Every dinosaur obsessed child of the 80’s and 90’s no doubt had a few AAA toy dinosaurs in their collection. Although poorly represented on the DTB the toy company AAA produced a large assortment of dinosaur and other animal toys but the quality on them was always a little hit or miss. Although not as …
Review and photographs by Indohyus, edited by Suspsy It is amazing to think how much new paleontological findings can change the whole nature of the field. It can change how an animal walks, what it looks like or even create brand new species, as is often the case with early figures of Brachiosaurus, which are …
Review and photos by Takama, edited by Suspsy A long time ago in the year 2005, I was hospitalized for 103 days due to a serious heart condition that nearly claimed my life at the young age of twelve. As a result of this issue, I was eligible for a wish to be granted by …
Once there was a time when Theropods simply were divided into „Carnosaurs“ (the big ones such as Allosaurus and Tyrannosaurus) and „Coelurosaurs“ (the smaller ones such as Coelophysis or Compsognathus). Then along came Deinonychus, an irritating new predator who did not really fit into this concept. When it was discovered in 1969, no one could …
Admittedly, there were lovelier animals to have walked the earth in prehistoric times than entelodonts, omnivorous beasts that were two metres tall and four metres long. Entelodonts were especially abundant in what are now Mongolia, China and Northern America and strolled through the landscape searching for any kind of food in the Eocene epoch – …
Review and photographs by Indohyus, edited by Suspsy Ankylosaurs are often a popular group for toy companies to make. Like armoured tanks on legs, complete with a powerful club on the tail, these are very eye-catching and attractive to young children. As was the case with today’s review subject: Euoplocephalus by AAA, a toy company …
Review and photographs by Indohyus, edited by Suspsy In recent years, the pantheon of ornithomimosaur figures has expanded more than ever before. Though still an underrepresented family of dinosaurs, these omnivorous/herbivorous theropods are very interesting oddities that only a few companies have tried to represent. Here is AAA’s attempt at a bird-mimic: Gallimimus, one of …
Review and photos by Mihnea (Wildheart) Existing for approximately 26 million years, Hyaenodonts were some of the largest predators of the Late Eocene and Early Miocene epochs. Their name comes from the sharp hyena-like teeth used to tear apart possible prey. The skulls of these animals were huge and well equipped for hunting, but their …
Review and photos by Strawberry Crocodile, edited by Suspsy Hadrosaurs are often relegated to the role of “supporting cast” in dinosaur media. Despite their success as a group, they simply don’t grab people’s imaginations as much as deadly theropods, record-shattering sauropods, or the absolutely bizarre shapes their ornithischian cousins have taken. More often than not, …
Review and photographs by Funk, edited by Suspsy Parasaurolophus seems to be the hadrosaur with the most toy representations by far, no doubt due to its charismatic, iconic head crest. It just looks neat, design-wise, compared to, for example, Lambeosaurus with its weird hatchet, Corythosaurus with its dull plate, or Tsintaosaurus and the unfortunate way …
Review and photographs by Dilopho, edited by Suspsy Pteranodon is a Latin word meaning “winged and toothless.” So what on earth was the AAA sculptor thinking when they made this monster? It’s huge, mean and scary–it’s not the Pteranodon we are used to. But is it bad? Well, let’s have a closer look at it …
Review and photographs by Indohyus, edited by Suspsy Smilodon. Whether it’s populator, fatalis, or gracilis, one thing is certain: this was a powerful felid, the epitome of ancient mammal predators. Originally from North America, then successfully emigrating to South America during the Great Faunal Interchange, there are few who haven’t heard of this mighty mammal, …
Review and photographs by Dilopho What do you think of when I say “Stegosaurus“? A graceful, lumbering giant with huge elegant plates and deadly spikes, carefully making his way through a tropical Jurassic forest? Well, it’s clear that this wasn’t always the answer. A few decades ago, Stegosaurus was just another terrible lizard. A slow, …
Charging out of a 1950’s B-rate dinosaur movie comes the AAA Stegosaurus, a truly retro toy from a bygone era. You can all breathe a sigh of relief, this will be my last review of these little AAA toys. The punishment is almost over. These toys feel like they’re from the 1970’s but I just …
Review and photographs by Dilopho, edited by Suspsy AAA is a company that had prominence when many of us were young, way back before we cared about detail or company or accuracy. Instead, just cared about actually having a dinosaur figure. And surprisingly, Styracosaurus was not a dinosaur often made into a figure back then–Monoclonius …