Ever since Tyrannosaurus rex was described back in 1905, this amazing animal has captured our imaginations. Its not hard to see why. It was one of the largest land carnivores of all time and it had a huge skull with bone crushing jaws. It is so recognizable that toy makers just can’t help themselves on trying to capitalize on their popularity by making as many as they can.
Author: Laticauda
My name is Rob but I go by Laticauda (which is a genus of Elapid “Sea” snakes) on both the Dinosaur Toy Blog and Forum. My dinosaur collecting journey began when I discovered the Carnegie line as a kid. They amazed me and I didn’t look at them as toys but as art. By the time I headed off to college I no longer collected prehistoric toys as I had moved on to new collecting pursuits. This all changed the day when my first child was born as it rekindled my passion for the prehistoric world. Now I have two kids and I enjoy sharing the hobby with them.All reviews by this author
Review: Ankylosaurus (Playskool Heroes Jurassic World, by Hasbro)
1.3 (10 votes)
When you think of the toys made for Jurassic World by Hasbro, there are probably a lot of colorful adjectives that pop into your head . I warn you not utter them out loud as there are preschool toys present. One word I did not hear many people say about the toy line was “fun”.
Review: Ankylosaurus (2011 Imaginext by, Fisher-Price)
3.6 (8 votes)
Warning: If you are a serious collector and only interested in dinosaur toys that are prime examples of their species with impeccable accuracy, amazing detail, colors, and are brilliant works of paleo art, you may want to skip this review, as this figure is lacking in those key areas.
Review: Brachiosaurus 1993 ( Replica-Saurus, by Schleich)
4.6 (7 votes)
To help set the mood, lets take a moment and imagine ourselves walking among the fern covered floodplains in the late Jurassic. A muddy stream meanders and snakes across the landscape. There are green spreading fronds of tree ferns, along with cycads and gingkoes. There are numerous tall conifers.
Review: Stegosaurus (Smithsonian Institution by Tyco)
Review: Stegosaurus (HG Toys)
3 (3 votes)
Here is an interesting rendition of the popular, plate covered, thagomizer wielding stegosaurus. HG toys made some interesting looking dinosaurs during the 80’s. For inspiration on this stegosaur they must have looked at turn of the century paleoart. They certainly didn’t reference any dinosaur renaissance ideas into this stegosaurus, as this toy looks squat and sluggish.
Review: Elasmosaurus (Stuttgart NHM, Bullyland)
3.3 (4 votes)
Elasmosaurus was a magnificent and charismatic marine reptile that had an incredible neck. This sea dragon reached an estimated length of 43 feet (13 meter). The head and neck comprised half of its length. It might not have been the most powerful animal in prehistoric seas but it is one of the more elegant and recognizable plesiosaurs.
Review: Giganotosaurus (Wild Safari by Safari Ltd.)
3.2 (45 votes)
Kids perspective by William, edited by Laticauda
Young and old gather around and see the new king in town. I present the highly anticipated 2017 Safari Ltd. Giganotosaurus. Why do I call it the new king? Sure it doesn’t have the name rex in its name, and its not because it was one of the largest known carnivores the world has seen, in which some estimates have it bigger than the almighty Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Review: Kentrosaurus(Mini, by Schleich)
3.5 (4 votes)
Schleich has changed their typical toy dinosaurs lineup over the past two years. They have added new playsets and sizes for their prehistoric line of toys. The mini sized dinosaurs were introduced in 2015 with eight figures. Due to their low cost, different sculpts, and new paint jobs that differ from their bigger brethren, the minis were quite popular.
Review: Compsognathus longipes(Sentry, by Rebor)
4.4 (12 votes)
To get in the right state of mind for this model lets take a quick stroll down memory lane. While vacationing on the beach of Isla Sorna a young girl makes a startling discovery. Out of the foliage and onto the beach hops a cute, small, chirping, green dinosaur.
Review: Kentrosaurus (the Lost Kingdoms series C, by Yowie)
4 (3 votes)
Despite it being smaller and less grandeur in size when compared to its contemporaries Stegosaurus and Tuojiangosaurus , Kentrosaurus’s look is snazzy enough for the major dinosaur toy brands to show it some love from time to time. As with many of its fellow sterosaurids it had a small yet narrow skull that ended with a beak which would have been useful while sniping off plant stems and leaves.
Review: Lufengosaurus (CollectA)
2.2 (13 votes)
Lufengosaurus lived during the early Jurassic period and is a primitive sauropodomorph from China. A full osteology of Lufengosaurus was done in 1941 and was the first complete dinosaur skeleton mounted in China. Fortunately, much is known on its size and shape as there is quite a lot of known material.