Review and Photos by Bokisaurus
Nostalgia: “a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations”.
So you might be wondering why open a review with this word and it’s definition. A toy, especially one that has been with you for decades can elicit such sentiment, and after years of collecting, its time to look back.
For decades, Stegosaurus was( and still is) the most famous of all the Stegosaurid family, its the first one that people know when asked to name one from this fascinating group. Over the last decade, some of it’s relatives started to gain some fame, species like Kentrosaurus has become a regular fixture in art as well as in the toy model world as well as pop culture.
Dinosaurs weren’t the first giant plant-eaters to roam the Earth; that frontier was pioneered first among vertebrates by the dicynodonts, a group of tusked therapsids (the clade which includes modern mammals) which survived the Permian Mass Extinction and lasted to the end of the Triassic period. They ranged widely in size and distribution, from the diminutive Diictodon, to the pervasive Lystrosaurus, to giants like Lisowicia and Kannemeyeria.
There was a time when Kronossaurus was the most famous marine reptile. It was part of the elite group of dinosaurs (and other prehistoric animals), sort of like the Mesozoic version of the Justice League. These assortments would be the core group to be featured in the 1950’s Marx set, the first real toy set to focus on prehistoric animals, This Mesozoic superhero group would feature icons: we see Tyrannosaurus rex, Diplodocus, Allosaurus, Triceratops, Anklyosaurus, Hadrosaur (iguanodon?), Pteranodon, and of course Kronosaurus (representing the marine reptiles).
This unique independently-produced model is a delightful throwback to older days of dinosaur art and collecting.
One of the various treats we have in this modern-day bounty of dinosaur collectibles is the increasingly easy access to many of the tools and supplies needed to produce toys, allowing a number of independent artists to pursue their own ideal collectibles where established company brands have passed over.
