Review and photographs by Loon, edited by Suspsy
It’s very easy to see where the inspiration for this model came from. While the name stamp on this figure’s wing might say “Anhanguera,” it is very clearly based on the BBC Walking With Dinosaurs series’ Ornithocheirus. Which isn’t the worst inspiration, as the two species are rather closely related.
Being just under 2 inches long (around 1:24 scale), I’m surprised that Schleich managed to get some decent details in this sculpt, especially considering some of the horror shows they were turning out around 2006. The head features some very nice sculpting, looking pretty much exactly like the Walking With Dinosaurs design. Although the rest of the body is very smooth, causing a bit of a discrepancy. The colors are also similar to the BBC’s pterosaur, from the blue eyes to the red coloration on the crests and around the nostrils, but the body is much more of a greenish-brown than the gray of the Ornithocheirus.
Despite a decent-looking sculpt; it wouldn’t be a Schleich figure without some inaccuracies. Most notable is the utter lack of pycnofibers, which would have helped the body in terms of detail. Also, the jaws are far too flat and wide, with only the teeth from the top jaw visible. Like other ornithocheirids, Anhanguera’s top and bottom teeth would have interlocked. Unlike Ornithocheirus, the crest on the top jaw should be further back on this species.
The wings are just completely wrong, too. They don’t seem to have a pteroid bone (kinda important) or the attached propatagium. Instead, they have a weird ridge that goes from the fingers to the shoulder on the inside of the arm. The fingers should not be facing forward; they also look like dried sausages. Speaking of fingers, the wing finger is shown folded against the wing, whereas in life, it would have folded back. The wings also don’t connect to the legs, but to the tail.
These legs are also . . . yeesh. They’re far too stubby and feature a similar ugly wrinkling to the fingers, making these look less like the lithe legs of an aerodynamic pterosaur and more like those of a prehistoric Big Bird. That said, they do at least feature the correct number of toes, and are connected to the tail by skin.
Overall, this isn’t an amazing figure. It’s very dated, a little ugly, and not even particularly based on the animal it’s supposed to represent. Still, it would make a decent stand-in for the elusive Toyway Ornithocheirus.
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There used to be a review of this figure on the DTB, but it disappeared along with at least one other Schleich review when the site was last upgraded. This review is a lot more accurate and comprehensive. Thanks for resurrecting this figure.
Thanks. I didn’t even know this figure had been reviewed before, but, I’m happy to bring it back to the blog.
Honestly it serves as a consolation for those of us who will never have the Toyway ornithocheirus sincerely it seems to me a decent figure of pterosaur by Schleich and that figure was made in 2006 and I bought it from the Store of the Museum of Natural Sciences of Madrid on June together with his allosaurus. Pretty decent figure. Recommended in the absence of having an ornitocheirus better than this except Toyway.