Review and photos by Raptoress, edited by Plesiosauria. Versions of this figure available on Amazon.com here.
2014 has brought us many interesting and downright awesome models, including CollectA’s beautiful Carcharodontosaurus and Papo’s somewhat inaccurate, but stunning and incredibly detailed Dilophosaurus. Every company has their new dinosaur models each year, so of course that means Schleich follows suit. A lot of people dislike Schleich’s models for their often blatant disregard of scientific accuracy, though Schleich’s good point, in my personal opinion, is their high aesthetic quality in their textural detailing and the quality of the materials. Today I will be reviewing one of their new models for 2014, the light green re-sculpt of the 2012 ‘World of History’ Tyrannosaurus rex. I received it for my 18th birthday and I like it a lot. But I’m going to be as honest about its flaws as much as I can despite my fondness for it.
Some things have been improved since the last T. rex Schleich made, but unfortunately there’s a lot of things that have gotten worse as well, which I will get to shortly. (See the comparison shots at the end of this review).
Let’s start off with the positives. Firstly, the head is well sculpted and I’d say this is the best aspect of this model along with the textural detail. But the head is nothing new, just exactly the same as the 2012 model. It has a hinged jaw which can be opened and closed to your liking. There are lots of details like small scales and wrinkles. I particularly like how the eye areas are sculpted. It’s very fine and animal-like with purely black, glossy eyes. The crests above the eyes might be a bit big for some, but I personally like the whole head just the way it is. The only thing I dislike about it is the teeth. They’re all the same length, whereas the real Tyrannosaurus had teeth of mixed sizes. When the jaw is opened, inside is a nicely sculpted tongue and the roof of the mouth is reasonably well sculpted, too.
The texture of this model feels similar to the 2012 T. rex with a slightly rubbery or waxy feel, but is still very solid and not flexible (unlike their 2012 Velociraptor). I don’t like the waxy texture much, as I prefer my mass-produced dinosaur toys to have a strong, solid plasticy feel to them. The rest of the body is also covered in small, fine scales and on the underside of the model from the neck are some lovely skin folds and wrinkles to which around where the cloacal area should be turns to square-ish scales ending all the way to the tip of the tail. Also, there is no cloacal opening, so this poor Rexie is constipated.
Jokes aside, the arms, which unfortunately are way too long and pronated, have smaller scales and where the hand starts, the scales are replaced by wrinkles. The hands have two digits, which is correct. The legs are similar, where the knee turns to wrinkles back down to fine scales and to the feet which have bird-like scales.
The 2012 Schleich T. rex model had yellow spots on its neck, which was usually disliked amongst collectors. I didn’t like it either, but in the 2014 model these spots are now gone, and it definitely looks better without them. Instead, you can now see faint little ‘bumps’ on closer inspection.
The colour scheme is decent, but not unique. The paint job is not sloppy at all in my model and the colour scheme is mainly blends of light and darker greens with salmon on the underside. The feet and hands are also salmon coloured.
Now on to the worst flaw of this model. The most glaring issue with this new T. rex is the horribly oversized feet. The 2012 model had oversized feet, too. But not anywhere near as bad as this 2014 T. rex. The feet here are almost as big as its head. This is obviously to keep the model perfectly balanced, which I admit works well in terms of stability, but there’s no excuse for this. CollectA’s Carcharodontosaurus proves that a model can stay with its tail parallel to the ground and still be able to balance without having oversized feet.
Overall, I really like this model despite the flaws, for its lovely textural detail, although I do prefer the 2012 Tyrannosaurus rex. But if you collect models solely based on scientific accuracy, you will probably want to pass on this model. I also received the Schleich Pentaceratops for my birthday, so I will also be reviewing that model as well.
Available on Amazon.com here.
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!
Schleich made a smaller T Rex the same year with smaller feet, better proportions, and around the same detail. Maybe you can check that one out.
