One of Favorite's Largest Playable Figures Made of Soft Material
A premium Giganotosaurus figure over 60 cm long, joining the Vinyl Model series. Discovered relatively recently, it is especially popular with younger dinosaur fans. Made from child-friendly materials, it can be enjoyed safely in the living room or a child’s room.
* Some parts are made slightly harder to allow the figure to stand on its own and to reproduce fine details.
GiganotosaurusGiganotosaurus
Classification: Saurischia / Theropoda / Carcharodontosauridae
Size: Total length 12–14 meters
Period: Late Cretaceous
Giganotosaurus was a large carnivorous dinosaur that lived in South America during the Late Cretaceous. Its fossils were first discovered in 1993, making it a relatively recently identified dinosaur. Its skull alone measured about 1.8 m. Although it was larger than Tyrannosaurus, its body was relatively slender, and its bite may not have been powerful enough to crush bone. Fossils of several individuals have been found together, leading to the suggestion that it hunted in groups and may have preyed on large sauropods such as Argentinosaurus.
Interview with Supervisor Kazunari Araki
- Giganotosaurus has joined the Dinosaur Vinyl Model Premium Edition lineup. It has attracted attention because it appears as a major dinosaur in the new film released in summer 2022. What are your impressions of Giganotosaurus now that you have seen it again?
- I have shared my impressions of Giganotosaurus for the Soft Model and Vinyl Model, but I was surprised to see its appearance in the new film.
Its design was heavily stylized and reminded me of Carcharodontosaurus. The pointed armor along its back may prove popular.
Giganotosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus are both South American carnivorous dinosaurs, so the film may have designed them to look different from Tyrannosaurus for clarity on screen.
This Premium Edition, of course, is based on fossils and depicts Giganotosaurus as scientifically reconstructed, so it differs from the film design. - Giganotosaurus has already been released as a Soft Model and a Vinyl Model. Were there any sculpting considerations beyond size that were specific to this Premium Edition?
- Giganotosaurus is known for its large head. In smaller and medium-sized models, making the head too large can create a comical, big-headed impression, so I adjusted its proportions. For the Premium Edition, the large size is a key selling point, and I felt that the large head itself would be part of its appeal.
- What were the challenges, highlights, or details you would like people to notice when sculpting the Giganotosaurus Vinyl Model Premium Edition prototype?
- Giganotosaurus has a large head, many sharp teeth, and relatively large three-fingered forelimbs. Its overall shape evokes a kaiju such as Godzilla even more strongly than Tyrannosaurus, making it well suited to a Vinyl Model Premium Edition that can stand on its tail.
Of course, a kaiju and a dinosaur are not the same thing (laughs). - The paintwork uses a basic brown palette suited to a large carnivore. What impression do you get from the finished product?
- As I often say, I try to design paintwork and patterns that do not overlap too much with other models in the series. I think this time the colors fit the animal particularly well.
- Finally, do you have a message about the Giganotosaurus Vinyl Model Premium Edition?
- Bring together Giganotosaurus, the king of South American dinosaurs, and Tyrannosaurus, the king of North America, and stage a movie-style showdown at home!
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.