Saturday 6 September 2014

Walking with Dinosaurs 3D Scowler the Pachyrhinosaurus Action Figure



Today I will be reviewing my last of the Walking with Dinosaurs 3D movie toys, and it's Patchi the Pachyrhinosaur's not very friendly brother, Scowler. Scowler, at first seemed to me to be the exact same as sculpt as Patchi, until I compared them together once I opened the packaging. It turns out that Scowler is actually a completely different sculpt. Some of the differences are subtle, but they are there. Mainly in the skull. Scowler's head has much more prounounced bony masses on his face and the frill is completely different in shape. It has very small, faint scales on it and the horns on the frill are also more pronounced. The beak is longer than Patchi's and not as rounded. Scowler overall has a much more stocky, tougher appearence, just like in the 3D film. I think this is an excellent touch to keep the rest of the toys as unique as possible and accurate to the film characters. I'm really glad that Vivid, the company behind these toys decided to do this. Brownie points to them.


Scowler, like the rest of the Walking with Dinosaurs toys is generally scientifically accurate. His front feet have five toes and the back have four, which is correct. His head is perfectly sculpted to look just like a real Pachyrhinosaurus would've, thanks to paleoartist David Krentz for modelling the dinosaurs in the film to be accurate. The tail is a bit spindly, but that's hardly a problem.

The paint job is decent. The body is reasonably well detailed with vague scales and skin folds. Which I think looks rather nice. But the face leaves room for improvement. You can tell the paint was applied in a rush. The face just overall needs more detail. The tongue, like Patchi's is the same colour as the general colour scheme. Which doesn't look very appealing at all.



The toy has about four different roaring and grunting sounds and is articulated like all the other Walking with Dinosaurs action figures. His legs, head and mouth are moveable. His mouth can be opened wider than Patchi and his head is more flexible, too. It can be turned all the way around while Patchi's can't. This toy has a nice weighted feel which to me instantly says good aesthetic quality. I like it a lot.


Overall, I think Scowler is of slightly better detail than Patchi but not by a whole lot. He is still a really cool toy and will be a welcome addition to model dinosaur collectors and to kids, provided they're of an older age, as I have heard reports that these figures aren't very durable for rough play. Scowler can be purchased on Amazon, or in store at The Entertainer, Toys R Us and Smyth's in the UK.


All four together, from left to right: Scowler, Patchi, Troodon and Gorgon.


Tuesday 2 September 2014

Walking with Dinosaurs 3D Troodon Action Figure

Since my last review on the Walking with Dinosaurs 3D Patchi Vs Gorgon action figure set, my Troodon figure from the same series has arrived in the mail, and I was very excited to see this thing in person! I was not disappointed.


Let me start of with giving a bit of information about Troodons. Troodon is commonly mispronounced as troo-don. The correct way to pronounce it is troh-o-don. Troodon is regarded by paleontologists to be the most intelligent of all dinosaurs with its large brain, which was much bigger in comparison to it's body than other dinosaurs. It also had big eyes and was very fast. It was believed to have possibly been feathered as well. Since my last review on the Walking with Dinosaurs 3D Patchi Vs Gorgon action figure set, my Troodon figure from the same series has arrived in the mail, and I was very excited to see this thing in person! I was not dissappointed.

Let me start of with giving a bit of information about Troodons. Troodon is commonly mispronounced as troo-don. The correct way to prounounce it is troh-o-don. Troodon is regarded by paleontologists to be the most intelligent of all dinosaurs with its large brain, which was much bigger in comparison to its body than other dinosaurs. It also had big eyes and was very fast. It was believed to have possibly been feathered as well.


Troodon arrived from Amazon.co.uk very well packaged, in a box filled with shredded magazine paper. I very excitedly opened up the box, trying my best to not wake up my parents in the morning, and there he was. Beautiful Troodon, waiting to be inspected and reviewed! Upon opening the box, I examined my new model for any marks. He does have some sloppily painted areas and a few, minor paint marks. But this doesn't bother me that much, because Troodon is simply beautiful. He's accurate and his sculpt is very well made. As I write this review, Troodon is by my side, with the rest of my Walking with Dinosaurs figures.



He's my only dinosaur figure so far that is fully feathered, which is accurate to this type of dinosaur. The feathers are very well done. They're nicely textured and sculpted. It's a breath of fresh air to see a dinosaur figure with a proper covering of feathers. Many companies have attempted to try feathers on small, meat eating dinosaurs but often the results recieve mixed reviews due to usually not having a full covering of feathers or looking too movie monster-ish.


Troodon is reasonably well painted for what he is, a toy. Despite some sloppy paint application. He has a lovely mixture of shiny black feathers, with orange hues to a light and creamy colour on the underside. He also has a yellow feather crest on his head and a black and grey tail fan. Tail fans on feathered dinosaurs are speculative, but not out of the question. I think it's a very nice touch.


Troodon has articulated arms, legs, head and has a jaw that can be opened. Not quite as much as Gorgon the Gorgosaurus, but still enough for a bit of stop-motion (my main intended purpose with these toys). He doesn't have oversized feet to help him balance, but instead can balance on all fours with his arm feathers touching the ground. Alternatively, you can balance him on his tail instead. Did I mention he 'talks' and has about four different sounds?


The only main problem I've heard about the Troodon figure, is that he isn't very durable. These reports are from parents who's children are playing with the figure, so it is likely that if you are a collector, Troodon will stay intact just fine. But if you are reading this review with the intention to buy this figure for a child, just a warning that it may be best to give this figure to an older child rather than a toddler.


Now onto the rest of the scientific accuracy, his snout is the right shape, but facing the front he looks a bit goofy, which is a problem with Gorgon as well. It would've been nice if he has more detail on his face, like scales. The legs are skinny, but not too skinny. Which is correct for the bird-like Troodon. His teeth are very small, almost non-existant and I feel his eyes could be a bit bigger, but that's just nitpicking. Also his arm feathers could do with being all the way to the top of his arm, but obviously there's no feathers on the very top otherwise the articulated joints wouldn't move properly. So I'm willing to excuse that


Overall he's a pretty cool, cute, interesting and fun action figure! I'd say he is the best, and my personal favourite of the Walking with Dinosaurs action figures for his lovely textural detail and scientific accuracy. A must have for dinosaur toy and model collectors everywhere. My only problem with him is the goofy look when you see him front facing and the slight sloppiness. Other than that, a great toy.