It has been said that if one simply dropped into the middle of late Cretaceous North America, the massive herds of hadrosaurs are likely one of the first sights to see. Despite their prevalence, the so-called “duckbill” dinosaurs are extremely underrepresented in the dinosaur toy market. The most common reconstructions are focused on the ornately decorated headgear of lambeosaurines – namely Parasaurolophus – drawing even less attention to the relatively “plain” hadrosaurines. Granted, Safari did produce an excellent little rendition of Anatotitan for the Field Museum’s “Sue” line, but even that piece has fallen out of production.
Fortunately, the tide may have turned with Safari’s 2011 unveiling of Edmontosaurus. This creature is actually very closely related to Anatotitan, and Safari’s decision to utilize a similar orange paint scheme may add further confusion among casual collectors. Our knowledge of Edmontosaurus is tremendous however, so a mass-produced figure like this seems long overdue. From mummified remains to (likely) tyrannosaur bite wounds, there is plenty for a paleoartist to work with. The numerous skin impressions are not quite as useful for a figure of this scale, but plenty of banded lines and wrinkles adorn the body.
Safari does not typically denote the species type on the usual ventral stamp, but interestingly, this piece is noted as “Edmontosaurus regalis.” This would make it the largest known species of Edmontosaurus, around forty feet long and plenty of meat for a tyrannosaur to sink its teeth into. It would not be a stretch to suggest that Safari intended this figure to be a companion piece for their new T.rex, which arrives later in the year. Countless depictions of Tyrannosaurus/Edmontosaurus predation scenes should serve to liven things up for this herbivore in dioramas or simply children’s play areas. Indeed, the twisted and active posture allows one to imagine a panicked animal reacting to something terrifying on approach.
A set of black-button eyes reinforce the dull, Cretaceous-cow image hapless hadrosaurs have been cursed with. However, the effect is a convincing one, so this remains one of the most interesting mass-produced hadrosaurs in recent years. The only flaw can be found in the hands, which bear separate digits rather than the thick padding Edmontosaurus is known to possess. Despite this discrepancy, it appears the artist used the available material quite well. The hind legs are thickly muscled, and the keratinous beak is enhanced in a dark brown. The tail is strong and stiff, with only a slight curl at the tip.
While it might be a bit much to wish for a brilliantly colored hadrosaur like those produced by Angie Rodrigues, this is still a respectable effort by a company known for its dedication to authenticity. The sculpt is more active than usual, the colors are pleasant without seeming cartoonish, and the size ensures it is affordable. Don’t leave your theropods unattended when this tasty little number joins your collection.
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You forgot to mention that this figure lacks the crest found on Edmontosaurus. Unless it is a female individual, and not a male.
[…] (or saurolophine, if you’re keeping up with the times) dinosaurs, with an excellent Edmontosaurus replica being foremost in recent memory. These gentle giants did not have the ostentatious headgear […]
Isn’t the tail too bendy?
Sid: hadrosaur mummies have been found that show at most a hardened lump of skin, and no nails or claws.
Even the colour scheme resembles a cow! ^_^
Wonderful figure, it’s nice to see that finally even crestless duckbills get the recognition they’d deserve!
To Horridus:
i don’t see what’s wrong to add extra nails in a duckbill (or sauropod, for that matter) restoration… If i’m not mistaken mammoths’ nails hardly fossilize, if not at all yet we always restore ’em with nails, considering modern elephants have them; so, why shouldn’t sauropods or hadrosaurs have had them as well? 😉
Safari/Carnegie hace réplicas,por lo general,con un nivel de calidad muy alto,sin embargo este Edmontosaurus en concreto no me agrada demasiado,y me ha defraudado un poco.Da sensación de plástico barato,el acabado es demasiado “suave” (al estilo de procon/collecta)y la coloración me parece excesivamente llamativa: parece que lo ha pintado un pintor abstracto o un graffitero.Como juguete infantil estarÃa muy bien,pero como réplica cientÃfica para adultos les ha quedado un poco corta.
Wild Thing ….. I think I love you!
Can’t wait to hold it in my hands. I even love the paint job – could be one of boki’s 🙂
And I like the companion piece idea. I hope we see more of these pairs (or more) in the future.
P.S.: Can someone tell me what Manuel just wrote? 🙂
A pesar que como toda figura hecha por la marca Safari es bastante buena, creo, no se si el autor lo ha puntualizado a mi modesto entender, que podÃan haberlo hecho mejor, teniendo en cuenta el descubrimiento sobresaliente de “Dakota” el hadrosaurio momificado y que se ha hecho famoso en el DVD de National Geografhic en su reconstrucción, debÃa yo creo de ser como la reconstrucción que se hace sobre el.
You wouldn’t have to chop off the feet really..I think a little sculplting over to mod the existing ones would be easy.
Marc, thank you so much! I don’t know how I could have missed that post when I scoured the blog for reviews! Now I can proudly embrace my Allosaurus, even if it is missing its thumbs!
Harold: been there, done that! http://www.dinotoyblog.com/2010/01/15/allosaurus-wild-safari-by-safari-ltd/
I would love to see a review someday of Safari Ltd.’s 2007 Allosaurus. I picked one up a few months ago and am in love with every detail of it – even if it has an unnecessary tail-dragging appearance. (Mine is perched on top of my PC with its tail hanging in the air, and it balances perfectly.) But I want to know if my love is true!
Want. And Seijun, I had in fact been formulating just such a plan (but I will keep one untouched too, of course).
Sorely tempted to chop the front feet off and resculpt them. Could use a repaint also.
A very nice figure, although they’ve succumbed to the seemingly irresistible desire among dino toy manufacturers to give the animals extra claws/nails (see also: nearly every sauropod ever). Still, nitpicking. I’ll be getting one!