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Dinosauria: T-Rex vs Triceratops
Diorama
Sideshow Collectibles
"The
following is a guest review. The review
and photos do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Michael Crawford
or Michael's Review of the Week, and are the opinion and work of the
guest author."
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Tonight's guest review is
another from Ryan Kelly, and he's looking at one of the Sideshow
Dinosuaria dioramas - take
it away, Ryan!
Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve loved dinosaurs. From the time I
was first able to talk I was talking about dinosaurs, and could spell
“Tyrannosaurus Rex” without hesitation by the time I was five. Even
after taking a course on dinosaurs in college about four years
ago—still the hardest class I’ve ever taken in my life—I still love
dinosaurs (though I can now tell someone the difference between
theropods, sauropods, and ornithicians and still remember what a
Parasaurolophus is). My favorite dinosaur is and always has
been Mr. T-Rex, followed closely by his biggest herbivore rival, the
mighty Triceratops. As a little kid, I always had my T-Rex and
Triceratops toys battling it out with each other, and as you can see,
not much has changed (except things are a little more expensive this
time around…just a little). Here we have the two most famous dinosaurs
of all time fighting for survival in Sideshow’s Tyrannosaurus Rex vs.
Triceratops Diorama. Since these two guys both lived in the Cretaceous
period—the last of the three prehistoric periods preceded by the
Triassic and Jurassic—it is very likely that they clashed on more than
one occasion. Personally, I’ve always wondered who was usually the
victor, since the T-Rex has the huge mouth and jaws, sharp teeth, and
an obvious height advantage, while the Triceratops has those huge horns
and—like all ceratopsians—a large frill that serves as protective armor
(and most likely a good battering ram).
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As is usually the
case with Sideshow, there’s a regular and an
exclusive version of this diorama, with the regular being limited to
500 pieces and the exclusive to a mere 200. The regular is out of stock
at Sideshow, but the exclusive is currently available on second chance
and is gift card eligible. The exclusive, which I’m reviewing here, is
a whopping $260, and comes with a Triceratops skull—a great display
piece in its own right—which I’ll be reviewing in its own category. The
regular is ten bucks less at $250. This is definitely the most
expensive collectible I’ve ever bought and the only statue, since I
typically don’t care for statues (they’re too freakin’ expensive and
you can’t pose them or anything…what’s the point??). But seeing my two
favorite dinos going at it mid-battle in one of the most classic
prehistoric confrontations of all time was more than I could resist.
Packaging
***
At 19 ¾” tall and 14 ¼” wide and 10 ¼” deep, this is one huge box. The
Diorama itself is only about 12” tall, but the box includes two large
blocks of Styrofoam to hold it in place and offer protection, with the
two blocks coming together (and held by tape going all the way around)
and the diorama sandwiched in-between. The box is
well-decorated on the outside, showing a large picture of the diorama
on the front and giving the story behind it (the scenario in which the
two dinosaurs meet up and have their battle) on the back. On the sides,
we get close-up shots of the two dinos, with T-Rex on the left and
Triceratops on the right.
It opens and closes easily on top, and I had no difficulty whatsoever
in removing the diorama. However, there’s a lot of wasted space in my
opinion, though Sideshow took great measures to make sure that the
statue was very well-protected during shipping. The box looks really
cool, but might just be a bit too big, and they could definitely have
done more with all the extra space.
Sculpting-
****
Wow. This thing looks real up close, and I especially like the head
sculpt on the T-Rex. If I had a criticism, it would be that the T-Rex
is too small compared to the Triceratops, but evidently, that’s the way
Sideshow intended it. According to Sideshow’s backstory, this is
supposed to be a young, not-fully-grown Tyrannosaurus taking on a large
older bull Triceratops. While minding his own business grazing in the
shade to escape the hot sun, the Triceratops was unknowingly being
watched by a hungry and vicious predator. T-Rex, not being able to find
a McDonald’s nearby, decided to have a medium-rare Triceratops
sandwich. Yeah he’s old, so the meat would be tough, but it would have
to do. He springs forward, attacking the Triceratops from behind, but
the Triceratops immediately snaps into action and leaps around, gaining
his balance and escaping the T-Rex’s fatal grip. Turning on him, he
charges and plunges a horn into T-Rex’s belly. It has now become a
rough day for both parties involved. Assuming Mr. T-Rex survives this
discouraging ordeal, he will probably become a little more selective
with his prey in the future, settling for a young duckbill
(or Taco Bell) whenever possible.
