Palm-sized Dinosaur Figures
A PVC Mini Figure of Fukuisaurus, the first dinosaur discovered in Japan to have its entire skeleton reconstructed. Its compact size makes it easy to display on a desk or shelf. An information card is included.
Fukuisaurus
Classification: Ornithischia/Ornithopoda/Iguanodontia
Size: Total length4.7meters
Period: Early Cretaceous
Fukuisaurus was the first dinosaur discovered in Japan to have its entire skeleton reconstructed. Excavations that began in 1989 uncovered fossils of vertebrae, the tail, and teeth. Its teeth resemble those of Altirhinus discovered in Mongolia, but the structure of its upper jaw is distinctive. It was named as a new dinosaur species in 2003.
Interview with Supervisor Kazunari Araki
- Fukui Dinosaurs have joined the Dinosaur Mini Model lineup. What are your impressions of these dinosaurs discovered in Fukui?
- I had wanted figures of the dinosaurs discovered in Fukui and given scientific names. Fukuiraptor and Fukuisaurus had already been made into figures, but the others had not, so I was delighted to finally see this wish come true.
- You have also created master models for reconstructions at the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum and dinosaur monuments at Fukui Station. Were there any particular points you focused on or changed when sculpting these Mini Models?
- I generally scaled down the poses used for the museum display models. Rather than using a consistent scale, I made them all a compact size that is easy to collect.
- These models feature Favorite’s original colors, which differ from the reconstructions at the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum. Could you explain the concept behind the paintwork for each dinosaur?
- Each model has colors and patterns that differ from the museum displays, while still staying close to the familiar image of each dinosaur.
For Fukuititan, a feathered dinosaur, I used modern birds as a reference and chose gray tones with a speckled pattern.
For Fukuiraptor, I used tiger-like stripes to suggest a fierce predator. For Fukuisaurus, I chose green camouflage colors to evoke life in the forest.
For Fukuititan, a large dinosaur, I chose gray body colors inspired by elephants and rhinos. Koshisaurus is also an iguanodontian like Fukuisaurus, so I used brown camouflage to distinguish it from Fukuisaurus. - What kind of setting did you envision for the base?
- Since Fukuititan was a large dinosaur, I envisioned sandy ground for its base. For the other figures, I imagined ground with exposed hard rock.
- Finally, could you share your comments on this model?
- These Fukui Dinosaur figures represent dinosaurs discovered in Fukui. New fossil discoveries may lead to different reconstructions, and new Fukui dinosaurs may be added to the lineup. We hope you’ll collect them all and look forward to the series growing over time.
Supervisor Profile
Kazunari Araki
One of Japan's leading dinosaur model artists, he creates dinosaur reconstruction models for natural history museums and master models for dinosaur encyclopedias and other publications.