Today’s figure is from Capcom, released for a Japanese Dino Expo in 2009 (and available only then). For many of their runs, starting from around 2003 or 2004, maybe earlier, Dino Expo figures were produced by Kaiyodo–some were releases or box sets of pre-existing Dinotales figures, a few were unique additions to the Dinotales line, and some were larger, expensive resin figures. Every year it was always exciting to find out what was coming that year. It also made me jealous that such an expo existed annually somewhere…
But some years, it wasn’t Kaiyodo. This didn’t mean they weren’t interesting. Takara did a few…I think Bandai did one, and there were others. But in 2009 we had a set from…Capcom? A video game company? Sure, why not. There were several dinosaurs created, each in a fancy box, and despite that unusual source they were pretty decent (allowing for the age…there’s a Spinosaurus that doesn’t hold up now, but that’s par for the course for that one!). They are more along the lines of the higher-end Kaiyodo resins, although they feel like a different plastic. Each is fixed to a base but are otherwise single pieces.
The Gigantoraptor was an unusual choice for the set. Many Expos seemed to have themes of some kind, but this one had dinosaurs from all over the world–three from China though (the others were Mamenchisaurus and Guanlong). The sculptor looks like they worked hard to incorporate what was known at the time, but clearly had some older-school idea hanging around. Feathers would be present but seem incomplete. Hands on the bipedal dinosaurs look like bunny hands, that kind of thing. At the same time, most of them are depicted as dynamic and active animals–it helps that they are on bases.
The Gigantoraptor itself is depicted in a fairly standard way–even the colour seems to be almost a meme (I can think of only one other Gigantoraptor figure from Colorata, and it has a very similar colour pattern). It is walking with purpose, straight ahead and head held high. Perhaps to indicate that it is calling out a warning or something. The sculpt is decent, with light feathers everywhere, and a tail fan, although the feathers seem like they could be more elaborate–and longer on places like the arms. It is also a very shrink-wrapped figure, with ribs visible along the sides–something that probably wouldn’t be visible through feathers. It’s also a good-sized figure, about 14cm long from snout to tail, giving a scale of about 1:60.
By this time in my collecting I was trying to be slightly more picky, but the species was unusual, and expo figures are always great to add to a collection. It took me some time to get any of them though–they are exclusive to the venues, and limited in time. They also get far more expensive the longer you wait to get them! But I did find some deals for a few, and they’re great on the shelves. I may be wrong, but I think Capcom might even have re-released them later for some other show or exhibit or something. Either way, these are great figures, and for something more unusual, trying to tracking down the Capcom Gigantoraptor (in Japan, of course) is worth the effort.
