Keeping with this week’s incidental them of prehistoric CollectA figures, today we have one of the big deluxe dinosaurs. Specifically, the 2014-released Carcharodontosaurus, item number 88642. This is a big figure, which is fitting given that Carcharodontosaurus was a big predator of Cretaceous North Africa (possibly longer than the might T. rex!) and really makes sense as a deluxe figure from CollectA. It is an impressive figure on the shelf, standing out well against the myriad of other big dinos like aforementioned T. rex and nearly-as-common Spinosaurus. As much due to space as due to size and impact, this figure is in one of my highlight cabinets with some other large and/or impressive figures.
I am not well-versed in overall theropod morphology so I can’t speak with an expert’s eye on the details. There are some things that stand out (or don’t) at least, which demonstrate how great this figure is. A big one is the feet, which ironically are not all that large. In spite of this my figure (at least) does not have trouble balancing in it’s proper bipedal stance. It gives the figure a look of a capable predator that won’t trip on its feet. The sculpt of the skin and torso muscles has also really taken into consideration the movement and flexing of the tissues with lots of wrinkles and folds. It would be nice to see the tail base–location of the muscles for the legs–to be thicker than it is. The head is nice and big, fairly narrow from the front as it should be. The teeth are well-defined but seem a little generic at a glance. They show a variety of sizes, but don’t really capture the shark-like shape that gives the animal its name (Carcharodontosaurus is literally named after the lamnid shark genus Carcharodon + teeth!). And one other thing…the fenestrae in the skull seem too visible, really the most shrink-wrapped part of the whole figure.
Despite being one of the largest of the giant theropod dinosaurs, Carcharodontosaurus seem to frequently be left behind in favour of others that have been mentioned. Safari has made a few figures, and there are a couple others from various companies, but none are quite up to this size and stature. It makes a great display model up against the other big figures, so having a deluxe one from CollectA seems right for it. They are still currently available, which is great, but being the deluxe series they will cost a bit more…perhaps not ideal for a toy or sandbox. But worth picking up, if just to vary up your prehistoric African dino fauna!
