Having grown up in the 80s and the 90s, I can vividly recall Lambeosaurus sometimes being described as one of the very biggest ornithopods, rivalling Shantungosaurus itself. That notion was based on a specimen known as LACM 17715, discovered in Baja California, Mexico, and named L. laticaudus in 1981. But in 2012, it was renamed as a separate genus, Magnapaulia, and many other specimens have since been referred to it. And while it ended up not being as humongous as Shantungosaurus, it is still thus far the biggest known member of Lambeosaurinae, with an estimated size of anywhere between 12.5 and 16 metres in length and 8 to 10 tons in weight.
New for 2026, the CollectA Magnapaulia is sculpted in a quadrupedal strolling pose with its left limbs extended forward and back and its right limbs brought in close to one another. Both the tail and the head are turning to the left and the mouth is open as though the individual were munching on greens or sounding off. The toy measures about 20.5 cm long and 9.3 cm high, which is very big for a toy in the Age of Dinosaurs Popular series.
The Magnapaulia’s main colour is a light grey with an even lighter underbelly. The hands and feet are dark grey with medium grey claws. Medium brown spots and stripes adorn the body and white wash has been applied down the length of the spine. The bill is medium grey with brown wash and the eyes are glossy black. And finally, the crest and the throat are decked out in pastel red. It all looks good and it’s quite unlike any previous CollectA ornithopod.
Tiny rounded scales cover the entirety of the Magnapaulia’s body, including on the soles of the hind feet. There are also larger round scales scattered across the torso region, but they can be hard to discern among all the brown spots. This is in keeping with preserved skin impressions which show that Magnapaulia possessed such scales. There are also heavy folds and wrinkles present on the neck, the limbs, and along the belly.
No Magnapaulia skull has yet been found with an intact crest, but given that cladistic analysis has found this hadrosaur to be closest to fellow Mexican Velafrons, and close to Corythosaurus and Hypacrosaurus as well, it is perfectly reasonable to conclude that it had a rounded crest like them. Practically all paleoart depicts it this way. The crest on this toy is round and swept back, and its large size means one could interpret this individual as a mature male. The rest of the head has the correct profile, although the tip of the bill should be a bit more rounded. The neck is nice and thick.
The forelimbs are long and muscular, and much like the Deluxe Edmontosaurus shown earlier above, feature large hooves sandwiched between smaller claws on the second and fifth digits. The hind limbs are similarly lanky and end in three-toed feet. Strangely, the right foot is bent in such a way that it almost appears to be hyperextended backward.
The torso is appropriately huge and deep, with the back held higher than the head. The tail starts out deep as well, but eventually tapers to a thin, rather rod-like structure. Overall then, this toy has a body that certainly appears very typical of a hadrosaur. However, Magnapaulia possessed particularly tall vertebral spines, almost four times as tall as the centra. This toy does have a prominent ridge running down its back and tail, but it does not appear to be quite tall enough.
The CollectA Magnapaulia ends up being something of a mixed bag. On the one hand, there’s the oddly bent right foot and the wanting vertebral spines. But on the other hand, it still boasts a good colour scheme, excellent sculpting, and the honours of being the very first Magnapaulia toy and one of only a small handful of toys representing Mexican dinosaurs. So all things considered, I am pleased with this one in the end. And thank you very much for this review sample, CollectA!
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