One of the first dinosaur toys I ever bought as an adult collector was the 2008 Carnegie Collection Giganotosaurus. I got mine from Ithaca’s Museum of the Earth around 2010 and it has stood as the sole representative of the genus in my collection ever since (not counting Jurassic World toys). Many excellent Giga figures have been released over the years but as someone that’s not terribly interested in the genus but very much a fan of the Carnegie model of it, I never felt compelled to get another. Then Haolonggood announced their Giganotosaurus. A burly looking, impressively large, lipped model that came in three attractive paintjobs. I decided it was time to finally get a new Giga, but I’m still keeping my Carnegie model!
Haolonggood’s Giganotosaurus measures 14” (35.5 cm) long and stands 4.5” (11.43 cm) tall at the hip. It is advertised as being 1/35 in scale and to be that scale it would have to be scaled down from an animal measuring 41’ (12.49 meters) in length, which is within the proposed range of length estimates for Giganotosaurus. The figure is posed striding forward with only the tips of the right foot touching the ground. So far, the figure seems quite stable. Unlike my PNSO Carcharodontosaurus and Tyrannotitan, which cannot stand without support rods anymore. The tail gradually droops off and to the right in an organic fashion.
The shape of the skull appears largely accurate to a recent illustration by Dan Folkes but there are other drawings, by other artists, where it doesn’t match up quite as well. However, a lot of older reconstructions make the skull too long and that is not the case here. For Giganotosaurus, we have fragmentary cranial material from only one individual, and jaw material from two, so it might be best not to get too pedantic here. It’s worth noting that the chin on the figure is angled inward somewhat, whereas on the fossils it’s more squared off.
Giganotosaurus has high neural arches and in some reconstructions (look at Favorite’s) you’ll notice a steep incline from the base of the neck to the dorsal vertebrae above the shoulders. That’s hinted at here but not dramatically so, in part because the neck and body are so muscular and bulked up. The arms are appropriately small and robust, the legs are lean and muscular, and the feet are nicely padded. The claws are finely sculpted and sharp. The torso is barrel-like, and the tail is thick at its base with a gradual tapering off towards the tip. Comparing it to the 18 year old Carnegie model really drives home how much bulkier theropod reconstructions have gotten over the years.
Turning our attention to the finer details, the scales on the head are largest along the snout and lips and gradually get smaller as we move upwards and back from the snout. Pronounced ridges run over the nasal and lacrimal bones. They start out with fine scalation and then transition to large, keratinous structures over the brow. From there, some larger scales encircle the orbits. Clusters of large scales are also sculpted along the back of the mandibles.
Inside the mouth, the teeth are finely sculpted, sharp, and blade-like. The tissue on the inside appears wet and fleshy, with ridges and nasal passages on the roof of the mouth, and ridges along the lower jaw, underneath the short, muscular tongue.
On my copy, the lips seal nicely together, but I’ve seen some examples where there’s a slight gap between the closed lips. My copy has a loose lower jaw and will stay closed but easily drops when jostled. Every copy I’ve seen or read about has a noticeable seam around the nape and a gap where the jaw is articulated that’s so large you can shine a light through it. Quality control issues like this seem abundant with this figure, with others including small paint defects and white sealant visible between seams.
Over the body we get scale detail that is so fine that it almost appears non-existent, making the figure feel almost smooth, particularly along the tail. I consider this a good thing, since we know from skin impressions that dinosaur scales were individually rather small. Larger scutes run down the fingers and toes. Wrinkles and skin folds are sculpted where appropriate, such as along the neck, around the lower torso, and along the limb joints. Cascading wrinkles run between the hips and thighs in arching fashion that’s somewhat bizarre, but I can’t say that I don’t like it. All bodily orifices are present, and the cloaca has a bulge that might suggest this model represents a male.
The Haolonggood Giganotosaurus comes in three distinct colors. Put simply, Guan Sheng is brown, Lin Chong is blue, and then the third is a green “special color edition” that has no name. For me, the blue Giga has too many black and white squiggles that I generally dislike on HLG figures, and the green one was a bit too blotchy with its patterning. The brown version appeared the most naturalistic and refined so that’s the one I went with.
Guan Sheng has a standard brown base color over most of the body, with a tan underside. Orange is blended in along the snout and peach highlights are painted over most of the throat, underside of the neck, along the lower edges of the flanks, over the inner thigh and groin, and under most of the tail. Dark brown blotches are painted over the face, and the crests are edged in blue.
Dark airbrushing over the midline of the back give’s way to a smattering of dark speckles and blotches over most of the toy’s sides. These dark speckles add a lot of realism and appeal and look far more naturalistic than squiggles. The brown dorsal color forms wide stripes running down the legs and along the tail. Those along the tail tip are given an extra dark wash. Starting at the knees, the legs transition over to dark gray, and the hands are dark gray too. A lighter wash over these surfaces brings out the finer details.
The teeth are white with a shiny red gloss that makes them appear bloody and wet. The tongue and inside surface of the mouth are glossy, pink, and with a smattering of red. The eyes are yellow with black pupils. The claws are dark brown, almost appearing black. My description of the coloration and attempt to keep it brief does the figure no justice, and there’s a lot of subtle differences in tone that I didn’t even touch on but I’m going onto my third page of this review, so I think I’m done!
The Haolonggood Giganotosaurus is a magnificent figure that finally got me to break down and add a modern Giga to my collection. Of course, being one of the few (only?) modern Giganotosaurus figures with lips is all it will take to convince most collectors to get it, and I probably could have reduced this review down to “it has lips” and called it a day. But the figure is not without its flaws, mostly in the quality control department. Although they weren’t enough to turn me away from this figure I think they’re a clear sign that Haolonggood needs to take a little bit more time with their products. In this case, they actually destroyed the first batch of Giganotosaurus only to release a model that’s still flawed! I highly recommend the model all the same, and I doubt I’ll be buying another Giganotosaurus for at least another decade.
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