Tiger? Tank – In the Collection

For probably about a dollar from a second-hand store I picked up a bag of random toys that had a very strange tank inside. Now I’m quite the tank person, I have at least a dozen books and quite a few models of tanks, but even if you aren’t a tank person, the distinctive turret of a Tiger is instantly recognizable.

But this turret was strange, not just because it was molded in the (unrealistic) standard army-man green, but also because of the “chassis” is was mounted on. The turret is a crude but serviceable representation of a Panzer VI (Tiger), but everything attached below is a perfect representation of a “generic” tank. That is to say, it resembles no tank specifically (least of all a Tiger), but all tanks superficially. That isn’t necessarily to the detriment of the toy. Most kids don’t know or care that their plastic army-men are decked out in Vietnam War-era gear and smacking each other around with Patton or Centurion tanks. Some even have WWII-era gear with matching Shermans and Tigers (or even Panzer IVs), and more up-to-date ones have Abrams* tanks; I’m sure the kids don’t care.

What I find strange is that someone (probably in a Chinese factory) took the time to make a decent facsimile of the turret of a Tiger tank and didn’t follow through with the body. Why? Did they run out of time? Did they not care? Did their boss tell them to make a Tiger and they got away with just sculpting the turret because no one actually cared? Finding the set, which features a very unsettling modern German flag (I get they couldn’t wouldn’t use a swastika, but couldn’t they at least use the Imperial German flag?), probably answers the question (nobody in the whole process cared), but I still wonder what was going on in the exact moment this thing was created. I bet the idea that someone would ever look closely enough to determine that is wasn’t a Tiger was never even considered.

*Could be Challengers or Leopards, or any other modern tank that looks almost the same.

Discovery Planet 10” Human Torso – In the Collection

If you’re as excited by scientific models of the human body as I am (that sounds weird), there are quite a few options to go for, some even ranging into the thousands of dollars. I don’t have that kind of money to spend (I didn’t even get my model new) so I’m gonna talk about one that’s quite a bit cheaper today.

The 27cm (10”) version of the 8 part human torso by Discovery Planet is the smaller of the two I could find (the larger being simply double the size). There are technically 8 parts to the model, but this includes the base and the main torso frame, into which slot/peg a heart, liver, intestines, stomach, and 2 lungs. Included in the box that unsettlingly says simply “Human Torso” is a small “manual” in full color that describes the basic shape and positioning of all the removable bits as well as some of the other “exposed” organs. Unfortunately missing from mine is a “Bonus Instructional CD”, but I don’t believe that has any effect on operation. The material is a slightly flexible plastic (vinyl?) with a very strange feel. It’ll probably hold up to some abuse from children even though it’s hollow, but then again there’s not much you could really do to it. Probably as a result of this material being hard to paint, the paint application is very minimal, but precise. It certainly doesn’t look real but it’s not all one color. Though, if I were a child I don’t know what I would actually do with it, because it’s more of a classroom “toy” than an actual one.

These kids are far too happy

This is backed up a bit by the company “Discovery Planet”, which is just a brand used by the Hong Kong import company Bowen Hill. Neither the brand nor the importer have a functioning website, but a few branded items can be found around, and there is an abysmal “Bowen Hill” Amazon Store that does sell science class product(s). This model is surprisingly still available in several places (Toys R Us for one but it can be found cheaper elsewhere), I suspect mine is quite a bit older, but there’s no copyright date on anything to indicate that.

My little statue will be going either on the shelf of weird things or the one of random artistic aids. I can see this being a nice, decently accurate model of a torso for a science class or drawing reference, and it was/is fairly cheap to aquire. If nothing else it’ll freak some houseguests out.

Review – Revoltech T. Rex

Revoltech is a company that I’ve had little experience with but has always seemed to have good products. My only figure from this company previous to this was the Combat Armor Dougram. I really enjoyed that figure, but I got it on the cheap, and it was very fragile in some places, so I was apprehensive about paying full price for a figure. But I had recently gotten back into Jurassic Park, and when I look for things, I look for the best of something that is usually impossible to find. In this case I had gotten tired of the lack of articulation in the Jurassic Park toys, and I remembered that Revoltech had made one a few years ago, and in a stroke of luck they had recently reissued it in a color I liked better without the Jurassic Park branding, and a bit cheaper. So I decided it was worth it and made the purchase. So what do I think of it?

