TYRANNOSAURUS REX - Schleich World of History "Small" Version

Schleich has released three boxed sets of medium-sized dinosaurs under their "World of History" label. The dinosaurs come in pairs and don't appear to be scaled to one another, but all seem to run about the same size. I was able to pick up two of the sets at my local Barnes & Noble, and will be taking a look a the Tyrannosaurs Rex first.

The dinosaurs are packed in open-window boxes that remind me of the Battat Terra line. There's a nicely painted backdrop and the other figures from the line are shown on the back. These figures feature a pretty intricate level of detail and some interesting paint choices in a smaller overall package. The Tyrannosaurus measures just under 6" long (it's got some curve to its pose) and about 2 & 1/2" tall at its height at the tip of the nose.

The sculpt is really nicely detailed, with much of the same quality you'd see in a larger version in terms of wrinkles, taut skin, scales of different sizes and all. The interior of the mouth does have some detail and there are prominent ridges sculpted around the jawline, eyes and eye ridges, as well as a line of them running along the spine of the entire figure.

The pose is pretty dynamic, with the head twisted sharply to the left, the right leg splayed slightly farther ahead and outwards than the left, and the tail curling back away to the right. He also appears to be looking slightly upwards. The figure balances perfectly on its two feet despite the stance, and looks great doing it. The sculpt is the highlight of this figure.

The paint, though not badly done, is a bit unusual. The color choices are bold and vibrant, with bands of red, yellow and blue running the length of the animal. The eyes are blue, the tongue is red, the claws are grey and the teeth and ridges are white. That's a decent amount of paint for a figure this size, and it's all applied cleanly and sharply, for the most part. There's even a faint wash that's been applied (it's faint, but I've got a couple of dark spots on the figure where the wash has pooled and created dark splotches). It might be worth noting that, besides the eye-popping colors that have been chosen, those shades have been done in gloss paint, which can create an odd contrast with the matte brown that the rest of the body carries in certain light.

It's also worth mentioning that the jaw on this smaller figure is not articulated (none of the ones in this line appear to be).

Overall, this is a pretty great little Tyrannosaurus Rex figure. The detail is packed in, the paint is not sloppy and at about $7 I'm totally comfortable with what I'm getting for my money. I'll be taking a look at Rex's box-mate, Velociraptor, in the next review...

Alongside Papo's "Standing" Tyrannosaurus Rex