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Review: Revoltech SFX T-Rex

As some of you might have known, my money situation has been tight the last few months – tight enough for me to cut down my already diminutive pre-order list. The Nendoroid Cirino had to be sacrificed, and the figma Michael Jackson would have faced the same fate had he not been delayed time and time again. But no matter the circumstances, there are some things I just have to hold onto, and the Revoltech SFX Tyrannosaurs Rex from the 1997 film The Lost World: Jurassic Park is one of them.

"T-Rex" – Chag, 8 years old

When I told Ashlotte that I received this toy, his reaction was something along the lines of “erm…why?” To which I responded with “why the hell not?” Is not the T-Rex the essence of every boy’s dream? Yes, it has been an awful long time since I was awed by the film when I saw it back in China. And no, I did not understand a word of English back then, so I am clueless as to what the actual plot of the movie is. But that’s beside the point. To any red-blooded 8-year-old, the sight of a giant rampaging lizard is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Not only is the T-Rex one the largest land predator to ever walk the face of the earth, but it also simultaneously tickles the boundary between fantasy and reality. If you don’t think that’s cool, then maybe something’s wrong with your head.

…Okay, maybe not everyone is as dinosaur-crazy as I was in my childhood, but you see where I’m coming from, right? And of course, when a good-looking T-Rex action figure surfaces, how can I possibly resist? Thankfully, my blind enthusiasm for the plastic dinosaur was not punished by the sting of disappointment, as the Revoltech T-Rex turned out to be a fine figure.  Hit the jump to find out more!

First Impressions

The Revoltech T-Rex is presented in an olive/yellow colour with some dark stripes running across its body. I honestly can’t say if this is accurate to the movie, as the T-Rex scenes I found on YouTube all took place during the night. I’ve always thought of the big lizard as a primarily grey creature, but I rather like the jungle colours on this figure.

The figure comes on base depicting a moist patch of primordial vegetation. It looks as if it’s been soaked by rain for long time, as I can almost feel the stickiness of the brown mud underneath the T-Rex’s foot. The two oddly shaped trees in the background rest on small revolver joins and can be repositioned and removed if need be. As with all other Revoltech SFX figures, a little nameplate is included.

One of the greatest things about this figure is the way the base is designed. Since the T-Rex is a bipedal creature, it would normally require careful balance in order to stand upright. And as any toy collector would know, balance is a fickle mistress, as a simple bump into the table could send the figure falling over. Sure, there is the usual Revoltech method of sticking a stubby peg on the base into the foot of the figure, but given the inherently lousy balance of the T-Rex, such a solution would not be dependable. So instead, the folks at Kaiyodo utilized the new solution – rather than having the ankle joint pegs inserted into the foot, they are instead inserted into the base itself! What comes out of this is a very reliable and stable way to display the figure without sacrificing the aesthetics.

The Revoltech T-Rex measures in at 21cm long and around 8cm tall – shorter than a standard-sized Figma. For anyone who’s seen the movies before, it’s hard to not be at least a little underwhelmed by the figure’s size initially, since the sheer immensity of the creature has always been the focal point. However, after my initial reaction I found myself happy with the figure’s size. Though the T-Rex’s height is not spectacular, it makes itself known with its healthy length. Besides, through collecting mecha models and toys, I’ve become used to seeing very large things being miniaturized into small plastic trinkets, and as I look closer, this modestly-sized bipedal lizard is actually quite big when it comes to the details.

Closer Look

The details on the Revoltech T-Rex are jaw-dropping. Everywhere you look you’ll find wrinkles in the reptile’s hide. The sculpted muscles give the creature a powerful appearance, while the spine and rips are visible through the creature’s imposing frame. On top of that, the way that the top coat glistens gives the T-Rex a life-like appearance.

The mouth deserves a special mention, as I really like how they handled the flap of skin between the upper and lower jaws. In between those jaws you’ll find a fully detailed (but not articulated) tongue and two sets of crisply molded teeth. Curiously, the teeth on the Revoltech T-Rex are tinted pink. While it may be a lapse in the production process, I’d like to think that it is the aftermath of the carnivore’s last grisly meal.

