By and large the Snap Squad toys by Mattel have been frustratingly difficult to find. Nearly a year ago I managed to find a few at Wal-Mart, and foolishly didn’t buy them all. That was the first time I ever saw them “in the wild” and I wouldn’t see them again until April 2020, when for some reason they showed up at Aldi of all places.
Brand: Mattel
Review: Mosasaurus (Real-Feel)(Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom by Mattel)
4.1 (13 votes)
Review and Photographs by Cretaceous Crab, edited by Suspsy
To paraphrase the character Gray’s signature catchphrase, “We need more teeth!” Following Hasbro’s lackluster attempt with Jurassic World‘s prehistoric marine monster, dinosaur toy collectors of all ages agreed that, “We need a better Mosasaurus toy!”
To paraphrase the character Gray’s signature catchphrase, “We need more teeth!” Following Hasbro’s lackluster attempt with Jurassic World‘s prehistoric marine monster, dinosaur toy collectors of all ages agreed that, “We need a better Mosasaurus toy!”
As we have already seen in previous reviews, Mattel has vastly succeeded where Hasbro failed.
Review: Mosasaurus and Diver Imaginext (Jurassic World by, Fisher-Price)
3.2 (6 votes)
With Mattel taking over the Jurassic World franchise from Hasbro, it has produced better toys when you compare the two lines. As for the Imaginext vs the Playschool Heroes Jurassic World lines they come across much closer in quality and style. With their ridiculous big feet to aid in stability, and the simple, yet overdone accessories the Imaginext series is intended for preschoolers.
Review: Mussaurus (Jurassic World: Attack Pack by Mattel)
3.5 (11 votes)
Review and photographs by Loon, edited by Suspsy.
The first fossils of the Late Triassic sauropodomorph Mussaurus were discovered in the ’70s by an expedition led by the late Jose Bonaparte in Argentina. These consisted of eggs and juveniles small enough to fit in your hands; hence the name, meaning “Mouse Lizard.” However, this name isn’t particularly fitting given that in 2013, the first adult specimens of Mussaurus were described and estimated to reach up 20 feet in length.
Review: Nasutoceratops (Jurassic World Dino-Rivals, Duel Attack by Mattel)
4.6 (14 votes)
Nasutoceratops was a centrosaurine ceratopsian dinosaur that lived during the late Cretaceous in the south-western United States. Only having been described in 2013 this very unique looking dinosaur has gained a bit of popularity with toys released from both Safari and CollectA in 2015, and now from Mattel for their Jurassic World line.
Review: Nigersaurus (Jurassic World Dino Trackers, Wild Roar by Mattel)
3.1 (28 votes)
Nigersaurus is a genus of rebbachisaurid sauropod that was discovered in the Elrhaz Formation in Niger, Africa. It lived during the middle Cretaceous and is notable for its small size (by sauropod standards), short neck, and bizarrely shaped broad muzzle packed with over 500 teeth.
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Review: Nothosaurus (Jurassic World Dino-Trackers, Danger Pack by Mattel)
3.7 (163 votes)
Nothosaurus is a genus of Triassic marine reptile that belongs to the Sauropterygia clade, along with other weirdos like placodonts and plesiosaurs. Aside from the plesiosaurs all members of the clade would go extinct by the end of the Triassic. Looking at Nothosaurus it is easy to see the relationship between it and plesiosaurs but nothosaurs were a distinct group with their own unique features and did not give rise to plesiosaurs.
Review: Orkoraptor (Jurassic World: Wild Roar by Mattel)
3.6 (34 votes)
Review and images by Cretaceous Crab, edited by Suspsy
Since the release of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom in 2018, Mattel has practically exploded in terms of the diversity of prehistoric genera it has offered, many of which are the first of their kind to be represented in toy or figure form.
Review: Ornithocheirus (Jurassic World Dino Trackers Danger Pack by Mattel)
3.6 (21 votes)
Well, for my next magic tr…I mean 50th review, I will address Mattel’s strange choices when it comes to making figures based on my new favorite group of ancient reptiles: pterosauria. Ornithocheirus is a name that has been in paleo literature since the 1870’s, though the genus had become kind of a wastebasket taxon through the early 1900’s and onward.
Review: Ornitholestes (Jurassic World: Primal Attack by Mattel)
3.2 (10 votes)
Review and photographs by Loon, edited by Suspsy.
Ornitholestes was a coelurosaur from the Late Jurassic of North America. It most famously appeared in the BBC Walking With Dinosaurs series and featured in the second Jurassic Park book, The Lost World.
Review: Ouranosaurus (Jurassic World Dino-Escape, Roar Attack by Mattel)
3.4 (21 votes)
With its tall neural spines similar to those of Spinosaurus, Ouranosaurus is one of the most unique and visually distinct species of ornithopods, and yet has remained relatively obscure. Many figures of the genus do exist with notable ones by Recur, CollectA, Schleich, and Starlux but they aren’t of particularly high quality or accuracy.
Review: Pachycephalosaurus (The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Hammond Collection by Mattel)
3.9 (35 votes)
Finally! Roughly 6 months after acquiring it I’m getting around to reviewing the Hammond Collection Pachycephalosaurus. In this review you’ll see outdoor pictures that were taken in March, when I originally wanted to review it! They’ve been sitting on my computer, taunting me, reminding me to get around to this toy.
Review: Pachyrhinosaurus (Jurassic World: Chaos Theory Wild Roar, Epic Evolution by Mattel)
4.5 (12 votes)
There is no shortage of Pachyrhinosaurus toys. As ceratopsian toys go it is only outnumbered by Triceratops and Styracosaurus, which have been more popular for far longer than Pachyrhinosaurus. But here’s the thing, all those Pachyrhinosaurus toys represent the same species, P.
Review: Pachyrhinosaurus (Sinoceratops) (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Roarivores by Mattel)
4.4 (14 votes)
Say what you want about Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, you do have to admire that it brought so many obscure genera to the pop culture forefront. Because of that a lot of poorly represented dinosaurs have a chance at some fame which is only a good thing for those of us that collect dinosaur reproductions.
Review: Parasaurolophus (Dual Attack Dino Rivals)(Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom by Mattel)
3.9 (14 votes)
Review and photos by Faelrin, edited by Suspsy
One of my favorite herbivores, the Parasaurolophus is perhaps one of the most iconic of the hadrosaurids, and perhaps one of the more iconic herbivorous dinosaurs as well, with its large tube-like crest. This creature has been featured in every Jurassic Park film so far, yet has been hardly represented in the toy lines for the various films.