There are many different tiers of dinosaur toys on the market. There are high end brands with exquisite detail and accuracy, and some brands that just make toys to be played with and have very little attention to detail or accuracy. This Triceratops falls closer to the latter category and is probably not destined to be on the display shelf. At first glance, this doesn’t seem to be a bad toy. Unfortunately, a closer look reveals that this seemingly innocent toy, bears a extremely similar look to the old CollectA and Mojo fun Triceratops. This toy is distributed by Adventure Wheels which is an exclusive Walmart brand toy. Outside of the re branded company name for Walmart, the companies name is Dragon-i toys. There product information is not on the box, but on the tail, the product info states Dragon-i made in China. They made a series of dinosaurs under the Mighty Megasaur line, that have sounds, lights, and even movement. The original version is the same as the Walmart Adventure wheels other than the color (which is grey) and the box it comes in.
About the toy: At 7.4″ (18.8cm) long and 3.2″ (8.1cm) high it seems to mimic the size of the CollectA Triceratops. The pose is rather straight and linear. (Look Familiar!) Due to the articulation in the legs, you can repose it a little bit, which can look a little more active. The lower jaw is on a loose hinge and hangs open. Inside the mouth is a pink tongue and some unpainted teeth. When it comes to the detail and texture, its not bad, but again it mimics another toy that has already been mentioned. The skin folds and wrinkles are all in the same spots. On its left side is a series of small holes for the electronic roar sounds. The colorization on this is nice. I like the base red color with the melted chocolate color on its back and highlighting the frill. The horns, beak, and toes are all cream in color.
On the skull there is the appropriate two long brow horns and a nose horn. The beak is large and the frill is very straight. The body is really trim and straight, not much heft or weight to it. The front feet and back feet have four toes. The tail rather skinny and is approximately the same length of the body.
Play ability: This is a rather good toy. When its head slams into something or if it is ever so slightly pushed forward by hand, the eyes glow and it makes a generic mix of “B” movie carnivore and Jurassic Park T-Rex roar. The legs have limited articulation but usable. The head does not turn. It is made from hard yet sturdy plastic. It is actually a rather durable and fun toy for younger kids. It runs through walls (toy blocks) with its long horns leading the way, it roars and kicks some prehistoric tail in a child’s imagination play arena.
Overall: It has already been mentioned a few times who’s Triceratops this toy seems to mimic so I wont continue to beat a dead Triceratops. Is this toy worth it? It all depends on what you plan to do with this toy. For kids, it is a fun toy. As for collectors, I would probably pass on it. I only have it due to it being a gift from my daughter who’s face lit up when I unwrapped it. So I will cherish it. As for everyone else, it has low cost, some play ability, durability, striking red color, and looks to have been copied from another brand, the choice is yours.
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Yeah, even though I don’t agree to Dragon-I having a lot of repurposing from other figures- for example, the Velociraptor I own from them has a head clearly sculpted from the Jurassic Park raptor figure by kenner, and the Dilophosaurus has a head like the papo dilophosaur and legs like their running rex. But At least they aren’t straight-up copying the other figures- they are actually trying , at least somewhat, to make something original. And as a bonus it means they work well with the “real” figures.
It’s just a shame that they have lights for eyes and most of them use the same roar- Kids don’t find it as good when the dinosaurs don’t look expressive. As a kid, my favourite toy dinosaur was the bay battat utahraptor because it has so much ferocity packed into it’s pose and big, emotive eyes.