Review and photos by Bokisaurus
Hello dino fans! It’s been a while. Today’s review is a special one, it marks my very first post and review as an official blog author! To mark the occasion, I have chosen a special figure to review, hope you enjoy it.
When you reach a certain level of fame, it’s hard to get your fans excited. Being the most famous, overproduced dinosaur, Tyrannosaurus rex is suffering from overexposure.With so many figure of this species already flooding the market yearly, one can’t help but feel the fatigue when it comes to Rexy. I have to admit, despite reviewing a few Tyrannosaur, I’m not a big fan of the species although it dominates a good portion of my collection. That said, CollectA’s Tyrannosaurus series is perhaps my personal favorite due to the diversity and the interesting interpretations of the family and the species through the years. For me, to purchase another Rex, it has to have something new or different to offer. The options today is simply too much that one has to be selective unless you specifically collect Tyrannosaurs, which is not my case.
So, today, we take a look at another version of Mr. T, the latest from CollectA’s long list. But first, I figured instead of diving in right away, maybe it would be fun to travel down memory lane and take a quick look at the various version CollectA has produced over the years, and why, despite some flaws, I find this series one of the most interesting to collect and follow.
I have always wanted to do a writeup of the evolution of how a species is depicted in the toy market, and this is the perfect one to tell that story.CollectA, prior to this new figure had produced seven Tyrannosaurus versions. Today, we will look at the eight version ( sorry, I can’t include the ugly original baby!), the newest and part of CollectA’s 2018 offerings.
CollectA’s Tyrannosaurus series can be split into two different groups; the pre-feathers group and the feathered group. Each of these different version are like a time capsule that captures the various theories, past and current, about Tyrannosaurus rex. In addition, each of these figures also depict a glimpse of the lifestyle of Mr. T, something that is surely lacking in the majority of toy figures besides growling. Lets take a quick trip down memory lane as we take a short look at the evolution of CollectA’s Tyrannosaurus rex in chronological order, starting with the pre-feathered group.
First and original version (standard size) – This was the first figure that was released by CollectA in 2006, way back then it was still Procon. This version is the classic, old fashion pose that, unfortunately still can be seen in many figures today. The figure is posed in the typical horizontal stance, tail dragging, and bunny/pronated hands. This is the classic kangaroo pose.
Second deluxe version – Here we see the JP inspired pose, released in 2008. Like many companies, cashing in on the popularity of JP movies was expected. This version is much better than the first one.It has the unusual crouching pose/roaring pose, with the head held low to the ground.To be honest, I am very fond of this model despite it’s many flaws.
Third version: Tyrannosaurus with prey ( standard size) – Released in 2012, four years since the last version. In this Tyrannosaurus rex with prey version, a totally new look is quickly noticed. This figure surely is in response to the whole “ is Tyrannosaurs rex a an active hunter, a scavenger, or both”? In this figure, it captures Mr. T as a sleek, athletic looking predator. And just to prove it, the prey he is caring in his mouth is that of struthiomimus, one of the fastest dinosaur. Is Mr. T really fast enough to capture such prey? That is the big question.At the same time, this could also be interpreted as Tyrannosaurus rex has simply scavenged this prey, using his huge size to intimidate smaller, much fasted predators stealing their hard earned meal. This figure is also the last of the pre-feathered versions.
Fourth version: Juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex ( standard)- The majority off baby dinosaur figures are often cartoony and caricature version of the adults. This is true of CollectA’s first baby rex.This time around, CollectA’s juvenile version is very much unlike anything we have seen before. Released in 2014, two years since the last. This is the start of the whole feathered rexes. In this figure, we see a small and very slender looking animal. It has a much longer legs and arms. It’s head is long and delicate looking. This look is consistent with the evidence of what a Tyrannosaurus rex juvenile looks like.With this new version, CollectA has “tested” the waters of the whole feathered Tyrannosaurus rex debate. It was a perfect way to test it as it was more easily acceptable to many to think of a baby being fully feathered than a large adult.This figure was met with great reviews as well as success, setting the stage for a fully feathered adult version.
