Suchomimus (Mini)(Schleich)

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Review and photographs by Rajvinder “IrritatorRaji” Phull, edited by Suspsy

Ever since its discovery in 1997, Suchomimus has never had any difficulty shying away from the public eye, even appearing in the Warpath: Jurassic Park video game only 11 months after it was officially named in November 1998. It has since appeared in other JP games as well as documentaries, cartoons, art, and toys, of course. Enter German toy manufacturer Schleich, whose recreation of the ‘crocodile mimic’ had flown under many peoples radar for quite some time. Wonder why?

Though you can now purchase this figure on its own via eBay, it was originally released in 2016 as part of Schleich’s Marshland Puzzle set, which also included miniature Kentrosaurus, Velociraptor, and Triceratops figures. As its name suggests, this mini dinosaur is quite small indeed. It measures in at a mere 7.6 cm (3 inches) long and 3 cm (1.1 inches) tall. Though, if his neck and tail weren’t curved like they are, this figure could probably stretch to around 10 cm (4 inches). The figure is made of a soft plastic and is fairly malleable, so one could potentially bend the neck and tail into a straight pose with hot water. This little guy won’t take up much room on your shelf at all and could potentially be a very fitting stand-in for a young spinosaurid in a diorama.

The figure stands on all fours and has no balancing issues at all. It runs no risk of falling over on uneven or frequently disturbed surfaces. However, squatting on all fours perhaps didn’t seem stable enough, so Schleich has also enlarged the animal’s hands and feet to completely ridiculous proportions for, um, additional stability? Or perhaps the hands and feet were enlarged in order to give the figure larger claws and thus adding to its ferocity? What ever the reason, it seems that Schleich has gone to some bizarre lengths to ensure that buyers are receiving a Suchomimus figure that will definitely not topple over.

While Schleich’s colour schemes are often very hit-or-miss, I find the colours used for this toy to be very pleasing. The main body is a lime green with a dull seaweed green airbrushed along the top of the neck, back, and tail. The same murky green colour can be found on the fingers and feet as well as on the snout. Large black dots can also be found on the torso and thigh, running down the leg and stopping at the ankles. The inner mouth is painted with an extremely light shade of pink, just on the brink of being white, and the tongue is painted a bright red. The eyes are painted gold with a black iris. The nostrils, which are not sculpted onto the toy, are represented by two black dots. It’s clear that Schleich had intended to make the “crocodile mimic” mimic look like an actual crocodile. I personally am very much a fan of the colours used for the body as, not only do they reference the meaning of the name “Suchomimus,” they are befitting of the early Cretaceous river deltas and lagoons that Suchomimus called home. However, I can imagine why some may dislike the chosen colours as the source inspiration is far too obvious and predictable, and it’s understandable that some may have preferred colours or markings with more originality.

For a figure of its size, the sculpt detail is very good. Which the exception of the underbelly, where all the little legal texts can be found, the entire body is covered with finely sculpted scales and wrinkles, all the way from the tip of the snout to the tip of the tail. The underside of the neck is covered in deep, baggy wrinkles that feel surprisingly real. Sharp spines run along the entire length of the vertebrae while osteoderms line the animal’s flanks. Large, bird-like tarsal scales can be found on the feet and hands. While nostrils were omitted from the sculpt, other smaller details are still present: ears, dew claws, and a cloacal opening. Although there is some musculature, it is severely lacking. While the muscles along the arms and legs are present, they are presented more like random-sized bumps in the limbs and less like actual musculature.

In regards to scientific accuracy, there’s a lot that this figure gets wrong. One the most glaring inaccuracies would be something I’ve already pointed out: the enormous hands and feet. As mentioned previously, there really was no reason for the hands and feet to be so large, given that stability of the model was already guaranteed when the Suchomimus was posed to rest on its hands . . . a pose that is also inaccurate (unless you’re a proponent of Nizar Ibrahim’s quadrupedal Spinosaurus theory). Either one of these methods of keeping the toy sturdy would have be fine on their own. In fact, Safari’s Suchomimus also rests on its hands but has the rest of the body correctly sized and portioned, so to utilise both methods was unnecessary. Next, the skull is too short, bulky, and also lacks a crest between the eyes. There also appear to be two large ridges or crests above the eyes. The neck also feels like it may be too short. The arms themselves appear to be too long while the legs look too short. The tail is also quite short and rather thin. The tongue is also hardly a tongue and is more like a mass near the back of the throat. All claws on the forelimbs are uniform in size, lacking the enlarged thumb claw Suchomimus is known to have. The fingers and toes are also all uniform in length. Lastly, and perhaps the most baffling of all the inaccuracies, the low crest or sail above the hips appears to absent, seemingly replaced by slightly larger spines above the hips. Rather strange when you consider that, next to their crocodile faces and large thumb claws, the sail is a signature feature of spinosaurids.

So, with all these inaccuracies, you’re probably wondering if this model has gotten anything right. To answer that, yes it has. Firstly, there is no shrink-wrapping, so while this Suchomimus is horribly deformed, at least he’s not emaciated. The head, while not representative of Suchomimus, is still very clearly that of a spinosaurid with its elongated structure, raised nostrils, irregularly sized teeth, and tooth notch. As mentioned earlier, the dew claws and a cloaca are present. The toy stands in a horizontal pose. The hands are also not pronated and the correct number of digits on both the hands and feet are present.

It terms of what is wrong with the toy itself, the only complaints I have are in regard to the application of the paint and the choices behind some of the colours used. As I mentioned earlier, the interior of the mouth is painted in an extremely light pink that, for a very long time, I was convinced was white. It does look as if the inside of the mouth was left unpainted or was lazily painted the same colour as the teeth. Paint application on the teeth lacks any care or attention; this is more evident on the left side of the face where a portion of teeth on the lower jaw are completely unpainted, revealing the base plastic colour. However, the teeth have been shown far more attention than the claws, which aren’t painted at all. Also, while I understand that the model is only a few inches long and smaller details are much harder to paint, the irises are very inconsistently painted. The iris in the left eye appears more like a horizontal slit and the iris in the right eye is very square and angular. Also, while I don’t really mind the large black dots on the torso and legs, I can see how others may also consider these markings to be very lazily painted, as they are simply black spots that appear on one section of the body with no variation.

So, what’s my final verdict? Well, there’s a reason why not many people know about this toy’s existence. While the Marshland Puzzle set it was originally sold as a part of appears to have been discontinued, the toy can still be found on eBay from time to time for relatively cheap prices. However, even if you were to find one being sold cheaply, I still wouldn’t recommend this toy, and would really only advise the most dedicated of spinosaurid or Suchomimus collectors to think about buying one. For a little over double the price you’ll find this toy on eBay, you could pick up Safari’s beautiful Suchomimus. Or, if you absolutely must have a small one, I would strongly advise you to go after the Dinotales by Kaiyodo Suchomimus figures, as they can be found on eBay for similar prices to this figure. If you’re looking for a cheap spinosaurid for your child, invest in CollectA’s Baryonyx or Irritator models, as they are both cheap and relatively sound representations of their respective species that a child would love. They both even have similar colour schemes to this figure. In short, if you need a Suchomimus, or if you something for your child to play with, there are other options out there, ones that are far better than this attempt.