New CollectA Models 2021 (Part 1)

It’s that time of year when our dear friends at CollectA release details of their new for 2021 prehistoric animal models and replicas.   The team at CollectA have done a fantastic job keeping production plans on schedule in the midst of a global pandemic (COVID-19), we congratulate them for their hard work and we can reveal the first three models due out early next year.

• CollectA Deluxe Mamenchisaurus in 1:100 scale – a replica of a giant sauropod, famed for its extremely long neck.
• A CollectA Age of Dinosaurs Popular range Kamuysaurus – a model of a Japanese hadrosaurid which was only named and formally scientifically described in 2019.
• CollectA Age of Dinosaurs Popular range Brontosaurus prey – a sauropod that has been the victim of an attack from a large theropod.

All three of these figures are due to be in stock at Everything Dinosaur early in 2021.

The New for 2021 CollectA Deluxe Mamenchisaurus Dinosaur Model

The CollectA Deluxe Mamenchisaurus

The CollectA Deluxe Mamenchisaurus model has a similar colouration to the CollectA rearing Diplodocus that we revealed twelve months ago.  This might mark a trend in CollectA for depicting sauropods with a more muted colour scheme, one that can be described as “elephantine grey”.  A number of species have been assigned to this genus, all of them from China and although size estimates vary, these long-necked herbivores were some of the largest creatures to have ever existed when they roamed in the Middle to Late Jurassic.

Intriguingly, this model has been given a tail club by designer Anthony Beeson who explained:

“Uniquely for a toy of this animal I have depicted it with a tail club suggested by the fused vertebrae on its tail.”

Four Fused Caudal Vertebrae

The discovery of four fused caudal vertebrae led palaeontologists to postulate that this dinosaur had a club on the end of its tail.  The uniformity of the vertebrae tends to discount these fused tail bones having been caused by an injury or disease and tail clubs are known in other Chinese sauropods such as the closely related Omeisaurus and the not so closely related Shunosaurus.  Additional fossil discoveries of fused caudal vertebrae would help to confirm this hypothesis.

It has been suggested that this tail club was used as a defensive weapon, but other functions cannot be entirely disregarded.  For example, some palaeontologists have proposed that the fused bones may have been part of a sensory organ improving nerve responses so that the dinosaur could make more sense of its immediate environment, quite handy when your head is some twenty metres away from the end of your tail.

Whatever the function of the tail club, it is great to see the design team at CollectA including this unusual anatomy in the Mamenchisaurus model.

The CollectA Age of Dinosaurs Kamuysaurus

With the recent introduction of Fukuiraptor (2019) and this year’s 1:40 scale Fukuisaurus model, CollectA have been keen to highlight the unique dinosaur biota that once roamed Japan.  Coming into stock in early 2021 will be a replica of the duck-billed Kamuysaurus (Kamuysaurus japonicus).  Known from a single, articulated and almost complete fossil specimen, Kamuysaurus is thought to be closely related to the North American Edmontosaurus.

Available in Early 2021 The CollectA Age of Dinosaurs Kamuysaurus Model

Visit the Everything Dinosaur website: Dinosaur Models and Toys.

It is certainly a beautiful figure, with a striking colour scheme.  Designer Anthony Beeson has followed the hypothesis that it had a short flat crest on its forehead.  The model further expands the number of hadrosaurid dinosaurs included in the CollectA model range.

CollectA Brontosaurus Corpse

The final figure to be announced this week is that of a dead Brontosaurus.  CollectA have introduced several figures of deceased dinosaurs including a Stegosaurus, Triceratops and in 2016 a replica of a Tyrannosaurus rex corpse was added.

The CollectA Brontosaurus Corpse Model

The CollectA Brontosaurus Corpse

The Brontosaurus corpse will make a very useful addition to the model range, permitting makers of prehistoric scenes and dioramas the opportunity to depict the aftermath of a theropod attack.

Commenting on this fantastic new addition to the CollectA portfolio, designer Anthony Beeson stated:

“I have wanted to do a dead sauropod for some time and this year we add a figure of a dead Brontosaurus to the collection.  The animal is depicted in an ungainly pose of collapse, with wounds shown on its body suggested by how it is likely that such sauropods were attacked, weakened and dispatched by carnivores.”

Model Measurements

We know how dinosaur model fans like to get information on the size of prehistoric animal figures, here is that all important information:

• CollectA Deluxe Mamenchisaurus in 1:100 scale – length 40 cm, height of head 24 cm.
• A CollectA Age of Dinosaurs Popular range Kamuysaurus – length 14 cm, height 5.3 cm.
• CollectA Age of Dinosaurs Popular range Brontosaurus prey – length 25 cm, width 15 cm.

If these first three figures are anything to go by, then there are going to be some exciting times ahead for model collectors and dinosaur fans.  This trio will be available from Everything Dinosaur early in 2021 and we will post up details of other new CollectA model announcements next week.

To view the CollectA Deluxe range: CollectA Deluxe Prehistoric Animals.

For the CollectA Age of Dinosaurs Popular range: CollectA Prehistoric Life.