Review and photographs by Sammy Allouba (aka JurassicGeek09), edited by Suspsy
It had to happen sooner or later and by that, I mean high-end Jurassic Park/World collectibles for us serious JP fans. After the extremely lacklustre offerings by Hasbro in the past year, someone had to lift up our spirits. Cue Chronicle Collectibles. Today, I am proud to present the first of their offerings in this area, their 1/5th scale Tyrannosaurus rex bust. This was first announced in the later part of 2015, if memory serves correctly. It’s cast from the original Stan Winston Studios mould and is pretty much what you’d expect in a JP T. rex, but I’ll save those comments for later in this review.
The size took me by surprise when I unboxed it. Don’t kid yourself, this guy is massive. It’s a solid 20 lbs and is two feet every which way you measure it. I was also taken aback by the level of detail which might sound surprising to some, given both the cost of it along with the company that made it, but for a guy like me who’s never owned a high-priced collectible like this until now, I was stunned to say the least.
The one flaw that some are talking about is that the colour seems to be a bit off. Depending on whom you ask, the colouring of this piece is either 100% screen accurate, or too green. I recall the promo shots for this piece gave the impression that it was a much darker green with a few hints of brown. After looking up some still images of the film, along with the T. rex models in broad daylight, I’d say the colouring is pretty spot on. For the more finicky among us who prefer the advertised colouring, remember the golden rule of “Final product may appear different from prototypes” and all that jazz.
The finer details on this piece are incredible. From the wrinkles in the neck, to the creases above the eyes, to the bumps on the tongue, to the serrations on the teeth which you can totally feel, Chronicle spared no expense in really bringing this guy to life. I feel at this point I should mention that obviously, scientific accuracy is not something to look for here. It’s a Jurassic Park piece and as such, these animals were not designed with 100% science in mind. This T. rex head is boxy, short-snouted, and looks downright angry, as JP Rexes go.
The wall mount portion is heavy, firm, and feels extremely sturdy. There really is no other way to display this behemoth aside from putting it face up like you see in these photos but that doesn’t command the same level of respect and awe something like this demands. Included in the package are the necessary mounting screws and struts. I really don’t recommend mounting it on your own because it’s just that heavy so do it with someone lending a helping hand.
I’m a huge Jurassic Park fan so it’s very hard for me to unbiased here. That said, because it’s based on a movie design and not the real Tyrannosaurus rex discovered by Barnum Brown that we see in museums the world over, I’m going to give it a 10/10. It’s menacing, it’s imposing, it’s huge, it’s downright gorgeous, and I haven’t been able to take my eyes off of it since I took it out of its box. Chronicle Collectibles has very clearly demonstrated their ability to produce high-quality movie-based products and I cannot wait to see what comes next. If you’re a Jurassic Park fan, you owe it to yourself to invest in this line up of exquisite models.
Disclaimer: links to Ebay and Amazon on the DinoToyBlog are affiliate links, so we make a small commission if you use them. Thanks for supporting us!
[…] On to the head. This is really where people started freaking out when the retail images began to surface. Again, same story as the underbelly. In the promo shots, it was darker around the neck with fewer visible stripes. The eyes were also darker. Both of them, in the final release, look like they were painted brighter. For me, this isn’t a deal breaker, but it makes one wonder what the heck happened during production. The teeth are painted, but beyond that, there isn’t much detail to them. They’re pointed, but serrations aren’t noticeable on them, like the Lost World Rex Bust. […]
Thank you so much! I had a lot of fun writing this piece. Indeed, those Kenner Rexes were something special and I’m QUITE familiar with them! Check out my JP collection on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/thejurassicgeek
The Papo figures I was torn on for the longest time explicitly because their theropods (especially Spino, Rex, and Raptor) are marketed as dinosaurs yet they’re clearly based on the inaccurate JP versions. Still, with the Rainbow paint job on the newer Rexes, I decided to cave in, LOL!