Kids perspective by, William and Erin
By day the squid lurk in the deep waters were only the brave dive into the unknown. It is in these murky depths were they hide from the predators above. When the sun goes down and the moon arrives they come up from down below to the surface to feed. Awaiting the strange creatures from the depths is a fast predator with big eyes that can see through the gloom. A squid is gliding around looking for small morsels to eat. It never sees the big eyes that have locked onto him. The creature speeds towards it target and snap, the squid is grabbed quickly and swallowed. For as wonderful as nature is, it is unforgiving and deadly.
The Ophthalmosaurus was an ichthyosaur that was around 19 feet (6 meters) long and like dolphins today it was a voracious predator that was well adapted for eating squid. It lived around 155 million years ago and had big eyes, a graceful tear drop body, and a half-moon caudal fin.
I am not sure why there are not more toys of this species made as they fit the definition of cute. I remember watching Walking with Dinosaurs and rooting for the little juvenile Ophthalmosaurus as it dodged bigger predators in the cruel sea. Lets face it, they look like dolphins (thank you convergent evolution) which makes us think of them as fun, graceful, and playful animals from a long time ago. Unless your a squid they ae not the things of nightmares, as they don’t have a gaping maw with large man eating teeth. Combine that with their large eyes and it is hard not to like these wonderful ichthyosaurs. There have been two other Ophthalmosaurus reviewed on the blog, the beautiful WWD version and the mini Chap Mei toy. So lets take a look at Becky the little Ophthalmosaurus toy from PNSO.
About the Toy: Like the other PNSO little figures, this toy came with a poster and information. The toy is small at 3.8 in (9.65 cm) long and about a half and inch (2 cm) high. True to its claim to fame the eyes are big on this model and takes up most of its skull. This probably means that it hunted at a depth where there is not much light or that it may have hunted at night when prey was more active. The pose on the toy is that of an active swimmer. The head to its dorsal fin is stiff, then the body curves and ungulates gracefully to its right and then flattens back toward the midline. This follows the thought that it was a thunniform, high speed, long distance swimmer were all the sideways movement is in the tail and the region that connects to the body. The tail is in the shape of a crescent moon which appears correct. The forepaddles and hindfins seem correct as well. The dorsal fin appears a little small but within the realm of possibility.
The colors and texture are pleasant. Texturally there is not much to mention other than the entire body is covered in small diagonal lines that give the appearance of skin. The forepaddles and hindfins also have small lines on the top and bottoms. In reality, the color on this model probably should be darker on top, instead it is painted in a pleasing light green, with blueish green stripes. The under side is a light creamy tan. On the sides of the toy there is a blend of green and tan along with markings that appears to be a question mark design in blueish green. That same blueish green is dotted on the forepaddles and along the crescent tail.
Kids perspective: It is small and I wish it was bigger but I can still play with it. I like the colors, as the colors look real but not as real as in Walking with Dinosaurs. I really like the green on the tail. The toy looks like it is a fast swimming fish torpedo. To play with it is ok. You can play with it in the pool, or bathtub, as they are both great places to play with this toy. You do have to be careful when playing in water as you could lose it. In a deep pool it could go to the bottom and be hard to find. It is a lot of fun to play with it in the bathtub but it could go down the drain as it is small, so be careful. You can definitely play with it in Barbies pool but it doesn’t go well with other animals like horses. We would rate it is an average toy.
Overall: I think this is a nice figure. It is cute and has an active pose which gives it personality. I think it displays very well and I did not notice any major anatomical flaws. The colors are pleasing even with the strange question mark pattern. The cost on this little figure is low as well. With all those thoughts in mind I would say that Becky the little Ophthalmosaurus is a keeper.
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The ophalmosaurus PNSO is a great figure and I point out not only for children but also for collectors.
It’s a pity that PNSO has been so short-lived! A large company with very short existence unfortunately!
Short Lived? What happened to them? (I don’t really keep up to date with a lot of dinosaur toy company stuff so sorry if this is old news)
Well yes, unfortunately, that company is over, according to Acro-man. There were internal fights within the PNSO company and that company ended.
I thought that they were going to make the amargasaurus but unfortunately it is totally paralyzed and finished this project.
Aw man, that’s terrible. I loved PNSO’s figures, I thought they were the best on the market, especially considering their price range. Sad to see them go.