As CollectA enters their twelfth year of operation, their products continue to improve by leaps and bounds. Last year, they released a sterling Styracosaurus that utterly eclipsed the original one. Now it’s time to see what their new 2018 Deluxe Iguanodon is all about. Iguanodon is one of those legendary dinosaurs that requires little to no introduction, especially for regular followers of the DTB, so let’s get right to it!
First of all, this toy is big. VERY big. At 28 cm long and 11 cm tall, it’s nearly the same size as the Deluxe Parasaurolophus. Given that Iguanodon bernissartensis (which is currently the only recognized species) may have achieved a length as great as 13 metres, it’s really only fitting that this majestic animal was made at the Deluxe scale. The toy is posed in a quadrupedal walking stance with its left front limb in mid-step, its head turned to the right, and its mouth open. As nearly always, such a pose is wide open to your own interpretation. This individual could have just caught sight of a dangerous Neovenator, or it could be communicating with a comrade, or maybe it’s simply about to take in a mouthful of succulent vegetation.
The Iguanodon’s main colours are forest green on top and pale yellow on the underside. An array of dark green stripes and light brown spots cover the back. The hands and feet are grey and the claws and thumbs spikes are light brown. The head features dark brown mouth parts, a pink tongue, black nostrils, and light brown eyes. There’s also a spot of black on the cloaca. It’s a pretty realistic, natural-looking colour scheme, one that would be very handy for a large herbivore inhabiting the Early Cretaceous woods of Europe. Mine has a bit of a splotch on its left upper arm, but no big deal.
Sculpting and detail on this toy are excellent. The body is completely covered in very fine pebbled scales. Thick wrinkles accentuate the musculature in the neck and limbs. A single row of flattened osteoderms runs down the length of the spine and the beak, thumb spikes, and claws are grooved. The small, but wide eyes give off an alert appearance. The thumb spikes look stout and potentially dangerous, although there’s no direct evidence that they were used as defence against theropods. It is also possible that they were used in foraging, or in interspecific competition. In any case, this Iguanodon figure looks very much alive and active. A prime candidate for any prehistoric diorama.
And as far as scientific accuracy is concerned, this toy rates highly. The stance is in keeping with our current understanding of Iguanodon’s posture and locomotion, the shape of the head and the overall proportions appear to be correct and the muscles look big and powerful, but not overly exaggerated. The claws are longer than on other recent toys, but given that they would have been covered in keratinous sheathes in real life, their length seems within the realm of possibility.
So how does this new Iguanodon compare to the original version? Well, to put it bluntly, it blows the old one out of the water completely. Looking at the two of them side by side, you’d be hard-pressed to believe that they were made by the same company. This toy is yet another solid testament to CollectA’s gradual evolution from passable to prodigious.
This really is the finest rendition of Iguanodon to date, an absolute must-have in my humble opinion. It’s worth noting too that CollectA has also released a Mantellisaurus in the Standard size class for this year, so ornithopod lovers should be even more pleased!
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It’s been some years, but I feel this is still the best Iguanodon on the market, and one of CollectAs all time greats. Thanks for the review!
Great review Suspy!!!!
And Collecta congratulations to you!!! You made the best Iguanodon figure there is (sorry safari) I personally dislike their colour scheme on most of their figures but this time i think its perfect!!! love its size, Paintjob and obviously the stunning sculpture!!! Well done Collecta this is your best work for sure.
Thanks!
CollectA certainly is to be celebrated for their commitment to improvements, and I am elated for the inclusion of the ornithischians for three years consecutively. From Iguanodon to Mantellisaurus and now Fukuisaurus for 2020 I can only hope this may lead to more representation to this sadly overlooked order of dinosaurs.
Is there a way of getting hold of the new collect a figures in the US? It seems they’ve struck a deal with the distributor that has resulted in them being very hard to get stateside.
I have been ordering them from MiniZoo (minizoo.com.au), where they are affordable. Shipping from Australia costs a bit extra, but if you spread it out over multiple figures it isn’t too bad.
Thanks for the tip. I bought this iggy from Korea. With shipping it was about $33 US. Not too terrible given how outstanding the figure is. I will check out minizoo.
Minizoo really is your best option right now.
Then you for the tip. I will check out minizoo.
Unfortunately world events have slowed the availability of all CollectA figures to the Western Hemisphere but, are shipping from Everything Dinosaur, Mini Zoo, and Animal Kingdoms. Eventually they can be ordered from Happy Hen Toys, or The Dinosaur Farm. Happy hunting.
Great review, and a really nice piece, to be sure. The dry-brushed green really helps the details stand out. Still, I think I’m gonna stick with the Safari one for now, mostly for reasons of space, this Iguanodon is pretty darn big.
Thanks!
Great sculpt, a definete must have of this year’s lineup…. just…. did they miss the ears on that one?
It has tiny sculpted ears; they’re just not painted black, so it’s hard to see them.
Wow, this one is detailed for a Collecta. I don’t really like most Collecta models because of the relatively frequent slight inaccuracies and because of how obviously can be seen on most of them that they’re toys, and also because of the detail, but I love this one.
They’re getting better and better with every year.
I simply love this model. CollectA has always remained my favorite toy brand, because of its stunning and high-quality toys. Safari Ltd has also made an Iguanodon figure for 2016, both CollectA and Safari Ltd’s models are excellent and keep up with the scientific understanding of these animals. It is good that these companies compete with each other and we get different perspectives/views of these animals from them. It is surprising how fast CollectA has released its new models so fast. Once the new 2018 models are in stock, I can get them. Excellent review of an excellent model. A must-have for every dinosaur lover. I like CollectA Standard Series’ models.
Without pretending in the least to offend any company or sculptor, the iguanodon of Collecta is for me the best thing that has been done in the toy industry “from my point of view” without ceasing to be great the other paleoartistic representations of the iguanodon of toy and that can be equal or better.
But honestly it is the iguanodon that I like the most.
Definitely my favourite CollectA model to date
I will admit though, the one thing holding me back from buying it is its markings. I don’t really like those airbrushed squiggles.