Schleich 2018 Carnotaurus, Dinogorgon, Velociraptor and Oviraptor Review:
As you are all aware, I am a HUGE fan of Schleich's offerings, both their figurines and dioramas/playsets. I ordered all of the available early 2018 figurines that I wanted last week from Amazon.
As always, Schleich's figurines are made from a heavy, durable vinyl that will stand up to rough play from the little ones and make for excellent collectibles for adults. Recently, Schleich began to add simple articulation to their figures- moving jaws at first then articulated wings/shoulders/etc. 2 of the figures I ordered sport articulation while the remaining 2 are static.
The sculpts are crisp and highly textured as to be expected from Schleich although it appears they took some anatomical liberties with some of the details- at least on the Carnotaurus. The paint apps are beautifully applied on all 4 of the figures I ordered. There are some great airbrush effects on the Velociraptor and Oviraptor in addition to the standard paint masks and tampos found on all 4 figures. Sadly, one of the toes on my Carnotaurus has damaged paint, exactly the reason I prefer to examine multiple examples of the same figures in person to pick out the best one. Sadly, with Toys R Us going out of business, I will now be without a brick and mortar Schleich outlet and have to rely on online vendors like
www.Amazon.com and
www.happyhentoys.com and hope they pick well painted ones to send me.
The Carnotaurus is a dinosaur that has really grown in popularity in the last 2 decades having had toys in various "Jurassic Park", Chap Mei, "Animal Planet", and Lontic/Tedco lines in addition to having a few static figurines from Papo, Safari Ltd. and Schleich (this is at least the 3rd rendition of this dinosaur from Schleich in the last 6 or 8 years). This time around, Schleich seems to have abandoned the previously anatomically correct pointed plates on its head for a pair of longer, almost bovine horns. While this flight of fancy annoys dinosaur purists, I kind of like the almost alien quality it gives this version. The large bony plates and spikes down its back and upper thighs are also artistic license but just further increase the cool factor on this figurine and also serve to differentiate it from all of the other Carnotaurus toys out there. The lower jaw is articulated and has a very smooth motion.
The Dinogorgon is a static piece of vinyl but what it lacks in articulation it more than makes up for in ferocity. The gaping maw full of sharp fangs makes this large dog sized dinosaur a great addition to any collection. I purchased it to be an attack animal for my Orcs (I also have a pair of older, Safari Ltd. Dinogorgons for the same purpose).
The Velociraptor is a great figure as it has articulated (swivel) shoulders in addition to a hinged jaw. As I have stated in the past, I love the fact that toy companies are now adding feathers to theropods following current scientific theory and I try to grab every single feathered dinosaur produced. This figure has a striking, bold and bright color scheme utilizing green, yellow and blue airbrushing to really make it pop when displayed on your shelf or in your toy box.
Lastly, we have another newly feathered dinosaur. The Oviraptor, while a static figurine, has a great dynamic sculpt that implies movement. The open mouth with its deep red tongue really stands out against the more muted greys and blues of the rest of the figure. The Oviraptor looks like the terrifying offspring of an ostrich/emu and a bird of prey like a falcon or hawk. It is also pretty rare to have an Oviraptor toy not sculpted to have a stolen egg in one of its hands.
The only real downside to Schleich products are their prices, which have actually gotten more reasonable over the last 3 years. They are more affordable now than they were in the past, but they are still a bit pricey for their size. The smaller ones like the Dinogorgon and Oviraptor retail for $7.99 while the Velociraptor retails for $11.99 and the Carnotaurus was about $17.
Now I just have to wait for July and August for the remainder of Schleich's 2018 line (a few more dinosaurs and the eagerly awaited "Eldrador Creatures") to be released!