This scenario is beautifully captured with this sculpt. The
determination and old age of the Triceratops and the pain and intense
anger of T-Rex are spot-on. Both have their mouths open and tongues
exposed therein, and it all looks crazy real. From the close-up shots
of T-Rex, you can see that he looks really alive (and really ticked
off). Considering that we’re looking at a large Triceratops and small
T-Rex, I suppose the proportions are about right. The heads
are the right sizes, and the tails look about the right length (though
it’s been a while since I’ve seen a Triceratops or a T-Rex in
person). The rock cliff they’re standing on looks great and
well-sculpted as well, though I wish they had added more rock for the
T-Rex’s left foot to rest on, because as it is, all the weight of the
two dinosaurs together rests on the Triceratops’ left front leg which,
by a long thin peg at the bottom of the foot, inserts into a hole in
the rock just big enough for the foot (with a small hole inside it for
the peg to fit in). This is some heavy polystone, and having that much
weight resting on one foot inside a small hole makes it a little
wobbly, but it works.
From the rocks and tree branch to the fierce gaze in the T-Rex’s eyes,
all this looks very real, and not a single skin wrinkle or any other
slight detail that I can see is left out. Sculpting is obviously the
most important factor in a statue, and Sideshow has really nailed it.
Paint-
***1/2
The paint isn’t anything spectacular, but it’s still pretty good
nonetheless, and does plenty to support the awesome sculpt. The skin
color on both looks realistic and well-distributed from the light to
dark colors, and the inside of both mouths look awesome too.
There’s only one real problem with this paint job, and though it’s not
a major one, it needs to be addressed. The blood, or at least some of
it, does not look all that realistic. I love the blood on T-Rex’s
teeth, but they overdid it. His teeth are completely red, soaked in
blood, and the Triceratops simply isn’t torn up enough for ALL the
Tyrannosaurus’s teeth to be that red. There should have been some
whiteness in the teeth. Granted, the tips are lighter and show that
there is some underlying whiteness underneath the blood on the teeth,
which is really cool, but they should have put different amounts of
blood on different teeth, maybe even leaving some completely white.
Elsewhere, the blood around the penetrating horn in the T-Rex’s belly
looks pretty fake, like something from a Rob Zombie horror
movie. The blood on the tip of the horn looks good, but on
the places where the horn is stabbing underneath the skin, it’s just
too thick, looking more like red paint than blood. Of course it is red
paint, but we’re not supposed to be reminded of that. By
contrast, the blood around the T-Rex’s mouth is too light and faint,
giving it a look of being too thin. The blood around Triceratops’s
mouth looks that way as well—and that’s the other problem. Why is there
blood around the Triceratops’s mouth? It doesn’t look like he took a
bite out of T-Rex, since T-Rex doesn’t have any blood or gash on him to
match (and as Triceratops is a herbivore without sharp teeth, how could
he?). If the blood is supposed to be from T-Rex’s wound from the horn,
it must be quite a good traveler, since it had to have gone from the
wound at the Triceratops’ left horn to the bottom right corner of his
mouth. The blood from Triceratops’s wounds looks pretty good, but could
be better.
These are minor issues for me, however, and though I waffled a bit on
this score between three and a half and three stars, the former won out
since the paint on everything else besides the blood is freakin’
perfect, and the blood itself isn’t bad enough to pull it down
much. Despite the smallness of it, the paint job on
Tyrannosaurus’s eyes is particularly spectacular, really giving him a
more lifelike appearance and enhancing the sculpting of them
tremendously. The eyes are what really show us that he’s in pain and
not all happy, and combined with the huge open mouth and blood on the
teeth, really give him a look of beautiful ferocity.
Accessories
- Bupkis
You could say that the exclusive comes with an accessory—the
Triceratops skull—but it’s important enough that I’m giving it its own
category in the following section.
