Search results for «plant»
Prehistoric Plants (Safari Ltd)
…ugh wrote a wonderful book for the casual reader about The Private Life of Plants, so if you are interested, go find it here. This review is dedicated to two prehistoric plant models made by Safari. So let’s start with the “Tree Fern” as it is written on the base of the model. No specific species is given, but the plant clearly resembles an extinct tree fern as recent relatives have far more filigree foliage and stems that are either as thick at g…
Monanthesia and Cycadeoidea (CollectA)
…ering plant with some scrubs around. For those unfamiliar with prehistoric plants, it may be hard to tell which plant of the group is which and to be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t have know either without some Google research. Monanthesia are the big ones in the back and the cycads are the flowering short stems in the foreground. That’s at least one view of the model, as it is sculpted completely different from the back. This distinction allows for…
Prehistoric Landscapes Cycad by Safari Ltd.
…At first I thought it was some kind of perspective trick and if I bent the plant’s stem, I could almost make it look like on the photo provided by Safari. But in fact, the advertised plant is quite different from the one I obtained and no, the model is no knockoff. As you can see from comparing the photos, the stem on the final product is much elongated and the base is also decorated with some stones as well as greens and scrubs. One can only spec…
Cycad Tree (Deluxe by CollectA)
…ies seem not to care a lot about those sort of models. Though, prehistoric plants have quite a history in toy production. Several ealy producers also added plants as company or backdrop to their figures. Most popular are probably the palms and ferns from the Marx playsets. With Safari having retired all of their Prehistorc Landscape models there’s currently only one major company left, delivering some serious backdrop for our prehistoric animal mo…
Tyrannosaurus rex (Corpse by CollectA)
…belly after successfully hunting down poor Triceratops and other helpless plant eaters. In my young mind, it was hard to imagine the mighty T. rex on the other end of each fight or hunt: the loser or even the prey. Mr. T is always the champion. Of course, this is not how nature works. Truth is, even the biggest, most powerful, and most fearsome predator will eventually meet its match, and the end result is clear. Death, especially a violent death…
Hypsilophodon family (CollectA)
…ings. The head was pointed and equipped with a sharp beak used to bite off plant material, and teeth to grind it up. It probably ate in a similar fashion to deer eating new plant shoots and roots. The habitat of these herbivores is mostly unknown. Besides the Hypsilophodon, in the bed where it was found only crocodylomorph scutes and turtle remains have been found. The remains of this animal were found on the Isle of Wight off the coast of England…
Triceratops (Playmobil)
…ssy patch around the base, assorted ferns, a large and beautiful flowering plant, a shallow pit with a sliding ledge that you can place the dinosaur bones in, and a cave entrance at the rear. The flowering plant and the orange fern are interchangeable. The primary play feature of this layout is that the volcano can erupt. Pressing down on a tab on the back of the volcano causes the red magma piece to pop up and send four large chunks of rock flyin…
Arthropleura (Paleo-Creatures)
…that come with bases. Jetoar has started adding parts of plastic aquarium plants to his bases, which I think make a fine addition! This base also has what appears to be the log of a felled cycad (or similar plant). The underside of the base has the animal’s name, scale, and Paleo-Creatures brand. The figure also comes with a nice laminated card with descriptions of the animal in English and Spanish. This figure comes highly recommended, especiall…
Ginkgo (Deluxe by CollectA)
…d a living fossil in a true sense, how cool and rare is that? Unlike other plants and trees offered by CollectA, the Ginkgo comes without a base, a real shame in my opinion, because I highly appreciate bases in plants, that add some more environment to those static and immobile entities. Lacking this feature, the tree stands very stable on four strong roots. The tree stands 24 cm high which is not that much if you take in account that the species…
Acanthostega (Dinotales Series 2 by Kaiyodo)
…who could use their limbs to propel their weights through the obstructive plant material. Despite their significance for our own evolution, stem tetrapods are rarely made into toys. Well, you know Kaiyodo, it also isn’t exactly a toy we discuss here, but rather a model, tiny and financially cheap, but worthy and highly collectable. With a life size of approx. 60 cm, Acanthostega wasn’t really large, the model shown here measures around 8 cm along…
