Review and photos by Tim Sosa, edited by Suspsy
It isn’t often that a toy company offers us a prehistoric fish, but when they do, it’s usually Dunkleosteus. Small wonder, since this gigantic arthrodire was imposing and distinctive, reaching 8 meters in length. It was probably the largest animal alive during the Devonian period, 100 million years before the first dinosaurs.
Age: Devonian
Review: Dunkleosteus (Vinyl Model Series by Favorite)
4.2 (11 votes)
Next to the giant shark Megalodon, the armored Devonian placoderm Dunkleosteus is probably the most famous prehistoric fish, featuring frequently in publications and other media. Naturally, many toy and model companies have given the great fish a go at least once. Favorite Collection, which released one Dunkleosteus in 2014 under their Soft Model line, produced another figure of the genus under the Vinyl Model series.
Review: Dunkleosteus (Wild Safari by Safari Ltd)
4.4 (28 votes)
Review by Tomhet, photographs by Dinotoyblog
As of late, Safari’s newcomers really have become something to look forward to, even more so if one of those newcomers is a late Devonian Placoderm (Placodermi are an exotic but fertile terrain only Kaiyodo, Prehistoric Panorama and Starlux had dared to explore) The Dunkleosteus is a fresh idea from Safari, and as such, it’s had a warm welcome among collectors.
As of late, Safari’s newcomers really have become something to look forward to, even more so if one of those newcomers is a late Devonian Placoderm (Placodermi are an exotic but fertile terrain only Kaiyodo, Prehistoric Panorama and Starlux had dared to explore) The Dunkleosteus is a fresh idea from Safari, and as such, it’s had a warm welcome among collectors.
Review: Elginerpeton (Shyaruru Palette by TST Advance Inc.)
4.5 (4 votes)
Review and photographs by Rebecca Groom, edited by Plesiosauria.
Recently my attention was drawn to a Japanese soft toy company known as TST Advance. They have an extensive range of animal toys named “Shyaruru Palette”. This range consists of many creatures rarely depicted in toy form including Helicoprion, Marrella, Ichthyostega, a coelacanth, as well as some extant ones such as a Komodo dragon and a stag beetle.
Recently my attention was drawn to a Japanese soft toy company known as TST Advance. They have an extensive range of animal toys named “Shyaruru Palette”. This range consists of many creatures rarely depicted in toy form including Helicoprion, Marrella, Ichthyostega, a coelacanth, as well as some extant ones such as a Komodo dragon and a stag beetle.
Review: Encyclopedia of the Paleozoic (Kaiyodo Capsule Q Museum)
4.7 (12 votes)
Review and photos by Tim Sosa, edited by Suspsy
The interval of Earth’s history which shows fossil evidence of animals is known as the Phanerozoic Eon (literally “visible animals”). The Phanerozoic is divided into three Eras. We live in the Cenozoic, which was preceded by the Mesozoic (during which dinosaurs were the largest terrestrial animals).
The interval of Earth’s history which shows fossil evidence of animals is known as the Phanerozoic Eon (literally “visible animals”). The Phanerozoic is divided into three Eras. We live in the Cenozoic, which was preceded by the Mesozoic (during which dinosaurs were the largest terrestrial animals).
Review: Groenlandaspis (Lost Kingdoms by Yowie)
4 (4 votes)
The Devonian period, commonly known as the Age of Fishes, was home to a wide variety of bizarre aquatic animals. One of these was Groenlandaspis (“shield of Greenland”), a small relative of the fearsome Dunkleosteus. Like Dunkleosteus, Groenlandaspis was an arthrodire, part of one of the earliest lineages of jawed vertebrates.
Review: Hemicyclaspis (Series 3 by Kaiyodo)
5 (8 votes)
Review and photographs by Indohyus, edited by Suspsy
Outside of Dimetrodon and more recently, Dunkleosteus, toy companies rarely produce species from the Palaeozoic era. Maybe it’s due to them not being as large or as popular as dinosaurs. In any case, there are relatively few of the amazing and bizarre creatures from this huge expanse of time.
Outside of Dimetrodon and more recently, Dunkleosteus, toy companies rarely produce species from the Palaeozoic era. Maybe it’s due to them not being as large or as popular as dinosaurs. In any case, there are relatively few of the amazing and bizarre creatures from this huge expanse of time.
Review: Hyneria (Paleo-Creatures)
4.7 (9 votes)
Ancient fish, with the exception of sharks, are a rarity in toy lines. Perhaps most believe they are all small and aren’t noteworthy. This is far from the case, as many ancient fish were large and bizarre enough to contend with dinosaurs. Fortunately, our own Jetoar has been able to prove they are worth making with figures like this: Hyneria, a Devonian Sarcopterygian from Pennsylvania, a 12 ft fish that would have terrorised all creatures smaller than it.
Review: Leaps in Evolution (Kaiyodo)
4.6 (17 votes)
Review and photographs by Tim Sosa
From July-October 2015, the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo hosted an exhibit called “Leaps in Evolution: Tracing the Path of Vertebrate Evolution.” To commemorate the exhibit, Kaiyodo made a set of five vending machine capsule figures, most representing a stage in the evolution of vertebrates.
From July-October 2015, the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo hosted an exhibit called “Leaps in Evolution: Tracing the Path of Vertebrate Evolution.” To commemorate the exhibit, Kaiyodo made a set of five vending machine capsule figures, most representing a stage in the evolution of vertebrates.
Review: Mandageria [sarcopterygian] (Paleozoo)
4.4 (7 votes)
About 300 kilometers from Sydney lies the town of Canowindra, New South Wales. In the 1950s a road worker in Canowindra chanced upon some fossils, and in the 1990s paleontologists started working on the site in earnest, eventually revealing one of the world’s finest assemblages of freshwater animals from the Late Devonian.
Review: Medusa (Bullyland)
4.6 (12 votes)
Summer melts us here since weeks, so time for another wet review….
Today I want you to introduce you to one of those creatures everybody knows, but knows almost nothing about, a jellyfish. Jellyfish are a very very old group of animals, they date back to the famous Ediacarian, more than 600 mya.
Review: Paleozoic Creatures (Colorata)
5 (13 votes)
Colorata has been making boxed sets of dinosaurs for several years now, which occasionally include dinosaur contemporaries like pterosaurs or mosasaurs, but in December of 2017 they released their first boxed set of prehistoric figures featuring exclusively non-dinosaur taxa. Say hello to the Extinct Animals: Paleozoic Creatures set.