Parasaurolophus (2007)(Bullyland)

Images and review by PhilSauria, edited by Suspsy.

Parasaurolophus is a pretty distinctive animal and just about all of the manufacturers of dinosaur figures that have been around for a while now have their brand on the underside of a plastic version of one. I have 13 examples in my collection and there are more out there that I don’t have. In regard to the animal itself, it’s a very large hadrosaur from the Campanian age of the Cretaceous period that grew to about 9.5 meters long and was named in 1922 by William Parks. Its fossils have been found in Canada and the USA, and consist of several skulls and skeletons, some more complete than others. Theories abound as to both how that distinctive crest would have looked in life and its possible function, neither of them likely to ever be answered to everyone’s satisfaction.

This Parasaurolophus is on the generous size as dinosaur figures go, measuring 24 cm/10 inches long from nose to tail and 10 cm/4 inches tall from the sole of its foot to the top of its head. Made from solid plastic, it’s neither overly heavy in the hand nor all that pliable at the extremities. The colour palette on this one runs from shades of green on the body with deep red stripes and patches, cream underneath, a dark nose, and bright red at the top of the head and crest. The designer clearly opted to perceive the crest as a display feature and painted it accordingly. The crest is depicted as a stand-alone feature and not as some manufacturers have done with a fleshy membrane between the crest and back of the neck. With no fossil evidence to support one look over the other, sculptors can take their pick as to the look they want. The small eyes are white with neatly painted large black pupils. Paint application on the one that I have is quite clean and neatly applied to the areas where you can see sloppiness at times, such as the eyes and toe claws.

In terms of sculpting, the Parasaurolophus is in a walking pose with its head raised and its crest tilted back. There is detail all over, with variation in the scale size and shape on various parts of the head and body. A long row of larger scales or short scutes runs all along the spine down to the tail tip, with a slight curve to that tail, which is held high and straight out behind. The feet are quite generic and there has not been all that much concern taken about scientific accuracy. This animal looks quite well fed, but you can still make out the various leg muscles, hips, and shoulder blades. None of the unpopular shrink-wrapping is in evidence here. It stands up well against most of the other Parasaurolophus figures that I have, and while being slightly on the generic side in terms of finish and accuracy, I did seek it out and was pleased to get hold of one to add to my herd.

I’m not sure how easy it has been to get hold of this figure up until now and truth be told, I can’t quite recall where I bought this one from. But with the recent demise of Bullyland, it will only become harder to find going forward. So if you feel like you need one of these in your life and you can locate one, I’d be placing that order sooner rather than later.