While it was by no means the largest pterosaur, Pteranodon, with its distinctive blade-shaped crest, remains the most recognizable. It was heavily featured in Jurassic Park 3 and also made a dramatic (and more accurate) cameo at the end of The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
The LW Pteranodon has the exact same body and limbs of the JP Series 2 Quetzalcoatlus, but a completely different head and neck. The large size of the crest indicates that this individual is a male. Main colours are metallic blue and flat beige with a pale underbelly, sandy yellow bill and crest, orange eyes, and a long magenta tongue. The black JP and Site B logos are on the left thigh along with the number 22.
This is one of the largest pterosaur toys. With its legs extended, it measures 28 cm long and has a very impressive wingspan of 48 cm. Its body is mostly smooth with bulging veins here and there and soft ridges to indicate ribs and vertebrae. The head is also smooth for the most part, but there are some oddly-shaped bumps on the sides of its bill. The hands have the right number of fingers, but the feet have only three oversized toes each. Moreover, the toes are in a configuration similar to those of an eagle’s. And finally, the fabric wings really aren’t wide enough for this mighty titan to attain flight. That’s right, this Pteranodon‘s wing membranes are made of fabric with thin strips of plastic for stability. These unfortunately give the wings a bat-like appearance.
But where this toy fails in accuracy, it succeeds with flying colours in fun. The jaws are spring-loaded, allowing it to chomp down on plastic prey. The neck rotates at the base and the articulated legs and toes mean you can have the Pteranodon seize other toys in its claws and carry them off to their doom (which we all know would be impossible in reality!). Pushing the large button on the back causes the wings to flap. And finally, the wings can be folded up and snapped into slots near the hips for a “roosting” appearance. Also makes it safer for storage. To unfold the wings, you simply need to push down on the button again. For many years, I had this guy displayed hanging down from the overhead lampshade in my old bedroom. He never fell off, not once.
The Lost World Pteranodon certainly won’t win any paleontology prizes, but its great size and multiple play features make it one of the most fun JP toys. I much prefer it over any of the JP3 versions.
Sometimes available from Ebay.com here.
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Good times… The first two Jurassic Park movies had amazing toys…
Why couldn’t THIS be what Jurassic World’s Pteranodon looks like?
I had one of these as a kid (I believe I still do, but its wings are broken). I got it for Christmas and had a blast with the thing!
That’s because it was made by Kenner as opposed to Hasbro. Alas, the latter shut down the former in 2000, and with it went the level of quality and fun that so characterized the original JP and TLW toys.
Bummer 🙁