Review and Photographs by Triceratops83, edited by Suspsy
Triceratops is one dinosaur that needs no introduction, as it has been represented in toy and model form literally hundreds of times. Also needless of an introduction is the Japanese brand Kaiyodo, responsible for some of the very best plastic and vinyl dinosaur interpretations. The latest one is today’s subject: the Kaiyodo Advance Megasofubi Triceratops.
This finished model, part of the Mega Soft Vinyl Advance Series (the other one so far is an African elephant), was sculpted by Matsumura Shinobu and is a strikingly accurate and handsome piece. It is in 1:20 scale and just shy of 40 cm long, putting it in the arena of larger dinosaur figures.
This Triceratops is well-proportioned and quite accurate in its dimensions. The back is rounded and reaches its highest point above the hips. The tail is suitably short for a chasmosaurine. The front legs are slightly sprawled apart and all of the limbs have the correct number of digits. The hide is wrinkled and interspersed with the round, raised scales known for this animal. The skull is large and appears to have been sculpted with a keratinous covering on the face and frill.
The Megasofubi Trike improves on the previous Kaiyodo 1:20 Dinoland version, which had straight front limbs and a smallish head. The only anatomical drawback is the lack of cheeks, which we are so accustomed to seeing portrayed in ornithischians that it looks odd by their absence here. The paint job is nothing special: olive green over a lighter grey green, but it looks natural enough nonetheless.
All in all. the Kaiyodo Megasofubi Triceratops is an astounding model and, lack of cheeks aside, is one of the most accurate to date. It is easily available from eBay and Amazon, though the price varies wildly, with $200 being about average. Alternatively, you could search for the unfinished model in kit form from a Japanese store, which would come cheaper. I highly recommend this model to the serious collector.
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Also worthy of note is that this figure depicts a Triceratops PRORSUS (hence the short frill and the thick, massive, upwards-pointing horns. This is my favorite Trike species. This figure is magnificent.
P.S. It will be even more magnificent when my recent kitbash of this baby is unveiled in a giant “Prehistoric Planet” diorama with a ‘bashed 1/20 TRex and 1/20 Quetzalcoatlus participating as well. I will post a link when the paint up of the 3 critters is done in a couple of months.
FYI: For my ‘bash I raised both the head and tail upwards to create a more dynamic pose, sculpted “cheeks” onto the head, as well as sculpted scales onto the face and frill (since we know the Trike’s frill and face was NOT keratinous as depicted here, thanks to a more recent find of scale skin impressions from this area on a specimen)….
… anyway … a beautiful Kaiyodo kit … its a shame they have not updated any of the other large-scale vinyl kits from the 1990s, but this one’s a real beauty. A “Platinum”-level “Customization Platform” for those of us Hobby Modelers out here … ;>)
Here’s a link to the unpainted “Prehistoric Planet” diorama before the grass was added to whet your appetite … (P.S. Yes, that is indeed a heavily kitbashed Horizon vinyl TRex and a combination Hasbro Pteranodon/Mattel Quetzalcoatlus kitbashed Quetzalcoatlus you see there along with this modified Kaiyodo Trike …
https://i.postimg.cc/Ls9Pnnsq/20231204-103658b.jpg
I thought I had read somewhere the jury was still out on cheeks? Possibly. At any rate, the skin detail on this critter is highly impressive.
Quite expensive. PSNO ones look better and it cost around 50$.
It’s certainly an impressive Triceratops, although too bland in colour for my tastes.