Search results for «Loon»
Protoceratops (Starlux)
3.5 (8 votes) Review and photographs by Loon, edited by Suspsy I know what you’re all thinking: “Another Protoceratops review by Loon? It must be a day that ends in ‘y’!” This time it’s the one from Starlux, which is around 40 years old. Being made in the 1970s, it’d be incredibly unfair to judge this figure by modern scientific standards; what kind of idiot would do that? This figure is definitely old school, and I suppose that’s where one would…
Dracorex (Dino Rivals, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom by Mattel)
…season, here is a rare special double-bill review by two guest reviewers, Loon and Carnosaur, who both have something to say about the Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Dracorex by Mattel. Review and photographs by Loon, edited by Dinotoyblog Mattel’s Jurassic World line, despite being less than a year old, has provided a good sample of different archosaurian families, some of which feature multiple unique species. The new “Dino Rivals” line, despit…
Ankylosaurus (Roarivores)(Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom by Mattel)
3.4 (11 votes) Review and photographs by Loon, edited by Suspsy In 2001, “cinematic genius” Joe Johnston introduced Ankylosaurus to the Jurassic Park film franchise in one of the worst scene transitions in the series (remember, this is the same franchise that thought going from a screaming mother to a yawning Jeff Goldblum was a good idea). Thus began the reign of the Ankylosaurus as one of the most underrated herbivores in the series. Release…
Mussaurus (Jurassic World: Attack Pack by Mattel)
3.5 (11 votes) Review and photographs by Loon, edited by Suspsy. The first fossils of the Late Triassic sauropodomorph Mussaurus were discovered in the ’70s by an expedition led by the late Jose Bonaparte in Argentina. These consisted of eggs and juveniles small enough to fit in your hands; hence the name, meaning “Mouse Lizard.” However, this name isn’t particularly fitting given that in 2013, the first adult specimens of Mussaurus were describe…
Ornitholestes (Jurassic World: Primal Attack by Mattel)
3.2 (10 votes) Review and photographs by Loon, edited by Suspsy. Ornitholestes was a coelurosaur from the Late Jurassic of North America. It most famously appeared in the BBC Walking With Dinosaurs series and featured in the second Jurassic Park book, The Lost World. Its appearance in the latter continued the tried and true Crichton trope of dead dinosaurs washing up on beaches. Like quite a few species that only appeared in the original books, O…
Callovosaurus (Jurassic World: Primal Attack by Mattel)
3.9 (17 votes) Review and photographs by Loon, edited by Suspsy There’s been a trend in Mattel’s Jurassic World line to not only include the various species from the films, but also ones that have only appeared in the books. This explains the inclusion of the obscure Callovosaurus, a dryosaurid known from fragmentary remains found in England. This Middle Jurassic iguanodontian’s contribution to the franchise can be mostly summed up as it erroneou…
Protoceratops (Definitely Dinosaurs by Playskool)
2.4 (5 votes) Review and photographs by Loon, edited by Suspsy Protoceratops is the only species I actively collect multiple figures of, and luckily, many companies have released their own versions. This has allowed me to sample lines that I usually wouldn’t have much interest in, such as Playskool’s Definitely Dinosaurs. This is “Cera,” the first version of Protoceratops in the line, released in 1987. Another version was released in the third se…
Rutiodon (Kaiyodo)
4.6 (7 votes) Review and photographs by Loon, edited by Suspsy. Phytosaurs unfortunately suffer from their superficial resemblance to crocodiles in that they rarely get the level of representation that their more “charismatic” archosaur cousins enjoy. When they do show up, they are usually represented by the late Jurassic Rutiodon, the subject of this review. Thankfully, given the rarity of this animal in toy form, Kaiyodo has done a pretty good…
Archelon (Favorite Co. Ltd.)
