Photos by Niroot ‘Himmapaan’ Puttapipat
Ornithomimids are a horribly under-represented family of dinosaurs when it comes to dinosaur toys. For such fascinating animals, this really is a shame. Fortunately, the few ornithomimid figures out there are usually quite well-made. The Battat Gallimimus is one of these.
Made in 1994 (a year after the dinosaur’s appearance in Jurassic Park I should add), this Gallimimus is part of the now revered and rare Battat line, made for the Boston Museum of Science. Like the other figures in this line, the Gallimimus is an excellent sculpt and is quite accurate despite being almost 2 decades old. All the proportions are correct, and the wrists are not pronated (always a plus). The shape of the head is well-done, and the eyes are the appropriate size too.
In addition to being accurate, the sculpt is very well-detailed as well. The musculature in the hind limbs is well defined. For an animal that was probably a swift runner and relied on running as a method to escape predators, this makes sense. The skin detail is excellent as well, with realistic looking wrinkles and small scales. This is a detailed sculpt with no sloppiness whatsoever.
The quality of no sloppiness also applies to the paint job of this figure. Unlike many other massed-produced figures, the Battat Gallimimus is painted very precisely. The eyes and claws on the hands and feet are especially well painted. The color scheme of this figure is rather pleasant too. It’s just a sandy yellow with brown stripes that fades into a white underbelly, but it looks very natural for an animal that lived in a desert environment.
If there is one complaint to be made about this sculpt, it is the lack of feathers. Nowadays, it is thought that many theropods, ornithomimids included, had a covering of “protofeathers” on their body. However, Battat really can’t be blamed, as it was sculpted before this was known. The first feathered non-avian dinosaur was discovered in 1996, two years after this figure was released. If you can get past the lack of fuzz, this is still a very accurate figure.
All in all, this is an excellent and well-made figure. If you can get past the lack of feathers, it’s a very accurate figure as well. As one of the few ornithomimid figures (there are no more than 4 I can think of at the moment), it is a must-have for any fan of this family of dinosaurs. Unfortunately, this figure, along with the rest of the Battat line, has been retired for a bit over a decade and is rather rare. Luckily, it is only one of the moderately rare Battats, and pops up on eBay every now and then. If you have a chance to get this figure you certainly should; you won’t regret it.
Many thanks to Niroot Puttapipat for providing the photos for this review. He very graciously sacrificed his own figure by taking it out of its box. Besides being an excellent photographer, Niroot is also an outstanding professional artist. Show your appreciation by visiting his DeviantArt page, which features many wonderful dinosaur illustrations and much much more.
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Out of the box? What’s the joy of the figure if you don’t take it put of the box and put the figure on a stand or shelf?
Ya va siendo hora de que se diversifiquen un poco las réplicas de dinosaurios representados.Estamos saturados de Tyranosaurus,Triceratops,Stegosaurus y demás.Esta familia de ornitomÃmidos está muy escasamente representada,y la verdad es que se agradecen estas novedades.Para ser una figura que ya tiene cierta antiguedad la verdad es que está muy bien hecha,y el tratamiento del color es muy agradable.
Not all of these were sold in boxes. I bought mine at the Royal Ontario Museum, around the year 2000, and it never had a box.
Great review, Andrew!
Yikes, you are much too generous; I’m an extremely poor photographer most of the time. If the pictures turn out well, it is largely thanks to the camera. Thanks so much for the shout about my work. *Violent blush*