The fact that I am reviewing a 2025 Jurassic World: Rebirth toy nearly halfway through 2026 is a troubling sign. Indeed, it means that I’m a struggling to find any new releases in my local retail stores, where a meager selection of last year’s toys are gathering dust on the shelves. After months of frustrated searching for early 2026 releases...
If there’s one thing that young prehistory fans enjoy, it’s randomly pitting their toys against one another in savage battles, geography and time be blowed. And if there’s another thing that young children in general are entertained by, it’s seeing things change colour by immersing them in water. That’s precisely why Mattel’s two biggest properties, Barbie and Hot Wheels, have...
When it comes to prehistoric crocodilians there are two species I’ve wanted in my collection more than any other: Purussaurus, the gigantic caiman from the Eocene, and Stomatosuchus, one of the most bizarre crocodilians ever described. Within less than a year, Mattel has delivered action figures of both genera. The first mass produced toys of both. Stomatosuchus (mouth crocodile) is...
Following up on my Hammond Collection Allosaurus review, is with yet another beloved animal from the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation, the Stegosaurus. More specifically the Hammond Collection juvenile Stegosaurus based on the one from The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Strangely this is my first time reviewing a figure of this animal, despite it being one of my favorite dinosaurs, and...
It’s interesting to think that the last time I reviewed an Allosaurus figure for the blog here was back in 2019, and based on the individual from the short film Battle at Big Rock, released in the same year. Here I am now with the Hammond Collection iteration, yet again based on the design from that short film. Worth noting...
Released back in 2024 is this interesting little Danger Pack set consisting of Eoraptor and Stegouros for the Mattel Jurassic World Epic Evolution line. Both dinosaurs were from what is now South America, with Eoraptor hailing from the Ischigualasto Formation of Argentina, and Stegouros from the Dorotea Formation of Chile. However they couldn’t have been more far apart, as Eoraptor...
With the Duel Attack, Hammond Collection, and Habitat Defender Triceratops toys all in my collection I didn’t think I would ever add another Mattel Trike to my shelves, but then Mattel went and made one with rubber skin! I resisted it for as long as I could, but when it inevitably went on sale, I caved, so here I am...
Rounding out my reviews of Mattel’s ’93 Classic Collection we’re looking at what might be the most absurd assortment of figures in any of these sets; the one that includes an airborne mathematician carting around a baby Triceratops as if it were a briefcase. This is the Dr. Ian Malcolm Glider Escape Pack, and it’s the last ’93 Classic set...
The current Jurassic World Survival line from Mattel has proven somewhat lackluster so far and put a pause on my Jurassic World toy collecting. As a result, my list of Mattel toys to review has been whittled down to only a few figures, including the remaining ’93 Classic Collection toys. So, the silver lining in this year’s lull is that...
Ceoptera (meaning “mist wing”) is a genus of darwinopteran that lived in Scotland during the mid-Jurassic. It is notable in several respects. It’s the only pterosaur known from the Kilmaluag Formation, one of the only pterosaurs known from the middle Jurassic, the second described pterosaur from Scotland (Dearc is the first), and the most complete pterosaur found in the UK...
Mussaurus is a genus of early Jurassic sauropodomorph that in the old days would have been known as a “prosauropod”. Mussaurus means “mouse lizard” because the first discovered specimens of it were all hatchlings and juveniles. We now have adult specimens as well, indicating that Mussaurus reached a length of 20-26’ (5-8 meters), making its name misleading. Growth stages of...
Up until this year, the largest Mattel toy in my sons’ Jurassic World collection was the Dino Escape Mosasaurus. I had had no intention to bestow anything greater than that upon them. But as it so happened, the latest Super Colossal Tyrannosaurus rex went on sale last December for a whopping 55% off, which I reckoned was a bargain simply...
