Review and photographs by Indohyus, edited by Suspsy
Once again I find myself returning to the origins of dinosaur figurines, Starlux, to look at another animal reproduced long before other companies got to it. This time, it’s Deinotherium, the terrible beast! A relative of modern elephants, this powerful probiscidian could grow to 13 ft tall and weigh as much as 11 tonnes (based on the largest species, D. giganteum), far exceeding the size and weight of modern elephants. They were found across Africa and Europe, where the skulls may have formed the basis for ancient Greek legends such as the cyclops (that large nasal hole could look like a huge eye socket if you didn’t know better).
Within their own range and in comparison to other small figure brands, Starlux’s Deinotherium is large, at 4” wide and 2.6” high. However, it is certainly not in scale with most modern lines. The pose is fairly dynamic, pacing forward while trumpeting deafeningly. Why it is doing so is up to your imagination. The figure is a rather dull grey colour, resembling a modern elephant, giving it a fairly believable appearance. The other major paint applications are to the toes and tusks, painted a cream colour, and a salmon pink for the mouth.
For an older model, accuracy is decent on this figure. The proportions are accurate, not too skinny, and the ears and tail are short enough. The feet are large, flat pads, just like elephants today have. The tusks are also curved correctly, also not too long or short. The trunk, however, seems to be a bit too long. It’s hard to gauge with the trunk curled, but mapping it out, it would hang far below the tusks, not accurate to the shorter trunk Deinotherium is calculated to have. Aside from this possible fault, it is fairly good in terms of accuracy.
There is also a smaller version of the Deinotherium, only 2” wide and 1.2” high, a good size for a juvenile to the adult. It’s less detailed than the larger figure, but has a dark blue and beige colour, making it stick out from the larger adult. Quite cute really!
Again, I warn you that these are more delicate figures than modern ones, and mishandling will cause them to break easily (see the smaller figure is missing its tail). However, I do recommend the Starlux Deinotherium if you want it. They do pop up fairly often on eBay, so happy hunting!
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