Gastonia was found within the Cedar Mountain Formation of Utah, USA. It lived throughout the Early Cretaceous interval from 139 to 134.6 million years in the past and is among the absolute best recognized nodosaurids. Its identify honours Robert Gaston, an American paleontologist and the CEO of Gaston Design, Inc., which makes and sells skeletal replicas of assorted dinosaurs and different prehistoric animals. Together with Gastonia, after all!
Regardless of having a relative abundance of fossil materials, Gastonia doesn’t have very many toys to its identify. CollectA’s was the primary one out the gates again in 2014. It was lastly joined by Schleich’s in 2023. And for this 12 months, we had been fortunate sufficient to get each this one from Haolonggood and another from Mattel. Oh, and we mustn’t overlook that the late Dan LoRusso created one for the Battat Terra series, with the session of paleontologist Jim Kirkland, who is among the prime authorities on Gastonia. It was slated for launch in 2015, however as most of you already know, Battat selected as a substitute for some cause to nix it together with Dan’s remaining sculpts. Curse them for doing that.
Anyhoo, this Gastonia is sculpted in an alert pose with its head raised, tilted to the left, and seeking to the correct. The left entrance limb is prolonged ahead and the left hind one is in mid-step. Lastly, the tail is raised excessive and swinging to the correct. It definitely seems to be as if this particular person has simply caught sight of some potential hazard approaching and is gearing as much as valiantly defend itself. From its beak to its tail tip, it measures about 17.5 cm lengthy. It is usually 4.5 cm huge on the midsection, which makes it look fairly thick when seen from the entrance or from behind.
That is the “Tang Lengthy” model, the opposite being “Du Xin.” Its important colors are yellow-orange on prime and really pale orange on the underbelly. The ft are medium brown with black claws. Brown stripes run down the perimeters, the pelvis, and the tail and there’s a massive splash of faint blue on the again. The top options vibrant blue eyes and a darkish brown beak. Lastly, the spikes and osteoderms on the neck and entrance part of the torso and the spikes on the tail are darkish blue. Whereas it’s a sexy color scheme, I’d be mendacity if I stated that the blue had been utilized good and neatly. Quite the opposite, lots of the spikes look sloppy and unfinished, and the very smallest spikes on the tail haven’t any blue on them in any respect. Additionally, it strikes me as odd that the keeled osteoderms on the tail weren’t painted blue as effectively. I don’t know if it is a widespread downside or a case of particular person unhealthy luck, so please depart a remark in case your Gastonia has higher painted spikes than this.
Thankfully, I can’t complain concerning the sculpting job right here. Like all the opposite Haolonggood dinosaurs I’ve acquired to this point, the musculature and the pebbled and wrinkled pores and skin on this one have been completed with painstaking precision. The identical goes for all of the armour, and the guidelines of the spikes are so pointy that that you must watch out when dealing with the toy. In contrast to the CollectA and Schleich ones, this Gastonia is certainly not appropriate for youthful youngsters to play with.
The Gastonia‘s head is roughly triangular in form with no armour on the snout, however seen small plates over the orbits. The squamosal and jugal horns seem undersized, a lot so within the case of the latter that I assumed they had been fully absent at first. The fifth digits on the entrance ft are equally miniscule, and their lack of claws makes them even more durable to detect at first.
Sharp, curved, and progressively bigger spikes jut out from the perimeters of the neck and entrance torso. 4 pairs of comparable spikes, positioned carefully collectively, are working down the center of the again. Surrounding them are rows of smaller keeled scutes.
Subsequent we come to the sacral defend, which is roofed in a lot of tiny spherical scutes. Lastly, the tail is protected by two rows of scutes working alongside the highest and extra curved spikes alongside the perimeters.
The general result’s a most formidable-looking armoured beast. It’s troublesome to ascertain these defenses being overcome by even probably the most famished Utahraptor, which to date is the most important predatory theropod recognized from the Cedar Mountain Formation.
So how correct is that this Gastonia? Nicely, it seems to have fastidiously if not 100% precisely adopted the reconstruction by paleoartist Gregory S. Paul for his Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs. Nonetheless, a more recent one by Jim Kirkland has spikes working alongside both aspect of the sacral defend. I due to this fact requested each Kirkland and fellow famend paleontologist Kenneth Carpenter what they considered this toy. They each responded that they felt that there actually should be spikes alongside the perimeters of the sacral defend and that the defend itself should be far more elaborate and bumpy, like on the CollectA model. Nonetheless, Carpenter additionally emphasised that any reconstruction remains to be guesswork when it comes all the way down to it, as all Gastonia specimens are from bone beds the place all of the bits of armour are combined up. And Kirkland for his half actually likes this toy regardless of what he considers to be its flaws.
With its meticulous sculpting element and pleasingly prickly look and really feel, the Haolonggood Gastonia is a fairly spectacular toy. The paint flaws are a downer, however once more, hopefully you’ll have higher luck than me. And as for accuracy, once more, we are able to’t be 100% sure how the animal’s armour actually was organized in life, though the sacral defend undoubtedly may have been beefed up extra. Total, not the perfect ankylosaur Haolonggood’s completed, however nonetheless value selecting up.
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