Iguanodon was the second dinosaur ever to be recognized by science. The first fossils of the animal were teeth unearthed in England in 1822. Since then this iconic dinosaur’s image has undergone numerous changes throughout history as more discoveries are made about it. Iguanodon belongs to the extremely large and successful group of dinosaurs called the ornithopods which also encompasses the smaller hypsilophodonts as well as the later hadrosaurs.
Iguanodon lived during the early Cretaceous between 140 and 110 million years ago. In addition to Europe, Iguanodon fossils have also been found in the United States. When it was alive, the European Iguanodon would have coexisted with other dinosaurs such as Baryonyx, Hypsilophodon and Hylaeosaurus while in the USA it would have had to put up with dinosaurs like Deinonychus, Utahraptor and Acrocanthosaurus to name a few.This particular model is one of Carnegie’s older pieces from the early 90s. The model I have here is the newer version released with a different paint job. Personally I think is much nicer.
As for accuracy, I think its fine. It’s positioned upright on its hind legs. This is totally plausible for when the animal wanted to reach higher vegetation while feeding or if it wanted to run. Normal walking or resting would most likely have happened on all fours though. The body parts all seem to be in the right proportions. The head sports a nice beak as opposed to a reptilian mouth of older outdated reconstructions and each hand sports Iguanodon’s iconic thumb spike which could come in handy (no pun intended, HA!) when dealing with any pesky dromaeosaurs. What I especially like is how this model also exhibits the right number and proportions of its other fingers as well. In addition to the spike, it has the three hoof-like walking fingers and the smaller pinkie jutting out from the side. This is impressive since Carnegie sometimes falls short when it comes to detailing fingers and toes on its other dinosaur models. Its feet are also nice. They really match the look of so many fossilized Iguanodon footprints that have been discovered. The tail being used as a support tripod is slightly irritating of course (one of Carnegie’s few but HUGE faults with its bipeds).
As for paintjob and color choice, this newer model is leaps and bounds ahead of the original in my book. The old version was predominantly bluish grey with brown blotches and white dots. The original also had an unsightly yellow line sloppily painted across its mouth for whatever reason. This new version’s paint application, however, seems to have been painted with care and precision unlike a lot of Carnegie’s older models. The color scheme itself is also really pleasing to me. Normally I’m a big supporter of bright colors on dinosaurs but for some reason the nice toned down earthy colors on this dinosaur really speak to me.
All in all I think this is a fantastic little model. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in obtaining a little version of this historically iconic creature. It can be easily obtainable at most toy stores and museum gift shops.
Available from Safari.com (here) and Amazon.com (here)
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