Postosuchus, meaning “Crocodile from Post“, is an extinct genus of rauisuchid reptiles comprising two species, P. kirkpatricki and P. alisonae, that lived in what is now North America during the Late Triassic. Its name refers to Post Quarry, a place in Texas where many fossils of the type species, P. kirkpatricki, were found.
Representations of Postosuchus as toy figures have become quite popular over the last ten or so years. One reason for its popularity may be the BBC series „Walking with Dinosaurs“. Here we follow a quadrupedally walking male struggling with the harsh requirements of late Triassic North American environment, eventually starving to death.
Much has been debated on how this animal actually walked; latest studies prefer the permanently bipedal style due to the center of gravity, which is assumed to have been similar to that of the Theropods.
Schleich, as Safari eleven years ago and the Toyway representation of the BBC series´ protagonist even earlier, chose the quadrupedal stance, which I personally like.
I guess I don´t have to lose that many words on Schleich figures of prehistoric reptiles. Their theropods have mostly been a slap in the face, as were most of their other dinosaur figures. They do have some pretty decent figures in their line-up, such as their Psittacosaurus, the Spinosaurus or the Pentaceratops. Their interesting Desmatosuchus has become an expensive collectible. But most of Schleich releases have so far been dismal attempts on achieving beauty and scientific correctness.
Maybe Schleich was never really trying, mostly aiming at naive children and parents looking for cheaply looking sandbox toys. Admittedly, Schleich´s reputation has become better over the last few years, but still collectors hold their breath when they hear about new releases. What I don´t really like as a German is that there is not even one toy store around that does not sell Schleich and only Schleich. We do not even have a choice here, which is quite annoying. So retail should stop complaining about people increasingly buying beautiful dinosaur figures online.
When Schleich announced to release a Postosuchus a few months ago, collectors curiously debated how it would turn out. Now it´s here, and, to put it bluntly right at the beginning, in my opinion they did not completely fail at making a decent figure of it.
It is 18,5 cm long and 5,7 cm tall. Its jaws can be opened and reveal a carefully painted pink tongue. The face in real does not look as ugly and silly as on the pictures we had been shown in advance. The neck shows a detailed wattle. The overall detail oft he skin with all its knobs, scales and wrinkles is really good.
The osteoderms, which were thick plates forming scales at the neck, back and tail, are stepped in a different skin pattern and colour, namely dark green, while the rest oft he body is coloured in a grey tone.
The forelegs of Postosuchus were much smaller than the hind feet; this fact led to the „quadruped or biped?“ – discussion. The figure does it justice and exhibits slender forelegs and strong hind legs. Both fore- and hindlegs have the correct number of digits.
The skull has been worked out quite well. It is correctly narrow. The teeth are as sloppy as in the Spinosaurus. They´re not sharp, probably due to security issues, and they have been molded as rows, not as separately standing teeth. The eyes are golden, the pupils have been carefully placed, so that it does not look goofy. The skull shows the right amount and position of the fenestrae, in contradiction tot he ridiculous Giganotosaurus, for example.
I´d like to add a little detail: The figure lacks a cloaca.
In summary I have to say that I really like the figure. It is a toy and also a collector´s item that, of course, does not play in the same league as the Sideshow Postosuchus.
But it is quite detailed, unexpectedly delicate and relatively correct from the scientific point of view. I do like both the rough charm of the Bullyland Rauisuchid gang and the smoothly looking Safari Prestosuchus and Postosuchus. With their Postosuchus, Schleich released a blend of those brands, taking an independent approach I would like to see them continue.
With figures like these, Schleich is on the right way, but one thing is for sure: They will be releasing ugly monsters again, since they are not known for really taking care of constant diligence in sculpting.
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Nagyon tetszik de nkem is továbbra a Safaris a kedvencem.
(mindkettő megvan)
Recent years have seen a definite upswing in the accuracy and aesthetic appeal of Schleich figures. They have been inconsistent but the trend is in the right direction. I find it interesting, though, that so many still hold their earlier releases against them and refuse to acknowledge their improvement while they seem to no longer hold the first several waves of CollectA figures against them. (Let’s face it; the early CollectA figures were atrocious and even many of the middle period were not very good. I’ll point to their larger version Stegosaurus and compare it to the more recent Schleich Stego as but one example.) It’s almost as if they need a whipping boy and have decided Schleich will always it.
Full disclosure; I do find the early Schleich figures to have a certain charm to them and part of that is precisely because they are so woefully inaccurate and it was very clear that the Schleich sculptors struggled with the concept of things like 1/40th scale. (The nose to tail length of a figure is just one measure, for example.)
It’s high time for folks to allow them growth and acknowledge the honest effort the company seems to be making. True, they are still inconsistent. Their new Cryolophosaurus is awful, for instance, but other new figures, such as this Postosuchus, are quite admirable. I’ll take that honest effort any day over the wild inaccuracies disguised by confident sculpture and sterling paint jobs that has made a certain other company the darling of many collectors.
I bought it two days ago and sincerely this postosuchus of Schleich far exceeds the expectations of this brand. The figure is very nice and is sincerely intended for adults (collectors) for example to have it as an ornament on the desk in your office and for children. It is a more than acceptable figure, which I did not know was so scientific, which I am glad I prefer the figures of scientific toys by Schleich. My congratulations on New Year 2020 even if in passing.
it looks better than I expected, but I’m still not super keen on it. I think I’ll stick with my Safari Postosuchus for now. Great review nonetheless.
Buena figura de parte de schliesh aunque prefiero la de toyway y sobre todo la de safari
Glad to see a review from you!
What an interesting, if not ugly, figure! I guess it’s a pass for me despite some nice details.
Yeah, Schleich is trying to monopolize the toy figure market by pressuring retailers to only carry their products which is one reason I’m not a fan of the company.
They are doing it here in the US as well.
Hope to see another review from you soon.
Hopefully such tactics backfire in the long run by forcing the retailer to choose a better quality, less costly alternative (e.g., Safari), to the exclusion of the lower quality, more costly one (Schleich). At least that’s an option in North America.
Great review, and great to have you back. I guess this Postosuchus is no worse than the rauisuchids by Bullyland, and I like all of those well enough. We’ll be getting another Postosuchus this year too from Mattel. But none of them compare to the Safari which is still one of my all time favorites.