An early prototype Dinobot. The proto Dinobot is molded in black and white and clear plastics, making it a very unique piece. It is unpainted. Its joints are fairly loose and it barely stands on its own. There are Hasbro/Takara markings on the underside of the raptor jaw.
   
Compared to the production Dinobot, there are several small differences, all associated with the tail weapon. First, the peg holes that snap the tail halves together are round on the prototype and hexagonal on the production piece. Second, the protruding peg that attaches the tail to the body on the prototype has an additional stair-shaped cut on it, and the corresponding plug-in matches the shape. The production piece has a flatter peg and plug-in. Small changes like these are presumably made to make the figure more durable when released in the production stages.

I recently acquired a hand-painted resin Dinobot without Hasbro markings (meaning it's a very early one). It came in a Ziplock bag which had written on it: Raptor pre-toy. I was amused. Anyway, I noticed some sculpting differences on the head. The production toy (as well as the B&W proto) has a smooth head top, and the side of the jaw is also smooth. On the resin proto (pictured above on left), the top of the head and jaw side are textured. Somewhere along the way, someone decided to sand down the texture in favor of a smooth surface. Additionally, on the resin proto, the lower jaw has a severe underbite so the teeth actually rest inside the upper jaw; in the production piece, the teeth line up when the mouth is closed. So, somewhere along the line, different teeth were sculpted in.
And, no, neither is for sale. : )

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