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: Pteranodon (Playmobil)

Genus: Pteranodon Brand: Playmobil, playset Classification: Fish, Pterosaur, Reptile (other) Age: Cretaceous Type: Action Figure, Figurine

3.6 (8 votes)

From his perch atop the tree, a Pteranodon sights a fish swimming in a pond. Quickly he spreads his wings, swoops down, and snatches it in his bill!

It’s virtually unthinkable for a dinosaur toyline not to have at least one pterosaur and Playmobil has gone with that most familiar of flyers, Pteranodon.

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Review: Tyrannosaurus rex and Velociraptors (Playmobil)

Genus: Tyrannosaurus, Velociraptor Brand: Playmobil, playset Classification: Dromaeosaur, Reptile (other), Theropod, Tyrannosaur Age: Cretaceous Type: Action Figure, Figurine

4.7 (24 votes)

For 40 years, Playmobil has been one of the most popular toylines in the world, famed for their simple yet elaborate designs and wide-ranging themes. Let us take a trip through their 2007 Dinosaurs line. We begin with Tyrannosaurus rex and a pair of Velociraptors.

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Review: Tyrannosaurus rex “Bull”(The Lost World: Jurassic Park by Kenner)

Genus: Tyrannosaurus Brand: Jurassic Park, Kenner Classification: Theropod, Tyrannosaur Age: Cretaceous Type: Action Figure

4.9 (74 votes)

By far my favourite scene in The Lost World: Jurassic Park was when the male Tyrannosaurus rex ran rampant through the city of San Diego in search of his baby. Sure, it was over-the-top, but it was undeniably fun. And who wouldn’t enjoy recreating that carnage in the comfort of their own home with a little imagination and a very large toy?

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Review: Parasaurolophus (The Lost World: Jurassic Park by Kenner)

Genus: Parasaurolophus Brand: Jurassic Park, Kenner Classification: Hadrosaur, Ornithopod Age: Cretaceous Type: Action Figure

4.7 (25 votes)

In the week leading up to the May 1997 opening of The Lost World: Jurassic Park, one of my local radio stations held a daily contest where listeners could phone in and win movie tickets by correctly spelling a dinosaur’s name.

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Review: Triceratops (Jurassic Park: Dinosaurs by Kenner)

Genus: Triceratops Brand: Jurassic Park, Kenner Classification: Ceratopsian, Chasmosaur Age: Cretaceous Type: Action Figure

3.7 (9 votes)

Rounding out my assortment of Jurassic Park recolours is none other than the world’s most famous ceratopsid.

First released under the Lost World label in 1997, this Triceratops is rather small compared to the massive 1993 version. Its short horns and length of only 20 cm indicate that it is meant to represent a juvenile.

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Review: Velociraptor “Alpha” (Jurassic Park: Dinosaurs by Hasbro)

Genus: Velociraptor Brand: Hasbro, Jurassic Park Classification: Dromaeosaur, Theropod Age: Cretaceous Type: Action Figure

1.8 (17 votes)

The closure of Kenner by parent company Hasbro in 2000 meant that an entirely different team would design the toys for Jurassic Park 3. Many dinosaur collectors, including myself, feel that the quality of the line took a major nosedive as a result.

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Review: Velociraptor “Cyclops” (Jurassic Park: Dinosaurs by Kenner)

Genus: Velociraptor Brand: Jurassic Park, Kenner Classification: Dromaeosaur, Theropod Age: Cretaceous Type: Action Figure

3.5 (16 votes)

The various Jurassic Park lines have given us many Velociraptor toys over the years (and more still to come). One of the more interesting ones is the battle-hardened “Cyclops.”

Cyclops first appeared in the 1997 Lost World line, but like many of the smaller JP toys, it was re-released in subsequent years.

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Review: Pteranodon (The Lost World: Jurassic Park by Kenner)

Genus: Pteranodon Brand: Jurassic Park, Kenner Classification: Pterosaur Age: Cretaceous Type: Action Figure

4.5 (15 votes)

While it was by no means the largest pterosaur, Pteranodon, with its distinctive blade-shaped crest, remains the most recognizable. It was heavily featured in Jurassic Park 3 and also made a dramatic (and more accurate) cameo at the end of The Lost World: Jurassic Park.

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Review: Tanystropheus (Jurassic Park: Dinosaurs by Kenner)

Genus: Tanystropheus Brand: Jurassic Park, Kenner Classification: Reptile (other) Age: Triassic Type: Action Figure

3.4 (14 votes)

Tanystropheus was one of evolution’s more bizarre concoctions: a carnivorous reptile from the Middle Triassic with a spindly neck longer than its body and tail combined. Like the Dimetrodon, it appeared several times in various JP lines. This particular version is from the 1999 JP: Dinosaurs line.

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Review: Dimetrodon (Jurassic Park: Dinosaurs by Kenner)

Genus: Dimetrodon Brand: Jurassic Park, Kenner Classification: Pelycosaur Age: Permian Type: Action Figure

3.7 (10 votes)

And now let’s tackle some Jurassic Park toys. First up is Dimetrodon. The famous finned ferocity first appeared in the original 1993 JP line. The humble toy must have been very popular indeed, as it would go on to be recoloured and re-released several times over the course of a decade.

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Review: Placerias (Tyco)

Genus: Placerias Brand: Tyco Classification: Therapsid (non-mammal) Age: Triassic Type: Action Figure

3.9 (10 votes)

Although the Dino-Riders line consisted mostly of familiar faces like Stegosaurus, Triceratops, Diplodocus, and, of course, Tyrannosaurus rex, there were a few obscure animals tossed into the mix. I had never heard of Placerias until I came across it on the shelf at Toys R Us.

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Review: Ankylosaurus (Tyco)

Genus: Ankylosaurus Brand: Tyco Classification: Ankylosaur, Ankylosaurid, Thyreophoran Age: Cretaceous Type: Action Figure

2.6 (10 votes)

Time now to jump into the WABAC Machine and take a trip to 1988. It was a good time to be a kid or a collector. GI Joe and Transformers were still going strong, Barbie and Lego were around as always, and TMNT was taking its first steps towards iconic status.

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