I first heard of Inostrancevia in a 1994 episode of Paleo-World titled “Tale of the Sail”, about the synapsids that dominated the Permian period. It has been one of my favorite prehistoric animal names ever since, with a pleasant mouthfeel even if the name sounds cooler than it is.
Age: Permian
Review: Scutosaurus (Jurassic World Primal Attack by Mattel)
4.3 (3 votes)
While still relatively obscure when compared to the likes of Dimetrodon, which is arguably the most famous Permian period animal by far, Scutosaurus has had a fair bit of attention to bring it into the limelight, which is still more then most animals from the Permian period.
Review: Scutosaurus (Jurassic World, Hammond Collection by Mattel)
4.2 (5 votes)
Perhaps the most surprising addition to the Hammond Collection so far, today we’re looking at the Scutosaurus. Scutosaurus has never appeared in any Jurassic media aside from the Jurassic World: Alive augmented reality game but the Permian pareiasaur has popped up repeatedly in Jurassic franchise toy lines.
Review: Guanlong vs. Lystrosaurus (Jurassic World: Chaos Theory, Epic Evolution Danger Pack by Mattel)
4.1 (23 votes)
Recently, Mattel has started dabbling with small-figure two packs, first with an Eoraptor vs. Stegouros pairing and then with the set we’re looking at today, Guanlong vs. Lystrosaurus. I think these two packs are a fantastic idea and hope that Mattel will produce more of them in the future.
Review: Mosasaurus (Dinosaurs by LEGO)
3.3 (30 votes)
“How do you do, fellow dinosaur lovers? Dr. Bella Bricking and Beth Buildit here once again, wishing you all both a happy National Dinosaur Day and a happy Pride Month! Are you ready for yet another dive deep into the exciting world of prehistoric LEGO sets?”
*sigh* “Why are we wearing these getups, Doc?
Review: Sphenacodon (Marx)
4.5 (20 votes)
The Sphenacodon was part of Marx’ first wave, produced from 1955 onwards. This species is not a very common choice for toy producers. Since the Sphenacodon was of the earliest wave it may not be surprising that it is a comparably weak representative of the real animal, even with its outdated history in mind.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: Lystrosaurus (Jurassic World: Dominion, Captivz by ToyMonster)
4.2 (33 votes)
One of the positive outcomes from the release of Jurassic World: Dominion was its launching of the generally obscure Lystrosaurus to stardom. Although relegated to what was basically a cameo appearance in the film it was enough to give the little synapsid far more public attention than it would have otherwise received.
Review: Lystrosaurus and Velociraptor ‘Beta’ (Jurassic World by Mattel)
3.6 (20 votes)
Review and photos by Faelrin, edited by Suspsy
In 2022, the last of the Jurassic World films was released, ending the trilogy that started back in 2015, for better or worse. While I didn’t enjoy the film overall, I did enjoy some aspects of it, one of those being the batch of new creatures.
Review: Track and Explore Vehicle Set (Jurassic Park, ’93 Classic by Mattel)
3.6 (51 votes)
Coming up with something to review for Jurassic Park’s much hyped 30th anniversary was no easy task, simply because we’ve been reviewing Jurassic Park toys on this blog steadily for the last five years, thanks to Mattel. What could we possibly feature on the blog that would live up to the grandeur of toys like the Legacy Brachiosaurus and Hammond Collection T.
Review: Estemmenosuchus (Wild Safari by Safari Ltd.)
4.7 (110 votes)
My introduction to Estemmenosuchus came from the 1994 episode of Paleo-World titled “Tail of a Sail”, which was about Dimetrodon and other synapsids, their evolution, and how they relate to mammals. Estemmenosuchus was only featured briefly via images of its skull and a couple pieces of paleoart but that was enough for me to become enamored with this animal and to help broaden my appreciation for prehistoric life beyond the Mesozoic.
Review: Dimetrodon (Jurassic World: Dominion Captivz by ToyMonster)
3.6 (48 votes)
Mattel isn’t the only company producing Jurassic World toys and for this review we’re changing things up and introducing Captivz by ToyMonster to the blog. The Jurassic World Captivz are blind bag style toys originally released in Australia that started showing up in the US a couple years ago, with their Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous set.