Fifth version: Adult fully feathered ( deluxe )- Released in 2015, this is when CollectA finally jumped head first into the whole feathered Tyrannosaurus rex debate, they did it in a big way. This version represent this whole debate. This figure is in the deluxe 1:40 scale, so it is a good size figure. Here, we see a fully grown adult Tyrannosaurus rex with hair-like feathers covering it’s entire body, with the exception of the legs, arms, and the underside.The feathering is very much like what one would see in todays ostrich and other large flightless birds. Although it was not the first large feathered theropod from any of the major toy company, this is the first time we see a fully feather Tyrannosaurus rex from one of them.
Sixth version: Hunting Rex ( standard) – Released the following year, in 2016, after the deluxe version, a new, but much smaller feathered version. This one I would like to think of as representing a young adult .The proportions are more in line with a young adult, with it’s longer and more slender legs when compared to a full grown adult.
Seventh version: Tyrannosaurus corpse ( standard) – released the same year as the hunting one. This time, CollectA has gone to where no other toy company have gone before in how they depicted Mr. T! Here we have a dead one, it was long suggested by fan that the next corpse be of a predator, but no one expected it to be the tyrant king himself this time around.Beautifully sculpted and also fully feathered. Now, we have a figure that represents the death of this animal in all it’s gory details!
Now, we come to the latest, version number eight, released as part of CollectA’s 2018 lineup of impressive critters. So, what is new with this one that none of its predecessors has already offered?Well, first this figure represents the swing of the pendulum back to the middle of the whole fully feathered or non feathered image of Mr. T debate. Once the idea of a fully feathered adult Tyrannosaurus has gained wide acceptance, and after toy companies had finally started catching up with this image, the old idea of a partially feathered adult Tyrannosaurus has once again entered the spotlight.
This time, after fully embracing the fully feathered debate, CollectA has now embraced the partially feathers idea of how this animal may have looked. The whole partial-feathering debate is nothing new, but it has gained new attention over the last few years, this renewed debate offered CollectA the perfect excuse to release yet another Tyrannosaurus rex.
So this time, we get a figure that captures in plastic form this current favorite theory about how much feathering an adult Tyrannosaurus may have had.So since we are talking about feathers, lets start by looking at the difference between this one and it’s predecessors by looking at the body feathering and scaling first.The older version, was fully feathered, with sizes and shapes varying depending on where it is located in the animals body. Only a few places don’t have feathers, mostly the face, the legs, and the belly area.
This new version receded the feathering covering the body. Now, we see the feathers only adorning the top of the head area as well as the neck. These feathers looks more like long strands of hairs. This feathering continues down the figures back following the spine. It travels all the way down to the halfway point of the tail. This top area is pretty much the only place you will find feathering on this figure. Definitely much reduced that it’s predecessor, even the arms lost it’s feathering which is a shame.
This look is nothing new, we have seen this type of partial feathering in some of the Favorite series Tyrannosaurs before.Personally, I like the look, my only complaint is that the sculpting of these feathers could have been more detailed and refined so that it is consistent with the rest of the sculpting quality of the body. To me, these feathers looks like it was hastily added and in some areas the sizes looks too big. Usually the paint application obscure fine details, and usually you can see these details when you look close. Unfortunately, this is not the case on this one, truly unfortunate as it would have brought the figure to a whole different level if they put a little more care in the detailing. After all, its the difference in feathering that you are highlighting in this figure.You would think that with less feathers, these feathers that does exist would have received more careful details.
The older version has a much better, more detailed feathering and looks more natural in shapes and texture in my opinion.
Now that we covered the feathers, lets look at the scales. There are prominent scales all over this figure, and they range in sizes depending on the location. On the body, the scales are smaller, these grow bigger as it reaches the hip and tail area.The belly has square shaped scales that are bigger than all the other scales found on the body.
Now the head. The shape is nice and recognizable as a Tyrannosaur. Compared to the older version, this one has a narrower and slightly longer snout, and the head is not as deep or muscular. The teeth are detailed, but when compared to the older version, it looks less sharp and more uniformed in size, while the other had more varying sizes and more detailed and spaced out.The articulation is much better on this new figure. It looks more seamless and not as distracting as the older version which had a lot of very visible seams.This figure only have a small area of visible seams, on the neck area, but it’s not as visible.For those of you who like their theropods with lips, well this one has less of a lip than the older version.
