Author: Marc Vincent

My name’s Marc Vincent although I go by ‘Horridus’ on the forums. My interests include current affairs, dinosaurs (naturally!) and drinking myself to an early grave. Being a shameless populist my favourite extinct dinosaur is Tyrannosaurus; out of those extant it is surely the European magpie, Pica pica. I collect figures in a vain attempt to fill the awful, aching void in my soul and also because, you know, they’re cool to look at, and I find extinct animals fascinating – dinosaurs in particular

All reviews by this author

Review: Acrocanthosaurus (Wild Safari by Safari Ltd.)

Genus: Acrocanthosaurus Brand: Safari Ltd, Wild Safari Classification: Allosaur, Theropod Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

3.8 (32 votes)

Safari are first out of the gate this year with no fewer than four new-for-2012 Wild Safari dinosaurs already available. This Acrocanthosaurus is one of them, and it’s easy to see it becoming the most popular of the bunch – not just because it’s a fearsome-looking, spectacular theropod, but also thanks to Safari capturing that so well in an excellent sculpt.

Review: Dilong (Carnegie Collection by Safari Ltd.)

Genus: Dilong Brand: Carnegie, Safari Ltd Classification: Theropod Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

4.5 (20 votes)

What’s this – the Carnegie Dilong again? Haven’t we seen it around these parts before? Well, yes, we have. Unfortunately, the original reviewer left the blog some time ago and, for whatever reason, deleted all his posts upon departure. As such, what you are reading now is a replacement – written by me, I’m afraid.

Review: Parasaurolophus (Soft model by Favorite Co. Ltd.)

Genus: Parasaurolophus Brand: Favorite Co. Ltd., Kinto Classification: Hadrosaur, Ornithopod Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

4.7 (7 votes)

Parasaurolophus walkeri is one of the most widely recognised and much-loved hadrosaur species, and no dinosaur toy line is complete without it. (Sorry, P. tubicen and P. cyrtocristatus.) It’s only proper, then, that Favorite include it among their ‘soft model’ lineup.

Review: Tyrannosaurus (Desktop model by Favorite Co. Ltd.)

Genus: Tyrannosaurus Brand: Favorite Co. Ltd. Classification: Theropod, Tyrannosaur Age: Cretaceous Type: Desktop Model

4.8 (18 votes)

Back in 2010, Favorite released a re-sculpt of the Tyrannosaurus from their resin ‘Desktop’ range, alongside Triceratops and Allosaurus. Once again, it is a huge improvement over its predecessor anatomically but is likely to strongly divide tastes.

Just as with the Allosaurus, a large, overhanging ‘lip’ covers all of the teeth in the upper jaw, with only the very tips visible on close inspection.

Review: Brachiosaurus (Dinotales Series 2 by Kaiyodo)

Genus: Brachiosaurus, Giraffatitan Brand: Kaiyodo Classification: Macronaria (basal), Sauropod Age: Jurassic Type: Figurine

4.9 (8 votes)

Ah, Dinotales. You either love them, or you’re wrong. Although tiny, their finely-sculpted, pointy and brittle nature ensures that they are inherently unsuitable for use as toys; it also means that they combine the two desirable traits of being attractive and compact (particularly handy for the more fanatical collector who’s running out of space).

Review: Lourinhanosaurus (CollectA)

Genus: Lourinhanosaurus Brand: CollectA Classification: Theropod Age: Jurassic Type: Figurine

2.6 (11 votes)

Guest review by forumite Fooman666 – edited by Marc (Horridus)
Seeing as CollectA have taken many of us by surprise this year I think it’s fitting that I review one of their 2011 figures for my first review in quite a while. Today I will be looking at the CollectA Lourinhanosaurus, which in some aspects I believe is one of the best of the 2011 line up.

Review: Triceratops horridus (Takara Tomy)

Genus: Triceratops Brand: Takara Tomy Classification: Ceratopsian, Chasmosaur Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

3 (6 votes)

When I saw the Takara Tomy Tyrannosaurus on eBay, I was intrigued – had someone finally made a plastic T. rex that sported ‘protofeathers’? Naturally, I snapped one up and, of course, I received this Triceratops instead. Never mind…it’s still worthy of examination.

