To start, I want to extend my thanks to Happy Hen Toys for generously offering this review sample for the Blog. Happy Hen Toys has rapidly been establishing themselves as one of the most reliable shops for prehistoric animal collectibles in the United States, and I encourage readers to check out their website for purchasing this and other related items.
Age: Jurassic
Review: Monolophosaurus (Wild Safari by Safari Ltd.)
Review: Mussaurus (Jurassic World: Attack Pack by Mattel)
3.7 (12 votes)
Review and photographs by Loon, edited by Suspsy.
The first fossils of the Late Triassic sauropodomorph Mussaurus were discovered in the ’70s by an expedition led by the late Jose Bonaparte in Argentina. These consisted of eggs and juveniles small enough to fit in your hands; hence the name, meaning “Mouse Lizard.” However, this name isn’t particularly fitting given that in 2013, the first adult specimens of Mussaurus were described and estimated to reach up 20 feet in length.
Review: Ophthalmosaurus (Age of the Dinosaurs by, PNSO)
3.4 (7 votes)
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.
Review: Ophthalmosaurus (Mini)(Chap Mei)
4.3 (10 votes)
Ophthalmosaurus is one of the more recognizable ichthyosaurs thanks to its enormous eyes, which, at approximately 23 cm in diameter, rivalled those of the much larger Temnodontosaurus. Such peepers would have ideal for hunting squid in the depths of the Jurassic seas, or spotting dangerous predators such as Liopleurodon.
Review: Ophthalmosaurus (Scientific Art Sculpture by PNSO)
4.2 (17 votes)
Review and images by PhilSauria, edited by Suspsy
As if we didn’t know, PNSO is back! So too are the BIG figures that they made their name with and had collectors sitting up and taking notice. Of the five new figures available to buy since they’ve sorted out their behind-the-scenes issues and returned to retail, two are in the upper size range and the rest in the middle range of their releases.
Review: Opththalmosaurus (Walking with Dinosaurs by Toyway)
4.7 (9 votes)
Toyway produced a set of 11 dinosaur figures for their now out of production Walking with Dinosaurs line. This number includes the pterosaur Ornithocheirus, which was only available as a magazine give-away and is thus almost impossible to find. For this reason many collectors consider a WWD set complete even without the pterosaur.
Review: Ornitholestes (Jurassic Hunters by Geoworld)
2.5 (6 votes)
There is a line in the play “Arcadia” by Tom Stoppard that I feel encapsulates science, especially palaeontology, brilliantly: “The greatest moment in life is when you find everything you thought was true was wrong.” The number of changes in thoughts about prehistoric life certainly proves this, as with the species I am reviewing here, Ornitholestes.
Review: Ornitholestes (Jurassic World: Primal Attack by Mattel)
Review: Ornitholestes (Mini)(Chap Mei)
Review: Ozraptor (Lost Kingdoms Series B by Yowie)
3.8 (4 votes)
The preservation of fossils can be a truly amazing thing, giving us a precise look at the ancient world, with preservation of complete specimens and even organic material being kept. On the other hand, it can also only give us fragmentary fossils and nothing more.
Review: Piatnitzkysaurus (Jurassic World Dino Trackers Danger Pack)
3.3 (33 votes)
We owe a lot of our pop dinosaur knowledge to books such as “The Humongous Book of Dinosaurs” by David Norman (et al.), written in the very late 1980’s and early 90’s, published by various publishers in many formats, like collectible magazines, all which often included a comprehensive list of dinosaurs from a-z, and from all over the world.