Tyrannosaurus (Dinotales Series 5 by Kaiyodo)

With its head tilted back and puny arms stretched out the Kaiyodo Dinotales series 5 Tyrannosaurus presents the genus in a unique posture not often depicted in the mass market. This animal clearly has something to say; perhaps he’s attempting to impress a mate or reaffirming his dominance. Whatever the case, poses like this are rare, they show us dinosaurs actually doing something and for a genus so well represented in this hobby it’s nice to have this kind of diversity. That said, in an age where Tyrannosaurus is getting an image makeover models like this just aren’t holding up well.

The figurine stands about 2.5” tall and measures 3” in length. It’s a small figure, as should be expected with any Dinotales model. Although dynamically posed and well-crafted this Tyrannosaurus is definitely on the supple side and could easily be labeled as “shrink wrapped”. Furthermore, it just doesn’t look like the hulking beast that has recently become more in vogue. One only needs to look at the upcoming Wild Safari Tyrannosaurus to see where depictions of this animal are heading.

The arms are too long and spindly, chest too skinny, the head too shallow, and the base of the tail weakly muscled. This figurine could probably pass well as a juvenile; trying to assert his claim in a world populated by older, larger, more experienced Tyrannosaurus. The model could also stand-in well for one of the smaller, lither tyrannosaur species like Gorgosaurus; especially with those prominent brow horns.

Like a lot of the Dinotales figurines you can get this one in a couple different paint schemes. Mine is the more common chocolate brown with pink chest variant, with yellow bands and spots along the back. The other version is similar, just with more spotting instead of bands. The attention to detail is where you would expect it to be from Kaiyodo with a lot of wrinkles and skin folds sculpted in appropriate places. The nails, teeth, and eyes are all meticulously sculpted and painted. Some scales can be seen on the muzzle and feet. The model stands on a flat brown base with black speckling.

In a world flooded with Tyrannosaurus this one is interesting enough to seek out for its interesting pose. The problem is that it just doesn’t look all that much like how a Tyrannosaurus should, at least not anymore but it’s still a nice little piece, worth picking up for true fans of this classic dinosaur.