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First things first, one isn’t simply paying for a dinosaur figure in this package. Also included is a display stand with 2 articulated palm trees, 2 extra feet for walking poses, and a nameplate that simply says “tyrannosaurus”. These accessories are super detailed and poseable, adding quite a bit to the look of the figure on display. The articulated trees add a bit of poseability and customization to the display that just isn’t found very often, and I’m glad the company thought enough about it to add the feature. The nameplate is the only part I have a gripe with, it is very generic and doesn’t quite fit the motif, the font is boring and it’s overall small and plastic-y. I would either create my own plate or just not display it with one (who doesn’t know what a tyrannosaurus looks like anyway?)

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The figure itself is superb. It is super well detailed and has 15-16 points of articulation (depends on how you count). It is surprisingly small, but that just makes the detail even more amazing. As many creases and scales as one could ever expect in this scale are lovingly crafted in a very accurate representation of the dinosaur seen on screen in the Jurassic Park films. The original version was based on the Rex in The Lost World, which was green. This brown version is closer to the Rex from the first movie, but has several color differences, probably so Revoltech could avoid any legal trouble after their license to make Jurassic Park products lapsed. The paint is still wonderful and very realistic looking for a dinosaur without feathers. It looks very much like a predator that is ready to eat you (or anything really).

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Some of the articulation is done with standard joints, but there are 7 regular sized, and 2 small sized Revoltech joints. Revoltech joints have two attachment points that rotate in their sockets and they connect via a ratcheting joint, the effect is like a hybrid of a standard and a ball joint (I wouldn’t go so far as to say “the best of both worlds” but it’s a very good joint design). These joints give the figure a superb amount of pose-ability. Almost any realistic way (and many non-realistic ways) one could pose a dinosaur is available in this figure. But that leads into my main gripe with the whole product, and it’s a problem I never had with my previous figure. This dinosaur needs to be very carefully positioned in order to stand, which isn’t in itself a problem, but it becomes one when one finds out that many of the joints (on my particular figure) are quite loose. The ankle joints especially, which are standard joints, make it very difficult for the figure’s legs to stay in the posed position. This can cause problems both when standing on its own or when attaching it to the base, which I find doesn’t work out very well in most cases. I never really intended to display the figure on its base, but if one is, it is worth noting. The entire tail is also a rubber-coated wire, making it very pose-able, but also fragile. When moving the tail around one has to be careful about not damaging the outside of it by poking the wire through. And the end of the tail comes after the end of the wire, leaving a piece at the end that would be relatively easy to tear off if one isn’t careful. I do like the fact that it preserves the tail’s range of motion without sacrificing any aesthetics, but it might make it a bit easier to ruin in the long run (both by people and from rubber aging).

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I’m not sure this really needs to be said but this figure is not a toy. It is quite expensive for the amount of plastic that is used, and one is really paying for the detail and articulation. The paint, wire tail, and many joints of various types would make this figure easy for a child to destroy or lose parts of. It’s a fun thing to play with but it definitely is a model for collectors. Though I’m sure teenage collectors could be included on that list.

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I’m very happy with my purchase on this figure. I did pay a little less than MSRP, but almost everything is like that these days. The articulation, detailing, painting, and presentation are top notch, and there are quite a few little touches that make the product feel well thought out. It’s a high quality product for those who are Jurassic Park toy collectors, dinosaur lovers who want a well-articulated figure, and even stop-motion animators. It takes up minimal room and provides maximum enjoyment from either just fiddling around with it on your desk or displaying it. And it’s entirely worth the price for that sort of thing. If you’re a collector of high-end toy and figures, or if you’re a fan and want to take your collection up a notch this figure is worth a look.

Table Topics Family 29 #57-58

QUESTIONS

1. Would you value a coveted toy or a vacation with your family more?

2. What do you most admire about your parents?

ANSWERS By: Austin Smith

1. Variances in the values of either of those items is wide, I also don’t like vacations. That being said obviously the vacation.

2. The shear amount of things that they have managed to do in their lives.