Despite a superficially similar product line, Dinostoreus of the United States manages to distinguish itself from its former sister company, Favorite of Japan, with a few exclusive pieces. This diorama is one such piece. Constructed in fragile polyresin and just shy of five inches at its highest peak, this scene offers a glimpse of every dino-nut’s fantasy. A pair of fully grown tyrannosaurs clash for the claim to a fresh Triceratops carcass.
The simple, muddied terrain of the base is decorated with the bare bark of flora that has certainly seen better days. This hints at the dry and desperate conditions in which this confrontation takes place. The ceratopsian carcass appears largely intact. Blood pours from its wounds and pools rather impressively in the transparent water beneath its body. This suggests it was brought down fairly recently, perhaps by one of the carnivores occupying the present scene. Above the gore, a fresh round of violence erupts between the tyrannosaurs.
Fossil evidence has given us considerable cause to believe that tyrannosaurus engaged in head-biting behavior such as this. This demonstrates considerable effort on the part of the artist, crafting a scene that is altogether too grisly and “real” to be misconstrued as a child’s collectible. It is this sort of unadulterated violence that Sideshow would later capitalize on for the production of their Dinosauria statues.
Some may notice the uppermost tyrannosaur’s resemblance to the highly sought-after Battat rendition. Of course, these animals could not appear more different from Battats, with very drab coloring throughout. Collectors should also note the compatibility of this scene within 1:40 exhibits. Flocks of tyrannosaurs from most any manufacturer could occupy the periphery of the scene, as could any other appropriate species. This also allows the piece to fit in nicely among other Dinostoreus “flesh-on” desktop models, though its distinct lack of wood base and nameplate may stand out.
Naturally, this diorama does not feel quite as cutting edge today as it did during the year of its original release. Many mass produced and inexpensive figures contain comparable – even superior – levels of textural detail and neater paint application. Paint is often a problematic area for these desktop models, which can appear naturalistic in some spots and rather sloppy in others. This could be disconcerting to collectors looking to get more bang for their buck, as this diorama isn’t cheap.
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I know it . I got all broken, I will try to repair the same.
[…] Also of note is the fish itself, a gar. As luck would have it, these fish are still around today, and many humans consider them quite delicious. A unique greenish bone coloring in the gar is caused by bile pigment, though revealing this in the statue may have been a bit too gruesome or impractical. In fact, the violence could be intentionally toned down, without a speck of blood present. This could be an effort to produce a “gentler violence” than that which pervades many other pieces, including Dinostoreus’s own T.rex Fight Over Carcass. […]
[…] Also of note is the fish itself, a gar. As luck would have it, these fish are still around today, and many humans consider them quite delicious. A unique greenish bone coloring in the gar is caused by bile pigment, though revealing this in the statue may have been a bit too gruesome or impractical. In fact, the violence could be intentionally toned down, without a speck of blood present. This could be an effort to produce a “gentler violence” than that which pervades many other pieces, including Dinostoreus’s own T.rex Fight Over Carcass. […]
I just bought this beautiful statue while I was at Universal Studios today.
It really is something else and I’m more than happy to have it.
In the last photo, it looks like the Triceratops has taken a bite out of something.
Aunque no conozco esta marca, a mi humilde entender parece una buena pieza, aunque se necesitaría más realismo, es decir más sangre, en el Triceratops y necesitaría un mayor dramatismo en la lucha entre los Tyranosaurus, sin embargo es una hermosa cifra, lo malo que al ser de resina es bastante frágil.
I personally have this diorama and it’s a nice little piece for display purposes, but it’s extremely fragile and I would be pretty surprised if anyone oversea receivewd this piece in perfect condition.
I’ve always liked the look of this piece (an affinity for tyrannosaurs certainly helps), although in the third photo the animals appear to be missing some jaw muscles – the heads just look like skulls with skin stretched over them, stuck on the end of the neck. The arms are quite large too (although one could consider the animals to be immature). Pedantic stuff to be pointing out, sure, but these resin pieces tend to attract pretty high prices for their size (as you mention). I do really like the drama on show here.