Review and photographs by Loon, edited by Suspsy
There’s been a trend in Mattel’s Jurassic World line to not only include the various species from the films, but also ones that have only appeared in the books. This explains the inclusion of the obscure Callovosaurus, a dryosaurid known from fragmentary remains found in England. This Middle Jurassic iguanodontian’s contribution to the franchise can be mostly summed up as it erroneously replacing Microceratus in some versions of the first Jurassic Park novel.
Before we get to accuracy, how is this thing as a toy? Well, it’s a fine figure. This isn’t surprising, as Mattel’s line is full of fantastic toys, regardless of quibbles about accuracy. Measuring 7″ long, the Callovosaurus features a decent suite of articulation: up and down movement at the neck, limbs that swivel, and a surprising left to right joint at the base of the tail.
The colors are interesting, reminding me of a repaint of the Carnegie Collection Iguanodon. The dark blue of the body contrasts well with mustard yellow that adorns the face, back, and thighs, alhough the printing on the face is a little too noticeable. These markings seem to be inspired by the artwork of Callovosaurus from the defunct Jurassic Park Institute website, especially the patterns on the face and around the shoulders. Another interesting touch is the inclusion of lighter blue stripes down the tail, as many Mattel figures rarely have any paint past the middle point of their tails.
Even though researchers have struggled with Callovosaurus‘ place among the iguanodontians, it is agreed that this animal was basal and likely resembled its assumed close relative Dryosaurus. However, pretty much every feature of this figure resembles a derived iguanodontid, from the longer skull to the thumb spikes to the quadruped stance. Callovosaurus‘ true arms probably would have been far too small to support this posture; it is thought to have been bipedal like Dryosaurus. A bipedal pose can be attempted, but is impossible without the figure falling over and looking like Quasimodo.
Overall, the Mattel Callovosaurus is a fine action figure, but not a great representation of the animal it’s trying to replicate.
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Could this be used as a Camptosaurus?
What sucks about this figure the most is that we could have actually gotten a mainstream basal ornithopod figure, but instead got another iguanodontian which CollectA are knocking out of the park.