Above the heavy-set jaws rest the T-Rex’s eyes, which are what I consider to be the only flaw when it comes to the details on this figure. From what I read a long time ago, predatory animals (like eagles, sharks and lions) usually have forward-oriented eyes to help them track down their prey during a chase, while herbivorous animals tend to have eyes wide-set eyes located on the opposite sides of its head for a wider field of view, alerting them of the presence of predators. By that logic, the T-Rex should have its eyes fixed to what’s in front of it, but instead, the pupils on the figure are directed to the sides. I know this is a minor observation, but the unfocused look in the T-Rex’s eyes undermines the air of ferocity established by the rest of the figure, if only slightly. Thankfully, as the eyes are so tiny, this is one flaw that’s relatively easy to overlook.

Articulation

As far as articulation goes, the Revoltech T-Rex nails it down pretty perfectly. Aided by swivel joints at the neck and hinge joints on the lower legs and jaws, the figure fully exploits the sturdiness of the revolver joints. In spite of the weight, the figure is able to pull off one-legged running poses pretty reliably. There is even a pair of extra feet included for that exact purpose, so you can have the big lizard trample down your desk, your shelf, or wherever you choose to display it.

The positioning of the tail is held by a bendable metal pole, which is covered up by a soft rubber outer layer. The tails works well for the most part, though the pole does not quite extend to the tip of the tail, thus the end of the tail does not bend with the rest.

In all honestly, I can’t really think of anything figure lacks in terms of articulation. I suppose the torso could have a joint in the middle, and perhaps the little weenie arms could use an elbow joint, that just would be splitting hairs. At the end of the day, the figure does everything you would want out of a plastic T-Rex, which makes me a happy camper.

Final Say

By now you probably think I’m a strange(r) man for getting so worked up over a toy dinosaur, and I suppose I can’t blame you. Still, dinosaur fanboying aside, the Revoltech T-Rex is a simply a cool toy. It look great, plays great, and is a slice of Hollywood movie history to boot. For fans of the movie and dinophiles like me, I don’t see how one can go wrong with this one.

As for everyone else…wouldn’t a T-Rex be a neat thing to have in your collection anyways? You can have it terrorize the rest of your collection, or perhaps turn it into a might steed – you’d be surprised at the possibilities that the Revoltech T-Rex holds! Just don’t expect it to be in scale with the rest of your figmas, and I’m sure you’ll have a ripping good time.

Completely original idea, do not steal!

Pros

  • Amazing details, especially for a figure of its size
  • Appealing and functional display base

Cons

  • Derpy eyes

…I really do need to re-watch The Lost World one of these days.

27 replies on “Review: Revoltech SFX T-Rex”

FUCK YEAH DINOSAURS! FUCK YEAH T-REX!

As for the eyes. Revoltech must obviously be of the controversial idea that the Tyrannosaurus Rex was a scavenger rather than a Hunter. Thus giving it eyes of less-than-predatory nature. Then again this is supposed to be the Jurassic Park version, where it’s a man killing machine, so that theory kinda gets scrapped.

It’s an awesome figure though!

Oh yeah, I read about the predator vs. scavenger debate. Honestly, I don’t care either way, because at the end of the  day, when the T-Rex hits the scene, everyone else moves out of the way. It’s about being on the absolute highest end of the food chain.

tl;dr: FUCK YEAH T-REX

I’ve never really been a fan of the T-Rex. Those tiny upper limbs takes away the menacing look and make them look like pussies IMO. I like Pterosaurs and Stegosaurus better.

That said I don’t think I’d actually spend my money on a figure of a dinosaur though. I mean, sure they can be used as props for some photo shoots like you have done here. As a display on the shelf it just won’t look next to those delicious girls.

However, I did thoroughly enjoy this review. It’s a very refreshing change from the usual UGUU AM I KAWAII~ figures. Although I’m 100% sure that last picture has been photoshopped, I can tell from some of the pixels and from seeing quite a few shops in my time.

PS: I’d recommend NOT watching the movie again. Those old classics rarely age well and unless you have extremely foggy nostalgia goggles on, you will be sorely disappointed and it may ruin some of your best childhood memories. This happened to me with Robocop, which is the reason I did not buy the figma release.

Mannn, stegosaurus is for chumps — those plates aren’t any good for self defense. If i had to be a plant-eating dinosaur, I’d go with triceratops. If anyone tries to mess with me, I’ll horn the fuck out of them. =P

WTFBBQ, accusation of photoshoppery? What gross slander! It’s time to settle this the manly way — with expensive lawyers.
Alright, I’ll keep that advice in mind. I have been kinda busy lately, so not having to set aside a couple of hours for the movie is alright by me. But I have to say, going by the youtube clips i watched the special effects have aged really well!