Review: Ankylosaurus (Papo)

Genus: Ankylosaurus Brand: Papo Classification: Ankylosaur, Ankylosaurid, Thyreophoran Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

3.1 (21 votes)

First things first – this is yet another “Ankylosaurus” model that is nothing of the sort, instead rather obviously being based on Euoplocephalus (would giving these figures the correct name really harm their commercial prospects that much?). It’s also Papo’s very latest dinosaur, released a few months ago and well overdue the Dinosaur Toy Blog treatment.

Review: Tyrannosaurus rex (Wild Safari by Safari Ltd. – 2011 sculpt)

Genus: Tyrannosaurus Brand: Safari Ltd, Wild Safari Classification: Theropod, Tyrannosaur Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

2.8 (19 votes)

A number of dinosaurs in the Wild Safari line have been subject to resculpts, but the most famous dinosaur of all is unique in having been revised twice. The iffy original was replaced by an abysmal Jurassic Park-esque affair back in 2006; it was almost reminiscent of the Papo T.

Review: Torosaurus (Collecta)

Genus: Torosaurus Brand: CollectA, Procon Classification: Ceratopsian, Chasmosaur Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

3.8 (19 votes)

I know I’ve said it before, but Collecta really have upped their game this year, spurred on by what seems like a genuine urge to please us geeks. It’s much appreciated, as it’d be easy for a company to not give a stuff about accuracy/aesthetics as long as the products were selling (they ARE toys, after all).

Review: Ankylosaurus (Soft model by Favorite Co. Ltd.)

Genus: Ankylosaurus Brand: Favorite Co. Ltd. Classification: Ankylosaur, Ankylosaurid, Thyreophoran Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

3.8 (8 votes)

This Ankylosaurus from Favorite is one of the best plastic ankylosaurs out there. It’s just not Ankylosaurus…

A little background: in 2004, a paper by Ken Carpenter was published that redescribed Ankylosaurus and finally gave it a definitive modern ‘look’.

Review: Tyrannosaurus rex (Dinosaur King by Sega)

Genus: Tyrannosaurus Brand: Sega Classification: Theropod, Tyrannosaur Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

4.6 (18 votes)

As per the introductory convention, I should probably mention how T. rex is a popular dinosaur rarely done well, and the animal’s pop culture significance, and all that stuff. Sod it, though – just look at this beauty. That’s some serious tyrannosaur sexiness.

A little background: this model is rather scarce these days, and the specimen shown is not actually mine.

Review: Kelenken (Deluxe model by CollectA)

Genus: Kelenken Brand: CollectA, Procon Classification: Bird, Theropod Age: Miocene Type: Figurine

4.7 (20 votes)

This year’s new Collecta figures represent a huge leap forward from their rather ugly forebears, and one of the most handsome in the lineup is this sizeable model of the phorusrhacid ‘terror bird’ Kelenken guillermoi, released as part of the ‘Deluxe’ range. It’s a real treat for anyone who’s recently developed a fascination with these sadly extinct enormous carnivorous avians (as I have).

Review: Polacanthus (Walking With Dinosaurs by Toyway)

Genus: Polacanthus Brand: Toyway, Walking with Dinosaurs Classification: Ankylosaur, Nodosaur, Thyreophoran Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

WWDPolacanthus

4.6 (12 votes)

From a bygone age in which Toyway still made half-decent dinosaur figures comes this spiky beast, their rendition of the British ankylosaur Polacanthus, part of their terrifyingly collectible figure line originally released to accompany the TV series Walking With Dinosaurs (and long since discontinued).

Review: Spinosaurus (Soft Model by Favorite Co. Ltd.)

Genus: Spinosaurus Brand: Favorite Co. Ltd. Classification: Spinosaur, Theropod Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

3.8 (4 votes)

Favorite’s ‘Soft Model’ series is the affordable, plastic-toy counterpart to their more expensive range of ‘Desktop’ polyresin statues, and gains frequent favour for the models’ modern look and the fact that the carnivores stand on their own two feet. So it is with the latest addition to the line, this Spinosaurus.

Brand
Dinosaur Name
Classification
Age
Product Type

➤

error: Content is protected !!