Review and photographs by Dinomike, edited by Suspsy
CollectA has demonstrated that they’re ready to play in the niche market scene by pandering to their small, but potentially loyal dinosaur community. Faster than a Gallimimus running on a Cretaceous treadmill, they’ve sped past their competitors and produced not only one, but three amazing interpretations of Spinosaurus aegypticus based on Paul Sereno and Nizar Ibrahim’s scientific paper published in 2014.
The two smaller ones, depicted swimming and walking, belong to the CollectA standard line and have no articulation. The Deluxe is basically an enlarged version of the standard walking one. The only differences are the fact that it is looking to the left and it has an articulated lower jaw, which adds to its playability and makes it a winner for diorama enthusiasts. On the downside, it creates a fairly visible seam on the lower jaw.
It is cast in a dynamic walking position as if it were ambling over to the river to cool off whilst looking out for beefed up predators from the West. Its left arm is slightly raised from the ground, giving this big guy a good workout on his right arm. CollectA has opted for the pronated wrist instead of knuckle walking. While this may cause some grumbling in the sidelines, I thought the sculptor managed to make it look natural and effortless.
The CollectA Deluxe Spinosaurus measures roughly 35 centimeters (13.8 inch.) in length and 12 centimeters (4.7 inch.) in height. Its overall proportions are an exact appropriation of the Sereno & Ibrahim skeletal reconstruction. The tail is nice and beefy just like on the smaller standard version–-and as Suspsy pointed out in his review of the smaller models–-indeed very crocodilian. All the osteoderms and scales have been sculpted extremely well with fine craftsmanship even if they may be a bit large for the 1:30 scale. The head of the animal has all the correct features for a Spinosaurus–the notch at the tip of the snout and the small crest are both there. The teeth are quite sharp for a toy figure.
The paint job is identical to the smaller CollectA Spinosaurus models. The main colors are light brown and green, accentuated by some darker brown spots here and there and bright red above the eyes. The eyes are simple black dots. I would have preferred for a paint scheme more similar to Davide Bonadonna’s illustrations, but there is a wealth of talented forum members who charge a few bucks for a better paint job, so I.M.H.O, this is no biggy.
My verdict is that the CollectA Deluxe Spinosaurus is one of the best–if not the best–Spinosaurus model out there. It’s affordable, it’s big, and it’s sculpted with the latest scientific research in mind. It’s even got a dash of well-justified artistic license to boot. This is a first, and well deserved 10/10 from me for a CollectA model!
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[…] a wee Spinosaurus, only about 9.5 cm long. Based on the famous and controversial Ibrahim/Sereno reconstruction, this finned fish eater is striding slowly along on all fours, its left paw raised and its long […]
I applaud CollectA for making a toy in the Ibrahim restoration style. Its daring and bold. Personally I do not think in the end that restoration will stand the test of time. I also do not like the way it looks, but I am not going to fault CollectA for making this toy.
I just wish someone would find a relatively complete articulated adult Spinosaurus skeleton and put an end to this meandering foolishness.
Those wrists couldn’t possibly take the weight of the beast; the fingers, especially the thumb claw make walking on fingers impossible; nothing walks on its knuckles; the math on the legs is dubious at best; and the whole thing, when compared to other members of its “family” looks beyond ridiculous. Did I miss anything?
There was a great Kink’s song once upon a while that sums it up best, called something akin to “Dedicated Follower of Fashion.”
On the other hand, CollectA, in general, is setting the bar high for the competition. Amen.
Cheers.
I like the swimming Spinosaurus the best because it effectively sidesteps the issue of how the hands were placed. I also like Darren Naish’s suggestion that, if Spinosaurus was indeed a quadruped, it may have walked like a pangolin.
Really, it doesn’t matter one bit if a new discovery destroys the Sereno/Ibrahim restoration. There are countless dinosaur toys that time has shown to be inaccurate, yet we still love them. Paleontology is, always has been, and always will be speculative to some extent. I love that CollectA is keeping up on the latest dinosaur news and trends.
Agreed–everything exists at some point within many cycles–the universe is dynamic, not static. Nor is anything either/or–usually both/neither.
“The truth that can be told is never the eternal truth.”
That said, speculations can be “educated” or “absurd.”
(And, yeah, if you want to call these things toys, they can be “fun” toys.)
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Dinomike Thanks for your comments. Perfect review I like Collecta company and is one of my favorites for their continued efforts to conduct reconstructions of dinosaurs and prehistoric animals avant-garde way.
We also noticed the Deinocheirus 2016 but he was already ahead other companies.