The scales on the face is pretty much the same as the older version with the exception that this new version has less detailing on the eye area.Speaking of the eyes, they are painted simple black. The other obvious difference in the face is the coloring. This new version has the black bands receded to just outlining the top of the snout and the eyebrow. As you can see, the old version had the black banding almost encircling the eye and continues down to the lower jaw, Only a small black patch is seen on this new version’s lower jaw. Both figure have a splash of green on the tip of the snout, as well as the red feathers on the top of the head.
The colors on this one pretty much continues the series trend of brown, green, red, white, and black combination. Yes, I know, I’m not a big fan of the these color combination either, but unfortunately we are stuck with this. I can see why CollectA wanted to keep the same colors for the sake of continuity in their feathered Tyrannosaurus series, after all, this type of series is something that no other company had done.Unfortunately for those of us who are not a big fan of these color combo, well I guess we just have to wait for the day that CollectA decided to give the entire series a complete color makeover.I love what CollectA had done with their feathered Tyrannosaurus series, but it really is unfortunate, although not the worst, that they went with this color scheme.
For me personally, I think it’s the green color that really throws the entire combination off. Green is a difficult color to mix with, and this was not successful in this series.The red can work and it adds a splash of color on an otherwise subdued earth tones.
So what else is different, lets see. The body of the new figure is more slender, less bulky and muscular than the older one. More gym and less fast food I guess. The feathers hanging on the side of the older version is replaced with folds of skin.The tail is also shorter and more appropriate in length and does not have the whip-like curl on the tip like the older version had.The pose is not as dynamic as the older version. It’s supposed to be roaring or sniffing the air, depending on how you choose to pose the mouth. In an open pose, it does look like it’s roaring.
While keeping it close makes it look like the animal is sniffing the air for it’s next meal or on the lookout for potential rivals or mate.This pose, although not as dynamic, is done to give the figure more stability by shifting the weight and the center of gravity towards the middle part of the body. As you can see this figure comes without a base! Yes, CollectA did this to hopefully give their fans who are not happy with bases on figures something to be happy about.And it works, despite having a small, more proportioned feet, this figure is very stable. In fact, it is the most stable of all the biped figures with proportioned feet that I have that comes without a base. No easy task to accomplish for sure.
The figure is posed in mid-stride, with it’s right leg forward and left leg back. The legs is one piece and does not have the visible seams problems like the older version does. Since it is not covered in feathers, the muscle details is visible and well defined. As I mentioned, the feet is proportioned. It is nicely sculpted as well with lots of scale details.
In closing, this new partially feathered (roaring) Tyrannosaurus rex from CollectA is a nice way to end the feathered rexes series that started with the juvenile.It’s s good size figure that has a lot of character to it. It stands solid on it’s feet despite not having a base. The pose and articulated jaws allow a lot of flexibility and imaginative way of displaying it.Seen as part of the feathered tyrannosaurus rex series, the figure lives up to the standards of the other figures in the series.That said, seen as an individual figure, it falls a little short of being the best version of this animals that CollectA has produced to-date. It is mostly due to how poorly the feathers that exist on this figure that the figure falls short. I’m not sure if this is a different sculptor, but compared to the Mapusaurus and Ceratosaurus that came out at the same time as this figure, the difference in quality of sculpting really stands out.
I hope that when, we all know this is not the last one we will see, CollectA does another rex (years from now I hope!), it would be done by the same sculptor who did the Mapusaurus and give it the same level of quality and exquisite details that this tyrant deserves. And more importantly, that it will break away from the whole feathered series color schemes!When that day comes, I can say that we have seen the ultimate CollectA Tyrannosaurus rex!Until then, this one will have to contend.It’s a figure worth adding to any collection especially for those big fan of Mr. TThe pose is a nice break form the typical stance we usually see, and it has a lot of character.
One more thing, since my first reaction when I heard CollectA was releasing another Tyrannosaurus rex was ” Another one? Why not another species?” I’m sure I was not the only one who had that reaction. But looking back, CollectA balanced the Tyrannosaurus rex dominance by releasing other members of the Tyrannosaurus family as well. So to be fair, for each Mr. T they released, there is a different species of Tyrannosaur that goes along with it. This makes CollectA’s Tyrannosaur collection one of the most diverse of any company.
Well, that concludes today’s review of CollectA’s feathered Tyrannosaurus rex. I hope you enjoyed the review, thanks for reading. Till the next one, cheers!
