Back in 2010 I treated myself to a pair of statues and reviewed one of them shortly thereafter (Stegosaurus reviewed here). The second model has spent the last half decade standing proudly in my flat, begging for the review that never seemed to come. That day is finally here.
Part of the reason for the delay was some damage the Allosaurus suffered in transit. It arrived with a cracked supporting foot, all the more worrisome because the statue balances gracefully on this one leg. One of the toes had fallen off. Thankfully, whatever wires are housed within the innards of the sculpture formed a strong enough skeleton to keep the statue upright, and a little glue fixed the lost toe back into place, even if the statue is still a little bit wobbly. The crack is still visible but only if you’re looking for it. Such is the risk of ordering statues like this online. The damage was minimal enough that I decided to keep the model and the Ebay seller was kind enough to offer a partial refund.
This is a beautiful modern take on Allosaurus by sculptor Michael Trcic. The body is held horizontal and the tail arches upwards, the arms and legs are slim but muscular, and the palms face each other (and slightly outward) in a grasping gesture. There are no anatomical errors to speak of. The exciting pose also keeps the appearance current, leaning heavily to the side and balancing mid-stride on one leg. You’ll struggle to find a more dynamic portrayal of Allosaurus in model form and words can’t really do it justice. It looks delightful from every angle, to the extent that I had real difficulty selecting photos from the many that I took. Aspects of the statue, especially the pose and texture of the skin, are somewhat reminiscent of a John Gurche painting. The essentially scale-less elephantine skin of both Gurche and this model is stretching believability, but even at this relative large scale (for toys and models) the scales would have been hardly visible.
The colour scheme is possibly unique. A bold orange streak runs along the flank from the lips to the tail, which contrasts with the dirty grey/brown of the rest of the body. It is an unusual choice and I’m not not entirely sure about it – aesthetically it is almost overpowering, taking away from the delicateness of the biological form. The clashing pink hornlets are also a little distracting but the other details of the skull are extremely nice.
The Allosaurus and Stegosaurus make great counterparts because they are to scale to each other and lived alongside each other during the Late Jurassic Period in North America. The rocky base of the Allosaurus also matches that of the Stegosaurus model and invites the two statues to be placed side by side (as I’ve done). Overall, this is a wonderful piece and one of the objects in my collection that I’m most proud to own. If you don’t own it you’ll be jealous of those that do, so get it while stocks last!
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Hello dinotoyblog. We need to discuss something. My account Frank08 was banned permanently for “probable duplicate account” which I did not do. That “probable” is saying this “I probably have a duplicate account” and I got banned for probably have two account when mei long was a friend using a different email. And because of that I request that you reactivate my account. But, if you don’t do that, then at least respond and give me one good reason why I can’t be on toy forum.
Hey, I’m just seeing your (many!) comments now as I haven’t logged into the blog for a while. I didn’t ban you, I banned ‘mei long’. However, since you share the same IP as ‘mei long’, you’re hitting that ban trigger. Drop me an email at [email protected]
Okay, I have dropped the email,
The bright colors on dinosaurs are absolutely ridiculous. Dinosaurs were the color of elephants…or hippopotamuses…or alligators.
Frank/Haydn/Allen, if you keep spoofing I’ll just ban you from posting comments.
Well, I found a new (probably more welcoming) toy forum! So goodbye!
If you respond and give me a reason why I can’t be on toy forum, I’ll stop my comments
I don’t get what’s sooo off putting about having a conversation!
Listen to me! You will hear my message.
Respond and let’s have a debate like people.
You do realize that I’m going to keep commenting. I enjoyed your community and did not use a duplicate account. You will eventually realize that reactivating Frank08 is the right thing to do
Come on Dr Admin. The least you can do is respond.
You got rid of my comment! Okay, I didn’t have a duplicate account, you should know that mei long had a different email. So you really should reactivate my account and since you permanently blocked two people and got rid of my first comment, you should have enough power to get my account back. Reactivate Frank08! The least you can to is respond and give me one good reason why I can’t be on Dino toy forum if I didn’t use a duplicate account.
Hey, @dinotoyblog. You banned my account (Frank08) for “probable duplicate account” when I did nothing of that nature. You said I broke rule one when on both warnings, you said that I had “one last chance to stay on your safe and open community”. If I had one last chance, then why did you block me when I asked about mei long. He was a friend using a different email. You said one account per person and I was following that rule. You give me back my account since I didn’t use a duplicate account. And my statement about COVID? You said “I’ld rather give you a chance to make amends” and my “bye bye”. How is that an attack? But you still gave me one last chance. So what’s the deal? Give me back my account.
I used to own this statue and while I am not a fan of the coloration (it kind of seems like the dinosaur vomited while running), the sculpt is absolutely beautiful.