Review and photographs by Indohyus, edited by Suspsy
In my last review, I mentioned how Palaeozoic creatures are rarely produced in toy form. There is, however, a group that is even rarer: prehistoric invertebrates. Outside of toob sets and the Bullyland figures, they are incredibly hard to find immortalized in plastic. Once again, Kaiyodo is here to give us some obscure gems, such as today’s subject matter: Rayonnoceras, a cephalopod from the Carboniferous of Arkansas, US.
As usual, Kaiyodo presents stunning details on a relatively small figure, this one being 3.8” long and 0.5” high (1.2” with the rock base). The texture of the shell is extraordinary, with exquisite sutures leading to a well-sculpted head and tentacles. The mix of black, gold, and pinks really help it stand out, highlighting the details perfectly. The pose is fairly dull, however. I feel they could have done more with it, like giving the tentacles some movement, but it still works.
In terms of accuracy, Kaiyodo again has it correct. The length of the shell and segmentation are all there, with the head giving the classic look of cephalopods. If I were to make a minor nitpick, it would that the siphuncle is not very clearly shown, tending to get mixed in with the tentacles. Otherwise, all good.
Ancient invertebrates are so underused in toy format, and looking at this, it’s hard to say why. They may not be as recognisable as dinosaurs, but they are bizarre and amazing in their own right, not just tiny, insignificant creatures. eBay is your best bet for finding this figure, and I’d say it’s worth getting.
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I also don’t mind the pose. Collecta is releasing an orthocone soon and it will feature flailing tentacles which I feel detract from the model. A really nice touch would have been interchangeable heads with both folded and flailing tentacle options.
On the subject of the Kaiyodo model, while I am glad they made this I do not care for the clear plastic they used for the head/tentacle piece; I would have preferred something less translucent.
And I feel the paint scheme on the shell, is not very well chosen or realistic. There is evidence that Rayonnoceras and other orthocones, were whitish in colour with patterns on the dorsal surfaces and sides in an orangey colour…..much like a nautilus. I think a scheme along those lines would have flattered this model more.
Nice review,Indohyus, however, I am with Andrew when it comes to the pose, it’s a natural swimming pose for a cephalopod and gives the figure a very hydrodynamic shape. I own the figure since a few months but just added t to my display yetserday as it has such a striking apperance.
I don’t know, I think the neutral pose of the tentacles actually makes the figure more striking. It’s a bold, straight line, like a blade of some sort. Having the tentacles flailing around would’ve just distracted from the overall profile.