is more creative and better applied than Mojö’s paintwork.

It’s up to you to decide which one suits your expectations, but if you like prehistoric mammals as I do, then both of them should have a place in your collection.

Special thanks to Dinosaur Toy Forum member Patrx for validate my writing.

Available on Amazon here and ebay here.