Several months ago, I had the privilege to go and see the Walking with Dinosaurs Arena Spectacular. The full sized animatronic dinosaurs were a real spectacle, and Michaela Strachan did a wonderful job as the palaeontologist Huxley. I decided to grab a piece of memorabilia, so naturally, I went for a dino figure. But which to choose? T. Rex? Triceratops? Nah, I went for something different. So here it is, Utahraptor.
Onto the figure! At13.8” long and 7” high (roughly), this is a big figure, likely to be less harmful to kids. It features six points of articulation, one for each limb, one for the jaw and the mid tail (though why it has this, I don’t know). The colour scheme is a bit wild, it has to be said. Browny beige base, black striping (placed very randomly) and red along the back. In some places, like the head, it looks great. On the end of the tail, however, it is really odd, as it becomes all red rather than using more brown, which stands out horribly. I also want to mention trying to balancing this figure. They avoid a horizontal or tripod stance, but getting both feet flat enough to keep it standing is a chore.
Now to accuracy. Where does one begin when analysing a train wreck? Well, positives are: arms and legs are roughly the right length, as is the tail and the teeth seem good. Now, the negatives. Hands are horribly pronated, the hips are too wide, and the head and general body is not skinny at all. Also, the toes, while positioned correctly, end up curled up in the air like the wicked witch of the east due to the flat feet for standing it up.
This is not a figure for collectors, or someone looking for accurate dinos. It’s very much for the play box for kids or for someone looking for a good piece of memorabilia. Unless you visited the show, I wouldn’t go for it, especially as the price on eBay is going to be spectacular…..ly high!
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It seems to be based on the Utahraptor animatronic suits used in the earliest run of the arena show. They’ve completely changed the design at least twice.
http://www.theatrecrafts.com/pages/wp-content/gallery/show-walking-with-dinosaurs-press/7008819449.jpg
Well, I had no idea toys were made for this show. That’s pretty cool – although it would be nicer if the result had more than a superficial resemblance to the more accurate on-stage suits.
Huh, never new this existed. What a fun figure, and pretty accurate to the actual suits from the show as well.
Actually, it’s nothing like them, at least for the arena show, which had proper feathers and non pronated wrists.