It was inevitable. Funko has now found its way onto the Dinosaur Toy Blog. Since this is the first Funko review on the DTB I suppose a brief introduction of the company is in order, not that it’s needed. Funko has managed to spread its tendrils into virtually every pop culture fandom imaginable and even if you don’t collect them, I know that at least a few readers here have a couple Funko figures around their home.
Author: Gwangi
All reviews by this author
Review: Pteranodon (Marx)
Review: Stegosaurus (Marx)
Review: Anatosaurus (Edmontosaurus) (Definitely Dinosaurs by Playskool)
The Definitely Dinosaurs line by Playskool was a series of dinosaur toys produced in the late 80’s and early 90’s. For those unfamiliar with them they were basically the more toddler-friendly version of Tyco’s Dino-Riders. Some of them, like the Stegosaurus, were eerily similar to their Tyco counterparts.
Review: Brontosaurus (Marx)
Before we begin the review, I would like to take a brief aside and recollect for a moment, as the date of this posting has some significance to me personally. Today, July 16th, 2021, is my 10-year anniversary writing for the Dinosaur Toy Blog. It was on this day in 2011 that my first review was posted here, the AAA woolly rhinoceros.
Review: Tyrannosaurus (Dino Dana Feathered T. rex by Safari Ltd.)
In late 2020 Safari Ltd. teased their upcoming dinosaurs with silhouettes of the figures, with two particularly interesting ones, the “fantasy” T. rex and Triceratops. Since Safari Ltd. had just acquired the rights to produce merchandise for the television show Dino Dana, it was assumed by many that those dinosaurs were part of that line.
Review: Carcharodontosaurus (Gamba) (Prehistoric Animal Models by PNSO)
Eight short years ago I wrote a glowing review for the CollectA Deluxe Carcharodontosaurus. At the time the praise was deserved, aside from a Safari toy from the 1990’s there weren’t any other options for the “jagged toothed lizard”. CollectA’s model filled a vacant niche, and it was in turn followed by a new model of the genus from Safari in 2016.
Review: Orthoceras (Prehistoric World by CollectA)
Orthocones, conical fossil shells belonging to extinct cephalopods, are among the most popular and easily obtained fossils. So abundant are they that they’re often included in mass produced fossil dig kits for children, made into jewelry, or sold as souvenirs in museum gift shops. Orthocones are found around the world with most of the specimens being sold coming from Morocco.
Review: Pachycephalosaurus (Austin) (Prehistoric Animal Models by PNSO)
It was almost exactly a year ago when I reviewed the Safari 2020 Pachycephalosaurus, a much-needed modern rendition of the most popular of the bone-headed dinosaurs. In that review I declared the Safari Pachycephalosaurus the definitive figure of that genus, but now I’m back again with another Pachycephalosaurus, this time by PNSO.
Review: Hadrosaurus (Marx)
Although we are all familiar with the dinosaur family hadrosauridae it seems that the dinosaur that gave the family its name has been largely forgotten, despite being a historically important dinosaur. Hadrosaurus foulkii was first described by Joseph Leidy in 1858, from remains found in New Jersey’s Woodbury Formation.
Review: Sinoceratops (A-Qi) (Prehistoric Animal Models by PNSO)
Growing up in the 90’s every dinosaur book I grew up reading liked to compare the Cretaceous dinosaur fauna of North America with that of Asia, highlighting just how similar they were. Both continents had representatives from the same major groups; dromaeosaurs, ornithomimosaurs, ankylosaurs etc. Some genera were remarkably similar, like North America’s Tyrannosaurus and Asia’s Tarbosaurus, and other genera could be found on both continents, like Saurolophus.
Review: Corythosaurus (Caroline) (Prehistoric Animal Models by PNSO)
While many of us debate over which of the spectacular Tyrannosaurus toys released over the last couple decades are the best and most definitive, we can all pretty much agree on what the best Corythosaurus toy is or was. And while the 1993 Carnegie Collection Corythosaurus was the unquestionably best figure of that genus it is alarming to think that that particular toy had remained the definitive version of that genus for the last 27 years.