Confession time. I like ugly sauropods. In fact, my favorite sauropod is widely regarded as one of the ugliest, Camarasaurus. And I’m one of the few collectors that likes the Schleich Barapasaurus, which I reviewed for the blog upon its release.
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: Ceratosaurus (Jurassic Park 3, Hammond Collection by Mattel)
3.8 (33 votes)
Gripe all you want about Jurassic Park 3 but we must give credit where credit is due. The movie featured a diverse assortment of dinosaurs with arguably the best color schemes in the franchise. Gone were the dull grays and browns of the first two films, JP3 went wild like a kid with a coloring book and the movie was better for it, though not by much.
Review: Gallimimus (Jurassic Park, Hammond Collection by Mattel)
3.5 (19 votes)
Flocking off toy shelves and into our hearts and homes, it’s the Hammond Collection Galli-Galli-Gallimimus. As part of the Hammond Collection this figure boasts 13 points of articulation and an increased level of paint and fine detail not seen with the Mattel mainline toys.
Review: Triceratops (Jurassic Park, Hammond Collection by Mattel)
3.9 (24 votes)
“This one was always my favorite when I was a kid. And now I’ve seen one, it’s the most beautiful thing I ever saw.”
Those words from Alan Grant resonated with me upon my first viewing of Jurassic Park, because like Alan Grant, Triceratops was my childhood favorite too.
Review: Styracosaurus (Jurassic World Dino-Escape, Fierce Force by Mattel)
3.5 (15 votes)
Does Mattel release too many repaints? Yes. Is there value in these repaints? Also, yes. Case in point, this Styracosaurus. This figure is the 3rd release of this toy. The first two times it was released I ignored it. I was disappointed by how much smaller it was compared to Mattel’s other ceratopsians.
Review: Tyrannosaurus (Jurassic Park, Hammond Collection by Mattel)
4.6 (88 votes)
Next year will mark the 30th anniversary of the release of Jurassic Park and in those past 30 years we’ve seen a plethora of movies, books, video games, toys, and other merchandise come along to capitalize on a film that has now become a timeless classic and a part of the pop culture zeitgeist.
Review: Mononykus (Jurassic World Dino-Escape, Wild Pack by Mattel)
2.8 (13 votes)
[In a rare twist of fate, the toy I wrote about for this review was simultaneously being reviewed by someone else. Since I had already finished writing this review and taking its pictures, and because I worked hard on it, I’m posting it anyway. I think it’s an enjoyable read, and I think you’ll like it, but I apologize that the same toy has now been reviewed twice.]
This past spring dinosaur fans rejoiced with the premier of Prehistoric Planet, the 5-part Planet Earth styled documentary about life during the late Cretaceous that gave us the best looking and most accurate dinosaurs ever put to screen.
Review: Dimetrodon (Jurassic World: Dominion, Extreme Damage by Mattel)
3.5 (16 votes)
With the release of Jurassic World: Dominion, Dimetrodon has finally made its long-awaited film debut. But despite only just now being featured on-screen, Dimetrodon has been long associated with the Jurassic franchise. A toy of the Permian synapsid was released all the way back in 1993 as part of Kenner’s first wave of Jurassic Park toys.
Review: Dsungaripterus (Jurassic World: Dominion, Ferocious Pack by Mattel)
3.8 (16 votes)
Dsungaripterus is a genus of pterosaur that lived during the early Cretaceous in China. With its upturned beak and crest it has a distinctive appearance. The body was robustly built, and it is thought that this pterosaur spent most of its time on the ground, using its uniquely adapted beak to pry prey from rocky crevasses or sandy mudflats.
Review: Velociraptor (Jurassic Park, Hammond Collection by Mattel)
3.3 (15 votes)
I must confess. Although I credit Jurassic Park with introducing me to the magnificent group known as dromaeosaurs, and the very concept that birds evolved from dinosaurs, I have grown mighty weary of scaly raptors. Jurassic Park is almost 30 years old now and although the scientific image of Velociraptor and its kin has changed dramatically in that time, the pop culture image of it has remained frustratingly unchanged.
Review: Baryonyx (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Hammond Collection by Mattel)
4 (27 votes)
Before we get on with the review, let’s all have a moment of silence for the now extinct Amber Collection. Honestly, I always had my reservations about the Amber Collection and never bothered to get invested in it. I always thought that Mattel should stick with the 3.75” line, and that it was unlikely that anything larger than a Velociraptor would ever be seen in a 6” line.
Review: Therizinosaurus (Jurassic World: Dominion, Sound Slashin’ by Mattel)
3.9 (21 votes)
The Mattel Therizinosaurus we’re looking at today is among the most highly anticipated toys of the Jurassic World: Dominion line, and it makes sense. Although we’ve only seen fleeting glimpses of it, we know the herbivorous theropod will have a starring role in Jurassic World: Dominion.
Review: Quetzalcoatlus (Jurassic World: Dominion, Massive Action by Mattel)
4.2 (16 votes)
When the prologue (and later, trailer) for Jurassic World: Dominion dropped, it was met with a lot of grievances from our community. To be fair, there was a lot to gripe about, from anachronistic animals mingling together, to the sloppy anatomy typical of the franchise.
Review: Yangchuanosaurus (Jurassic World: Dominion, Massive Action by Mattel)
3.8 (14 votes)
Yangchuanosaurus is a genus of metriacanthosaurid that lived during the middle and late Jurassic in China. In appearance it would have looked very much like Allosaurus. Yangchaunosaurus shows up in the collectable market periodically and several figures represent the species, including the Safari Dinosaurs of China figure and a recent model by PNSO.
Review: Skorpiovenator (Jurassic World: Dominion, Roar Strikers by Mattel)
3.5 (11 votes)
Skorpiovenator is a genus of late Cretaceous abelisaurid known from the Huincul Formation in Argentina. It was described in 2008 and the genus name means “scorpion hunter” due to the abundance of scorpions dwelling around its dig site. The species name, bustingorryi, was given in honor of Manuel Bustingorry, whose farm the dig site was located on.