I’m fascinated by how depictions of prehistoric animals change over time in the face of new evidence. This is the theme of my recent children’s book, The Tyrannosaur’s Feathers, which focusses on T. rex as a case study for this ‘make-over’ phenomenon. However, while the appearance of some prehistoric creatures, T.
Review: Diprotodon (Deluxe by CollectA)
4.3 (29 votes)
The very first Australian prehistoric mammal to be named and described (by Sir Richard Owen back in 1838), Diprotodon is by far the biggest marsupial that we know of. A mature male would have been over 4 metres long, 1.8 metres tall at the shoulders, and weighed at least 2800 kg, which is heavier than a male hippopotamus and rivalling a male white rhinoceros.
Review: Polacanthus (Deluxe by CollectA)
Review: Giganotosaurus (Jurassic World: Dominion, Hammond Collection by Mattel)
4.1 (48 votes)
Opinions about Jurassic World: Dominion and its Giganotosaurus design aside, if you wanted a decent action figure of this animal upon the film’s release, you were SOL. Mattel only released one Giganotosaurus in the mainline and although it had some cool action features it resembled the animal in the movie about as much as the movie animal resembled the real Giganotosaurus.
Review: Dinosaur Fossils (Ideas by LEGO)
3.6 (16 votes)
Review and photos by Harper Bloomingdale, edited by Suspsy
For those of you not into LEGO, LEGO Ideas is a website where users share their builds and, provided the goal of 10,000 supporters is achieved within a time frame, the build has a chance of getting put into production.Â
Review: Cynognathus (Marx)
4.2 (17 votes)
Cynognathus is not a very common choice for toy producers. This Cynognathus was part of Marx’ first wave, produced from 1955 onwards, so it may be not surprising that it is a comparably weak representative of the real animal, even with its outdated history in mind.
Review: Dimetrodon (small version) (AAA)
3.2 (17 votes)
There are at least five different AAA Dimetrodon sculpts so I’m calling this the “small version” to differentiate it from the others. This one is from the 1980s and there are a handful of interesting aspects that make this figure stand out from other similar cheap Dimetrodons.
Review: Majungasaurus (Wild Safari by Safari Ltd.)
4.6 (70 votes)
Sixty-six million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous, Madagascar had already been an island for about 20 million years. And just as today, the island would have boasted a unique assortment of organisms isolated from most of the outside world. Thanks to fossils preserved in the Maevarano Formation we know the region was home to Beelzebufo, the world’s largest known frog, the theropod Masiakasaurus with it’s strange, forward projecting teeth, the herbivorous crocodylomorph, Siamosuchus, and the 8-meter sauropod, Rapetosaurus.
Review: Smok (Deluxe Prehistoric Collection by CollectA)
4.6 (27 votes)
As a person of Polish decent with a love for Triassic fauna I was elated to see that CollectA was producing a figure of Smok wawelski, a Triassic archosaur found near Lisowice village in Poland. And hot on the heels of their excellent Lisowicia too, another Triassic animal from the same fossil site.
Review: Velociraptor (Jurassic Park, Hammond Collection by Mattel)
3.4 (18 votes)
I must confess. Although I credit Jurassic Park with introducing me to the magnificent group known as dromaeosaurs, and the very concept that birds evolved from dinosaurs, I have grown mighty weary of scaly raptors. Jurassic Park is almost 30 years old now and although the scientific image of Velociraptor and its kin has changed dramatically in that time, the pop culture image of it has remained frustratingly unchanged.
Review: Therizinosaurus (Jurassic World: Dominion, Sound Slashin’ by Mattel)
3.9 (27 votes)
The Mattel Therizinosaurus we’re looking at today is among the most highly anticipated toys of the Jurassic World: Dominion line, and it makes sense. Although we’ve only seen fleeting glimpses of it, we know the herbivorous theropod will have a starring role in Jurassic World: Dominion.