A playable figure made of soft, durable material. This is a vinyl figure of the Ichthyosaurus, an ichthyosaur that lived in the seas during the Early Jurassic period. It reproduces features such as its dolphin-like streamlined form, large tail fin, and paddle-like limbs. Since it uses a material that is safe for small children to touch, you can play with it safely in the living room or children's room.
IchthyosaurusIchthyosaurus
Classification: Class Reptilia / Order Ichthyosauria / Family Ichthyosauridae
Size: 3 meters in length
Period of existence: Late Triassic to Early Jurassic
The Ichthyosaurus was a type of ichthyosaur that resembled modern dolphins. Its head was smoothly connected to a streamlined body, and it is thought to have moved rapidly through the water using its paddle-like limbs and large, well-developed tail fin. Its eyes were very large, allowing it to spot large carnivorous marine reptiles, which were its predators, from a distance. Its long jaw had numerous sharp teeth, and fossilized feces show that it preyed on fish and squid, among other marine creatures.
Interview with Kazunari Araki, Supervisor
- The Ichthyosaurus has been added to the Dinosaur Vinyl Model lineup as the first ichthyosaur. What are your impressions of the Ichthyosaurus, Mr. Araki?
- Ichthyosaurs flourished in the Mesozoic seas alongside dinosaurs, but until now, there haven't been many large figures of them.
I think this Ichthyosaurus vinyl model is a long-awaited figure for ichthyosaur fans. - Could you please tell us about the difficulties, highlights, and appealing points in sculpting the Ichthyosaurus Vinyl Model?
- The charm of ichthyosaurs, I believe, is their streamlined, perfectly round body, like a torpedo or submarine, which is well-suited for swift movement in water. This round body was challenging for the factory, but I think they did an excellent job with it this time.
- The coloring of the Ichthyosaurus Vinyl Model is different from the Ichthyosaurus Soft Model, featuring a green hue. What is your impression of the finished product?
- Ichthyosaurs strongly resemble dolphins, and I believe their ecology was also very similar. While mammals like dolphins and whales have simple black and white colors, I tried to express a reptilian quality with slightly more complex patterns. What do you think?
- Finally, please provide a comment about the Ichthyosaurus Vinyl Model.
- While Ichthyosaurus and Tyrannosaurus likely never fought in the actual dinosaur age, with the vinyl models, you can have such a dream battle!
Supervisor Profile
Kazunari Araki (Araki Kazunari)
Japan's leading dinosaur sculptor, involved in producing dinosaur restoration models for natural history museums and prototypes for dinosaur encyclopedias.