CollectA has emerged as one of the most prolific producers of dinosaur figures, with a few other Mesozoic reptiles and some mammals here and there for variety. They’ve developed a reputation for giving some obscure species the plastic treatment, but in general those species have been fairly close relatives of the old standards.
Author: Halichoeres
I'm a biologist and illustrator teaching anatomy, evolution, and similar subjects at a university in Chicago. I'm on a mission to hunt down the best toy version of every Paleozoic and Mesozoic animal and plant, which leads to some incongruous display shelves. That mission also means a pretty motley assortment of reviews, with maybe a bit of a bias in favor of fishes.All reviews by this author
Review: Livyatan (Mega Abissi by Diramix)
2.8 (4 votes)
If you’ve ever wanted to build a diorama with your megalodon toys, you’ve probably noticed that there aren’t many other Miocene sea monster toys to pair them up with, although luckily plenty of the fish, turtles, and invertebrates alive then were very similar to modern ones. Today’s review concerns a contemporary of the famous shark, but it’s a rendition that’s unlikely to do much to enhance your diorama.
Review: Primeval Predators kit (Royal Ontario Museum)
4.6 (5 votes)
Like many readers of this blog, one of my favorite things to do when visiting a new city is to check out the local natural history or science museum. For getting a sense of the scale and proportions of ancient life, nothing beats seeing specimens, or even reproductions of specimens, up close and personal.
Review: Remigolepis (Paleozoo)
4.3 (6 votes)
At first glance, the Late Devonian Gogo Reef might have looked roughly similar to a modern reef: colorful, lively, with piles of calcified stationary organisms hosting all sorts of swimming and crawling creatures. But look a little closer, and the reef isn’t made of scleractinian corals, but instead composed mostly of sponges, mats of algae, and rugose and tabulate corals.
Review: Kronosaurus (Wild Safari by Safari Ltd)
4.4 (21 votes)
Available from Amazon.com for under $20
When their vaunted Carnegie Collection was discontinued in early 2015, Safari Ltd evidently got to work pretty quickly to take up the slack elsewhere, because in a mere two years they more than doubled the output of figures from their standard dinosaur line.
Review: Tylosaurus (Wild Safari by Safari Ltd.)
4.3 (19 votes)
Lizards have been around about as long as dinosaurs, and during their time on Earth their family tree has produced some weird side branches. One is snakes (yes, all snakes are lizards, but not all lizards are snakes). Another is the mosasaurs, a group of large aquatic lizards that included some of the largest predators of the late Cretaceous.
Review: Mandschurosaurus (Age of the Dinosaurs by PNSO)
4.2 (17 votes)
Beijing-based PNSO (Peking Natural Science and Art Organization) made a splash this year with the release of several large hollow vinyl figures. Besides being imposing due to their size, the new figures are notable for their high level of detail and the unconventional species choices. Today we’ll look at their Mandschurosaurus, the first plastic figure of this genus ever released.
Review: Groenlandaspis (Lost Kingdoms by Yowie)
4 (4 votes)
The Devonian period, commonly known as the Age of Fishes, was home to a wide variety of bizarre aquatic animals. One of these was Groenlandaspis (“shield of Greenland”), a small relative of the fearsome Dunkleosteus. Like Dunkleosteus, Groenlandaspis was an arthrodire, part of one of the earliest lineages of jawed vertebrates.
Review: Feathered Dinosaurs Premium Box by Colorata
4.7 (23 votes)
This year has seen toy companies embrace feathered dinosaurs like never before, if not always with perfect execution. Accuracy stalwarts like Safari Ltd and especially Kaiyodo have been giving us feathered dinosaurs for years, but now even Papo and Schleich are getting on the plumage train. Another late convert is Japanese company Colorata.
Review: Dinosaur Advent Calendar 2016 (Schleich)
3.1 (10 votes)
Review and photos by Tim Sosa
This year Schleich followed in the footsteps of companies like Lego and Playmobil in offering an advent calendar, but this one is dinosaur-themed! 24 days of dinosaur goodies sounds pretty attractive, so I bit the bullet and picked one up. I opened it long before Christmas, so that maybe this review can help you decide whether to buy one yourself.
This year Schleich followed in the footsteps of companies like Lego and Playmobil in offering an advent calendar, but this one is dinosaur-themed! 24 days of dinosaur goodies sounds pretty attractive, so I bit the bullet and picked one up. I opened it long before Christmas, so that maybe this review can help you decide whether to buy one yourself.
Review: Dunkleosteus (The First Giants by Schleich)
3.9 (32 votes)
Review and photos by Tim Sosa, edited by Suspsy
It isn’t often that a toy company offers us a prehistoric fish, but when they do, it’s usually Dunkleosteus. Small wonder, since this gigantic arthrodire was imposing and distinctive, reaching 8 meters in length. It was probably the largest animal alive during the Devonian period, 100 million years before the first dinosaurs.
It isn’t often that a toy company offers us a prehistoric fish, but when they do, it’s usually Dunkleosteus. Small wonder, since this gigantic arthrodire was imposing and distinctive, reaching 8 meters in length. It was probably the largest animal alive during the Devonian period, 100 million years before the first dinosaurs.
Review: Estemmenosuchus (Jurassic Park by Kenner)
3.1 (11 votes)
Review and photos by Tim Sosa
Kenner’s Jurassic Park line was supposed to have had an additional wave of figures, but they were never released at retail. Fortunately, the 1997 Lost World line re-used some of those prototypes, one of which was this Estemmenosuchus.
Kenner’s Jurassic Park line was supposed to have had an additional wave of figures, but they were never released at retail. Fortunately, the 1997 Lost World line re-used some of those prototypes, one of which was this Estemmenosuchus.