Microraptor (CollectA)

In an Early Cretaceous forest of what would today be known as China, strange, bird-like creatures can be seen moving around in the thick vegetation and canopy high above.These animals are, at first glance, looks like birds roughly the size of a raven, with long tails and black plumage.

As they move around the forest, their wings catch small rays of sunlight that filters through the canopy. And as if by magic, the once black feathers start to shimmer in the light, and as they change direction, so too the colors. Iridescent Gold, purple,  blue, and silver colors starts to dance on these animals’ feathers creating an unforgettable sight.

This is not a bird, this is Microraptor, a small paravian dinosaur from the Cretaceous forest of China.

Microraptor has gained popularity and there are now a few toy models figures of this species to choose from (Safari, PNSO, Kaiyodo, BoTM, and even Schleich!). The latest one is from CollectA, the subject of our review today, part of their impressive 2020 prehistoric animal lineup.Microraptor burst into the scene twenty years ago, way back in 2000. It created excitement in the scientific community for being the first known four-winged dinosaur!

But this excitement would quickly be giving way to controversy when it was determined that the first fossil that was presented was a fake, a composite of two different animals!Originally called Archaeoraptor, this composite fossil would forever change how fossils are dealt with before proper study has been done, and would put a huge spotlight on the international fossil trade and collecting.

The controversy would snare scientist who jumped the gun, and would bring embarrassment to National Geographic.But in the end, Microraptor would rise from the ashes, overcome the controversy that engulfed it, and establish itself as a valid species, thanks largely to more fossil find that would prove, without a doubt its validly.

Microraptor is often called the ” four-winged dromaeosaur” due to its most distinctive feature: it has long feathers on its forelimbs (arms)and equally long feathers on its hind limbs (legs).The body is also covered in thick plumage and its long tail ended with a spectacular fan-like array of feathers on the end.

It was one of the first dinosaur found with clear evidence of feathers covering almost its entire body.Take away the feathering, you can clearly see that it is a member of the dromaeosaur family, yes, a small relative of the famous Velociraptor. It had long arms and legs, streamlined body shape, beak covered in needle sharp teeth, and a very long tail.

CollectA’s figure is the latest one to addition to the growing flock of  Microraptors toy figure, it joins Safari and PNSO, BoTM, and even Schleich!. At 1:6 scale, this figure is larger than both its predecessors measuring almost 8” long from the beak to the tail tip, and around 4.5” tall from its feet up to the tips of its outstretched wings.

This is a beautiful and very dynamic figure. It is large and out of scale with most figures, but I think it was well deserved since at this size one can really appreciate the details that would have been otherwise impossible to put in a smaller sized figure. I’m surprised that they didn’t up the size a little bit more and made it into one of the supreme model!

With its outstretched wings, the pose isn’t too original (both Safari and PNSO share the same wing pose), but how they are oriented is unique.Sculpting it in such a pose gives the sculptor the opportunity to showcase what makes this dinosaur so special.

The wings are fully spread with an upward swoop that is very graceful. The feathers are superb with each feather delicately sculpted individually and layered over each other creating a beautiful tapestry. The feathering varies in sizes and some, even show slight imperfections, a nice small added detail that gives a breath of life to the figure.

Smaller but detailed feathering covers the entire arms and part of the hands. I know some of you will have issues with the hand feathering (or lack of), but I find that minor, I can’t complain much about that considering how beautiful the figure is. I personally don’t hold it against the figure.

The body is slender and follow the typical form of a Dromaeosaur. It is covered by feathers that are slightly smaller and more hair-like in appearance. This feathering envelopes the entire body, tail, as well as the upper legs.

The feathering on the legs transition to larger ones as it starts to fan out, getting longer as it moves outwards creating the second pair of “wings”. This longer fan feathers are lighter in color, more like a golden hue and is iridescent. Like the much older Archaeoptery before it, Microraptor provide researchers and scientist important evidence of the still unfolding relationship and evolution between birds and dinosaurs.

