It was some time back in 1995-96 when I first heard of Carcharodontosaurus. Although it had been known to science since 1931, it wasn’t until 1995 when an expedition led by Paul Sereno unearthed additional cranial material for the theropod that Carcharodontosaurus had its moment in the lime light. The media proclaimed it as being “bigger than T. rex”, a headline that always has and will grab the attention of the masses. I was eleven at the time, a couple years had passed since “Jurassic Park” and I was a permanent dino-geek at this point. The story had it all; a dinosaur bigger than Tyrannosaurus found in an expedition to far flung Africa. What part of that wouldn’t sound cool to an eleven year old boy? Hell, it’s still cool. Field paleontologists have it made. So this particular theropod has a special place in my heart and finally after all these years a respectable toy of this beast has been produced. I’m talking about this year’s addition to the CollectA line, the 2014 Deluxe Carcharodontosaurus.
CollectA as we’re all aware has steadily been improving over the years with regards to toy dinosaurs but they still frequently disappoint. Last years Mapusaurus and “T. rex with prey” still causes us to wake up at night in a cold sweat. So when prototype photos were released last year of their upcoming Carcharodontosaurus, many of us were hesitant to get too excited, despite it looking like a fabulous model. Now with the model in hand I can confidently tell you all that those early production photos did not lie, this model is exactly what they advertised and it’s a beautiful thing.
Measuring just over 12” in length this model is comparable in size to Papo’s recent Tyrannosaurus and is in the 1:40 scale range. Striding forward in a fully bipedal pose with mouth agape CollectA seems to have succeeded where many other companies continue to fail, in recreating a theropod that can stand on its own two feet. Normal size feet at that, not the large feet that Safari has recently adopted. In order for the model to stand upright though some adjustments had to be made, most notably in the hips. This dinosaur has a lot of junk in the trunk. Whatever works I say, I still prefer it over the Carnegie tripods.
Proportionally the model appears accurate, wide hips aside. There is little to complain about in this department. The hands properly face inwards but if there is a nit to pick it is that the thumb claw could stand to be a bit larger. The attention to detail is fantastic here, as is the paint application. The head is covered in tiny bumps and ridges that make this look like a truly gnarly carnivore. Each tooth is individually sculpted and painted with very little paint run-off. A pink tongue and palate are sculpted within the mouth. The tiny eyes are painted black but have a life-like shine to them.
Running down the back and along the tail is a row of scutes, two other rows start at the head and end at the hips. The throat is complete with a fleshy dewlap and the rest of the body is wrinkled and muscled where appropriate. Scales are sculpted all over the body, some of them quite large. With the model at this scale the individual scales are definitely too large, this is something CollectA has done in the past. Not really a complaint from me though, the model has a very crocodilian feel to it and the row of scales on the underside of the tail are a nice touch.
The body is brown overall with a white underbelly. Black markings are painted along the body, legs and down the length of the tail. The head has the war paint application that CollectA has recently been favoring but it is not overdone here. A white stripe divides a black snout and jaw while a bit of blue is painted under the eye and between the ears. Toe nails and claws are painted black and like I said earlier, there is virtually no bleeding of the paint in this model.
This may very well be the best theropod to date from CollectA, especially with the let downs we got from them last year. They really seem to be striving for excellence with their dinosaur line. Although I do own other CollectA models this is the first “must have” for me, I’m not usually one to buy a model hot off the press. With only one other (and far inferior) Carcharodontosaurus model having been mass produced this is a welcoming addition to any theropod collection. It’s accurate and detailed, fully bipedal and in the 1:40 scale range…what more could you want?
Available on Amazon.com here.
Disclaimer: links to Ebay and Amazon on the DinoToyBlog are affiliate links, so we make a small commission if you use them. Thanks for supporting us!
