Tyrannosaurus rex (Hunting) (Collecta)

Buy on

Buy on

Hot on the heels of last year’s ‘Deluxe’ feathered Tyrannosaurus, Collecta have seen fit to update their smaller scale range with a similarly enfluffened tyrant. And its corpse. Happily – alive or dead – the miniature feathered T. rex has just much charm as its larger, leggier cousin.

As it stands, the toy is about 21cm long. Correcting for curly parts, it reaches around 24cm, or approximately 1:50 – 1:55 scale. Matters of scale are complicated by the fact that this toy has a tail that is a tad on the long side, although not as much so as in the Deluxe model. The tail aside, it’s a handsomely proportioned beast – the short arms are actually, bless ’em, very short indeed (quite right), the torso is nice and barrel-shaped, and the head boasts that characteristic T. rex narrow snout and binocular vision. And a winning smile.

That the head is so well modeled is testament to how much Collecta continue to improve – just compare the handsome face on the figure above to that of their ‘T. rex with prey’ from four years ago. (Shudder.) It’s also quite wonderful that Collecta have fully committed to feathered tyrannosaurs across their range, in spite of the continued appeal of movies filled with less-than-convincing scaly beasties enhanced with frog DNA. Properly feathered, too, with a decent distribution of plumage all over the body, complemented by scales on the belly and legs. Great work.

While the overall colouration is similar to the Deluxe and the corpse, this ‘hunting’ Rexy is somewhat less vibrant, most notably lacking the big red clown wig. In my book, it’s an improvement. The majority of the creature is covered in simple brown feathers, broken up with darker stripes, which is suitably subtle and plausible. The green patch with white ‘blaze’ remains – exactly how plausible the green feathers are, I’m not sure (curse you, Matt Martyniuk!), but they help liven things up a bit without looking too outrageous. The eyes are dark windows to a cold, unfeeling, tormented reptilian soul that only knows hunger, destruction, and death. Also, they’re lovely and glossy.

Detailing is top-notch – in spite of its considerably smaller size, the feathers on this figure are just as finely sculpted as on the Deluxe, and details like the claws, teeth and eyes are painted with extraordinary care. In some places it is, if anything, too detailed – individual fenestrae are visible on close inspection that would almost certainly have been covered with flesh in life. Other negatives include the slightly peculiar posture, which places the animal on tiptoes. Rexy might have been digitigrade, but he was also a great big lump of a theropod and would’ve walked on a larger portion of his toes. Further, there should be a fleshy ‘heel’ backing up the foot, the better to support Rexy’s wide load.

These are minor points, however, and do little to detract from overall quality of this figure, which (incredibly) can be picked up in the UK for a measly four pounds (5.66 USD at the time of writing). The base may also be off-putting for some, but as long as it allows for lovely, detailed, well-proportioned toys like this, I shan’t be complaining. Grab one of these, grab a Deluxe, grab a corpse, and complete the Collecta fluffy Rexy set!