Review and images by PhilSauria, edited by Suspsy
Dinosaur figures come in all sizes but there’s one animal that, more often than not, will get you a pretty decent-sized, if not quite often oversized piece of plastic in its representation, and that is Brachiosaurus. I say Brachiosaurus as most of them are labelled and sold as such, particularly after it became an addition to the ranks of iconic dinosaurs thanks to appearing in Jurassic Park, but in hindsight many of these may actually have qualified as an animal called Giraffatitan. (I’d argue that Brachiosaurus was already one of your more high-profile species before JP but that’s another story).
Now what do we know about Giraffatitan (meaning “titanic giraffe”)? Initially, this animal was thought to be an African species of Brachiosaurus until closer examination of the remains provided enough evidence to see it eventually re-classified as Giraffatitan. For a long time, brachiosaurs were thought to be just about the largest dinosaurs known until pieces of titanosaurs started being dug out of the rock. Most size estimates for Giraffatitan are from specimen HMN SII, a subadult individual between 21.8–22.5 metres (72–74 ft) in length and about 12 meters (39 ft) tall. Apparently, there is some evidence that these animals could be even larger. It’s enough to boggle the mind trying to imagine an animal of that size not to mention the neck strain that would result from trying to look up at its head!
Anyhow, getting back to the plastic. Wan Long Teng (aka W-Dragon) have just released a magnificent figure of this animal, Giraffatitan brancai, that is very accurate in regard to the science, very large when you have it on the desk in front of you, and very naturalistic in terms of its depiction of a living (but of course now long-dead) animal.
Size-wise, we are looking at a figure measuring 43.5 cm/17 inches tall and approximately 38 cm/15 inches long and listed as being in 1/35 scale. It is quite solid and reasonably heavy as a result, so make sure you display it on a well-supported shelf. The animal is sculpted in a steady walking pose with one front limb lifting off the ground and one of its hind limbs just raised at the heel. The anatomy of the feet is very accurate from what is known about sauropod feet (and incorrect on way too many other figures!) with that side-facing single claw on the front foot and three on the back. The skin has the leathery elephantine texture that seems almost obligatory for large sauropods, along with well-defined but not overstated muscle definition. (As distinct from say, the Papo Brachiosaurus, which looks as though it hits the gym much more often).
The figure is depicted facing forward with its tail straight out behind. The mouth is open and you can imagine it calling out to other members of the herd. There’s a glossy pink tongue and rows of nicely sculpted and neatly painted teeth visible inside. We have that distinctive crest on top of the head and the nostrils towards the front of the snout. Eyes and nostrils have a glossy coating as well. Nice attention to detail for such a small feature on a mass-produced figure, which is as it should be for a high-end collectable such as this. Colouration is nothing flashy, being a mid brown all-over aside from a paler brown/tan underside and subtle banding on the tail. The toe claws are almost a golden colour and also given the gloss coating, which is a nice touch.
In summary, this is a beautiful and awesome piece of 3D paleo-art and as a collector majorly fascinated by and attracted to sauropod dinosaurs, I am only too pleased to add to my collection. The cost of this figure is more towards the pricier end of the spectrum, so we are talking serious collectors rather than the casual buyer of many of the major brands (this came into my hands thanks to the proximity of Father’s Day here in Australia, a birthday, and a payment plan offered by the seller). For those collectors with enough shelf space (and head room!) and a taste for quality depictions of prehistoric animals, I’d heartily recommend this figure.
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Where did you come by this beautiful sculpture?
This seems to be available through a number of retailers selling quality collectables from the likes of W-Dragon, Nanmu, PNSO etc. No doubt a Google search would turn up a lot of stores that I’m not aware of, personally I have seen it listed on Ali Express however mine came through local Australian retailer Sugo Toys. (How’s that for a long answer to a short question)
Thanks. At the moment Sugo is sold out and Dan’s, like Sugo, is taking pre-orders only.
Truly an impressive figure! I hope to one day get this.
Nicely done figure but I question the use of leathery skin. I thought it had been confirmed that sauropods most likely had scaly skin.
One has to wonder how such immense creatures could have existed, being herbivores. You wouldn’t think they could take in enough calories to attain and sustain their enormous size, even if they ate 24 hours a day.
Not sure where it started but manufacturers of Dinosaur figures see an animal they percieve to have similar qualities to an Elephant and proceed to give it similar skin and more often the same sort of feet, even though we are not dealing with anything like a large mammal. More sculptors need to start laying that trope to rest.
I think the skin texture is an issue of scale where the details would be too fine to sculpt so we end up with only the larger folds visible.
Magnificent figure of giraffatitan. Without a doubt in my opinion it is the definitive figure of that sauropod similar to the brachiosaurus.