Regaliceratops (Wild Safari by Safari Ltd.)

4.8 (18 votes)

Review and photos by Patrx

With something like twenty genera of ceratopsids known from Canada, it’s almost expected that a new one will be described every year or so. In recent years, it’s become nearly as reliably that we can expect a new toy ceratopsid from Safari Ltd. Their most prolific dinosaur sculptor, Doug Watson, has proven to have a specific knack for them ever since we were introduced to his take on Vagaceratops in 2012, and they’ve gotten even better since then. So much so that, in 2015, when the Canadian ceratopsid remains hitherto known as “Hellboy” were finally published and christened Regaliceratops, I immediately began to hope that Safari would produce their own version. This year, they have, and it was definitely worth waiting for!

At about 6 ¾ inches, or 17.15 centimeters long, this version of Regaliceratops seems to be in the neighborhood of 1:35 scale. As is popular for ceratopsid figures, this one adopts a defensive stance, with its ostentatious head angled down, mouth open, and one hand slightly lifted, as if to paw the ground. Its coloration is simple, mostly a dusty grey-brown dorsally, blending to a rusty orange ventrally. The keratinous parts of the face – those crown-like flat epoccipitals, the jugal spikes, and the beak – all have a flat beige color. Unusually, the eyes are picked out in a vibrant blue, which I like, if just for variety on a shelf full of golden-eyed dinosaurs. The distinctive frill features two dark rosettes, befitting its likely role as a display ornament.

Scrutinizing this beast for accuracy leaves me with no complaints. Although Regaliceratops is only known from its skull, we’ve got plenty to go on regarding postcranial anatomy based on its close relatives. This sculpt ticks all the boxes in areas where ceratopsid figures often fail. The forelimbs are slightly, but not dramatically sprawled, the feet and hands have the correct number of digits, the outermost two digits of each hand lack nails, and the hands themselves face slightly outward. That all of these anatomical details are included is by no means surprising in this case, but greatly appreciated.

As with many Wild Safari figures, the textural detail in this piece is easy to underestimate from only photos or cursory observation. Up-close, the muscles, integument, and wrinkles are really quite amazing. As with most of Doug’s ceratopsids, the skin is based on fossilized remains of the skin of Chasmosaurus, with lots of tiny, circular reticulae mixed with a few wider ones.

Although I like the aforementioned choices of coloration, some of the details in the sculpt get lost in unfortunately simplistic paint application. The gray-brown paint is used as a subtle wash, which helps a lot when it comes to the skin detail, but all the neat keratinized bits that make this dinosaur unique look rather flat despite the underlying complexity in the sculpt. It’s a really minor concern in my book, but, well, I had to find something to criticize, didn’t I?

Ultimately, the new Safari Regaliceratops exceeds my expectations, which, honestly, had been set quite high. If you have any interest in collecting unique and strange-looking ceratopsids, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better representation to add to your shelves than this!

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Comments 12

  • Just a tiny nitpick, but this model is missing the two postorbital ridges

  • But can I still review the Collecta Altispinax ( Becklespinax) ?

  • I was going to do that review. why did you do it if I was about to do it when my package arrived?

    • Patrx is a regular and respected reviewer for the DTB. He had no idea about your intention, and besides, you just admitted yourself you don’t even have the toy yet.

  • Are there any websites that sell this and ship to Canada? It looks SOOOOO good!

  • Thanks for the review – I’ve been looking forward to this one. A small quibble – I believe that the scale is closer to 1/25 or so. If one takes a big triceratops at around 29 feet long, with the regaliceratops at 15-16 feet for the type specimen, then comparing the two safari models, you have 1/25- 1/22, since the safari regaliceratops is about 2/3 the length of the triceratops. Doug , I think, rated his regal. at about 1/22, if I’m not mistaken, in the DTF Safari thread, several months ago.
    However, they display well together. Plus, one can assume a smaller triceratops than 29 feet and a (yet unfound, but always quite possible) regaliceratops somewhat longer than 15 feet.

    • Glad you liked the review! As for the scale, you may be on to something there. I’m not in the habit of considering scale, and quite bad at math as well, I’m afraid.

  • I think both the Safari.Ld and the CollectA Regaliceratops are good together in their own way.

    • The Collecta regaliceratops is magnificent what I would like that one day this company would do with a larger size or scale. However, his standard figure is a work of art. I simply thought that the Safari regaliceratops, “for me” is the best done by that company without for that reason underestimating the regaliceratops of other companies as great as the one you mentioned.

      It is simply an opinion. Each company according to its philosophy or with its own artistic licenses is great in one way or another.

  • Magnificent article Regarding the regaliceratops is a paleoartística work that is confused in genius with pictorial creations of this ceraptoside. A great work by Doug Watson whose creations never fail to surprise me favorably.

    I believe that it is the best regaliceratops in the toy market by far.

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