Jungle Dragon (Eldrador by Schleich)

Perhaps the most fearsome and powerful beast to inhabit the Jungle World of Eldrador is the jungle dragon itself. While it prefers to soar high above its lush green environment, it will swoop down on any intruder it sees, attacking with tooth, claw, and tail!

Schleich’s 2024 Eldrador jungle dragon measures about 11 cm high at the head and 17 cm long, but would be considerably longer were it not for the fact that its tail is curled to the left with the tip facing toward. And when its wings are outstretched, they span nearly 30 cm from tip to tip.

Not surprisingly, this dragon’s main colours are dark green, grass green, and medium brown, with lots of yellow spikes, yellow eyes, glossy black claws, light grey teeth, and a red tongue. Most of the paintwork is solid, except the tongue and some of the teeth have been done very shoddily.

The dragon’s most impressive features are its humongous, ball-jointed, bat-like wings, which have translucent green membranes. The many veins running through said membranes give them a resemblance to leaves, which is appropriate for a plant-themed creature. The ball joints allow for a decent range of poses.

The green parts on the jungle dragon’s body are sculpted to resemble shaggy moss or masses of interlocking vines. Meanwhile, the brown parts resemble the bark of trees. The spiky head is fairly wide and boxy, with an elaborate frill jutting out from the back. The neck is short and thick, the torso is deep, and the powerful-looking legs carry the dragon well off the ground. The tail terminates in a flattened tip lined with large spikes. Despite the obvious plant theme, this is very much a classic dragon design on the whole.

With its large size, savage appearance, impressive detailing, and poseable wings, the Schleich jungle dragon is quite the cool toy indeed. Definitely a worthy addition to the jungle ranks.