Playmobil’s 1.2.3 line is the equivalent of Lego’s Duplo line: simpler, safer versions of their main products aimed at toddlers. When I saw that there was a dinosaur-themed set among the 2018 releases, I knew that I had to get it for my son. As I write this, he’s still far too little to understand the first thing about prehistory, but he certainly enjoys banging the toys together or sucking on them.
“Good day, fellow dinosaur lovers! Time once again to delve deep into the world of Lego with yours truly, Dr. Bella Bricking, along with the indispensable Beth Buildit! And how is little Bronwyn today, Beth?”
“She’s just fine, Doc. Although I’m still not sure my sister would be cool with all this.”
“Stuff and nonsense, Beth, she’s going to have a perfectly lovely adventure just like last time!
Review and photos by Charles Peckham, edited by Suspsy
Trying to find information about either the creator of these toys, a Chinese company named Yantai, or their American distributor, Learnplay Inc., isn’t easy. According to one of the few sources I was able to find, Yantai has been around since 2011 and their Halftoy line is just one of hundreds of designs they have made.
Cheap dinosaur sets are fairly common on the market, offering a variety of creatures for a reasonable price (though usually picked from a very select group of species), something to keep kids entertained for a few hours. Wenno are a prime example of this, having released a few sets for ancient and modern species.
Well, I’ve shown you the worst of this line, let’s waste no time and get straight on to the best of them!
Starting off the top half is everyone’s favourite three horned herbivore Triceratops. This features one of the best poses of the lot (something I haven’t talked at length about as most the figures are in a generic standing pose), an aggressive fight pose, all the better when you have two to joust with.
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.