I love dinosaurs, well in the past I was more crazy about them.
I remember that I saw a making of the movie Jurassic Park and there was a small fully moveable model with latex skin, which they’ve used in some scenes of the movie. I really wanted that thing, but I guess that would have been impossible or far too expensive XD

The T-Rex from you review looks really nice, with the detailed skin and the detailed head, also the poseability look well made and interesting. The joints are a bit too prominent for my taste, a rubber skin would have been cool ;D But overall it seems to be a great moveable dinosaur.

Hell yeah, another member of the dinosaur-loving master race! It would be so amazing of that latex skin technology could be mass produced for cheap. Then perhaps articulated figures and wiselhead may finally walk hand-in-hand!

My brother had a large plastic T-Rex that was probably one of my favourite childhood toys. It had no articulation whatsoever, looked like shit and usually had several Matchbox cars jammed down the poor guy’s throat but goddamn.. I forgot how much I loved that thing until your review reminded me of him!

I was thinking it’d be something I’d like to own and would probably have a lot of fun with until I saw it compared to a Figma, wow.. it’s small size really surprised me. I’d primarily be interested in having it interact with my Figma somehow so having it be that much smaller would probably look more than odd, haha. Buuut having said that, that’s some crazy detailing for something that tiny.

That’s some killer posing right there in Revoltech-T-Rex-022.jpg! 😀

Daww, I remember those solid plastic dinosaur toys that I waggled around. Goooood times. Come to think of it, I wonder how long this figure would last in the hands of my 8-year-old self….

Ehhh, i was supposed to take the photo of Drossel and T-rex with the entirety of its length on display, but I couldn’t fit it in the bloody lightbox. It really isn’t THAT small, honest!

That photo is what happens when the a dinosaur does the dinosaur — the funkiness level increased EXPONENTIALLY!

You didn’t do any head swapping!  I wanted to see some head swapping.

What am I to do now?  I don’t know if I feel like getting the T-Rex, so there will be a void in my life, a void shaped like T-Rex headswap photos.

I shall despair.

Dangit, I totally forgot about headswapping! T-Rex head on Yotsuba’s body really is quite something. Too bad you’ll never see it!

…I’ll post it the next time I have to take photos.

Nice review, I’m surprised you didn’t pose it alongside the giant robots for some epic photo shooting =P
I used to be a dinophile just like you, although I’m more into the fossil-aspect of things.

I’m a little surprised by how short it is. I guess its length makes up for its height, but still… 8 cm kind of takes away its prowess. That said, the amount of details on this figure is pretty amazing, especially the skin textures.

The thing about the T-Rex is that it’s hard to have it do what you want without the base, so it’s a royal pain to get things into the right position in a fight scene. I also tried to have the Revoltech Gurren Lagann to put the T-Rex in a neck hold, but it they just would not play nice with each other, blah. Eventually I just gave up and looked for alternative ways to get creative. I happened on that little kitten from the Petit Nendoroid Hanekawa completely by accident, and i’m amazed at how well it worked out — those two are adorable together.

This T-Rex is cool, I ended up playing quite a bit with one and I must say I like it. I’m disappointed that it’s on the tiny side, kinda silly to have a ferocious killing machine be smaller than some little girl in a frilly dress. Then again the smaller size makes for some easier hilarity to ensure.

I love the picture with the meat, reminds me of Monster Hunter, I wonder what kind of tainted meat that is.

It’s not about the size, it’s how –oh forget it! It seems that I’m the only one who would accept Rexxy for what he is. I know a couple of friends with height complexes. I can only imagine the level of insecurity Rexxy would feel if he could think. Poor Rexxy.

Dang, he looks really cool, especially the mouth flaps. I was a dinophile as a kid, still love them. I used to have a big plastic T-Rex toy with robotic body armor that some alien dudes could ride, that was awesome. In fact, you should blu-tack some spare MG parts onto T-Rex and take some photos 😉
Anyways, great photos, that last one made me laugh. And damn man, you could have grown up to be a pro artist!

Fun fact: when I was little, I used to walk around with my arms raised like a T-Rex ALL the time. Is the T-Rex toy in question from this, by any chance? Because that cartoon has the best premise EVER. I get horny just looking at that picture.

