Review and images by bmathison1972; edited by Suspsy
Ampelosaurus atacis is a titanosaur described in 1995 from fossils from the Late Cretaceous (Early Maastrichtian) of present day France. Interestingly, in 2012 morphometric studies of titanosaur fossils from the area showed the presence of a second, currently undescribed species of titanosaur, bringing into question historic reconstructions of the animal (a little more on that later in the review).
Review and images by Pliosaurking, edited by Suspsy
Hello, everyone and welcome to another review, in which I’ll be reviewing the Gr Toys x Halonggood Blue Carcharodontosaurus! Carcharodontosaurus was a massive carcharodontosaurid that lived in northern Africa during the Cenomanian stage of the Cretaceous period about 90 million years ago.
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a “shark-toothed” theropod model as decked-out and detailed as this one, although a couple of design flaws might have one hesitating at the retail price.
Carcharodontosaurs have ranked among my favorite dinosaurs since early childhood – the notion of meat-eaters even bigger than the mighty Tyrannosaurus was simply too irresistible to my 5-year-old self, and that initial shock and awe has remained embedded in my psyche to this day.
Haolonggood has once again given us another high demand dinosaur that’s been mostly ignored by other toy companies. In doing so, they’ve helped me complete my decade long quest to own my favorite ceratopsids: Pachyrhinosaurus, Nasutoceratops, Einiosaurus, Centrosaurus, Pentaceratops and now finally, Chasmosaurus.
Happy Hen Toys has generously provided me with my first ever Haolonggood review subject: Dacentrurus. The very first stegosaur to be formally described and named in 1875 (the original name was Omosaurus until someone realized in 1902 that it was already taken), Dacentrurus is estimated to have been up to nine metres in length and five metric tons in weight, making it presently the second largest known member of its family after Stegosaurus.
Sauropods are typically famous for their immense size and shape; genera like Mamenchisaurus, Brachiosaurus, and Patagotitan were among the very longest, most massive animals ever to walk the Earth. Every rule has its exception, though. One group of sauropods, the dicraeosaurids, have garnered attention from scientists for being almost the exact opposite of their more famous relatives.
Kosmoceratops is a genus of Chasmosaurine that lived about 75 million years ago in what is now the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Park in Utah. This is where the Kaiparowits formation is located, a rock formation that during the Cretaceous was a jungle bordering the Western Interior Seaway.
Nasutoceratops marked the first new release of 2023 from Haolonggood, a company which has been quickly climbing the popularity brands among collectors here on the Dinosaur Toy Blog. You’d be forgiven if you’re not quite familiar with the brand yet, though; Haolonggood has been around for a little while, but their company history hasn’t always been clear.
It has been 27 years since the release of the undisputed best figure of Ouranosaurus ever made, the Battat Ouranosaurus, produced in 1996 for the Boston Museum of Science. And although other Ouranosaurus figures have come along over those 27 years none of them came close to matching the craftsmanship, accuracy, and paintwork of that figure.
Another Pachyrhinosaurus is not something I needed in my collection. I already have five of them. But Pachyrhinosaurus is a favorite ceratopsian of mine and none of the figures I own quite nail the look of it for me. Safari’s comes close but it’s a bit too svelte for my tastes, and while Battat’s has the bulk that I desire its paintjob holds it back from true greatness.
Since getting into this hobby over a decade ago I’ve had a list of my favorite ceratopsians I’ve hoped to someday have on my shelves. When I started, none of these animals had good representations available. But as the years have gone by, and this hobby has seemingly exploded in popularity, I’ve been able to gradually check them off the list.
Overall this appears to be a fine representation of Quetzalcoatlus in many details, but when it comes to some of this animal’s most integral and challenging features the figurine actually falls short.
Having grown up familiar with the titanic pterosaur being featured in books and television programs, it’s sometimes surprising for me to remember that Quetzalcoatlus is a relatively recent discovery in the history of paleontology.
Review and images by bmathison1972; edited by Suspsy
Sinoceratops zhuchengensis is a centrosaurine ceratopsid that lived during the Late Cretaceous of present-day China. The holotype specimen was discovered in 2008 from the Hongtuya Formation in Shandong Province and was formally described in 2010. It was the first ceratopsid formally described from China!
Review and images by bmathison1972, edited by Suspsy
OK, here we are folks. My first review on the Dinosaur Toy Blog that is, well, actually a dinosaur! My previous reviews have consisted of a primate, a tortoise, and a bunch of invertebrates. I have to admit, despite collecting a wide variety of eukaryotic taxa, dinosaurs are the largest group for which I am least familiar.
The newest reveal from Haolonggood is the famous Canadian nodosaurid, Edmontonia. The sculpting on the plate armour and shoulder spikes looks positively stellar! As with previous releases, it will be available in two distinct colour schemes.
