Review and photos by Takama, edited by Suspsy
Back when I reviewed the 2015 Schleich Spinosaurus, I openly stated how annoyed I was over the fact that the company keeps repeating the same species instead of releasing brand new ones. But when the 2017 models came along, I was sort of relieved, as the models had something about them that suggested that the line was starting over, making any future repeat releases from years prior to 2016 warranted. What made me change my stance was the fact that Schleich now gives each of the new models a display tag providing info about the animal. This is why I bought the Brachiosaurus, Stegosaurus, and Allosaurus when I already had the previous versions from 2012 in my possession. It’s these display tags that remind me of the old Replicasaurus models that I never had a chance to collect, and I think it’s the perfect reason to release repeats of species previously released from 2012 to 2015. So with that out of the way, it’s time to move on to my review of this new Allosaurus.
When this model was first revealed, people were quick to judge it based the stock photo, which showed it at a bad angle. Now that the final product is in my hands, I can say that their pessimism was warranted. It repeats the same mistakes that Schleich still refuses to correct on their theropods to this day. These mistakes should be obvious to veteran readers of the DTB, but for those of you who are new to the community, these mistakes are as follows. First, the feet are oversized and the arms are pronated, making the hands look like slappers instead of clappers. The reason this is wrong is because the anatomy of a theropod’s wrists prevent them from being twisted in this fashion without breaking the poor animal’s bones. Another issue I can see with this model is one that is pretty common among Allosaurus toys and models alike: the lack of a large claw on each hand. Now I will admit, when I reviewed Allosaurus toys in the past, I tended to forget about this important feature. This is because when I think of enlarged foreclaws on theropods, I think of spinosaurs and megaraptorids. But Allosaurus is known to have possessed large killings claw as well, and this model lacks them entirely. Perhaps this feature is often omitted for safety reasons, but with the claws being blunted on this figure, I don’t see that as a viable excuse. Other issues with this figure include the fact that the torso is too short, which situates the arms a lot closer to the legs then they should be. Also, the body needs more muscle, as do the legs. The legs are just too skinny and almost poorly sculpted as well. By contrast, the previous version had some beefy legs that look like they had muscle to them.
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In terms of detail, the Allosaurus is covered in scales that actually look like scales as opposed to the multi-shaped scales on the World of History version. Each scale is individually sculpted on this new one, and the only parts that don’t have them are the neck and the bottom half of the figure. In those areas, there are just wrinkles. However, the wrinkles on the old version look a lot more realistic and were more apparent, which made it look more like a living, breathing animal as opposed to just a lump of plastic made in the vague shape of a dinosaur. The head on this new Allosaurus shows a lot more improvement over the head sculpted on the World Of History version, but they still managed to get things wrong. When the mouth is opened, the jaw still looks unnatural, although it’s nowhere near as bad as the previous version. The skull looks like an Allosaurus more than the previous version, but it’s too wide when viewed from the front, and is too short when viewed from the side. When the jaw is opened, you can see that Schleich once again gave the figure a tongue that takes up the entirety of the lower jaw. At least this time the tongue looks a lot more natural than the old version’s, and the teeth look a lot more realistic.
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Colour-wise, this figure is not as drab as the original Replicasaurus model, but it is still another brown figure in their lineup. This time, the back of the toy is adorned with red lines that subtly fit in with the brown. It also has a dark tan tint to it, which further accents the colour scheme. The claws are a light black, and the teeth are white.
If you plan on buying this figure, one thing that I must point out is that the paint quality is pure garbage, because it rubs off very easily. The tip of the tail was completely rubbed off when I first received it, which exposed the white plastic that the toy is made out of. On top of that, you can’t open the mouth without rubbing even more paint off. And so my Allosaurus now has a white goatee thanks to the poor quality of the paint Schleich decided to use. I think the main problem with this model is the fact that is made out of a waxy material, which does not allow paint to adhere too very well to it.
In case anyone is wondering, the toy is 10 inches long, so it’s somewhere in the 1:30 scale range. All I know is that it’s certainly too big to be in 1:40 Scale, and the proportions don’t make it a very realistic replica of a theropod. It certainly does not feel alive like many of Papo’s models, and I feel there’s a certain artificial touch to the sculpt that diminishes its realism greatly. In my honest opinion, the World of History version was a lot more believable as a real animal than this one, which means I cannot recommend this new one to anyone who is not a diehard Schleich collector.
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Wow this is a rather negative review. It’s a shame because I actually rather liked this version of Allosaurus–I found one sold for a discount at a Tractor Supply Store. I have to say I kind of wish I had gotten this figure in time to review it for the Dino Toy Blog, because this review is just depressing. Yes I see the thing about the waxy surface, but I haven’t found the paint to come off terribly easily on mine and I really like the face. The only thing I feel is worth complaining about is the pronated hands, really. Gosh some people are so negative.
[…] the Earth’ dinosaurs collection. Sure, other Schleich models made for this year (like the Allosaurus) have their issues, but this one seems to bear the brunt of the scrutiny when it comes to the […]
Can Schleich just give up making Allosaurs already…?
(Great review btw)
It’s one of those sculpts that looks presentable at first glance because of the subtle colour scheme (drab brown it may be, but it subconsciously looks ‘right’ for a big animal, with some variation to create interest) and a lot of fine detail in the scales; but on closer inspection the deeper structure is just all wrong. I see it all the time in gaming miniatures, where – while dealing with fantasy creatures – it does seem to be all about the size of the ‘Monty Burns teeth’ (nice one Lanthanotus!) – rather than a sense of anatomy, proportion or pose. Refreshing to see a market and audience where the reverse is important!
Also, SidB, I searched the blog for that Ceratosaurus. I’ll have you know that I won’t sleep tonight…
Here we have a worthy companion to the execrable Schleich Ceratosaurus and the only slightly more acceptable Ouranosaurus and Baryonyx from the old Replicasaurus line. Maybe, just maybe the worst figure that Schleich has ever made, though my money is still on the Ceratosaurus, which has to be seen to be believed. The occasional competent figure produced (e.g. Iguanodon, Desmatosuchus, Pentaceratops) only makes such folly all the more inscrutable.
I feel that with the change in company leadership Schleich’s products got even worse, not only dinosaurs. But while ohter animal models were great in he past I fell they also get worse now,… and above all this is the overwhelming presence of Schleich products in every toy store around while the much better (and often cheaper) Safari, CollectA or Papo are almost non present and only available online.
I saw this Allosaurus in person when I already knew I would not add it to my collection, it’s a horrid rendition of a great and intersting species. For me the bunny hands and the “Mr Burns”-teeth are the most annoying features of this waste of plastic…
Forgot to add: Nice review, Takama, despite the poor model 😀
It is unfortunate that with the excellent figures of current animals provided by Schleich, they can not make dinosaurs or other prehistoric animals of equal quality and completely realistic. I hope that in the future, hopefully not very distant, fix that, because it would be nice to see that Schleich takes seriously the production of prehistoric figures of great accuracy and detail.
According to you Jose Lemos hope that someday Schleich will change for the better in regards to his dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals. This company could be leading in the production of figures of toy dinosaurs if it wanted as it happens with others, can but does not want and that is the pity of this company, whose figures of other disciplines are good.