Despite being the type genus of Dromaeosauridae, Dromaeosaurus has still not yet been made into a toy by CollectA, Haolonggood, Mojo Fun, Papo, PNSO, Safari Ltd., or Schleich. I really don’t get why. Creative Beast Studio, however, has rightly showered it with plenty of love, in the form of their 1:6 and 1:18 scale toys for Beasts of the Mesozoic. And here now is their second 1:18 scale Dromaeosaurus, the Fans’ Choice version.
We begin, as always, with the packaging. It is again a fairly standard blister pack, but a very secure one. The front of the card features a splendid rendition by Sara Richard which depicts the Dromaeosaurus standing tall and proud next to a stream. The back has a cut-out information card and images of other 1:18 scale BotM dromaeosaurs and ceratopsians.
The contents are the exact same as with the previous release. I really like the toe clamps, the posing rod, and the simple clear base. Pity those first two concepts wouldn’t work as well with larger-sized BotM dinos. And as always, before attempting to play around with this toy, it is imperative to loosen up the joints with a hairdryer or hot water. The knee joints in particular on mine were a real pain, but I was successful in the end. And results will no doubt vary.
Now, since the original version of this toy has been reviewed in depth, I will only be covering the colour scheme on this one. Like the 1:6 scale Fans’ Choice toy, it is based on Falco sparverius, the adorable and deadly American kestrel, littlest of all falcons and scourge of insects, amphibians, and small reptiles, birds, and mammals. The torso is orange-brown on top, faintly bluish white on the bottom, and features pale yellow patches on the flanks and plenty of black spots. The legs are also orange-brown and bluish white with bright yellow feet and glossy black claws.
A pale yellow streak covers the top of the hips and extends onto the tail. The tail is bright orange on top and bluish white underneath. The large fan at the end features a striking pattern of black, orange, and white.
The upper arms are orange-brown, white, and pale yellow. The inner sides of the wings are pale light brown with black trim, and the hands are bright yellow with glossy black claws. But the grey pegs at the joints, unfortunately, have been left unpainted and stick out like the proverbial sore thumb.
The primaries and secondaries on the outer sides of the wings are painted black with white spots. The rest of the feathers are black and dark blue. And while the pegs are still noticeable in spite of being painted over with blue, they’re not as glaring as the ones on the inner sides.
The neck is orange-brown and black with a peach patch over the white on the throat. The head too has orange-brown, black, and peach, along with light yellow for the eyes and the large patches on the sides, a glossy bright pink mouth lined with white teeth, and a brilliant streak of blue atop the head.
All of these colours have been expertly applied, with the only discernible blemish being on the inside of the lower jaw, and it’s really not that big of a deal. This Dromaeosaurus does indeed resemble an American kestrel, but at the same time, the bolder, sharper shades of colour really do make it its own unique coelurosaur. It’s really quite pulchritudinous.
I quite adore this little toy and I much prefer it to the original version, although really, I have yet to see a colour scheme from Creative Beast that wasn’t excellent. I’ll also note that I’ve not bought any more 1:6 scale BotM raptors after the Saurornitholestes due to the amount of shelf space that they would take up, but I would likely be tempted by more 1:18 scale versions, especially Acheroraptor and Zhenyuanlong. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see what David Silva decides to deliver.
Oh, and back on April 27 of this year, Creative Beast celebrated the ten year anniversary of its very first Kickstarter campaign, for the BotM Raptor Series. Needless to say, they’ve been wildly successful in that time, perhaps more so than anyone could have anticipated. Heartiest congratulations, and best of luck in the future!
All articles on the Dinosaur Toy Blog are written without the use of 'AI'
