Review and photographs by Indohyus, edited by Suspsy
Smilodon. Whether it’s populator, fatalis, or gracilis, one thing is certain: this was a powerful felid, the epitome of ancient mammal predators. Originally from North America, then successfully emigrating to South America during the Great Faunal Interchange, there are few who haven’t heard of this mighty mammal, especially for its 28 cm sabre teeth. After the woolly mammoth, this will often be one of the first extinct mammals a company makes, often under the erroneous name “sabre toothed tiger”, and AAA is no exception to this.
At 6.5″ in length and 3.8″ from paw to ears, the AAA Smilodon is a decent size, if quite large in comparison to other renditions. The pose is very active, either stalking a prey, or preparing to face off against a rival. A very fitting pose. The fur detailing covers most the figure, giving it a similar pelt to a modern lion.
It would seem AAA used a lion as the basis for much of the figure. The main colour is a brownish gold almost all over, becoming lighter towards the underbelly, which is predominantly white. The only other paint applications are on the paws and head. The mouth is nicely painted, with pink for the gums, red for the tongue, and white for the teeth. Its nose is highlighted in red, with black for the nares and adjacent whiskers. The eyes are orange with a green highlight around them, although the application of this may differ from figure to figure, as the right pupil on mine is far off center, where as the left is dead center. The claws are grey and the pads are a light brown, much like a modern cat. Looking at the underside reveals that this is VERY much a male (a fact that I only discovered recently, despite owning the figure 12+ years!).
Smilodon was a lot more muscular than modern big cats, and this is evident in this figure: it is a very bulky, very muscular felid. The accuracy to the living animal seems very close, with few mistakes. The only flaws I can see is that the muzzle and legs may be a little short and the body slightly too long, but that’s it. The gape in the maw is fine, the teeth aren’t too long or short, the paws are accurate and the tail is to a correct length. It’s hard to fault this figure.
This is a phenomenal figure, with a dynamic pose, natural colouring, and fairly good accuracy to the living animal. In short, it is well worth picking up. But it is quite an old figure, so tracking it down may be difficult. Best to hunt eBay for it, but it will be worth it!
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This Smilodon figure looks to much like a modern cat’s morphology. The body is entirely to long. The tail is WAY to long. The saber teeth are to far apart, etc, etc. I think this figure has numerous inaccuracies.
looks like a cougar