Diabloceratops, thanks no doubt to its distinctive appearance, media exposure and – of course – that irresistible name, is proving to be quite popular with dinosaur toy manufacturers. This year, both Collecta and Safari are releasing a figure (the latter in their Wild Safari range), with Collecta’s being first out of the blocks. It’s a far cry from their bad old days, but there’s still room for improvement.
What I like most about Collecta’s recent output is that they’re really, honestly trying to get it right; there’s no sign of the deplorable laziness that blights, for example, Schleich’s figures. As with all their ceratopsians from the last couple of years, this Diabloceratops sports a row of speculative, Psittacosaurus-like quills, hands with properly differentiated digits (including two reduced, clawless ones), and a wonderfully vibrant colour scheme on the head. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – Collecta are to be commended for employing the heads of ceratopsians to provide a striking, brightly coloured display, especially since it’s quite likely that that’s what they were used for on the real animals. It always seems such a shame when other companies opt to paint them in the same dull earthy colours as the rest of the figure.
It’s also especially fitting to draw attention to the head in this case, as Diabloceratops is only known from its skull. Unfortunately, while it’s beautifully painted and lovingly detailed (check out the tiny tongue), the head on Collecta’s Diabloceratops is a little out of proportion. In particular, the snout is too long and shallow, while the frill may also be a little too large. On the other hand, the frill is at least the right sort of shape and the brow horns curve slightly backwards towards their tip as they should. Nevertheless, it looks like Safari might have the edge on Collecta here, even if not in ‘carousel horse’ good looks.
Fortunately for Collecta, the rest of the body is somewhat speculative, so there is some scope for Making, uh, Stuff Up. The figure is posed in something of a ‘braced’ posture, with the forelimbs slightly sprawled, the elbows very flexed, and the head brought down closer to the ground, as if the animal is standing its ground against some unseen adversary. The limbs are a decent length, and sculpting of the muscles is well executed, without being exaggerated. The tail may be a little short for a centrosaurine – more reminiscent of the much later, larger chasmosaurines like Triceratops – but of course, it could have had a ridiculously tiny nub for all we know. The scaly skin is pleasing enough, without being quite as convincing, somehow, as Safari’s efforts – nevertheless, such fine detailing is always commendable.
While it doesn’t quite make me want to declare its unexpected greatness through a megaphone in the midst of a crowded shopping street on a Saturday afternoon (as the Dead Triceratops did – that trip to the magistrates’ court was totally worth it), this is a worthy, not to mention highly affordable, effort from Collecta, who continue to improve year-on-year. Other manufacturers could learn a lot from their approach, and I’m looking forward to getting a closer look at this year’s other releases.
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[…] ceratopsian from Utah is the second Diabloceratops figure of 2013, following Collecta’s pretty decent effort a few months prior. While it can be a bit dull when companies rush to produce figures of the same […]
Both Wild safari and collectA Diabloceratops are very good models but I don’t know which to buy
I love this figure.For me,it ‘s CollectA’s best ceratopsian yet (well,if we don’t count the great 1:15 scale Triceratops ) .I really hope they continue producing ceratopsians.
Alabo también el gran esfuerzo de Collecta por el salto cualitativo de estos últimos años.Esta figura me parece bastante atractiva, a pesar de los posibles fallos.La cabeza es espectacular y el color excelente.Muy superior al modelo de Safari Wild,que les ha quedado un poco “hippie” o “flower-power”.
It’s quite a mix of old and new: somewhat retro in some aspects, positively progressive in others. I like the head. The body not so much.
In my opinion this is an awesome figure.The frill’s color is just stunning,and the back’s feathers looks great.I agree with you that CollectA isn’t a lazy company and that they are going better every year.I think and hope 2014 is going to be a tremendous year.
La figura entiendo de que se podÃa haber mejorado, aunque ha mejorado con respecto al Utahceratops y Kosmoceratops, aunque el tamaño es pequeño lo compensa su voluminosidad, pero entiendo que tiene todavÃa numerosos fallos, como se ha indicado en el artÃculo.