Mussaurus is a genus of early Jurassic sauropodomorph that within the outdated days would have been often called a “prosauropod”. Mussaurus means “mouse lizard” as a result of the primary found specimens of it have been all hatchlings and juveniles. We now have grownup specimens as nicely, indicating that Mussaurus reached a size of 20-26’ (5-8 meters), making its title deceptive. Development levels of Mussaurus reveal that they began life as quadrupeds after which switched to bipedalism as adults.
The one toys of Mussaurus that exist are all from Mattel. Their authentic, mainline determine was reconstructed as a considerably generic, quadrupedal, child sauropod. For that cause, I by no means obtained it. The Hammond Assortment Mussaurus comes with swappable fingers, permitting you to show it as a quadruped or biped. Including to {that a} typically extra “prosauropod” look made it a dinosaur toy that I needed to have. As I expressed in my Dryosaurus evaluation, basal dinosaurs are type of my jam, and I really like bipedal sauropodomorphs. Just like the Dryosaurus, Mussaurus is a novel canon dinosaur, showing in The Misplaced World: Jurassic Park.
The Hammond Assortment Mussaurus is articulated on the jaw, base of the top, base of the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, ankles, and base of the tail. The tail is rubber with a bendable wire inside. The articulation works about in addition to you’ll anticipate it to for a Hammond Assortment determine of this measurement. Since it may be a biped or quadruped the forearms are considerably lengthy and stiff and look odd when the determine is displayed as a biped. I suppose it’s a good compromise although.
The determine measures about 9.5” (24.13 cm) lengthy and stands 3” (7.62 cm) tall on the hips. When scaled down from a size of 20’ we get a scale of 1/25. It’s essential to keep in mind that the proportions are going to be off on any Mattel toy, so scales are going to be tough estimates.
The toy has a considerably oversize, gnarly and sunken-in, skeksis-like head stuffed with outsized, pointy tooth. Moreover, the hand and foot anatomy is all improper for a sauropodomorph of any type. Inaccuracies like these are all typical for Mattel and nobody needs to be stunned by them. What’s essential is that the toy appears to be like passably like a basal sauropodomorph, and considerably extra so than Mattel’s earlier Mussaurus.
The pores and skin is detailed with fantastic pitting moderately than scales, with the one scales being the scutes on the toes. Wrinkles and saggy pores and skin folds are current the place acceptable, akin to alongside the decrease torso and limb joints. Operating alongside from the nape to the tail, and down the thighs, there are massive osteoderms, or possibly they’re function scales. They’re in all probability unlikely, however as Haolong lately confirmed us, we will’t actually make certain what sort of integument any dinosaur had until we’ve a few of it preserved.
The determine is painted slate grey with a sandy coloured underside, decrease arms, and legs. Navy blue stripes run down the nape and neck and are met with teal stripes that proceed down the again and tail. Alongside the again, navy blue stripes give technique to ocean blue stripes which are overlaid with the teal. Teal and mint inexperienced stripes and bands run down the tail, and the bands don’t all the time line up proper the place they be part of alongside the horizontal seams of the tail.
The tooth are white, the within of the mouth is darkish pink, and the claws are darkish inexperienced. The eyes are painted on, not like previous Hammond Assortment toys with their glass eyes. They’re pink and yellow, with many of the pink concentrated across the edges and the pupils are black. They appear far more lifelike than the glass eyes, which regularly regarded too darkish and vacant if the lighting wasn’t proper. Total, I like the mixture of cool colours used right here however the colours on the tail don’t fairly match these on the physique.
The Mattel Mussaurus is a bit cartoony and goofy trying however is an in any other case competent little motion determine of a dinosaur that’s unlikely to be made by anybody else. Basal sauropodomorphs are uncommon as figures, and even rarer as motion figures, making this Mussaurus a should have for followers of them. This determine will be discovered at Goal or on their web site, and elsewhere on-line.
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