Author: Suspsy

Suspsy has lived in Canada all his life. One day when he was in kindergarten, his teacher did a lesson on dinosaurs and put up some giant cutouts on the wall. Suspsy immediately began pretending to be a Tyrannosaurus rex at playtime, and continued to do so for many subsequent playtimes. Since then, he has acquired two degrees, worked many different jobs, travelled to many fantastic locations, fallen in love, gotten married, and settled down to raise a family, but his passion for dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals has never waned.

All reviews by this author

Review: Dimetrodon (Recur)

Genus: Dimetrodon Brand: Recur Classification: Pelycosaur Age: Permian Type: Figurine

4.1 (27 votes)

In 1845, a fragment of upper jaw bone was discovered in the Maritime province of Prince Edward Island. At the time, it was hailed as Canada’s first dinosaur, but paleontologists eventually determined that it was in fact a synapsid which they named Bathygnathus.

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Review: Quetzalcoatlus (Recur)

Genus: Quetzalcoatlus Brand: Recur Classification: Pterosaur Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

4 (29 votes)

Our understanding of pterosaur terrestrial locomotion has come quite a long way over the decades. Paleontologists in the mid-20th century argued that pterosaurs were almost helpless on the ground, dragging themselves slowly and vulnerably on their bellies. In the 1980s’, it was surmised that they were capable of running swiftly on their hind legs.

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Review: Tyrannosaurus rex (Nanoblock)

Genus: Tyrannosaurus Brand: Nanoblock Classification: Theropod, Tyrannosaur Age: Cretaceous Type: Construction

2.5 (10 votes)

“Welcome back once again, fellow dinosaur lovers! I, Dr. Bella Bricking, am about to review yet another Nanoblock set. And with me as always is the unflappable Beth Buildit!”
“Hey all. Today we’re tackling the big bad itself, Tyrannosaurus rex!

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Review: Andrewsarchus (CollectA)

Genus: Andrewsarchus Brand: CollectA Classification: Mammal Age: Eocene Type: Figurine

4.6 (31 votes)

Andrewsarchus mongoliensis could be thought of as the mammalian equivalent of Spinosaurus in that it was a gigantic carnivore known only from scant remains. Namely, a single skull discovered in Mongolia by the legendary Roy Chapman Andrews in 1923. Once thought to have been a mesonychid, Andrewsarchus has since been determined to be an artiodactyl, and thus related to entelodonts, hippos, and whales.

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Review: Mosasaurus (Recur)

Genus: Mosasaurus Brand: Recur Classification: Mosasaur Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

4.4 (27 votes)

My next Recur review will be that colossal tyrant of the deep, Mosasaurus hoffmannii. In stark contrast to its terrestrial counterpart, T. rex, Mosasaurus had both poor binocular vision and a poor sense of smell.

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Review: Ammonite (Wild Safari by Safari Ltd)

Genus: Unspecified genus Brand: Safari Ltd, Wild Safari Classification: Ammonite, Invertebrate Age: Cretaceous, Jurassic Type: Figurine

4.5 (20 votes)

The shelled cephalopods known as ammonites first appeared in the Devonian and then flourished all the way to the very end of the Cretaceous. They came in a wide variety of shapes and they ranged in size from ones you could hold in your palm to ones with shells measuring more than two metres in diameter.

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Review: Tyrannosaurus rex (Prehistoric Scenes by Aurora)

Genus: Tyrannosaurus Brand: Aurora Classification: Theropod, Tyrannosaur Age: Cretaceous Type: Kit

4.2 (27 votes)

Well, here we are at last, dear friends. After nearly two years of exploring the prehistoric plastic worlds of CollectA, Papo, Safari, Kenner, Lego, Playmobil, and various other companies, we’ve arrived at my 100th review for the Dinosaur Toy Blog! I’ve saved the biggest item in my collection for this very special occasion: the Aurora Prehistoric Scenes Tyrannosaurus rex!

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Review: Allosaurus (Prehistoric Scenes by Aurora)

Genus: Allosaurus Brand: Aurora Classification: Allosaur, Theropod Age: Jurassic Type: Kit

3.2 (15 votes)

Prehistoric Scenes is a line of model kits made by a company called Aurora between 1971 and 1975. Rather than having to use glue, one needed only to snap the many pieces together. Moreover, these massive models boasted quite a good bit of articulation.

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Review: Struthiomimus (CollectA)

Genus: Struthiomimus Brand: CollectA Classification: Ornithomimosaur, Theropod Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

4.8 (18 votes)

Struthiomimus is the quintessential ornithomimid, the ostrich dinosaur many of us grew up reading about in dinosaur books. Its top speed is estimated to have been between 50 and 80 km/h, and it would have needed that speed to escape from hungry tyrannosaurs and dromaeosaurs.

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Review: Tyrannosaurus rex (Recur)

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

3.7 (29 votes)

Please welcome Recur to the Dinosaur Toy Blog! Started in 2014, this series of prehistoric and modern animal toys is made in China by Shenzen Ankyl Toys Co., Ltd. Their modern animals range from domestic dogs and horses to sharks and whales, while their prehistoric line currently consists of over 30 beasts.

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Review: Kaprosuchus (Papo)

Genus: Kaprosuchus Brand: Papo Classification: Crocodile Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

4.5 (21 votes)

The name Kaprosuchus means ‘boar crocodile,’ and that pretty much says it all about this fantastic and frightful crocodyliform from Late Cretaceous Africa.

Papo’s 2016 Kaprosuchus figure is positively massive, far more so than I originally anticipated. It measures 22 cm long and is slightly over 10 cm tall due to its raised tail.

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Review: Deinocheirus (CollectA)

Genus: Deinocheirus Brand: CollectA Classification: Ornithomimosaur, Theropod Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

4.7 (20 votes)

He was resting comfortably in the shade a second ago, but now the chieftain is charging with his mighty arms raised and his eyes blazing. A young tarbosaur has entered the nesting colony and is now attempting to isolate the chicks from their mothers.

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