Triceratops
Skull Display (exclusive only)- *** ½
The skull is about the size of a large apple and looks awesome. This
places the exclusive a cut above the regular, since you will pay the
same price for both. The sculpt is fantastic on both the skull and the
rock stand—which matches that of the diorama—and the paint is great
also. I could find nothing wrong with either. It would be better if the
skull could turn on the stand and look different directions or even
detach, but alas, it’s either glued or sculpted on. But considering
that you’re only paying $10 extra for this, it’s great to have, and is
by far one of the best Sideshow exclusive items I’ve seen yet.
Value - Exclusive **;
Regular *1/2
At $260 at Sideshow (plus $20 for shipping I might add), this is
INCREDIBLY expensive, but the addition of the Triceratops skull pushes
the exclusive a little closer to an average value in my opinion,
cheapskate though I may be. The skull is good enough to be worth
anywhere from $20-$30 extra in my opinion, and thus at only $10 extra
is a pretty decent value.
Still, both versions are badly overpriced. Yeah it’s a well-done
diorama, but not enough to make you wanna spend almost $300. I actually
cheated my way out of the shipping cost by getting a $25 Sideshow gift
card on ebay for a mere $1.75. This knocked out the shipping price
completely and took an extra $5 off the regular price, so after all was
said and done, I only paid $255 (I use the word “only” in a very loose
manner), making it almost an average value for me, being the
exclusive.
Although I think this statue is too small and lacks the paint job to
justify the price tag, I don’t regret getting it one bit. Ebay aint
really an option on this one, at least not right now. Ebay sellers
usually charge the same amount as Sideshow for this piece, or more. The
exclusive, when there is one on ebay, especially goes for a lot more
than Sideshow’s price, and that’s why I suggest getting it now at
Sideshow if you’re going to, because once they’re gone, secondary
market value will probably continue to be a lot more. There are only
200 of the exclusive in existence after all, so I wouldn’t wait too
long.
Fun
Factor - ***
Although it’s a statue and not a toy by any stretch if the imagination,
kids—and most adults—will undoubtedly be wowed by this. Two
blood-covered dinosaurs going at it with teeth, horns, and all—what’s
not to love? Give a kid Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops toys, and they’ll
have them fighting each other within milliseconds; the beauty here is
that it’s been done for you, since they’re fighting each other
already. But keep in mind that this is NOT for kids, as made
obvious by the price. Don’t let any unsupervised kids anywhere near
this thing. My girlfriend referred to this as a “stupid toy,” and I
wanted to throw something at her. If I ever have kids, they will only
see this from a safe distance, if at all. Don’t mess with daddy’s toys.
Things
to Watch Out For -
Use caution when placing Triceratops’ foot (with the peg) into the hole
in the rock; it has to be lined up perfectly in order to slide down
into it. It’s kind of an awkward process since the dinosaurs are
attached together in one piece and the weight of them together is
pretty heavy and unevenly distributed, making it difficult to make the
foot line up perfectly with the hole. Once it’s lined up, it should
drop straight in. Be careful if you try to pick up the whole thing once
it’s put together; lift it up at the bottom because the foot comes out
again pretty easily and is kind of a pain to get back in. Don’t try to
force anything when inserting it because the peg is long and thin and
could easily break.
Overall
-
Exclusive ***1/2; Regular ***
Honestly, my pictures don’t do it much justice. This is really an
awesome piece, and even though it cost over twice as much as my old
pickup, I’m glad I got it. I would have gotten it long ago if I had the
cash. Like I said, the Triceratops skull display puts the exclusive a
slight cut above the regular, since you don’t pay much extra for it.
Had this diorama been closer to $200 rather than $250/$260, it would be
a definite four star. Everything about it is good—very good—but it
simply doesn’t quite make the perfect score due to the jacked-up price.
For that kind of money, I would have expected something larger and with
a slightly better paint job on the blood spots. However, if you have
the extra cash to spend and are willing to cough it up, you won’t feel
too bad getting the exclusive, as you are getting not one but
two great display pieces to add to your collection. I would highly
recommend this diorama for any collector who is a dinosaur enthusiast.
Or a millionaire.
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This product was purchased for the review by the reviewer.
Photos and text by Ryan Kelly.
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