Review and photographs by Loon, edited by Suspsy.
Too often, I see people dismiss Archelon as “just a large sea turtle.” Understandably, this makes many toy companies shy away from producing figures of it, since any modern sea turtle figure could be used as a substitute if that were really the case. However, Archelon wasn’t just a big sea turtle; it was one of the largest known turtles to have ever lived, reaching lengths of 15 feet. In fact, it’s not even that closely related to any modern group of sea turtles.
Luckily, Favorite has taken up the challenge and released a version of Archelon in their Soft Model series. What’s more, they haven’t made it “just a large sea turtle.”
Favourite’s Archelon is a very nice rendition of this “powerful early turtle.” The figure features all of the details you’d want, including the thick neck and long front flippers. It’s also appropriately large, measuring around 5 ¾ inches (15 cm) long, making it about 1/25 scale.
Unlike Kaiyodo’s version, this figure’s carapace (the top of the shell) lacks the three ridges found on the backs of modern leatherback sea turtles, instead having the one center ridge known from fossil specimens. The shell also features some slight bumps, so it’s not completely smooth. Also worth noting is that my figure does have an indentation on the front left of the carapace; as far as I can tell, this is just an error on my copy.
To give this turtle the impression of gliding through the water, a small base is included. It’s sculpted with a rocky texture and plugs into the plastron (the bottom of the shell).
Most of the top half of the figure is painted in a dark blue, with the underside being mostly light grey. I can’t exactly tell which of the two colors is the base one. A very sandy tan is used to decorate around the eyes, the front flippers, and the sides of the shell. The same black paint that is used for the pupils is also on the carapace as lines between the tan dots.
So, if you like turtles or have any interest in the non-dinosaurs of the Mesozoic, I’d recommend this figure. This is a very well-done rendition if an animal that doesn’t get much love in toy form.
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Archelon always felt like a staple genus of non-dinosaur prehistoric animals to me as I grew up, so it’s definitely a shame there aren’t more toys of it. Favorite did a splendid job with this one; I once again lament there aren’t more international retailers for this company.
Favourite Co. released, or was supposed to have released an much larger Archelon in 2015. It was 10 inches long and 12 inches across. Green in colour. These are available on various Amazon site but I have a feeling the figure was never generally released at the retail level. Has anyone seen this figure in person?
Link to Amazon listing….has many pictures of figure:
https://www.amazon.com/Febaritto-FP-305-Archelon-plastic-model/dp/B00VE1B9E0
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That’s interesting, I never sa that one before. Though, where did you get those dimension’s from? Unless my eyes are really bad (most likely, I do wear glasses), the shot with the hand makes it look about the same size as this one.
Scratch that, it is larger.
It’s also at Favorite’s web site: https://f-favorite.net/collections/prehistoric_life/products/fp-305
I think it’s aimed more at kids, it’s squishy vinyl stuffed with what I think is cotton.
A belated response; but as Halichoeres pointed out, this model is part of a separate line. Most figures that get reviewed here are from the “Soft Model” line, but Favorite also has a larger “Vinyl Model” line, featuring larger, hollow, figures which are (ironically) made of softer material, to be more child-friendly. Some of the Vinyl Models end up resembling their Soft Model counterparts pretty closely in sculpt.
Prehistoric turtles really don’t receive much attention from the toy companies, sadly.
It is to be praised by Favorite Soft Model that he ventured to make a turtle like the archelon as a very rare figure and honestly with an acceptable size in a collectible figure and / or toy. Loon. It is a figure that perhaps the only thing I miss from it that could be much more detailed but it is a personal appreciation of me. I congratulate you on your magnificent review and the photographs of that cretaceous turtle.