After a longer absence for no particular reason, I’m back with a classic dinosaur species–and let’s pretend that I picked it because Jurassic World Dominion is releasing a day from now (or so) and no matter what they do, Tyrannosaurus rex will always be the star dinosaur! Really, though, it had been randomly picked a while ago, I just happened to write this now! Serendipity! Interestingly, this figure is marks a pretty big turn from the many, many T. rex Kaiyodo has produced in small form before. I’m going to spoil it–it has feathers!
This figure was, I believe, the first or second short run series from Kaiyodo in their Capsule Q line of gacha figures, released in 2013. This series was titled, appropriately, the “Tyrannosaurus series”. It consisted of several T.rex -based figures including a skeleton, skull, and non-feathered version, plus a Yutyrannus, and every figure comes with an appropriate scale person (yes, a skull or skeleton…) It was especially exciting because, while limited in scope and availability, the series (and the other Capsule Q sets) harkened back to the beloved Dinotales figures–small, assembled, and very detailed. It was also very exciting because Kaiyodo started considering the feathered hypotheses for even larger coelurosaurs. In fact, they did it twice; the figure you see here is number 01 in the set; the secret figure was a more brown repainted model. I’m personally happy to have just the one. As always, the sculpt, pose and paint are amazing for such a tiny figure–but it is easy to see how Kaiyodo really grew in their understanding, giving this version of the animal a lot more action and personality. The quality and durability of the models has also improved by this point–still somewhat fragile, but less likely to break during assembly or handling.
For those wondering, it is possible to find these figures–in auctions and resales. The series was limited for it’s time, possibly as part of an exhibition, and of course limited to Japan. This is definitely the kind of figure that is worth trying to track down. Oddly, I took a cursory look, but could only find the special version–maybe it’s worth the extra cost? Or maybe you can find the whole set (worth it!)
