Author: Gwangi

My name is Arthur but I go by Gwangi on the blogs and forums, as homage to the old dinosaur and monster movies I love so much. In addition to writing about and collecting toy animals (extinct and extant) I also share my home with a variety of living animals, mostly reptiles but a little bit of everything. I have a lifelong interest in all things nature and natural history and most of my hobbies can be linked to those things in some way. I currently live in Maryland with my wife and daughters. In addition to writing on here I also write magazine articles, typically about local wildlife and aquarium fishes.

All reviews by this author

Review: Entelodon (Mojö Fun)

4.8 (6 votes)

Despite their appearance and popular designation as “Hell” or “terminator” pigs the group scientifically knows as the entelodontidae are now thought to have been more closely related to whales and hippopotamuses. Regardless of their taxonomic affinity there is no denying the superficial resemblance the entelodonts have to pigs, and one has to wonder if they had a similar temperament to pigs and hippopotamuses as well.

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Review: Tyrannosaurus (Dinotales Series 1 by Kaiyodo)

Genus: Tyrannosaurus Brand: Kaiyodo Classification: Theropod, Tyrannosaur Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

4.1 (9 votes)

While Kaiyodo is probably most beloved for their production of more obscure prehistoric critters they made sure not to neglect the classic fan favorites too. In their 7 series run the Dinotales line produced no less than three distinct models of Tyrannosaurus, not counting the Tyrannosaurus skeleton and the slew of repaints produced for each one.

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Review: Troodon (Jurassic Hunters by Geoworld)

Genus: Troodon Brand: Geoworld, Jurassic Hunters Classification: Theropod, Troodont Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

3.4 (9 votes)

Troodon is an animal that everyone with more than a passing interest in dinosaurs knows about but few people count among their favorites. It’s featured prominently in books and documentaries due mostly for its large brain to body ratio but is otherwise typically regarded as a small, underwhelming dinosaur; similar to dromaeosaurs but not quite as cool and too small to be scary.

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Review: Ceratopsian Collection (Capsule Q Museum by Kaiyodo)

Genus: Diabloceratops, Kosmoceratops, Triceratops Brand: Kaiyodo Classification: Centrosaur, Ceratopsian, Chasmosaur Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine, Set

3.9 (7 votes)

The last several years have laid witness to the discovery of an ever more bizarre catalog of those charismatic and intriguing dinosaurs known as the ceratopsians. With outlandish head gear and eccentric names like Diabloceratops, Mojoceratops, Kosmoceratops and Medusaceratops it’s no wonder this group of dinosaurs is among the most popular.

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Review: Allosaurus (Soft Model Series 2 by Favorite Co. Ltd.)

Genus: Allosaurus Brand: Favorite Co. Ltd. Classification: Allosaur, Theropod Age: Jurassic Type: Figurine

4.2 (14 votes)

If you like your dinosaurs well detailed, accurately sculpted, and shrink wrapped in true 1990’s fashion than look no further than Favorite’s latest take on some of our favorite classic dinosaurs. Favorite Co. Ltd. is a Japanese company formally known as Kinto. Their first series of dinosaurs consisted of a line of well-made and mostly accurate dinosaurs, all popular classics, none of them obscure.

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Review: Megatherium (Prehistoric Life Collection by Safari Ltd.)

Genus: Megatherium Brand: Prehistoric Life, Wild Safari Classification: Mammal Age: Pleistocene, Pliocene Type: Figurine

4.8 (12 votes)

Back in the mid-2000’s Safari Ltd. released a series of mammals for what they dubbed the “Prehistoric Life Collection.” The series included popular animals like Smilodon and the woolly mammoth but also included some more obscure creatures like the Andrewsarchus, Arsinoitherium, Ambelodon, Doedicurus, and the giant sloth.

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Review: Masiakasaurus (Wild Safari by Safari Ltd.)