[…] efforts, though, the skull shows somewhat less in the way of shrink-wrapping than, for example, CollectA’s Carcharodontosaurus. However, there appear to be large scutes around the edges of the fenestae in the skull, and dark […]
[…] and robust for younger dinosaur fans. For people who want to compare the newer toy versions by CollectA and its 2016 Wild Safari replacement, you will easily notice that this 90’s dinosaur is a […]
[…] Safari version as this is a major improvement over the 90’s model. It is also on par with the 2014 CollectA Carcharodontosaurus toy. For young kids, it is safe and fun to play with. I had some doubts […]
[…] Firestreak’s neck is extremely thick. His arms are appropriately puny and his hands correctly lack pronation. The white feathers on his arms may have come in handy in a mating display. His legs are big and robust and his feet are large, but not oversized. His long, powerful tail would have helped increase his speed. I’m also very happy to report that this model does not have the overly wide hips plaguing the Acrocanthosaurus and last year’s Carcharodontosaurus. […]
I found this figure a bit of a disappointment. It’s quite good really, but it has it’s flaws, and they really show to me. First off, I feel the sculpt to be rather lackluster. While the head and a few other areas of the body do look quite nice, most of the figure is covered in far too large of scales, and it comes across as very sloppy on CollectA’s part. Seconds off, it’s either hollow or made with a very light plastic, and because of this it definitely is not worth the 20 to 25 dollar price tag. Over all, while the figure is a large, pretty detailed, and non-tripod Carcharodontosaurus, I still feel that CollectA left a lot of room for improvement. And at the end of the day the figure feels like less of a figure, and more of a toy.
But…it is a toy.
[…] I may be wrong but I imagine this model was sculpted by the artist responsible for the much revered CollectA Carcharodontosaurus as they are both […]
I was looking at one of these guys in the shop the other day but didn’t buy it. I agree with Tim that the legs look strangely out of proportion – they just seem way too short for such a huge animal, making the belly seem like it’s too close to the ground. It just looked very odd to me. I wonder if anyone else who has a better working knowledge of theropod leg anatomy than I do has an opinion on that? The CollectA 1:40 Neovenator has all the advantages of this model – i.e. a very cool looking theropod that balances on it’s own two feet – at yet to me it just seems a much better proportioned restoration overall. Great review and photos here of course, I agree with Gwangi that – apart from the short legs – this guy is otherwise beautifully sculpted and painted.
this figure isn’t as great as the score and the hips are to wide and the pose is boring also the legs are to short-I know the fossils for legs are lacking even if you base it of other carchardontosaurs – -it probably walked more erect -also I though at 31cm it would been bigger but its smaller than-its so low to the grow its almost creeping and this looks silly- the mapusaurus was flawed and many of the deleux dinosaurs are not anatomically correct proportionaly was well. the feet are about the right size any smaller and it would look silly-the pictures look much better than the figure I got -collecta should be making them close to resin quality model standard after all the years-this figure is boring just as the Carnegie t rex 2014-boring figures of otherwise great dinosaurs
[…] has brought us many interesting and downright awesome models, including CollectA’s beautiful Carcharodontosaurus and Papo’s somewhat inaccurate, but stunning and incredibly detailed Dilophosaurus. Every […]
I don’t understand why CollectA’s been painting the cloacas on their figures a different colour to the surrounding area? It’s really unnecessary and off-putting.
I find eyes that are just painted black don’t look good. It’s better than the slit pupil eyes CollectA used to put on almost all their dinosaurs though.
Besides these things, this figure looks good! The individually sculpted teeth are great! I really like Carcharodontosaurus, I’m glad there’s finally a good figure of it! If I start collecting prehistoric animal toys again I’ll get this one, if I can get past the dark cloaca.
Thanks for the review gwangi! Hehe, I agree that the CollectA Mapusaurus and Tyrannosaurus with prey were awful!
This is a GREAT piece of work! Collecta has come a long way and it shows. I have a couple of them. Even my son is impressed. Its an impressive addition to my collection.
Great review and wonderful model! Truly stands out!
Great looking model too but compared to the skull restauration on wiki (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/Carcharodontosaurus_skull_diagram.jpg/330px-Carcharodontosaurus_skull_diagram.jpg) it appears to be twice as wide as it should be. Theropods were really slim critters…
You might be correct but keep in mind that a fleshed out, muscled head on the animal would look wider than just the bare skull.
The foot claws are oversized to help it stand, but its a much, much more preferable design than “clown feet”. This figure is absolutely stunning. The individual teeth are an amazingly detailed feature. I can’t wait until Martin paints one up.
It’s a great figure, apart from the “war paint,” especially the head. Wide hips? Maybe it’s a female?
Love the photos in the green. Got one with Hans as a snack?
I love the style and look of the head on this figure. I am so focused on it, the rest of the body is an afterthought. I am always a fan of stripes, even if it shows up a lot on Dino figures. No one will say this model was underfed! Great pictures and review!
To me the picture is great, the only flaw beyond those discussed I see is that the head is too narrow, except that the hips are a little wider, as already indicated in the commentary. Otherwise I am very happy with this collectible figure, which reminds me of the endearing and well finished Invicta figures.