Maip (Deluxe by CollectA)

“Maip” may sound like an odd name for a dinosaur at first, but it is in fact a reference to a malevolent entity in Tehuelche mythology that is described as “the shadow of death that kills with cold wind.” That therefore strikes me as rather appropriate for a large and powerful meat-eating theropod. And indeed, Maip macrothorax (the species name means “large chest”) may have been the biggest megaraptoran of them all, perhaps reaching 10 metres in length. It lived in Argentina during the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous, between 72.2 and 66 million years ago, and thus far it is the largest known carnivore of the Chorrillo Formation where it was discovered. Its prey probably included juveniles of the titanosaur Nullotitan, the small ornithopod Isasicursor, and the huge 30 lb (that really is huge for its time) mammal Patagomaia.

A Deluxe-sized Maip is CollectA’s biggest dinosaur for 2025, and the very first toy of the species. Standing 10 cm tall at the head and measuring a good 27 cm long, it is sculpted in a horizontal stance with its head facing upward and angled to the left. The arms are dangling down, the left foot is placed forward, and the tail is raised with the tip swaying to the left. All this makes the Maip look as though it is on the hunt and pausing to sniff the air for any telltale scents of prey. It looks fluid and realistic this way and I like it. The toy is not mounted on a base, and it stands up fine on its own, but due to both the head and the tail being angled to the left, it does fall over fairly easily when you poke it with your finger. Fortunately, it is also very light in spite of its size, so the risk of breakage is low.

The main colour here is sandy light brown with darkened patched around the shoulder and hip regions, light beige for the underbelly, dark brown hands and feet with dark grey claws, medium and dark brown feathers, glossy black eyes and nostrils, creamy teeth, light pink mouth, and finally, reddish-orange for the crest atop the head. A fairly basic colour scheme, nothing too bold or extraordinary, but it certainly works.

The Maip‘s head is long, relatively narrow, covered in tiny round scales, and features a hinged lower jaw that opens to about 20 degrees. The mouth features a long tongue, a ribbed palate, and lots of small but sharp teeth. Unlike last year’s Deluxe Velociraptor and the 2021 Megalosaurus and Neovenator, this predator does not have lips covering said teeth. I must admit that this is a bit disappointing; I was hoping that once CollectA started putting lips on their theropods, they’d keep at it. Still, it’s not like I don’t have a ton of lipless theropods in my collection, and will no doubt be adding more in the future, especially if they’re all-new species like this one.

Adorning the Maip‘s cranium is a large feathery crest, and there are more feathers on the back of its neck and along its back down to the hips. The rest of its body is covered in rounded scales of varying size, which I’d say is a reasonable interpretation given how large the animal was. And naturally, there are also plenty of thick folds and wrinkles along the neck and around the limb joints. Plus the hands and feet are covered in rows of scutes. All of it sculpted to the usual high quality standard.

The torso looks very typical of most big theropods, with nothing really noteworthy to the eye. But what is noteworthy is that Maip‘s fossilized ribs have what appear to be attachment points for ligaments, which indicates that it possessed a respiratory system closer to that of birds than any family of reptiles. The hind legs also appear very typical, with well-defined musculature and short, fairly blunt claws. And of course, the tail is nice and long, accounting for half the Maip‘s length.

The arms are not so typical, however. They are proportionally larger than those of tyrannosaurids and carcharodontosaurids and feature long, lethal-looking foreclaws. These claws are admittedly not super sharp to the touch like the ones on Haolonggood and PNSO toys; they are pointed, but blunted at the tips, undoubtedly to prevent accidental injury during play. This is a much safer and more appropriate toy for children as well as adults to own than the aforementioned products. Standard practice for CollectA, Safari Ltd., Schleich, and other such companies. And I don’t think it really takes away from the overall fearsome and powerful appearance of the Maip. And indeed, for further proof of its grit, there’s a fresh trio of slashes on its shoulder that was clearly inflicted by another of its own kind.

So how accurate is this Maip? Are the claws and arms too big or too small? Is the head the right shape? Does it have the correct dentition? Well, as is the unfortunate case with all megaraptorids, the known fossil material for this beast is pretty scant, to the point where none of those questions can be answered at the present time. There’s an axis, several vertebrae, some ribs (of course) and gastralia, part of a shoulder blade, and a chunk of the right pubis. But that is enough to identify it as a megaraptorid, and to allow for a reasonable estimation of its size. And given what we know about other megaraptorids like Aerosteon, Australovenator, Megaraptor, and Murusraptor among others, this does seem like a perfectly reasonable restoration of the most massive member of all. Time may well prove that Maip did in fact have bigger arms, longer claws, or a longer skull, but it could also prove that this toy is dead on, or very close to it.

Overall, the CollectA Maip is a solid first representation of a most savage and selcouth saurian. Impressive size, great sculpting work, fierce appearance, and fun to play with. And certainly unique, of course. It will become available for purchase midway through the year.

This has been yet another very special review, for it commemorates my close relationship with CollectA. For ten years now, they’ve been incredibly kind and generous in sending me free review samples well ahead of the official release dates. It’s been a privilege and a pleasure to review these items and I’ll always be grateful to them. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. And I can’t wait till November when the 2026 assortment gets revealed!