Kentrosaurus (Conquering the Earth by Schleich)
…ound in Africa, at the Tendaguru Formation, where it lived alongside other plant eaters such as Giraffatitan and Dicraeosaurus. In 2015, Schleich released a Kentrosaurus for their World of History line, and it was one of the company’s most well-received figures. Not only was it one of the best dinosaurs they made that year, but it was also one of their best ones to date. So it may (or may not) come as a surprise to you all that that figure is bein…
Kentrosaurus (the Lost Kingdoms series C, by Yowie)
…kull that ended with a beak which would have been useful while sniping off plant stems and leaves. It also had a double row of small plates running down its back which transformed into spikes on the hips and continued down the tail. Along with the tail spikes there was a long spine on each shoulder. If you don’t know and you are wondering, what is the Yowie toy brand? Well, they are a confectionery and publishing brand that originated from Austral…
Diatryma and Phorusrhacos (Starlux)
…orrect, as what was formerly thought to be fossilized feathers were really plant fibers. Isolated fossils of broad, vaned contour feathers have since been found and are probably related to Gastornis, so its plumage was probably smoother like that of most living birds. Wings are not visible as Gastornis‘ wings were greatly reduced and were probably not visible under its feathers. The figure’s head is as big as it should be and so is its beak. The h…
Iguanodon (Naturecraft)
…roduction since this omnipresent “Mesozoic cow” is one of the most popular plant eaters being depicted as toys figurines or paintings. This extremely detailed and well-made statue is made with cold cast bronze. The special production process of this piece uses actual bronze powder mixed in the cold cast resin in order to ensure a richer and more authentic presentation. It is a fairly heavy figure and stands 14,5cm tall and is about 22,5cm in lengt…
Williamsonia (CollectA)
…trunks are dark brown with pale green accents, the fronds and three small plants are bright green, and the large flower emerging from the large trunk is orange. The sculpting on these plants is pretty decent. The trunks have a rough, bumpy texture and each of the many fronds have axes and pinnas sculpted into them. The edges of the fronds, however, are smooth. It would have been nicer if they had a rough texture, but I guess you can only sculpt s…
Therizinosaurus (Deluxe version by CollectA)
…ely creepy and horrifying. No amount of reassurance that it was a peaceful plant eater that only used its great claws for feeding and the occasional defence will change her mind. The colours and detail on this Therizinosaurus are striking. The hands, underbelly, shins, and feet are dull beige with scales, but the rest of the animal is decked out in shaggy khaki and dark green feathers. Blue accents are used for its handsome mohawk and the small tu…
Dacentrurus (Terra Series by Battat)
…round the woodlands of Western Europe, there was a 6-8 meter, two tons, of plant munching awesome named Dacentrurus. Even though the animal looks more like Kentrosaurus, it was bigger than its African cousin, more closely related to Miragia, and amazingly enough, Hesperosaurus from North America. I would also like to point out that it was the first Stegosaur to be described, and that was done by Richard Owen in 1875. The Dacentrurus sculpt has the…
Stegosaurus (2007)(Museum Line by Bullyland)
…small beak, and teeth in the back of the mouth with cheeks that ground up plant matter much like a modern day cow. It was preyed upon not only by Allosaurus but probably Ceratosaurus and Torvosaurus later in the Jurassic. So without further ado, tie a napkin around your neck or lay one gently in your lap, as I offer up the latest version of Stegosaurus from Bullyland and see if it fits your palate. About the toy: The Bullyland version is approx….
Triceratops (Version 2, Carnegie Collection by Safari Ltd)
…rees to browse their foliage, the impact of Triceratops herds on the local plant life must also have been quite appalling (I’m a botanist – I like to think of these things, even if no-one else does).  The figure I am reviewing today is the version of Triceratops released by Safari Ltd as part of the Carnegie Collection in 1999. Somewhat confusingly, there are two Carnegie versions of Triceratops, both of which are still being produced by the Safa…
Apatosaurus (Sideshow Dinosauria)
…gut that would have housed an immense community of bacteria for fermenting plant material. The neck is quite possibly the thickest I have seen in any recent reconstruction of the species. The bifurcation at the neck results in an interesting channel, rather like the Krentz version. According to paleontologist Mike Taylor – who may yet be lured back with this review – the channel might have been filled through with air sacs in life, and therefore l…