Tyrannosaurus rex and Velociraptors (Playmobil)

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For 40 years, Playmobil has been one of the most popular toylines in the world, famed for their simple yet elaborate designs and wide-ranging themes. Let us take a trip through their 2007 Dinosaurs line. We begin with Tyrannosaurus rex and a pair of Velociraptors.

This T. rex measures 32 cm long and stands about 13 cm tall at the hips when standing in a horizontal pose. It can also rear up to a maximum height of 20 cm. Its main colour is pine green with dark green stripes, red eyes, dark red tongue, purple jaw ligaments, white teeth, and brown hind claws. Not what you’d call an exciting colour scheme, but it works.

While unmistakeable as a T. rex, this toy has quite the list of inaccuracies. The tip of the snout is too bulbous, the eyes are positioned wrong, the forearms are too large, the wrists are pronated, the rib cage is too narrow, the feet are oversized, and the tail is too short and stumpy. Still, one must keep in mind that this T. rex, like all Playmobil products, is a children’s plaything first and foremost. It’s not in the same category as a detailed model from CollectA or Wild Safari. For myself, I’d have adored this toy when I was little.

The T. rex is articulated at the mouth, neck, shoulders, and hips. Its hind claws and the soles of its feet are made of soft plastic, allowing for a firmer grip on smooth surfaces. Two of its fingers have grooves that allow it to grip Playmobil accessories. Doesn’t make sense, I know, but it is amusing.

Now for the two Velociraptors. These tiny terrors measure just under 9 cm long, have articulated necks and hips, and are orange with black eyes, white teeth, and brown and beige spots. Like the T. rex, they suffer from bulbous snouts, pronated wrists, and stumpy tails, and are quite naked. But they are reasonably detailed for their size, with sculpted teeth and killing claws. And unlike JP raptors, these are actually in proper scale with the human figures.

Accompanying the dinosaurs are a small yellow-orange and red lizard and a slithering green snake. One could teach a cool visual lesson on the food chain using the animals in this set, with the lizard at the bottom and apex predator T. rex on top.

Finally, the playset. This consists of a large brown tree stump with spreading roots, a small expanse of grass and water, an assortment of flora including a fern, shrubs, some nice flowering plants, and a Triceratops skull for good measure. It’s a perfect place for the raptors to live and hide, and for the T. rex to get a drink or lie in wait to ambush its next victim.

Forget the anatomical flaws. Any young dinosaur fan (and quite a few adult ones for that matter) should love this kit. The dinosaurs are articulated, durable, and lots of fun to play with, and the playset is well-designed and elaborate. Again, I’d have gone absolutely nuts over this as a kid. As it stands, I look forward to passing it on to my future kids. Highly recommended! Available from Amazon.com here.

This has been my 20th review here at the Dinosaur Toy Blog. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them! 🙂