Here’s an interesting rendition of what is probably the world’s most famous sauropod (judging from Brachiosaurus’ appearances in the JP franchise and the number of toys it boasts to its name on the blog) that I came across at Mastermind Toys here in Ontario. I haven’t determined the actual manufacturer, but it originates from China like so many other dinosaur toys. According to the tag that came attached to it, the line is called DINOS! Mega-Mesozoic Fun, and it consists of both large dinosaurs made of foam-filled, rubberized plastic like this one and smaller, hard plastic ones that are clearly bootlegged from Papo and Schleich products.
The first thing to note about this sauropod is that it is BIG. Granted, it’s not nearly as towering as the Mattel Jurassic World version, but at 41 cm in height and almost 65 cm in length, it’s still one of the biggest Brachiosaurus toys ever made. It is sculpted in a pretty typical lumbering pose with its head held way up high and its tail curling down.
Thanks to its composition, this toy is relatively light in spite of its size, and also highly flexible and durable. A fall from a table, a top shelf, or probably even a rooftop won’t harm it save for maybe a scratch or two, and rough children’s play that would cause any PVC dinosaur figure to lose an appendage or even break in half is no sweat.
Like many Brachiosaurus toys, this one has a decidedly dull colour scheme. Brownish-grey all over with medium brown stripes on the upper half of the neck, flat brown wash on the back, dark grey claws, medium brown eyes, and a purple mouth lined with poorly painted yellowish teeth. Really nothing to write home about here.
The inside of the mouth is plain and smooth and the teeth are little more than pointy lumps, but the sculpting detail on the skin is actually not bad. It’s basically your standard combination of scales and wrinkles, quite similar to what you’d find on an elephant. Even the soles of the feet feature wrinkles.
Although this toy’s profile and posture immediately scream “Brachiosaurus!” loud and clear, it should come as no surprise to anyone that it would never win any prizes for accuracy. The teeth are too big and too few, the nares are located high up above the orbits, and the skull is oversized and shrink-wrapped. The tail and limbs are too thick. And finally, the front feet feature four large clawed toes. At least the inner ones are noticeably bigger than the rest.
Much like Recur’s products, this Brachiosaurus is a children’s plaything first and foremost. It is burdened with anatomical inaccuracies and its sculpting is satisfactory at best, but it is also as tough as a toy can get, perfectly safe for children of any age to play with, and definitely a lot of fun. I bought this as a donation to my younger son’s daycare, and I’m pleased to say that he and his peers have enjoyed it very much. It retails for $34.99 at Mastermind Toys here in Ontario, but I’d imagine other companies have imported it elsewhere.
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This toy is definitely a satisfying object for the daycare environment, as pointed out. I’ve given dozens of my unwanted specimens, largely Schleichs and old Carnegies to child care centers and it’s always gratifying to see them acquire a welcome home. I am frequently somewhat annoyed that the manufacture, such as this unnamed one, didn’t do the minimal research to ensure a reasonably up-to-date sculpt, but in this case the lack of a brand name is instructive – no name, little or no research: no surprise and, I suppose, what else would I expect. So, in this context, it’s not a bad toy at all.
Where this approach moves from the annoying to the egregious is with, say, Schleich, who routinely claim to be legitimate educators. NOT. They produce the occasional decent prehistoric product interspersed among various gradations of mis-sculpts, so can’t meet their claims. However, this review highlights a segment of the market, like the Recur products, whose shaky and erratic research is far more forgivable, in my opinion. Thank you for this interesting review.