As a young child, I loved splashing around in the tub with my toys. Who didn’t? Most of my bath toys were sharks and whales and other aquatic creatures, but occasionally a plesiosaur would find its way into the mix. My older son, however, enjoys taking his bath with the Classic Big Four: Brontosaurus, Stegosaurus, Triceratops, and Tyrannosaurus rex.
Age: Jurassic
Review: Dinosaur Boxset 2 (Toyway)
We’ve all seen them. The crude dinosaur toys that you get in small museum shops for extremely cheap prices, normally just bought by parents to keep their children quiet for a while. The last thing you’d expect is to put six of these together and sell them as a box set.
Review: Dinosaur Mini Tub A (Papo)
Review: Dinosaur miniatures (unknown company)
Review and photos by Rebecca O’Neill, edited by Dinotoyblog.
This group of ten novelty, cartoonish dinosaurs were purchased on Ebay in 2018, and don’t seem to be available anymore. Very much in the style of The Land Before Time or Dinosaurs the television show from the 1990s, they are a variety of well known dinosaurs rendered in a caricature form.
Review: Dinosaur Set with Cave (Schleich)
Review: Dinosaurs (LEGO Duplo)
Review: Dinosaurs (Tim Mee Toys by J. Lloyd International Inc.)
Back in 2012 a representative from the toy vendor VictoryBuy joined the Dinosaur Toy forum looking for member feedback with regards to reissuing the Tim Mee set of toy dinosaurs, originally produced in the 1970’s. Flashforward to 2014 and VictoryBuy once again stopped by the forum, this time to announce the actual release of the set.
Review: Dinosaurs I (Authentics Habitat Collection by Safari ltd.)
These six little dinos, sculpted by the Carnegie Collection’s own Forest Rogers, may look pretty dated today; but they manage to blend old and new aspects of science to produce a charming set as a whole.
Safari ltd. stands as one of the giants of educational, scientifically accurate dinosaur & animal toys today; but it’s easy to forget the company didn’t start out this way.
Review: Dinosaurs II (Authentics Habitat Collection by Safari ltd.)
This fine set of little Battat precursors from Gregory Wenzel has aged impressively well, and any collector who’s found a chance to own the set should find these a delight.
Back in the 1990s, Safari ltd. was still a bold newcomer on the collectibles stage; with their success on the Carnegie Collection line, the company began exploring additional means to grow their brand.
Review: Dinosaurs III (Authentics Habitat Collection by Safari ltd.)
The final set of Safari’s first forays into dinosaur miniatures features a charming blend of aesthetics, and also serves in retrospect as a tribute to a dawning hobby and its burgeoning artists.
In 1994, Battat was commissioned by the Boston Museum to produce what would become one of the most praised toy lines in dinosaur collecting.
Review: Dinosaurs: Prehistoric Museum Collection, Series 2 (Larami Corp)
Larami’s Museum set is looking pretty dated now, but it’s a charming playset all the same and one of the more memorable imitators out there.
It’s said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery; by that metric the dinosaur toy industry has been incredibly generous towards the leading toy brands.