Rajasaurus (CollectA)

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Many kings have been released in royal family of dinosaur toys, usually in the form of Tyrannosaurus Rex but, also in the form of Cryolophosaurus, which is jokingly nick named Elvisaurus, the king of the paleo rock and roll. In 2012 CollectA added to the royal family by releasing a prince into their collection. Rajasaurus which means “princely lizard” was an abelisaurid from India, which lived during the Cretaceous. This predator is similar to Majungasaurus, but it is different from its contemporary by having a single nasal horn, with elongated supratemporal fenestre (which is a hole in the upper, back of the skull). This deadly predator had a really short skull, only measuring 23in (60cm) long

About the toy: The 2012 Rajasaurus is a member of the CollectA standard size family, which makes it rather small at just over 6in (17cm) long and 2.8in (7.11) high. It is a rather straight toy, with its head held straight and turned ever so slightly to the right. There is a slight bend down its back to its tail, but only slightly. The legs are in an active pose, spread out, and on the hunt.

The head is covered in bumps and nodules along the top and around its eyes. The center horn sticks up on top of the head starting at the orbit. The jaws are open slightly, maybe it is ogling a potential prey or a good looking Rajasaurus that is passing by, and you can almost see the drool dripping from the jaws. Inside the mouth, are a row of individually sculpted, small sharp teeth. The tongue is sculpted and visible, and some texture lines are added to the roof of the mouth.

There is a line of scutes runs down its spine along with osteoderms that run in rows down the neck, the flanks, all the way to the tip of its tail. The rest of the skin on the head, flanks, legs and tail, has very small rounded scales. The arms and digits are small and held close to the body. Underneath the animal, is a crocodile pattern of skin that starts at the lower jaw and runs underneath all the way to the tail. The legs are long and have three toes, and one small dew claw.

The color is Yellowish brown that is darkest on its spine and gets lighter and creamier as you head underneath. It also has some black stripes along the entire body, with a quick white streak along its head and neck. All the claws are painted on its hands and feet. The eyes are yellow with a black pupil. The mouth and tongue are pink, and the teeth are white.

Overall Appraisal: There is a lot I like about this toy, including the colors, stance, and that it is sculpted with binocular vision.  Unfortunately, I do have some issues as well. First, the flexible plastic on the legs is very prone to warping, which leads to stability issues. I have found that my model stands better on uneven surfaces than on even surfaces, which mine will refuse to stay upright on. The use of some sort of a base, will probably be needed at some point

Second issue is the head on Rajasaurus. I have spent countless hours, or at least it feels like a long time, wondering if the head proportions are right. It looks like the snout is just too long, and without the proper height which makes the head the wrong shape. Rajasaurus had a shorter skull, and think CollectA just missed on the correct size.

Once you get passed those two issues, I think it is a really nice and pleasing toy. It is safe for kids to use, and if you can solve the stability issue, it displays nice as well.

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