The small feathering on the upper leg starts to thinning out as it reaches the knee area where it then transitions to small scales like that seen on a bird’s feet.The feet are black with some lighter speckles all over that adds realism to it. The finger that has those famous big dromaeosaur claws is held out, clearly displaying them for all to see. The nails are also painted black.

The tail is appropriately long and is covered in feathers. When we first saw the prototype of the figure, the distinctive fan-like feathers on the tip of the tail was there but was missing the two prominent longer feathers. CollectA at first said that not putting these feathers was due to their “interpretation”, after all, perhaps not all Microraptors had them. But thankfully, they corrected this and included the two feathers on the end of the tail on the final product. Perhaps someone from the museum that they collaborated with in sculpting the figure pointed this out, or perhaps just to make it more easily recognizable as a Microraptor.

This fan-like feathering on the end of the tail is beautifully done and you can see each delicately sculpted feather including the two long ones on the end (it is shorter than what is seen on the Safari and PNSO versions in proportion to the entire body).

Not too long ago, it was not possible to determine colors of long extinct animals like dinosaurs. But with new technology advancing faster than ever, some of these ancient colors are now possible to identify in fossils. Microraptor is one of a few dinosaurs where scientist was able to determine its colors.

It was found that Microraptor was colored black, but not just any. What research have found was that the black feathers have iridescent to them, something like what we see in starlings, ducks, magpies today.

This is perhaps one of the most unique and successful accomplishment in this figure. CollectA was able to replicate this iridescent color on this figure, something no other brands were able to do successfully ( PNSO came close on their figure). CollectA in the final painting stages sent a magpie feathers showing this iridescence as a guide to the factory for them to replicate.And they were very successful! 

Although at first glance the figure looks black, it is deceiving. The black itself is not straight up black, but more like a bluish-black especially in sunlight. The figure is full of amazing kaleidoscope of iridescent colors that range from gold, silver, purple, green, and some red. These colors change as you move the figure and where the light source is. It’s really fun to move it around just to see these colors.

Unfortunately, capturing these colors in photos is difficult, nearly impossible to do. Only seeing it in person would you fully appreciate just how amazing and dazzling these colors really are.

As an arboreal animal living in treetops, it is believed that Microraptor lived like a bird and used its wings as both for gliding and some type of flight as it soared across the canopies.There is also evidence that it may have been more active at night.

The head is nicely sculpted and is recognizable as a dromeosaurid. There are small feathering that covers most of the head, but it thins out as it reaches the snout where it transitions to small, very delicate scales. Its really hard to appreciate the fine and delicate details on the head due to its size, but seen in person,  you can really see them. The teeth looks like they were all individually sculpted and very detailed, it also maintained the good sharpens and you feel this when you run your fingers through them.

The nostrils are visible at the snout tip, and you can see some ridges just above the eyes. There are also very small and delicate rings that encircles the eyes.The eyes are painted glossy black which gives it a nice effect, the eyes are also encircled by light brown color that makes it really pop-out and come alive.

It hunted small animals including smaller early mammals as seen in some stomach content. In its environment, Microraptor was one of the most common and abundant non-avian dinosaurs around. It shared this place with other feathered as well as non-feathered dinosaurs.Today, there are hundreds of Microraptor fossils making the genus one of the best represented dromaeosaurid.

I really love this figure. The sculpting and pose give it a life-like quality to it that looks natural and not contrived. Although some would hesitate on this figure due to its size or lack of feathering in some areas, I feel that it would be a missed opportunity to do so.It is truly one of the best toy figures of it out there and with very reasonable price tag of under $10 US.

CollectA have made great stride year-after-year and this figure is a true testament to that.

Well, I hope you enjoyed reading the review of this amazing figure. Thanks for stopping by. Until the next review, please stay safe and healthy. Cheers!