Review and photos by Takama, edited by Suspsy
Up today is the first ankylosaur that Geoworld ever released for their line. Euoplocephalus was once the go-to ankylosaur for toy companies in the 90s’ due to the fact that it was a better known species then its family’s namesake. However, over the years, it seems to have been phased out in favour of Ankylosaurus, even if the toy still ends up looking like a Euoplocephalus anyway.
The Jurassic Hunters toy made by Geoworld is definitely one of the worst versions of the species ever made, but when one looks at the toy, it is easy to see that they were trying to replicate a Euoplocephalus and not some other type of ankylosaur, as the spike patterns match up with the known fossils at the time of the toy’s release. However, anyone who’s well-versed in dinosaurs can tell where the problems lie in this model. The head is way too big and not even the correct shape. Club-tailed ankylosaurs like Euoplocephalus are known for their relatively short skulls, but the one on this toy is triangular in shape. Now, I do know that Euoplocephalus‘ skull does sort of have a triangular shape, but it’s a lot rounder than what was sculpted on this toy. Another error lies with the mouth. The mouth was sculpted open, but it lacks any indication that it is hinged like a real mouth would be. It’s as if the sculptor made the head and cut out a piece of clay from it to create the opening for the mouth, giving it an unnatural appearance. Another issue is that the hips are definitely not wide enough. For a model that gets it right, Simply take a look at the Battat Euoplocephalus, which is an almost perfect representation of the species that looks like it had a lot of care put into it. To be fair, like the Battat, the Geoworld version has only one cervical half ring, which is not accurate for the species (it should really have two).
In terms of detail, there’s not much to write about, as the majority of the toy is sculpted with irregular shapes that I assume are supposed to be scales. The caputegulae (head armour) does not match up with that of the real animal, but then, neither does a majority of the toy, so no surprises there. And the feet are crudely made with minimal detail sculpted to make the toes. And in terms of colour, all I have to say is that this model reminds me of a corncob. The base colour is yellow, which takes up the head, neck, and entirety of the bottom half of the figure, and the back is green. The claws are painted black, the mouth is painted dark red, and the little bits of teeth present in the mouth are white.
Now that the figure is out of the way, it’s time to look at the fact card that comes with it. First off, the image used on the card is also the same exact image used on the card for the Ankylosaurus which I plan on reviewing in the future. The only difference is that there are a couple of spikes jutting out of the back of the neck. It should be noted that the card has terrible grammar, and there are contradictions on both sides. For instance, on the image side, it says that Euoplocephalus‘ head was without armour, but on the flipside, it states that it was protected by bony plates. Obviously it’s easy to tell which side of the card is wrong, as anyone with a good knowledge of dinosaurs would know that the head of this animal was indeed armoured, but it’s still apparent that the people who crafted this card did not proofread anything before sending it out to be mass produced. The card states that there are forty complete specimens of this animal known to science, however, it should be noted that this card was made before the genus was split into different genera, with the text referencing the holotype specimen of Scolosaurus as being the most well preserved of Euoplocephalus. As with the Spinosaurus card, I cannot say where the image was taken from, so once again, if you know, please say so in the comments.
And it is, the Geoworld Euoplocephalus. It is one of only four thyreophorans in the entire line, despite the fact that the line spans over 96 figures. Honestly, I can’t say I recommend this figure to anyone, as it is a poor product that was made without much thought put into it, and clearly not worthy of a dinosaur enthusiast’s collection. If you need a Euoplocephalus that badly, then seek out the Battat model, which is still available under the Terra brand.
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I have searched for the origin of the image but no results. But, while doing this, I discovered that this figure and the Spinosaurus which have recently been reviewed both by Geoworld, came in a boxset together and not always separately/individually.
Good review of an iffy model. 🙂 Green ‘n’ yellow Euoplocephalus seems to be one of those palaeoart memes, and I’d guess it originates from John’s Sibbick’s Normanpedia(?) version.
I hope you didn’t actually shel out hard earned cash for this toy, as it is pretty sad.
Actually, the Kinto Favorite first version, brown, “Soft model Ankylosaurus” ain’t half bad as a Euoplocephalus. See the review on this site.
Cheers.