Kronosaurus (Unknown)

There was a time when Kronossaurus was the most famous marine reptile. It was part of the elite group of dinosaurs (and other prehistoric animals), sort of like the Mesozoic version of the Justice League. These assortments would be the core group to be featured in the 1950’s Marx set, the first real toy set to focus on prehistoric animals, This Mesozoic superhero group would feature icons: we see Tyrannosaurus rex, Diplodocus, Allosaurus, Triceratops, Anklyosaurus, Hadrosaur (iguanodon?), Pteranodon, and of course Kronosaurus (representing the marine reptiles).

But while most of its team mates would go on to great fame; starring in countless movies and appearing in toys and merchandises, in the succeeding decades, Kronosaurus would languish on the sideline just like some Justice League members.It won’t be until the 1980’s that Kronosaurus would make another appearance in the toy market with the release of the Carnegie figure, and another attempt of a comeback in 2006 when Schleich introduced it to their Replicasaurus line. But that was that, nothing really followed much after. 

And so Kronosaurus watched on the sideline again as other large and powerful marine reptiles took center stage such as Liopleurodon, Tylosaurus, and of course Mosasaurus, dominating the scene for more than a decade.

But in 2017, Kronosaurus would mount another major comeback when both CollectA and Safari would release simultaneously two large figures of this impressive short-necked pliosaur! With these two new models, a new look emerged, one that is far different from previous incarnation.

With public interest renewed, it was inevitable that other figures would quickly follow. Today, we will take a look at the latest version of Kronosaurus to hit the market.

In the last few years, there has been a steady flow of figures of unknown brands coming out of china. The majority of these figures saturating the market are low quality knock-off of major brands. But once in a while, some rare jewels do emerge, one of them is this figure.

It has no brand attached to it and looking at all the current Kronosaurus models around, it is not a direct knock-off any of them and seems to be an original sculpt ( I could be wrong). One could say that it is “inspired” by the CollectA version more than the Safari, but definitely not a direct copy of it.

It’s possible that one of the brands know for “cheaper” figures such as Boley would add it to their line, but as of this writing it is unknown .Lately there has also been a trend from some Chinese brands to release figures in two color variants, and this follows that trend. As you can see, I have the black and white version, but there is also a green version available that is more subtle if that is your preference, I happen to be more drawn to this color scheme despite the black and white on Pliosaurs being almost a cliche ever since WWD popularized this combo for their Liopleurodon. 

For a figure of unknown brand, this is actually a really nice model. It is recognizable as that of Kronosaurus; a massive skull that tapers off towards the snout. The head is very close to what the CollectA figure looks like in size and shape, they even made an attempt to show some notches on the jaw, as well as the uneven jawline when seen from the top. The teeth are individually sculpted, large, and a little bit too spaced out but does have variation in size, but on the plus side, they are nicely done. The jaw is articulated well and has no issue opening or closing, and as much as I love the Collecta figure, this one actually has a better articulation joints that are not as distracting in any position. 

The upper and lower teeth meet at the tips when the mouth is closed so the mouth is left partially opened which is expected with a lower jaw that is flared out. There are lots of skin texturing on the head in the form of wrinkles, line, and pebbly scales unlike the smooth ones we see in both the CollectA and Safari versions.The beady eye is placed right about where it should be and is painted black. The snout does taper off and becomes pointier but I think it could have been a little longer. More importantly, the head is not shrinked-wrapped.

Kronosaurus have wide and stiff torso that is held rigid by its rib cage unlike the more flexible mosasaurs, it also has a shorter tail. So, the body really can’t be bend in a semi-curve making it challenging to present any figure in a dynamic pose.Think more like a leatherback turtle than a dolphin. Any sense of movement would have to be shown in how the neck and tail base are positioned as these areas are the most likely to show any form of flexibility. The figure’s body is appropriately rigid and wide and just like the CollectA model its neck and tail are slightly turns to the side giving the figure a sense of movement that are within the known body limits.

The body is full of details; again, we see lots of pebbly scales/bumps as well as skin folds where you would expect to see them like in the base of the flippers and neck areas. The figure’s flippers are a little on the shorter side; shorter than they should be. Kronosaurus’s flippers are muscular and powerful since this was their main means of moving their large bulk through water. Other than that, the flippers look about the right shape and have enough muscle on the base.

The tail is short as it should be and features a fluke similar to CollectA’s model in shape and size, this is a nice touch and gives the figure something of a more contemporary look. Unlike the mosasaurs’s long tail, the tail of Kronosaurus didn’t really help it propel itself in the water that much, all the power in its massive flippers. Overall, the body proportion looks good despite some minor shortfall in some areas.

Now for the color, as I mentioned earlier, the figure comes in two color form: a green and this black and white one. I found this version more appealing, but if more subdued is your cup of tea, then the green version would be more to your liking. As overused as this color combination is on large marine reptiles, this one at least has a different design other than that WWD Liopleurodon one. 

The body is white with with some gray and black patches all over. Thin black vertical strips adorn the body and flippers; with some creating circular patterns, this is something unique as most strips/bands are usually much wider. The result is rather unique and makes it stand out from the crowd, a real eye-catching figure.

Kronosaurus ranks as one of the largest of the pliosaurs with size estimate putting it around 30-36′ long and weighing in at 11-13 tons! Its skull alone is estimated to be around 7-9′ feet long, bigger than a fully grown human! It preyed on other marine reptiles such as the long-necked plesiosaurs, turtles, and may even hunted and fed on giant squids.

The figure is appropriately large in size, just slightly smaller than the CollectA figure. It is made with the same solid PVC material that other brands use so it has some weight on it. The fins is nice and strong unlike the soft curling material used in the Safari version.

With Mosasaurus currently dominating the spotlight and toy market, thanks to its cameos in JP films, it is nice to get a break and see a different large marine reptile still make an appearance in the toy market. This figure is surely one of the best kronosaurus figures out there and I consider it between its CollectA and Safari predecessors in terms of quality, visual appeal, size, and accuracy; not bad for a figure with no brand attached to it. 

So, if you are looking for another large marine reptile that is not a mosasaur, this could be worth acquiring and makes an eye-catching addition to any marine reptile display.

With that, we conclude our review. I hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading. Until the next review, stay safe and healthy. Cheers!

Update notes: Between first writing this review and publishing it, it seems like there has been an explosion of copies of this figures now circulating both in Amazon and eBay under various names, all of them names associated with knock-off figures .