An aspiring artist, Fembrogon (who goes by Eric in real life) has been drawing dinosaurs and strange creatures since he was capable of walking and talking, and probably will be for a long time to come. Although energetic and admittedly absent-minded at times, prehistoric life is one of a few subjects which has never failed to engross him wholly. Dinosaurs – theropods in particular – are unsurprising favorites (special shout-outs to the remarkable Dilophosaurus, the massive Giganotosaurus, and the bizarre Deinocheirus); but he admires a wide range of prehistoric life from Cambrian invertebrates to pterosaurs. Fembrogon first discovered the Toy Blog (and Forum) around the year 2012, and found it an indispensable reference for the expanding world of dino collectibles. Since joining the review team, he’s enjoyed covering a varied assortment of figures, from classic to modern and mainstream to obscure. When he isn’t absorbed in prehistory, Fembrogon also enjoys modern wildlife (birds & reptiles are favorites), nature walks, special effects films, and traditional animation.
Mattel’s take on Jurassic World’s giant sea reptile is back as big and beautiful as ever, with a few new interesting quirks up its plastic sleeve.
When Mattel began announcing their upcoming releases in the wake of acquiring the Jurassic World license in 2018, one of the first and most exciting toys to catch my eye was the giant Mosasaurus, an impressive “real-feel” articulated toy that could eat Hasbro’s earlier attempts at the genus for lunch.
Overall this appears to be a fine representation of Quetzalcoatlus in many details, but when it comes to some of this animal’s most integral and challenging features the figurine actually falls short.
Having grown up familiar with the titanic pterosaur being featured in books and television programs, it’s sometimes surprising for me to remember that Quetzalcoatlus is a relatively recent discovery in the history of paleontology.
What makes this particular release stand out is its coloration, which contrasts starkly with the plainer pattern of the figure’s first release.
The 1990s were a stirring time for big theropod news: the crocodile-snouted spinosaur Suchomimus from Niger was described in 1998, new fragments of the now-(in)famous Spinosaurus itself were discovered in 1996 and 1998, and the gigantic Giganotosaurus was officially named in 1995.
Given how unstable our scientific understanding is regarding this giant theropod, perhaps it’s understandable Safari would want to offer another option to reflect the creature’s ever-changing image. How well, then, does this new model hold up as an up-to-date iteration?
2021 was an understandably odd year for many, following the tumultuous events of the year 2020, and merchandise companies were no exception.
Mattel’s Amber Collection has had a rocky release history, but before the line ground to a halt, Mattel decided to go out on a bang with the highly anticipated male Velociraptor design from Jurassic Park III. Fans were both excited and cautious: would this fan-favorite design be done the justice it deserved?
Sinclair’s Brontosaurus and its plastic compatriots are time capsules to a moment of zeitgeist in paleo pop-culture, and stand as charming testaments to the evolving nature of paleontology and memorabilia.
Brontosaurus is one of the quintessential icons of dinosaur pop-culture imagery. Described by the famous paleontologist Othniel Marsh, the “thunder lizard” became immortalized with the first skeletal mount at the American Museum of Natural history, and further entrenched by the likes of artists such as painter Charles R.
Sinclair’s unique figurine was probably one of the finest renditions of the tyrant lizard king a child could ever hope to own in 1964, and remains a delightful piece of vintage memorabilia to this day.
In 1933, in conjunction with the Chicago World’s Fair, Sinclair Oil company commissioned an exhibit of life-sized dinosaur models for display.
The Amber Collection Pteranodon is actually quite a mixed bag, with great coloration and good sculpting, but noticeable flaws in articulation.
Say what you will about the film as a whole, but Jurassic Park III had arguably some of the best creature designs in the Jurassic franchise (scientific [in]accuracies notwithstanding).
Although the “Asian Tyrannosaurus” doesn’t enjoy the same fame as its close American relative, Tarbosaurus bataar has gained a little notoriety for itself in recent years; it’s one of few dinosaurs to receive the (dubious) honor of starring in at least one feature film of its own, and a few toy companies have also begun giving Tarbosaurus attention.
There aren’t a lot of dinosaur toys on the market that specialize in articulation (David Silva’s Beasts of the Mesozoic line being the main shining exception right now), so the announcement of Mattel’s Amber Collection for their ongoing Jurassic World line was reason for excitement. Beginning in 2019, Mattel began select releases of dinosaurs, and later human characters, in the 6.5″ collector’s scale, with higher quality detail and poseability than the standard action figures they produce.
What is possibly the largest Dinosaur in the Soft Model line to date strides in with the 2020 Favorite lineup; how big and how accurate is it really?
Sauropods remain among the most iconic dinosaur groups; their sheer size, long necks, and often longer tails distinguish them from all other dinosaurs, as well as any extant animals.
Sometimes there’s no avoiding bad timing. Since paleontology is an ever-shifting field of scientific understanding, any artistic or commercial renditions of prehistoric life risk becoming obsolete at the drop of a new find. Such was the case for Safari Ltd., who announced the release of a new Dilophosaurus model for 2020 to replace the previous Wild Safari version – only for a brand-new paper to drop later that same year, providing a new, thorough analysis of all known Dilophosaurus fossils and providing new insight into the Early Jurassic predator’s life appearance.
Although Sinclair’s figurines all resemble their giant sculpture counterparts to some degree, the Stegosaurus is perhaps the most strikingly close of them all, with more grace than typically seen in other artwork for the time.
Stegosaurus has been one of the most recognizable dinosaur genera since its discovery and description in 1877.
Favorite’s take on the classic pre-dinosaur land predator offers a more modern image of the synapsid than most, for its time.
Dimetrodon is one of the quintessential figures in prehistoric life iconography. The sail-backed, quadrupedal carnivore is often mistaken for a dinosaur, but is in fact considered more ancestral to mammals.
Although this DK-inspired poseable figure is alright as a generic theropod toy, it’s a pretty weak depiction of the iconic genus it’s meant to represent.
Dinosaur toy history is a relatively new endeavor of study, be it researching the origins of the hobby in the famous Marx line, or trying to catalogue the onslaught of brand-new models from PNSO.
