Review and photographs by Cloud the Dinosaur King, edited by Suspsy
For my first review on the Dinosaur Toy Blog, I will be covering a somewhat underrated figure: the CollectA Deluxe Pteranodon.
Facts about this creature: Pteranodon, which means “toothless wing” is a genus of pteradactyloid pterosaur that lived in what is now the central United States during the Late Cretaceous period about 86 to 84.5 million years ago. It had a wingspan of 20 feet and weighed about 25 pounds. Pteranodon is probably one of the most iconic pterosaurs, the “Pterodactyl” of our childhood. Males had a huge crest behind their heads, while females had a crest about 1/3 of that size. They flew above the Western Interior Sea over giant mosasaurs and plesiosaurs. And now, without further ado, let’s get into the review.
At first glance: In my opinion, this is a pretty good figure at first glance and I think it’s superior to the older CollectA Pteranodon. I think the crest is a lot better, more flattened as opposed to carrot-shaped. But let’s take a closer look at this figure. First of all, this is not in 1:40 scale as it is advertised. If you get the box with it, the little information card says Pteranodon had a wingspan of 40 feet, but it really had a wingspan of only 20 feet, which puts this figure at about 1:20 scale. The wingspan is about 30 cm.
Scientific accuracy: This figure isn’t the most accurate Pteranodon figure. For one thing, it only has pycnofibers on its chest and throat. A real Pteranodon probably had them elsewhere on its body, not just in one confined area. The wings are the correct length, but they should not be as pointy as they are; they should be much more rounded. Also, there should be a steep drop in the wing membrane about 3/4 of the way towards the main body. As well, there are three joints to the wing finger instead of four. I also don’t like how transparent the wings are. The legs are folded up under the body and are too large. It also has five toes on each foot as opposed to four, and they are also longer than they are supposed to be. The tail appears to be too thick, but it is the correct length. Finally, the beak is curved, but the lower jaw on mine (and of a lot of other people’s) is warped upwards.
Overall: I think this is a pretty cool figure. If you like big, fairly accurate pterosaurs, than this figure is for you. It’s not the most accurate Pteranodon figure out there, but it’s pretty good.
This has been my first review on the Dinosaur Toy Blog. I hope you all enjoy it and other reviews to come.