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: Acrocanthosaurus (Carnegie Collection by Safari Ltd.)
3.1 (30 votes)
With the 2012 release of the highly anticipated Wild Safari Acrocanthosaurus, I thought it only fitting to do a review on the older Carnegie model, which I have only just recently been able to obtain. Acrocanthosaurus was an early Cretaceous relative of theropods such as Carcharodontosaurus and Giganotosaurus.
Review: Dilophosaurus (Boston Museum of Science Collection by Battat)
3.7 (11 votes)
Before I begin my review of this figure, I would like to confess something. I’m a bit terrified writing this. It took me a fair bit of effort to work up the gumption to write for this blog to begin with, but now I’m trying to tackle a dinosaur toy heavyweight… one of the legendary Battat figures.
Review: Deinonychus (Tyco)
Review: Polacanthus (CollectA)
2.4 (12 votes)
I’m really starting to dig this dinosaur review thing. I’ve always enjoyed writing and learning about, and doing anything that involved dinosaurs, so naturally I would have to give this a try and as you can tell I’ve gotten fond of it. Hopefully my reviews are meeting the standards of the blog, feel free to let me know.
Review: Therizinosaurus (Dinosaurs of China by Safari Ltd.)
3.5 (13 votes)
The year 1993 was a big year for dinosaur fanatics, the most obvious reason being the release of Jurassic Park in June of that year. It is difficult for me, and likely others of my generation, to grasp just how long ago that was and how much has changed since.
Review: Apatosaurus (Carnegie Collection by Safari Ltd.)
4.4 (14 votes)
Everyone familiar with dinosaurs knows the name Apatosaurus, and those not familiar with dinosaurs probably are familiar with it but still call it Brontosaurus despite a name change over 100 years ago. I won’t bother getting into any of that as anyone reading this review most likely already knows the story.
Review: Dilophosaurus (Jurassic Park by Dakin)
3.4 (5 votes)
Just under a year ago I came to the Dinosaur Toy Forum inquiring about a small Jurassic Park Dilophosaurus figure, an almost forgotten memory of my childhood. I didn’t know who manufactured it or where to find one but with the help of other forum members I quickly learned about the figure in question.
Review: Tyrannosaurus (Great Dinosaurs Collection by Safari Ltd.)
2.6 (15 votes)
Tyrannosaurus rex is a dinosaur that needs no introduction from me. Regardless of your knowledge concerning dinosaurs this is one species that everyone is familiar with. Because of its fame it is perhaps the species most reproduced in toy form, for better or worse.
Review: Therizinosaurus (Great Dinosaurs Collection by Safari Ltd)
3 (23 votes)
Review and photos by Gwangi
If you were purchasing dinosaur toys two decades ago there is one family you wouldn’t have seen represented at all, the Therizinosauridae. Though known to science since 1954 it is a family that was very poorly known only until recently.
If you were purchasing dinosaur toys two decades ago there is one family you wouldn’t have seen represented at all, the Therizinosauridae. Though known to science since 1954 it is a family that was very poorly known only until recently.
Review: Woolly rhinoceros (AAA)
2.9 (11 votes)
Everyone familiar with Pleistocene fauna is familiar with the woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis), a large shaggy rhino that lived in Eurasia and died out at the end of the Ice Age. It is often reproduced in toy form, only less so that the more popular mammoths and Smilodon.