Oh no, my last review was already over a year ago! Never mind, because here I come with a real surprise! As you certainly know, I have a fondness for museum-exclusive figures. Bullyland Procynosuchus from Korbach, Bullyland Protochirotherium from Wolfhagen or the Tsintaosaurus from Basel (Switzerland) are highlights of my collecting history.
So you can surely imagine how excited I was to discover these new Dimetrodon models, which are sold exclusively in the museum shop of the Museum für Naturkunde (which translates Museum of Natural History) in Magdeburg, the capital of the German federal state of Sachsen-Anhalt. Although the manufacturing process of such figures has shifted from elaborate and rather expensive injection molding (Bullyland, Invicta) to 3D printing, one must not underestimate when a museum decides to produce and sell one of its exhibits as a souvenir.
I’ll get straight to the point: I find both the idea and its execution very successful. That the model is offered in two scale variants, namely roughly 1:5 and 1:10, really puts the icing on the cake.
But one after the other: that our everyone’s favorite synapsid was still mistaken for a dinosaur is thankfully long ago. By now, hopefully even the last person knows that it is a representative of the mammalian ancestors, which lived in several species during the Permian epoch. Since the depicted individual has been found in Germany, it is possibly a Dimetrodon teutonis, the smallest of the species found so far.
The figures are 3D – printed and both depict the same juvenile Dimetrodon in a running, agile position, but in different scales: Approximately 1:5 for the bigger version, which measures 15 cm in length and 5,5 cm in height and 1:10 for the smaller model, which measures 7,5 cm in length and 2,7 cm in height. Each model is loosely glued to a base made of cardboard, whose printing with footprints gives me Bullyland Protochirotherium vibes! The base is printed with the logo of the museum, the producing company “Palaeonavix” and some information about the age and the site of discovery, which was Freital in the neighbouring federal state of Saxony. If desired, the big model can be detached from this base and mounted on a paintable, supplied landscape diorama of early Permian Germany, which also contains information about the site of discovery and painting suggestions on its back.
I had the pleasure to directly ask the sculptor, Frederik Spindler, a palaeontologist and palaeoartist who is working both in research and his own comapny “Palaeonavix”. About his models, he has the following to say:
“Dimetrodon is considered more upright among the pelycosaurs. This does not yet mean an upright stance like that of higher mammals. But the cumbersome comparison to crocodiles or large monitor lizards is misguided – after all, the genus belongs to the direct sister group of therapsids. The planning of the model is based both on our own scientific work – we are currently working on the description of the fossil – and on the track expertise of Michael Buchwitz. He studies the footprints and also the resting traces of Dimetrodon. So, very little imagination went into the model, and it is one of the most well-founded figures of this species. In Magdeburg, the figure is available in the museum shop. Our own online shop is currently under development, so further products will follow – also currently again in collaboration with Dr. Buchwitz.”
The details and the anatomical correctness of both versions are incredible. Although tiny, there are definitely toothpick-tip sharp teeth even in the smaller version. The eyes are a bit like bulging eyes, which does the agile overall impression very well.
The claws on both models are tiny, but present and extremely sharp! The scaly underside of the belly apparently corresponds to the latest findings of research on the resting traces. I was asked in advance about the size of the sail and can only assume that it is so small because it is a juvenile, which measured only 75 cm by itself and whose sail might not have been fully developed.
So, what can I say? I am thrilled that I have once again tracked down a museum-exclusive figure, and even more, one with such a high display value. Of course, you can paint the monochrome, light gray model to your heart’s content, although this is certainly a task only for the most patient model painters among you. But then the painting will surely enhance the piece even further.
Anyone who knows me knows that I very much like to leave it in this single-color state and continue to look out for strange, unique, or simply quirky figures of all our favorite animals – those from prehistoric times!
This is not your average souvenir, these are high-quality extensions of your museum visit! As mentioned, the models can so far only be ordered at the museum itself for 5 euros (small version) or 11 euros (large version). If interested, please kindly ask Mrs. Salomon whether and under what conditions international shipping is possible: elke.salomon[at]museen.magdeburg.de
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