This is a reproduction of an original review of this figure by Tomhet, although I include an additional comment (*) from my own personal observation.
Talk about improvements. I mean, I have nothing against the old green Carnegie Rexy, it may not be a beauty but it was a solid combat replica, apparently aimed for the kids… and geared toward outdoor use. Fortunately Carnegie has seen more potential in the collector market than before, so their more recent offerings are not only very affordable but very attractive. I am pleased to say that Carnegie did justice to the King with this replica (and no, I don’t mean Elvis). It was about time, because this arch-famous monster is the first dinosaur a young one wants (believe me, I’ve seen it) and it’s good to know that they’re getting a quality product instead of your everyday Chinasaur.Besides, it was somewhat ironic that Carnegie couldn’t produce a decent sculpt, since they keep several of the most interesting T-Rex fossils.
What I first admired is the flawless balance of the figure, I don’t know if it’s only mine, but it stands beautifully on its both legs (not the classic tripod deal we always end up with). The tail is curved (as an emergency support, I suppose) The pose, on the other hand, is not entirely likeable (the wild staring Rex seems to be roaring and its body leans forward striding, as if it were about to strike) but acceptable. The scale is correct, it measures approx. 30 cm from nose tip to the bend of the tail and 18 cm from head to toe.
(*) One negative aspect of this figure is the asymmetry of the head – this is particularly noticeable when you look at the head from the front as seen in the above image. One eye is above the other giving the animal a rather goofy look. This malformation seems to be restricted to recent generations of the figure so it is possible that this is an artefact of the aging molds from which the toy is cast.
The figure has other advantages. The legs are much more robust than most of the Carnegie theropods. The limbs by the way seem naturally fused to the torso. The head is definitely realistic (just look at those correctly proportioned teeth!). The skin is delightfully wrinkled and scaly (true, not as good as in more recent Carnegie products, but good enough).
The paint scheme is much better than the dull green of the previous T-Rex, as it features a blend of alarming red and some black. The belly is whitish; the mouth (which is very detailed) shows a pink tongue. Since it belongs to the 1998 generation, its eyes are golden.
The original review was sponsored by Atomic Elephant, Available from Safari.com (here) and Amazon.com (here)
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TerribleDactyl’s (Dinoguy2) blog site for the Carnegie collectibles gives the authoritative “state of the union” for this figure, specifically the version 3 (final, of c. 2012). This version is, IMO, the definitive T-rex produced by Carnegie Safari, not the much criticized 25th anniversary one. Version 3 of the tenth anniversary edition includes several corrective refinements that significantly improve the flaws and shortcomings noted in the review. First, the skull is retooled, correcting the cock-eyed look. Second, the teeth are noticeably longer and sharper. The eyes are slightly reset to be more accurately binocular and the toes on the feet have been resized to be consistent in shape and magnitude. Mine stands perfectly upright with the back parallel to the surface.
Do you have a link to that review? I’d really like to read it.
Costas, check out the DTF, look under members and go to Dinoguy2, where you’ll find his information.
Correction – he now classifies this as version 4. I have all four versions (call me obsessed) and can verify that his description is accurate.
I recently bought one,and it isn’t that much assymmetrical.If the painter would do the eyes properly,one wouldn’t even notice it at first look.
Yo tengo uno, es mi favorito y es el primero de Safari Carnegie que tengo, algo dañado debido que jugaron con él, se puede observar su asimetría facial cuando se le mira de frente, de perfil es mejor y presenta una postura extraña, la piernas apuntan ligeramente a la izquierda, pero se compensa con la cola, que le sirve de trípode, luego he de subir fotografías de él.
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Regarding when the figure was made possibly affecting its facial asymmetry, the date on the tag of my Tyrannosaurus is 2005.
I got one today (from the UK if it means anything) and it is really beautiful. It doesn’t have the facial flaw much to my happiness and it has a great paint job.
I’ve noticed that it stands well and straight on its two feet. The one pictured in this review leans forward by quite a bit compared to mine. The tail on my Tyrannosaurus is not touching the ground. It’s made of white vinyl.
The teeth are especially well done and the eyes look realistic!
MM. I have two of them, one of them is perfectly fine, the other is not, though it is not as bad as the one in the pics. There are other slight variations between them too, one leans more forward and stands without the tail touching anything, the other is in a slightly different posture. Cordelius tells me this is the difference between the white and gray vinyl versions…
I don’t remember mine having a distorted face….
Is the model reviewed a early version?
The photos above are of the most recent version so maybe the molds have slightly deteriorated over time. I’d be happy to post photos of an older version for comparison if anybody has any.
I got mine just last December when I visited the Carnegie Museum. My Rex didn’t suffer from the problem.
That picture of the face gave me quite a shocked. It kinda reminds me of Sloth from the Goonies. I hope that when I get mine off eBay, it won`t be as distorted.