Before we begin the review, I would like to thank Happy Hen Toys for sending this figure along as a review sample. Check out their large selection of animal and dinosaur figures by clicking on the banner below.
Birds of the Phorusrhacidae family, commonly known as terror birds, are some of the most impressive dinosaurs to evolve in the post-Mesozoic world. In South America, these flightless birds were the largest apex predators, with some species reaching an estimated weight of over 700 lbs. (317 kg.). They ruled the Cenozoic between 43-0.025 million years ago. Although they’re gone, their closest relatives persist in South America. The two extant species of seriema are formidable predators in their own right, using their raised, dromaeosaur-like toe claw to subdue their prey. The Phorusrhacidae family is named for its type-genus, Phorusrhacos, described in 1887. Today, we’re looking at CollectA’s model of the genus, released in 2025.
Phorusrhacos (bearer of scars) lived 20-13 million years ago, and its remains were first discovered in the Santa Cruz Formation, which at the time would have been a mix of savannahs and semi-arid forests that was also populated by other terror bird species, glyptodonts, ground sloths, sparassodonts, and litopterns, among other bizarre animals unique to what was at the time, an island continent.
Not including the base, the CollectA Phorusrhacos stands 3.25” (8.3 cm) tall at the hip, 4” (10.16 cm) to the top of the head, and measures 6” (15.25 cm) long. The actual bird is estimated to have stood 4.6-6.2’ (1.4-1.9 meters) tall, measured 8-10’ (2.5-3 meters) long, and had a skull length of 24-26” (60-65 cm). Using body length (and omitting the tail feathers) gives us a scale of 1/19-1/24.
The figure is presented in forward stride with the heel of the left foot slightly lifted. It stands on a base that’s sculpted to look like dry, cracked earth, with what appears to be a small tooth or claw on the ground. The figure has an articulated jaw that works rather well.
This Phorusrhacos possesses a long, laterally compressed, deep, hooked beak with a sculpted tongue and glottis (opening to the trachea) on the inside of the mouth. The body is narrowly built with small wings and long legs. On the feet, the second digit is large and deeply hooked, which is accurate.
A single claw is sculpted on each wing, which is inaccurate. This is no doubt a byproduct of a time when it was thought that terror birds had clawed hands due to how the hands were bent, but extant seriema have the same anatomy and no claws on their wings. That said, a lot of extant birds do possess claws on their wings, but their digits are entirely obscured by the feathers, which should also be the case here.
The figure is detailed with a coat of shaggy looking feathers that loosely hug the body and appear deeply layered. Tufts of feathers stick out of the nape and back of the neck. A fan of stiff feathers is sculpted on the tail, and the wings are sculpted with covert feathers and short primary flight feathers. Due to the presence of quill knobs on terror bird fossils we know that they had primary flight feathers even though they were flightless. The legs are detailed with fine, grainy scales, and tarsal scutes on the toes.
The CollectA Phorusrhacos is painted a burnt sienna color with white underside. The beak is red, the nostrils are picked out in black, and the inside of the mouth is pink. The eyes are shiny and yellow with black pupils. There’s some dark gray airbrushing around the eyes and on the feathers down the mid-line of the neck and back. The tail feathers are black with white tips. The wings are dark brown with a light gray wash over them. The legs are the same sienna color as the body but with a gray wash over them. The claws are black. The entire base is tan colored. The colors are conservative but would suit this bird well in a savannah habitat.
It is an absolute pleasure to finally add a new terror bird figure to my collection. These birds are always on my wish lists but for some reason they’re heavily neglected by toy companies. Indeed, I think the only ones that are currently available are both by CollectA! This one and their Kelenken. This figure is currently available but if you live in the United States, it might be hard to track down. Thankfully, Happy Hen Toys has it in stock!
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