[…] exaggerated rugosity on the skull, a softer rubbery plastic feel that you would expect from a Schleich WOH toy, and suddenly this toy looks like the Schleich T. rex met the 2011 Safari and they had a […]
[…] tone from the original’s. You can read Alice’s(Raptoress) review of that figure here on the blog. But the Velociraptor released in 2014 was a missed opportunity. Instead of calling it […]
Personally, i like this one more then the 2012 version, but i still wish they would of did another Theropod instead of a Theropod that they already had in there collection to begin with. (If they retired the 2012 model, I would have nothing to complain about)
[…] long in comparison to the back legs. The back legs should be longer than the front. Also like the Schleich Tyrannosaurus Rex re-sculpt that I previously reviewed, there is no cloacal opening. The last thing I think is inaccurate is […]
This figure has a quizzical expression I adore!
Some may compare that look to a dog eagerly awaiting it’s owner’s next move, but I prefer to view it as some mischief it’s planning.
I agree there are flaws to this figure, but i myself have a keen fondness for this one, aswell as the 2012 model.
Both really are very appealing figures.
Usually I go for the scientific accuracy in figures, but these two I approach differently.
Happy belated birthday,
I think Schleich has made some good sandbox dinosaur toys, just not ones that to me, look good when put next to dinosaurs from companies that try to make accurate toys for edcational use. They feel cheap next to Papo, but they are about the same price.
As for this T-rex, it is another miss in my opinon, and I agree that the 2012 version is slightly better. Does anyone else agree that this T-rex looks ready to play fetch and waiting for someone to throw a stick.
In the end, collecting is about enjoyment, so enjoy your birthday and your new dinos.
Happy belated birthday, Raptoress.
There has been much made of those blasted tripod stances the past few years. As much as I don’t personally care for them as a general rule, there are two excellent reasons (that I can see) for making them.
The first, and better, is the theropods’ surviving relatives, birds. They fly, squat (nest,) walk, and pause (stand still.) Watch a robin, for instance, as they are common. The spine is parallel to the ground when they stalk worms, darting to and fro. But when they pause to evaluate danger, the tip of the tail is touching the ground as they lift their heads as high as possible. It is not unreasonable to suppose some dinosaurs did the same, whether to watch for predators, prey, competition, the kids, check out a noise, intimidate a rival, impress a mate or whatever. So the tripod pose, however fleeting, may have actually been part of their repertoire.
The second reason concerns the nature of the materials used in making these things. I have an extensive collection, and am sorry to say, that several handsome models began to topple in time, given the structural limitations of the plastic(s) and the geometry of their ankles. So far, only the Papo Allosaurus, the Safari brown T-rex, the AAA Gallimimus, and the CollectA Deinocherius have disappointed me thusly. I actually replaced T-Rex and the Deinocherius (after long falls resulted in broken members,) thinking the problem was just with my models only to discover the problem was inherent in the design.
As for the Schleich T-rex here under consideration, it is, like many of their offerings, a charming toy. Perhaps these things are strictly meant to appeal to children, as opposed to collectors. Or Schleich could simply be suffering from old-boy corporate chumminess (to coin an unlikely phrase)—in which anything new must not overtly contradict or otherwise offend the old. This attitude has spelled the death-knell for many thriving companies over the years. There is a fine line between classic and simply retro (granted it is in the eye of the beholders and their pocketbooks.)
Cheers.
Well, happy birthday!
I first thought i shouldnt pick on a present. Then again – this blog is about reviewing. So: why not giving my opinion too. 😉
It looks pretty good modelled with nicely defined wrinkles and scales indeed.
The torso though appears to be a bit too short and too slim at the neck/shoulder region. Tyrannosaurids are now usually recostructed with quite a bulky, barrel-shaped chest.
I wonder if this happened due to weight-reduction purposes. Then again they simply could have made the hands smaller. That would have saved a few grams to spend on the chest.
The hands are also wrongly articulated and should face inwards.
Apart from these points – and the feet of course – it looks really good.
The tail looks nicely fleshy and the head and neck are lovely muscular and very well modeled as it suits for such a powerful beast.
I bet that Schleich uses clown feet and Safari the tail tripod so the figures can stand up on a carpet or lawn without the use of base or stand – favoring the figure’s toy function over its replica function.
My Collecta Carcharodontosaurus is a bit prone to wobbling from footsteps (it’s not on the best shelf either) so I made a stand for the tail – it doesn’t touch it, just catches it in case it wobbles.
Outside of dinosaurs Schleich excels at whimsical fairy fantasy, Papo with imaginative, aggressive monsters, and Safari with accurate, realistic animals, and it shows in their dinosaur lines.