So today is going to be a bit of a set, and at the same time a review of a single figure. Because it’s only available that way (like getting multiple copies of the same figure, maybe in different poses…like this Eryops) . But this time, it’s a variety of Champsosaurus from Shapeways, at 1:20 scale!
This is a neat little set of five 3d printed Champsosaurus figures produced by Manuel Bejarano on Shapeways. At one point, the artist was pretty active on the Dinosaur Toy Blog Forum and asked for requests…I threw out Champsosaurus as it would be unique, and a great accessory with other Cretaceous dino figures. Instead of just one, we got a small pack of them! So one could really fill out a small display. There are also two sizes, 1:20 scale and 1:40 scale–both common scales for figures. I went with 1:20 since they are a bit larger, and match better with the mammal figures that could also be their Palaoegene contemporaries.
Manuel puts a lot of detail into his work, and I really enjoy how this little group looks. It isn’t super clear…because I haven’t painted or even paint washed them, but there is a lot of clear detail on the figures, including tiny little eyes and fine claws and teeth (where visible). Each figure is different, with varying amounts of curvature and opened-mouth. They are clearly put together in a way to look like a group of crocodiles or alligators (a ‘congregation’, apparently) on the land, probably on the shore of a river, lake, or estuary. It would be nice to see them depicted as a more aquatic animal, at least for one of them, but I will take it. It isn’t like there are a lot of choristoderan figures (one other, to be exact) so I won’t complain. They clearly are not toys though, unlike the Safari model, based on the plastic materials.
One thing to note is the the scale, which can be very important to modelers and diorama makers. These figures are listed at 1:20 scale (all of the figures in Manuel’s shop are given scales) and at 7.5 cm, indicates at the very least that these are more middle sized species at about 1.5metres long, not the much larger Champsosaurus gigas which could reach up to 3 metres. BUT–that means that these figures CAN act as 1:40 scale figures alongside your 1:40 dinosaurs (fine, C. gigas was Palaeocene…); and 1:20 works well with mammal figures, as I said. The good news is that these figures are still available, in both sizes, along with a whole host of other great models from Manuel on Shapeways. I highly recommend them, and many of the others, as they are both unusual and dynamic models, a little different than our usual figures!