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Anyone know a website that sells the 2015 version and ships to Canada? I can only find scammers charging me like 80 bucks for it.
Unfortunately, it appears to be sold out at all the usual online stores. You may have to go with this new version instead.
Tyrannosaurus did not have feathers because it wasn’t a bird. Only birds have feathers. Check out this article about a more recent find that backs this up: https://www.labroots.com/trending/plants-and-animals/6158/study-suggests-t-rex-wasn-t-feathered
While it is possible that some of the smaller animals that have been tentatively classified as tyrannosaurids were actually flightless birds and thus had feathers, there is no reason to assume that Tyrannosaurus Rex had feathers, save for the wishful thinking of an evolutionist.
[post edited for offensive language – Ed.]
1. Birds are dinosaurs. We know this for a fact. We also know for a fact that a great many theropods that are not considered birds still had feathers nonetheless. These include ornithomimosaurs, oviraptorosaurs, dromaeosaurs, and yes, tyrannosaurs. Dilong and Yutyrannus were anything but flightless birds.
2. It has not been definitively established that T. rex did not possess any degree of integument. The authors of the study cited in that article admit as much themselves.
3. Evolution doesn’t require any “wishful thinking.” Why would it when the evidence for it is overwhelming?
3. Your use of the term “retarded” is rude and inappropriate.
Were in the bible does it say dinosaurs are reptiloan? No were, the fact is these animals were feathered just look up microraptor dilong and yutyranmus all of which are feathered.And the feathered tyrannosaurs we have were not just primitive birds, why yutyranmus is 30 ft long and pretty much like a big armed rex covered head to toe in fluff.I am a Christian and i openly embrace feathered dinosaurs, fluffy dinos are beautiful creations of God.. The first paleontologists asumed dinos were reptiles, but new fossils, tissue samples and evan a dino tail in amber ,show they are releated to birds .Which is frickin awesome ,it is odd howcfeather deniers parade mumified hadrosaurs as proof of thier agenda against fluff because there scaly , while ignoring beautiful fossils of feathered dinos so good we can see the color like microraptor who was black and sinsaupteryx who was yellow with bands on the tail in conclusion these anals were indeed feathered and as a Christian im happy with it.
Yep, this color scheme is still awful.
I also prefer the Wild Safari Feathered T. rex over this. Call me petty, but the ‘rooster comb’ that the semi-feathered T. rexes have just turn me off. The Wild Safari one not only just looks right without going overboard, but it also has a nice color scheme that mimics that of many birds of prey.
If there is a question of feathered T.rex then I shall go with Safari Ltd. Feathered T-rex sculpted by Mr. Watson in 2017. There are some valid reasons for this weakness. First of all, it is anatomically and morphologically accurate which are lacking in this figure. The other reasons are the pose is more attracting and seems to be accurate to me because it go with the real king like pose the the Tyrant king really needs. Next the head sculpt is like Daspletosaurus not like the T.rex in this new collectA version but safari has caught the real T-rex like figure from head tip to tail tip. Even the sculpt of safari shows the cannibalistic behavior that theropods may have shown and those facial scars again ranked that figure some more points relative to that of this CollectA version. The figure also seems to be more slender compared to that of the Safari Ltd 2017. I know that the forearms were pretty small in T-rex like a vestigial organ, but it is more prominent in the safari one relative to that of CollectA one whose forearm fingers seem to be joined with each other, another inaccuracy. In the feet we see a little paddle feet like texture which is a glaring inaccuracy because T-rex was land theropod not aquatic or semi aquatic like Spinosaurus aegyptiacus.
I have intense affection on the Tyrannosauridae family dinosaurs till my childhood and from that time I have consulted various texts based on this family of dinosaurs and T-rex is my dream still now. I have known that the Safari 2017 model is based on the famous “Sue” specimen of T-rex. There are some comments that the head is some what less accurate. But I have seen the head of “Sue” from various sides and come to conclusion that when flesh will be added to the huge skull it will look absolutely what respected Doug Watson has created the head sculpt. And I have gone through some studies on the facial structures and textures on T-rex based on ages.When become aged the face seems to become more blunt due to addition of extra flesh which are lacking in the juveniles which are more ferocious hunters whose facial textures are more rough with slightly elongated snout as compared to the adults. The teeth become scantier as compared to juveniles during growing age. There are also evidences that some parts bore no feathers or T-rex seems to be more scaly rather than feathered. But I have seen the arguments made by some renowned scientists that it is not known how protofeathers were fossilized and conserved. Getting feathers is a bit of fortune. “Sue” was approximately 28 years old when she died. So one of the the oldest T-rex-es ( younger than Trix) found. So considering these studies, this figure which argued to be based upon the “Sue” specimen is really trustworthy and extremely accurate. A truly phenomenal toy ever made for T-rex.
