The Definitely Dinosaurs line by Playskool was a series of dinosaur toys produced in the late 80’s and early 90’s. For those unfamiliar with them they were basically the more toddler-friendly version of Tyco’s Dino-Riders. Some of them, like the Stegosaurus, were eerily similar to their Tyco counterparts. If you were a dinosaur obsessed kid during this time period you...
Review and photos by Cretaceous Crab, edited by Suspsy This time around, I have the pleasure of reviewing one of my favorite dinosaur toys as a kid: the Psittacosaurus from Playskool’s Definitely Dinosaurs line. I remember carrying this one around everywhere. Of course, in those days, we didn’t think too much on saving toys that may be considered vintage or...
Review and photos by Charles Peckham, edited by Suspsy The Wendy’s Triceratops that Definitely Dinosaurs put out in 1988 was a very odd, scientifically implausible little toy. Still, in my humble opinion, it had panache. The foremost reason for this was its striking neon colour choices. It was able to stand apart, and that made it enduring. Like any good...
Review and photos by Charles Peckham, edited by Suspsy Definitely Dinosaurs is a toy line I’ve written about on here before. To reiterate my thoughts on it succinctly, it was a great bridge between durable, cutesy kids’ toys and scientifically accurate (for the time) models. But the Triceratops that came from Wendy’s is perhaps the worst example of this. The...
Review and photographs by Loon, edited by Suspsy Protoceratops is the only species I actively collect multiple figures of, and luckily, many companies have released their own versions. This has allowed me to sample lines that I usually wouldn’t have much interest in, such as Playskool’s Definitely Dinosaurs. This is “Cera,” the first version of Protoceratops in the line, released...
Review and photographs by Charles Peckham, edited by Suspsy Before we get into talking about this toy, I think it’s worthwhile to discuss the history of the genus that we’re calling Anatosaurus, especially since this is the first review of a toy labeled with that genus on this website. In 1942, the classification of hadrosaurs was a mess. Trachodon, Claosaurus,...
Review and photos by Art Rex, edited by Suspsy Before the release of Jurassic Park in 1993, Playskool’s Definitely Dinosaurs was one of the best brands of prehistoric playtime, rivaled only by Tyco’s Dino-Riders. Most of the Definitely Dinosaurs were relatively simple in design, almost cartoonish to play to a younger demographic. But this Polacanthus was not too far off...
Review and photos by dinoguy2, edited by Suspsy Deinonychus was hot in the 80s’ – a relatively new, small, fast, vicious theropod that was beginning to catch kids’ attention in books and TV specials, and therefore made an obvious choice when it came time to fill in the small dinosaur slots in a toy line. Two major lines came out...
Review and photographs by dinoguy2, edited by Suspsy. This toy is a monster. Is this the biggest dinosaur toy ever made? Probably not, but it’s definitely the biggest one I ever had. I still remember the first time I learned this existed. I saw the massive box, which had to be three feet long, on the bottom shelf of my local...
Review and photographs by dinoguy2, edited by Suspsy One of the larger dinosaurs from Playskool’s Definitely Dinosaurs Series 2, the Parasaurolophus is really nice-looking for a preschool toy. Featuring similar articulation to the other large dinosaurs in the series, it has a hinge jointed neck for up and down head movement, swivel joints at all four limbs, and a...
Review and photographs by dinoguy2, edited by Suspsy Playskool’s Definitely Dinosaurs line can be broken down into two basic categories: the larger, ride-able toys that came with saddles for their “Cavester” companions, and the smaller toys with minimal accessories. Pachycephalosaurus was part of the smaller assortment, and like the others, it was pretty basic, with only four real points of articulation....
Review and photographs by dinoguy2, edited by Suspsy. Playskool released several series of individually carded dinosaurs between 1988 and 2000. These were very similar to the small vinyl toys released as Wendy’s kids meal promotions in 1988 and 1989, though the Wendy’s dinosaurs generally had different color schemes and didn’t include some of the carded species. One species released on...