Genus: Masiakasaurus Brand: Safari Ltd, Wild Safari Classification: Ceratosaur, Theropod Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

4.4 (17 votes)

Since its description in 2001, fans of the Madagascan abelisauroid known as Masiakasaurus have longed for an affordable yet accurate model of this obscure beast but no one would deliver, not even CollectA despite all their obscure critters. Now, 15 years later, we finally have one and who better to sculpt it than Paleo-artist Doug Watson for the Wild Safari collection.

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Review: Tupuxuara (Papo)

Genus: Tupuxuara Brand: Papo Classification: Pterosaur Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

4.4 (12 votes)

Last year saw the release of CollectA’s Guidraco, a towering 1:4 scale model that stands nearly a foot tall. But CollectA was not the only company to release a pterosaur in 2015; Papo also released a pterosaur that was perhaps overshadowed by the Guidraco.

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Review: Copepteryx (Kaiyodo Dinotales Series 3)

Genus: Copepteryx Brand: Kaiyodo Classification: Bird, Theropod Age: Oligocene Type: Figurine

5 (6 votes)

The Japanese toy company Kaiyodo isn’t afraid to tackle the obscure and one of the best examples of this would have to be the Kaiyodo Copepteryx. While other companies make and re-make the same tired old prehistoric favorites here we have Kaiyodo making a very obscure extinct bird that you’ve probably never heard of and who’s name I can never remember (maybe writing this review will fix that).

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Review: Australopithecus (Paranthropus) boisei (Kaiyodo Dinotales Series 2)

Genus: Australopithecus, Paranthropus Brand: Kaiyodo Classification: Hominid, Mammal Age: Pleistocene, Pliocene Type: Figurine

3.9 (8 votes)

Toys and figurines representing early hominins and human evolution in general are rare in this hobby. The few that do exist by the likes of Safari, Bullyland, and CollectA are usually poorly sculpted and poorly researched, either looking like caveman stereotypes or generic upright monkeys. If anyone was to tackle this significant group of animals and do it the right way it would of course have to be Kaiyodo and their Dinotales line of collectible prehistoric figurines.

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Review: Tyrannosaurus (Terra Series by Battat)

Genus: Tyrannosaurus Brand: Battat, Terra Classification: Theropod, Tyrannosaur Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

4.9 (36 votes)

It is with a heavy heart that I write my next review because as most of you are probably aware a dear member of our community and master paleo-artist Dan Lorusso has passed away. Even though this model was sculpted by Greg Wenzel it is Dan Lorusso that we have to thank for many of the old Battat models as well as the resurrection of the Battat series and its new sculpts and new paint jobs.

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Review: Carnotaurus (Mini Dinosaur Collection by Schleich)

Genus: Carnotaurus Brand: Schleich Classification: Ceratosaur, Theropod Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

3.2 (16 votes)

Schleich is a company that many of us love to hate. Although all Schleich models are of pretty high quality, especially in the detail work, they’re usually too garish and inaccurate for most of our tastes. This makes Schleich a frustrating company to get behind because with a bit more attention to anatomical accuracy they could be a stellar company.

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Author: Gwangi

All reviews by this author

Review: Entelodon (Mojö Fun)

Review: Tyrannosaurus (Dinotales Series 1 by Kaiyodo)

Review: Troodon (Jurassic Hunters by Geoworld)

Review: Ceratopsian Collection (Capsule Q Museum by Kaiyodo)

Review: Allosaurus (Soft Model Series 2 by Favorite Co. Ltd.)

Review: Megatherium (Prehistoric Life Collection by Safari Ltd.)

Review: Masiakasaurus (Wild Safari by Safari Ltd.)

Review: Tupuxuara (Papo)

Review: Copepteryx (Kaiyodo Dinotales Series 3)

Review: Australopithecus (Paranthropus) boisei (Kaiyodo Dinotales Series 2)

Review: Tyrannosaurus (Terra Series by Battat)

Review: Carnotaurus (Mini Dinosaur Collection by Schleich)

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