When designing a figure, it is a chance for a designer to be creative, come up with new ideas of what they could have looked like, using the fossil evidence and their imagination. Or you could simply plagiarise, which seems to often be Geoworld’s choice. This review looks to one of their figures from the second expedition, Camarasaurus, a Sauropod from the late Jurassic.
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: Eryon (Dinotales series 4 by Kaiyodo)
5 (5 votes)
With a lot of companies that produce prehistoric animal figures, you can often get a lot of repetition of familiar species, or focus on large dinosaurs. Very few decide to make figures of the less familiar or smaller creatures that shared their world with the terrible lizards.
Review: Kentrosaurus (DinoWaurs Survival)
4.1 (7 votes)
Once more, we head to the DinoWaurs Survival line, this time investigating a member of the Stegosaurs added to the line, and the first figure of this line I bought: Kentrosaurus. From the Kimmeridgian of Tanzania, this Stegosaur is often thought of as primitive, but recent studies suggest it is more derived and closer related to Stegosaurus itself.
Review: Ceratosaurus (DinoWaurs Survival)
3.9 (8 votes)
Once again, I am going to dive into the world of blind bag dinosaur figures, this time with a Theropod from the Jurassic of the Morrison Formation: Ceratosaurus. This meat eater was famed for its distinctive nasal horn, which gave images of battling the other Theropods (and indeed, other Ceratosaurs), though is now considered to be more for display than headbutting.
Review: Elasmosaurus (Geoworld)
2.9 (7 votes)
A year or so ago, Geoworld was preparing to bring out their fourth series, split into a line of six marine reptiles and six ancient crocs/croc-like animal. Then, it all went silent, as the company almost went bust. It was bought out however, and the first half of this fourth expedition began to see sales online.
Review: Aucasaurus (DinoWaurs Survival)
4.1 (8 votes)
I always like it when companies try out species that have never been made into figures before, as it gives people a chance to learn about new species and expand their knowledge. I have stated many times that I love the DinoWaurs Survival for this and continue to do too.
Review: Gigantoraptor (DinoWaurs Survival)
4.4 (7 votes)
It always seems that whenever you start collecting something where you don’t know what is in the packaging, be it a blind bag, booster card pack etc., there is always a certain figure or card they are specifically looking for, such as a rarity or favourite. This review will cover the figure I was hunting for, and eventually got: Gigantoraptor, the giant oviraptor of the Gobi Desert.
Review: Psittacosaurus (DinoWaurs Survival)
3.6 (7 votes)
The more I go into the DinoWaurs Survival line, the more I love the diversity of it. It’s not just the giants and often repeated species like Tyrannosaurus, but everything from Permian synapsids to plesiosaurs. Another thing I like is that they give the smaller species a chance to shine, such as today’s subject: Psittacosaurus, a genus so common that it is used as a bio marker in stratigraphy.
Review: Prehistoric Mammals Tube (Collecta)
4.2 (17 votes)
Collecta has been bringing out prehistoric animal tubes over the last few years, and while some gave us some great new designs, others have just given us miniature versions of models they already have. This is a case of the latter, as they have released these small versions of their ancient mammals.
Review: Utahraptor (DinoWaurs Survival)
3.4 (8 votes)
Once more, I delve into the DinoWaurs Survival line to investigate a member of what most would see as an obvious group for this series: Raptors! However, there is only one member of this family actually featured in this line, and not the more famed members like Deinonychus or Velociraptor.
Review: Protoceratops (DinoWaurs Survival)
4 (6 votes)
Dinosaurs can capture the public eye and get into the spot light for many reasons. Maybe they are large and powerful. Maybe they are peculiar. Or perhaps they are so common they inspire legends. Such is the way of the ‘sheep of the Cretaceous’, Protoceratops.
Review: Utahraptor (Walking with Dinosaurs Arena Spectacular)
4 (4 votes)
Several months ago, I had the privilege to go and see the Walking with Dinosaurs Arena Spectacular. The full sized animatronic dinosaurs were a real spectacle, and Michaela Strachan did a wonderful job as the palaeontologist Huxley. I decided to grab a piece of memorabilia, so naturally, I went for a dino figure.
Review: Suchomimus (DinoWaurs Survival)
4.6 (5 votes)
We return once more to the DinoWaurs Survival blind bag line, and we begin with a story to illustrate an issue with blind bags of any kind. I decided to try buying in bulk, with the hope of avoiding duplicates. One of the first figures I pulled was a Suchomimus.
Review: Therizinosaurus (Dinosaur King by Sega Toys)
3.9 (9 votes)
Once again, I am looking into what can happen when a property becomes extremely popular: merchandising. Such is the case for the Dinosaur King franchise. After the success of the arcade game, a manga series and anime were commissioned and, as a result, a series of figure lines were made, from small 2” lines, arcade exclusives and an articulated line.
Review: Diprotodon (Southlands replicas)
4.6 (7 votes)
Southlands Replicas has grown to become a really great little toy company for Australian animals. Their figures are high quality, providing a great range of unique Aussie species (and a few horses). What has stood out for many on this site is the inclusion of two extinct species in their initial line, Thylacine and Thylacoleo.