The titans of Greek myth were beings of great strength and power, so it is no surprise that prehistoric creatures of great size and strength were named after them. The leader of this group during their golden age, according to legend, was Kronos, the father of Zeus, and a mighty marine monster was named after him: Kronosaurus, a 30 ft Pliosaur from the early Cretaceous of Queensland.
Author: Indohyus
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!All reviews by this author
Review: Protoceratops (Lindberg/Pyro)
3.3 (3 votes)
While some fossil species in the world are rare, known from mere fragments, others are known from multiple specimens. Such is the case with Protoceratops, an early Ceratopsian, so common that it is known as the sheep of the Cretaceous, with multiple species associated with the genus.
Review: Tingamarra Soft-Shelled Turtle (Lost Kingdoms Series A by Yowie)
3.5 (4 votes)
I adore lines like Yowie for bringing out models of animals that are comparatively rare in terms of being immortalised in plastic. Animals from the Paleogene and Eocene are rare. Extinct turtle species are rare. And yet Yowie made a figure of an animal that fits both criteria, the Tingamarra Soft-Shelled Turtle.
Review: Palaeotherium (Starlux)
4 (10 votes)
Bonjour all, and welcome to another review of the classic line from Starlux. I always admire this old line for the variety it provides. Long before CollectA and Safari ltd., Starlux produced a wide range of species, many of which have not been made by a major company since.
Review: New Zealand Giant Eagle/Hieraaetus (Lost Kingdoms Series A by Yowie)
4.2 (5 votes)
When a species goes extinct, you take out one piece of the food web, affecting everything above and below it. When the Moa went extinct, so too did it’s main predator, the largest eagle to ever have existed, Haast’s eagle, Hieraaetus. Once it flew through the forests of New Zealand, preying on the Moa, grabbing their pelvis and slashing their neck with their sharp talons, which gave them their initial (and cooler sounding) scientific name of Harpagornis.
Review: Coelodonta (Jurassic Hunters by Geoworld)
3.5 (10 votes)
I sometimes can’t believe it’s been nearly five years since I first reviewed a figure, a woolly rhino by Papo. I felt recently that I should take a nostalgic look back at the beast that started it all, review a figure of the great animal that once roamed the grasslands of Europe and Asia some 10,000 years ago.
Review: New Zealand Grayling (Forgotten Friends Series A by Yowie)
4.3 (4 votes)
Across the globe, fish populations are under threat as a result of human expansion, altering the environment to suit us. From the Yangtze to the Atlantic, aquatic populations are struggling. This has led to many extinctions, such as the subject of this review: the New Zealand Grayling (Prototroctes oxyrhynchus).
Review: Centrosaurus apertus (juvenile) (Beasts of the Mesozoic Ceratopsian series)
4.7 (51 votes)
The release of the ceratopsian line by David Silva meant a chance to get animals that are rarely made by toy companies, at least under modern names and details. I was pleased with the number of rare or even unique species, most of all Centrosaurus, which I ended up getting from the kickstarter.
Review: Ceratopsian Dinosaur/Serendipaceratops (Lost Kingdoms Series B by Yowie)
3.5 (4 votes)
A lot of fossil species are erected by the slimmest of evidence, be it a toe bone, vertebrae or something else. This can make it very hard to discern where they fit into the scheme of life. This review’s subject, Serendipaceratops, is such an example, known only from a single leg bone, the ulna specifically.
Review: Zuniceratops (Jurassic Hunters by Geoworld)
2.5 (11 votes)
With the release of the Beasts of the Mesozoic Ceratopsian line, I wanted to look back at other attempts to recreate these marginocephalians. And who better to look at how not to do them then Geoworld. I have reviewed one of their Ceratopsians before, and was less than impressed.
Review: Eric the Pliosaur/Umoonasaurus (Lost Kingdoms Series B by Yowie)
3.5 (4 votes)
Fossil discoveries can often turn up in the most unlikely places. From quarries to Chinese medicine shops, fossils may appear where least expected. This was the case for the species Umoonasaurus, better known as Eric the Pliosaur. The bones of this animal had not only fossilized, but opalized, making them appear like jewels, hence why they were nearly sold to a jewellery shop, if it hadn’t been sold to a business man.
Review: Monoclonius crassus/Juvenile Centrosaurus (Beasts of the Mesozoic by Creative Beast Studio)
4.7 (50 votes)
Dino riders was a major line for many, and has influenced pop culture and other dino lines. And with the Kickstater for David Silva’s Beasts of the Mesozoic, the exclusive brings this back with this homage to the classic line: Monoclonius.
As with the raptor series, this features amazing articulation, 19 points in total, making posing a breeze.