Growing up in the late 1990s and early 2000s was great for moulding me into a dino fan. Jurassic park films were fresh, and even better, the ‘Walking With’ trilogy was produced. I watched ‘Dinosaurs’ and then ‘Beasts’. Especially ‘Beasts’. From there, I went on digs across the U.K., and eventually got my degree in palaeontology from Portsmouth university. I am (at the time of writing this) doing my masters in anthropology and museum studies, hoping to become a curator. My love of plastic extinct animals is as strong as ever, and I dare say it will only get stronger! 
In the immortal words of Monty Python “And now for something completely different”. Brands will often make a variety of small pieces for kids that are cheap, allowing adults to keep kids quiet for a short while. I happened to see one such on a recent shopping trip and decided to see what you get for a small sum of...
When companies have been around for a long time, the opportunity for remaking it arises. In prehistoric species, the better for it, as new information can completely change the look of an animal. And with the announcement of a new model of Paraceratherium, many were thrilled. I was especially, as it is one of my favourite prehistoric mammals. The reaction...
Well, I’ve shown you the worst of this line, let’s waste no time and get straight on to the best of them! Starting off the top half is everyone’s favourite three horned herbivore Triceratops. This features one of the best poses of the lot (something I haven’t talked at length about as most the figures are in a generic standing...
The Jurassic Park/World has had it’s fair share of miniature dino models, from the original metal ones to hard plastic. Now Jurassic World Dominion brings hard (ish) rubber, safer for siblings, and we see one and two packs of minis, giving plenty of material to review. But how to cover them? By two pack, as individuals? I am going to...
I love picking up rare species on the toy market, especially where they are part of groups that are rarely made. As mentioned previously, snakes are incredibly rare on the toy shelves, likely because they don’t vary too much so don’t sell well. Thankfully, Yowie comes in to the rescue, giving us the Giant Wonambi, a constrictor from the Pleistocene...
Fossil turtles, aside from Archelon, are extremely rare in toy form. There have been many different, interesting species over the millennia. Enter Yowie to set the record straight! And with quite the species too, with what they call Owen’s Horned Turtle. But this is no average turtle, this is Ninjemys, Owen’s Ninja Turtle! Yes, this rediscovered species was named after...
Marsupials now are an interesting group, adapted to many different environments. In the distant past, even more incredible marsupials were around, megafauna and powerful carnivores lived in Australia, now gone from the world. One was a koala relative, adapted as a top predator, the Thylacoleo. With powerful teeth and a dangerous thumb claw, it was the top predator of Australia....
Over the years, despite having a large amount of fossil material behind it, Centrosaurus has very little in terms of figures that aren’t named Monoclonius. Fortunately, recent times have brought this near forgotten species to the forefront. Beasts of the Mesozoic leads this by creating three, two juveniles and an adult. I have done the youngsters, now for the adult....
The last million years has seen the rise of one of the most successful mammals of all time: humans, now the last of the genus Homo. It wasn’t so long ago that this wasn’t the case, as 50,000 years ago humans shared the world with at least 3 other Homo species. The most famous is the Neanderthal, from Europe, the...
Guest starring Libraraptor Indohyus: Hello and welcome to this review! When discussing reviewing this figure, the talk led to the idea of having multiple reviewers giving their opinions on it (for reasons you will see later). So joining me for this review, we have reviewer and Forum legend Libraraptor! Welcome aboard! Libraraptor: Glad to be here! Been looking forward to...
Madagascar has always been an island of oddities. From giant lemurs to horned crocodiles, there are a lot of interesting species to see. The Mesozoic likewise has some interesting animals, such as the late Cretaceous Madagascan monster Majungasaurus, an Abelisaurid known for being cannibalistic. It was the king of Cretaceous Madagascar, the apex predator of it’s time and place. There...
For many years, the Triassic period has been the most overlooked part of the Mesozoic in toy form, usually Coelophysis or Postosuchus. More recently, however, more and more species are coming to the forefront and being made available in plastic. Even the Jurassic World toyline has jumped to this, as we see here in a recent figure of Shringasaurus, an...
