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: Albertosaurus (Wild Safari by Safari Ltd.)

Genus: Albertosaurus Brand: Safari Ltd, Wild Safari Classification: Theropod, Tyrannosaur Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine Scale: 1:30

4.7 (135 votes)

Seventy-one million years ago what is now Alberta, Canada, would have been located next to the Western Interior Seaway with various coastal habitats including swamps, marshes, tidal flats, lagoons, and estuaries. Familiar faces would have swum the aquatic ecosystems, including gar, bowfin, and sturgeon that are all present in North America’s freshwater habitats today.

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Review: Majungasaurus (Wild Safari by Safari Ltd.)

Genus: Majungasaurus Brand: Safari Ltd, Wild Safari Classification: Ceratosaur, Theropod Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine Scale: 1:20

4.6 (71 votes)

Sixty-six million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous, Madagascar had already been an island for about 20 million years. And just as today, the island would have boasted a unique assortment of organisms isolated from most of the outside world. Thanks to fossils preserved in the Maevarano Formation we know the region was home to Beelzebufo, the world’s largest known frog, the theropod Masiakasaurus with it’s strange, forward projecting teeth, the herbivorous crocodylomorph, Siamosuchus, and the 8-meter sauropod, Rapetosaurus.

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Review: Dilophosaurus (Jurassic Park 25th Anniversary, Pop! Movies by Funko)

Genus: Dilophosaurus Brand: Jurassic Park Classification: Theropod, Theropod (basal) Age: Jurassic Type: Caricature, Figurine

2.1 (26 votes)

With this year being the 30-year anniversary of the release of Jurassic Park, I thought it was well past time (5 years to be exact) that I reviewed this figure that was released for the 25th anniversary of the film.

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Review: Cooperoceras (Prehistoric World by CollectA)

Genus: Cooperoceras Brand: CollectA Classification: Ammonite, Invertebrate Age: Permian Type: Figurine Scale: 1:1

4.8 (28 votes)

Over the last 3 years CollectA has produced FIVE extinct cephalopods spanning the geologic ages between the Ordovician and the Cretaceous. A magnificent achievement that appears to have come to an end, for alas, no cephalopod has been announced for 2023. But do not despair, with figures of Koolasuchus and Anomalocaris on the horizon CollectA is continuing their streak of releasing the most diverse and interesting assortment of prehistoric critters of any mainstream company.

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Review: Smok (Deluxe Prehistoric Collection by CollectA)

Genus: Smok Brand: CollectA Classification: Crocodile Age: Triassic Type: Figurine Scale: 1:20

4.6 (28 votes)

As a person of Polish decent with a love for Triassic fauna I was elated to see that CollectA was producing a figure of Smok wawelski, a Triassic archosaur found near Lisowice village in Poland. And hot on the heels of their excellent Lisowicia too, another Triassic animal from the same fossil site.

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Review: Genyodectes (Jurassic World: Dominion, Extreme Damage by Mattel)

Genus: Genyodectes Brand: Jurassic World, Mattel Classification: Ceratosaur, Theropod Age: Cretaceous Type: Action Figure Scale: 1:32

3.1 (23 votes)

Genyodectes serus (Greek for “late jaw bite”) is a genus of theropod belonging to the Ceratosauridae family and lived in South America during the early Cretaceous. It is only known from an incomplete snout described by Sir Arthur Woodward in 1901.

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Review: Wiwaxia (Paleozoic Pals)

Genus: Wiwaxia Brand: Paleozoic Pals Classification: Invertebrate Age: Cambrian Type: Plush

4.5 (14 votes)

In life, Wiwaxia was covered in spines and scales that would have made it about as cuddly as a sea urchin, an animal it resembled but was not related to. Good thing then that Paleozoic Pals made this plush Wiwaxia to snuggle with instead.

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Review: Edmontosaurus (Jurassic World, Basic 12” Figures by Mattel)

Genus: Edmontosaurus Brand: Jurassic World, Mattel Classification: Hadrosaur, Ornithopod Age: Cretaceous Type: Action Figure Scale: 1:40

4 (37 votes)

The Basic line of Mattel Jurassic World figures is a line of budget friendly toys that are trimmed down in virtually every aspect. They don’t have any action features, the articulation is exceptionally limited, and the paintjobs are typically simplified. So far, they don’t have a presence on the Dinosaur Toy Blog, but today we’re looking at one of the line’s standout figures, the Edmontosaurus, new for 2022.

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Review: Dreadnoughtus (Jurassic World: Dominion by Mattel)

Genus: Dreadnoughtus Brand: Jurassic World, Mattel Classification: Sauropod, Titanosaur Age: Cretaceous Type: Action Figure Scale: 1:17

4.5 (44 votes)

Dreadnoughtus schrani was a species of titanosaur that lived during the late Cretaceous in what is now Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. It was discovered in 2005 in the Cerro Fortaleza Formation by Kenneth Lacovara and described in 2014. The name Dreadnoughtus translates to “fears nothing,” and what an apt name it is.

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Review: Ampelosaurus (Jurassic World: Dominion, Massive Action by Mattel)

Genus: Ampelosaurus Brand: Jurassic World, Mattel Classification: Sauropod, Titanosaur Age: Cretaceous Type: Action Figure Scale: 1:35, 1:50

4 (38 votes)

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.

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Review: Ceratosaurus (Jurassic Park 3, Hammond Collection by Mattel)

Genus: Ceratosaurus Brand: Jurassic Park, Mattel Classification: Ceratosaur, Theropod Age: Jurassic Type: Action Figure Scale: 1:17, 1:27

4 (36 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.

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Review: Gallimimus (Jurassic Park, Hammond Collection by Mattel)

Genus: Gallimimus Brand: Jurassic Park, Mattel Classification: Ornithomimosaur, Theropod Age: Cretaceous Type: Action Figure Scale: 1:21, 1:28

3.5 (22 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.

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