Last of all, Mr. Doug Watson had sculpted that figure, who is iconic in creating scientifically (anatomically and morphologically)accurate dinosaur figures and before making this figure it is well researched and I think he has definitely considered all these evidences we are arguing for and has created this masterpiece.
And in the conclusion of this review I shall comment that the studies I had consulted on T-rex go with more to the 2017 Safari one not with the recent Collecta one which seems to be more awkward in both in pose and scientific accuracy and making a blind figure with an entirely black eye is patented among CollectA T-rex figures which I don’t appreciate.
Daspletosaurus has a relatively narrow, V-shaped skull with eyes facing out to the sides. The skull on this toy is shaped like a T-bone steak with forward-facing eyes. It is definitely that of a Tyrannosaurus rex.
Greetings,
What figure do you consider more anatomically accurate, Safari 2017 feathered one or this CollectA one? Please give reasons. I have also seen your great review of that figure.
It seems that the skull of this figure is narrower compered to that of the Safari one. I think this could be a juvenile.
Haha, your comments are longer than my review!
Unless absolutely necessary, I tend to not do a lot of comparisons between figures from different companies.
It’s not my style and it detracts from the whole purpose of reviewing an individual figure.
Preference is a personal thing, so what one person might prefer might not be another’s choice.
Well, you made it very clear you hate this figure.
I don’t share your dislike of this figure as you have read in my review of it, in fact I like it a lot.
And just to be clear, I never claimed to be an expert on tyrannosaurus, never have.
Cheers!
A very detailed review about this figure, I really appreciate the comparisons with the other figures and the informations. This toy was named by CollectA as ‘Feathered Tyrannosaurus Rex roaring’, explaining the posture of the head. Two last things that I would like to add is that your collection is perhaps the most complete and most beautiful collection of figures that I have seen and congratulations on your first review as an official author the Dinosaur Toy Blog!
Thank you so much, glad you enjoyed the review and my collection
Really good to have the entire sweep of CollectA Rexes laid out before us in this review. I agree that it’s good that they kept the painting of the feathered tribe consistent, even though I’m not a huge fan of the colors, also. By and large I’m pleased with the sculpt and how it fits into their development of the animal, though, again, the feathers could have been more detailed. Thank you for the work put into the review.
Thanks, I thought it would be fun to see all of them together as well as a quick look at one company’s history of how the animal was presented
Bokisaurus has done a magnificent analysis of this emblematic theropod made by Collecta in this year 2018. Sincerely I got it from the Museum Store of Natural Sciences of Madrid yesterday with Ceratosaurus and while in relation to Collecta ceratosaurus I keep in my valuation is one of the best figures of Collecta 2018, encambio the feathered tyrannosaurus rex that had him as one of my favorites differs a lot in terms of beauty to the feathered tyrannosaurus rex of 2015.
It is less detailed, proportionate and its pose is less natural, obviously as you comment that said theropod if it wants to remain without fixed base (which are the ones that I like) has to adopt an unreal position to avoid its fall. In any case, it is acceptable and at best remarkable. It is not as I expected.
Fortunately the Collecta ceratosaurus is of supreme quality and they are honestly in the ranking of best theropod figures along with the spinosaurus Deluxe big scientific latest version, the spinosaurus standard latest scientific version, deinocheirus or tyrannosaurus rex feathered 2015 by Collecta for putting some examples of my theropods preferred by this exceptional brand. Hopefully soon Collecta will become a member of the Tyrannosaurus family that is not logically the Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Great job on your first official review! I really like this toy, especially its ability to stand without need for a base. And yeah, I too would be down for a newer, more detailed, even beefier version, although perhaps not for a couple more years!