I don’t think I have enough suitable gunpla parts to give Rexxy a suit of bling, but that is certainly a cool idea. Some toy customizer should really get on that idea — a good sculpt like this should not be put to waste.

Man, I was a mini-Picasso when I was 8 years old (just look at this stuff!)…then the internet happened. THANKS, INTERNET!

Haha, damn, little Chag sounds like he would have been really funny on TV.

YES! I found out later it’s a franchise called Dino Riders. Looking at that pic, so many memories. I had the T-Rex and Triceratops and my brother had the Brontosaurus. Apparently Zai had the Dimetredon as a little girl. Why can’t cartoons today be as cool as yesteryear?

I think there’s something wrong with my head – I’ve never really liked Jurassic Park. It may then not surprise you to also know I’m not a fan of films in general.
 The first time I saw one of the JP films was with a friend at the premier of the 2nd film in Glasgow. He loved it, I was more frustrated because the kid in front of us wouldn’t stfu. “Mommy when’s the T-rex coming?” on constant loop every minute. Then when it did appear he screamed the place down and the process would continue. Heh, I was such a miserable git as a kid, still am xD.

Jurassic Park on the SNES, now that was a good game back in the day.

The figure itself, as a kid I’m sure I would have loved it, even if I wasn’t very fond of the movies. Now, maybe not so much. The only dinosaur toys I had were the lame ones, Mr Spiky Back, Mr Long neck – no Raptors or T-rex – and they were unarticulated. Having a T-rex to storm my giant castle and eat all my Knights would have been wicked, although something tells me they’d tower over him and he’d easily fit through the front gate.

See, that kid in front of you has the right idea! Granted, his mother should have never let him anywhere near a theater, let alone a premier, but at least his head isn’t defective! =P

If my 8-year-old self got his grubby little mitts on this figure, I’m sure he would’ve creamed his pants. Clearly we were both born too early!

I was actually more impressed with the raptors than the t-rex in Jurrassic Park. I’m amazed that they put so much detail into this figure, I’m even more amazed at how many poses you can make with it.

In retrospect, the raptors are probably a lot more interesting. The fact that they’re fast and smart made for some really good tension, especially in the indoor scenes. Raptors are probably the last animal that I’d want to be trapped with in an abandoned buliding, especially if there’s more than one. Bears are pretty bad too because I think they eat you alive, but I’ll take them over raptors.

That is pretty cool!  I’ve never really been a huge fan of T-Rex’s (I was more into the herbivores lol), but I can see their appeal.  They always seem like they have this goofy smile when their mouths are closed – and those short little arms make them look all that funnier.

I really like how the Revoltechs aren’t just being limited to anime characters but they’ve actually branched out to these sci-fi and movie series.  I actually have a couple of Revoltechs that I wanted to do reviews on too.  ^_^’  The details on this is really well done, as I find too on many of the Revoltech sci-fi ones.  It looks pretty big in your pictures / on its own, but I guess if you see it in person or put it against something else (like Drossel there) the size becomes apparent.

I found your pic of the tail with the metal rod interesting, how did you get that picture?  It looks like you cut off a piece of the tail just to take that picture.  Or did you simply remove the outer skin of the tail?  What’s your take on this metal rod?  Seems like after you bend it a number of times it’ll eventually loosen and break (like if you bend paper clips / coat hangers enough times).

The T-Rex is the first SFX Revoltech that I own, and I’m definitely a fan now. The only thing stopping me from buying any more of these is the fact that I’m not intimately familiar with much of the characters featured in the line. I hope Kaiyodo would pick up on District 9 in the near future, because that’s easily my favourite sci-fi flick in recent memory.

Taking the knife to Rexxy? Hah, as if I’d ever do that! The outer skin of the tail just slips right off. As for the durability of the rod. it feels thick and solid to me. With that said, I think it would eventually warp and break if you fiddle with it too much, but for the time being I don’t forsee any problems in the near future. I’m also not going to go out of my way to test its durability, either — now that the review is done, I think I’ll leave Rexxy alone for a little bit.

when Kaiyodo announce that there will be a T-Rex Revoltech, I was shocked. But that was happen during times when the Revoltech are jumping into these new line of characters from a certain movie. I see that the quality of the sculpt, paints, and movement of this Revoltech is really great. They did their homework in innovation and quality control if you ask me 😀

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