4.8 (10 votes) Review and photographs by Loon, edited by Suspsy. Too often, I see people dismiss Archelon as “just a large sea turtle.” Understandably, this makes many toy companies shy away from producing figures of it, since any modern sea turtle figure could be used as a substitute if that were really the case. However, Archelon wasn’t just a big sea turtle; it was one of the largest known turtles to have ever lived, reaching lengths of 15 fee…
Protoceratops (Deluxe by CollectA)
4.8 (23 votes) Review and photographs by Loon, edited by Suspsy. Protoceratops figures tend not to be very large, most likely to better communicate the real animal’s small size. Breaking with tradition, CollectA has decided to create this figure in 1/6 scale, to go along with their Deluxe Velociraptor. As many have pointed out, this figure is quite small for 1/6 scale, measuring 9.5 inches (24 cm) long, making it closer to 1/9 or 1/10 scale. So,…
Tullimonstrum (Paleo-Creatures)
4.3 (7 votes) Review and photographs by Loon, edited by Suspsy. Ever since it was discovered by Francis Tully in 1955, Tullimonstrum has both intrigued and confused. The animal’s common name, “Tully Monster,” is a reference to its confusing collection of body parts. With its bizarre appendage ending in a claw-like mouth and simple eyes at the end of stalks, this doesn’t look like anything alive today. Because of this, there isn’t a consensus on w…
Dakotaraptor (Paleo-Creatures)
4.4 (8 votes) Review and photographs by Loon, edited by Suspsy. When I got back into dinosaurs in the mid-2010s, there were really only two criteria for becoming a paleontological sensation: having feathers and being big. Aside from having both, Dakotaraptor steini also lived alongside the famous fauna of the Hell Creek Formation, making it quite the superstar for a while. It starred in highly anticipated video games, featured in popular travelin…
Protoceratops (Dino World by Kabaya)
4.2 (5 votes) Review and photographs by Loon, edited by Suspsy. Dino World was a line of small models similar to Kaiyodo’s Dino Tales. Unlike Dino Tales, these toys are sold by the Japanese candy company Kabaya and came packaged with candy. This review will be looking at #12 of 24 in the series, the hatching Protoceratops. Like Dino Tales figures, this toy is very small. Each egg measures just under 1½ inch (3¼ cm) long; Protoceratops eggs have…
Protoceratops “Bix” (Dinotopia by Accent International)
4.6 (7 votes) Review and photos by Loon, edited by Suspsy Released in 1992, James Gurney’s book Dinotopia follows the shipwrecked scientist Arthur Denison and his son Will as they journey through the titular island, where dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals escaped extinction and coexist with humanity. This book was extremely popular during the 1990s, garnering sequels, prequels, all sorts of merchandise, a computer game, and at one point, wa…
Maiasaura “Lil’ Hadro” (Dinotopia by Accent International)
4.8 (8 votes) Review and photographs by Loon, edited by Suspsy. We return to the land apart from time to review the second Dinotopia plush released by Accent International in 1993, “Lil’ Hadro.” This is certainly an odd choice by Accent, as no character named “Lil’ Hadro” appears in any of the books. Things do start to make some sense when we look at the tag, however. According to his(?) tag, “Lil’ Hadro” is a young Hadrosaurus, a species that do…
Pakicetus (Paleo-Creatures)
4.3 (8 votes) Review and photographs by Loon, edited by Suspsy. It may seem odd to think that whales are artiodactyls, or even-toed ungulates, the group of mammals that includes hippos, pigs, antelopes, deer, giraffes, sheep, goats, and cows. Obviously, modern whales don’t walk around on land, but, around 50 million years ago, their ancestors did. One of these ancestors, Pakicetus, known from the Eocene of what’s now called Pakistan, may not seem…
Parasaurolophus (Play Visions)
1.3 (6 votes) Review and photographs by Loon, edited by Suspsy. If you’ve ever scoured through dinosaur toy lots on eBay, you’ll probably be familiar with a seemingly ever-present cast of figures. Vintage Carnegies, K&M figures, and Battat Edmontonia bootlegs are numerous enough that they should really be classified as vermin. However, you’ll occasionally find a figure unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. Such is the case of the subject of th…
Gorgosaurus (Papo)
4 (23 votes) Review and photographs by Loon, edited by Suspsy It’s no secret that Papo has always been “inspired” by pop culture depictions of dinosaurs. This isn’t unique, even companies like Safari and CollectA occasionally copy designs and color schemes from time to time. Still, no one does it as frequently and blatantly as Papo. With their 2019 Gorgosaurus, they’ve continued that trend, this time with the 2013 film Walking with Dinosaurs. Th…
Qianzhousaurus (Wild Safari by Safari Ltd.)
4.4 (29 votes) Review and photographs by Loon, edited by Suspsy For a long time, long-snouted tyrannosaurids like Alioramus weren’t considered a true group. After all, a long snout isn’t uncommon for tyrannosaurs, at least in juveniles, which all known specimens of Alioramus were. This all changed in 2014 with a paper by Lü et al. that described Qianzhousaurus sinensis. Known from a well-preserved portion of its skeleton, this 20-foot long tyrann…
Moschops (Paleo-Creatures)
4.3 (6 votes) Review and photographs by Loon, edited by Suspsy I’ll be honest: before I bought this figure, I had no idea what Moschops actually was. I mean, I somehow knew of it, but what type of animal it was or where it was from were mysteries to me. Well, after some “rigorous” research, I can tell you that Moschops was a therapsid, more specifically a dinocephalian, the group of large “mammal-like reptiles” that includes the likes of Estemmen…