Who makes it? Colorata as part of their Dinosaurs Volume 1 Cretaceous box set, series number 970720. Number 03 in the collection
When did it come out? I want to say around 2009 or 2010, maybe a little later.
Still available? It is still available, yes.
Where can it be found in my displays? I have a shelf full of Colorata dinosaurs. So…there.
How does it fit in the collection? I have mentioned Colorata recently. I used to track down all of the sets, but not so much anymore. However, like fish I had to get the dinosaurs ones!
Any story behind it? Just the usual–Had to get a friend in Japan to send them. I have different sources now, but less space! So now I’m pickier about what I get.
Notable remarks about this figure (a review that isn’t really a review): Okay, first things first…this thing is naked. And by the time it came out, Colorata should have known better. Instead, they revisited their original Velociraptor design, made it a little bigger, changed the paint, and called it a day. Recently, they released a feathered dino set–with an updated feathered Velociraptor–but I neither have it nor am I talking about it here. It’s too bad, because there a lot to like about the figure. It’s a super active model, in a leaping or pouncing pose–this requires the use of the base, and cutting the rod so that it is touching the ground. They have the hands facing the correct way (no bunny hands) and both feet with raised claws. The head is long and low, more or less like a Velociraptor should be (instead of the skull shape we usually see, inspired by a certain movie series). The colour choice is…unique. Clearly inspired by a bird beak; the way the teeth are not really sculpted so much as molded as a single row adds to the birdishness. The tail is held upright and back, with no drooping, although should possibly be a little straighter. The body is quite smooth, with little muscle definition–probably a little too shrink wrapped, but not as bad as some figures. The colour palette overall is fairly bold, which adds to a bright bird-like appearance. If only they’d given it feathers.
Would I recommend it? It’s a good model (and a good set overall). But that feathers thing could be a deal breaker for many people. On the other hand, the full set is pretty great, and worth getting. As with all Colorata, they are fairly tough figures, so can be okay as toys, although some, like this Velociraptor, won’t stand without their base and rod–and those rods do break. So I would say that this figure should be in most collections, if just as a but of an anomaly, before most companies finally started feathering their ‘raptors!
