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: Scelidosaurus (Invicta)

4.7 (16 votes)

Back in April of 2009 the creator of this dear blog posted two pictures of the Invicta Scelidosaurus model with the promise that “a full review of this figure will be added at a later date”. Well that later date is here folks, probably a bit later than originally anticipated but better late than never eh?

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Review: Iguanodon (Invicta)

Genus: Iguanodon Brand: Invicta Classification: Iguanodont (basal), Ornithopod Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine, Monochrome

4.8 (20 votes)

The Invicta line of prehistoric models is an interesting one. Spanning the years between the early 1970’s and early 1990’s it is a company that was producing dinosaur figures right on the cusp of the “Dinosaur Renaissance”. As a result we have some models from the company that are downright retro in appearance, along with some that in terms of accuracy stand up reasonably well, even today.

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Review: Nasutoceratops (Wild Safari by Safari Ltd.)

Genus: Nasutoceratops Brand: Wild Safari Classification: Centrosaur, Ceratopsian Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

4.9 (19 votes)

Dinosaur lovers have been blessed with an abundance of new ceratopsians out of North America lately and among them is the increasingly popular Nasutoceratops or “large-nosed horn face”. While the nose is indeed large, the pair of “Texas long-horns” on the head also helps make this a unique looking dinosaur.

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Review: Euoplocephalus (Galileo Hernandez)

Genus: Euoplocephalus Brand: No company Classification: Ankylosaur, Ankylosaurid, Thyreophoran Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

5 (6 votes)

Alright, it’s confession time. I really have a thing for ankylosaurs. Or at least, toys and models of them. Generally speaking, I’ve never really been a big fan of the group, not that I had anything against them, I think they’re an underrated group of dinosaurs overall.

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Review: Tyrannosaurus (Jurassic Park by Dakin)

Genus: Tyrannosaurus Brand: Dakin, Jurassic Park Classification: Theropod, Tyrannosaur Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

2.9 (9 votes)

Another Dakin review! I know you’ve all been salivating for my next review on the Dakin “Jurassic Park” toys and I didn’t want to keep ya’ll waiting too long. Do I still need to give a back story about these things?

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Review: Micro Tiere Collection (Bullyland)

Genus: Apatosaurus, Brachiosaurus, Mammuthus, Stegosaurus, Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus, Woolly mammoth Brand: Bullyland Classification: Ceratopsian, Chasmosaur, Diplodocoid, Elephant, Macronaria (basal), Mammal, Sauropod, Stegosaur, Theropod, Thyreophoran, Tyrannosaur Age: Cretaceous, Jurassic, Pleistocene Type: Figurine, Set

2.9 (7 votes)

Back in 2010 our own Libraraptor reviewed a little Apatosaurus, part of Bullyland’s Micro Tiere Collection released in 2005. Having found the same little figure in an eBay lot I was very curious about this small but seemly high quality figure.

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Review: Phorusrhacos (X-Plus)

Genus: Phorusrhacos Brand: X-plus Classification: Bird, Theropod Age: Miocene Type: Figurine

5 (5 votes)

After the death of the non-avian dinosaurs some of the remaining descendants tried to re-claim their former glory and put mammals back in their place. These of course were the terror birds or Phorusrhacidae which carried on the legacy of Tyrannosaurus and its kin between 62-2 million years ago.

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Review: Velociraptor (Safari Ltd)

Genus: Velociraptor Brand: Safari Ltd Classification: Dromaeosaur, Theropod Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

3.9 (18 votes)

Back in 1993 Safari Ltd. released a rather large Velociraptor that allegedly belonged to their “Dinosaurs of China” line. As it turns out, it didn’t and while it has been briefly reviewed on the blog already that review was the old style “single paragraph” review.

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Review: Triceratops (Jurassic Park by Dakin)

Genus: Triceratops Brand: Dakin, Jurassic Park Classification: Ceratopsian, Chasmosaur Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

3.2 (6 votes)

One of my first reviews, written three years ago, was for a colorful little Jurassic Park Dilophosaurus put out by Dakin in 1992. The same little toy was also a major catalyst for joining the Dinosaur Toy Forum in the first place.

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Review: Oviraptor on Nest (Dino Discoveries by Safari Ltd)

Genus: Citapati, Oviraptor Brand: Safari Ltd Classification: Oviraptorosaur, Theropod Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

4.4 (18 votes)

Safari Ltd. recently announced their retirements for this upcoming year. On the list was the 2007 “Oviraptor on Nest” figure, part of their “Dino Discoveries” line. While discussing it on the forum I realized this spectacular little diorama has not been reviewed yet so here I am, reviewing it.

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Review: Tyrannosaurus Collection (Kaiyodo Capsule Q Museum)

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

4.4 (9 votes)

A few years back the Japanese manufacturer of kits and figurines known as Kaiyodo announced the release of their “Capsule Q Museum” series. The various collections that have been released cover everything from anime characters, animals, food and, thankfully, dinosaurs. This was great news because with the discontinuation of their Dinotales line we were all sorely missing the exquisitely made and highly accurate little dinosaurs and prehistoric animals necessary to own for any collector of prehistoric toys, kits and figurines.

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Review: Giganotosaurus (Carnage Collection by ReSaurus)

Genus: Giganotosaurus Brand: Carnage, Resaurus Classification: Allosaur, Theropod Age: Cretaceous Type: Action Figure Scale: 1:40

4.4 (14 votes)

The late 1990s saw the release of a particularly unique line of figures known as the Carnage Collection by ReSaurus. Eight (that I’m aware of) boldly patterned and articulated dinosaur models were produced before the line ended. The models seem very much aimed at kids, all representing flamboyant and mostly carnivorous dinosaurs.

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