In 1978 (the same year I was born), the fossil remains of a hadrosauriform dinosaur were discovered at Brighstone Bay on the Isle of Wight. The remains were sent to the British Museum of Natural History (now the Natural History Museum) in London and declared to be those of the famous Iguanodon.
Review and photographs by Loon, edited by Suspsy
There’s been a trend in Mattel’s Jurassic World line to not only include the various species from the films, but also ones that have only appeared in the books. This explains the inclusion of the obscure Callovosaurus, a dryosaurid known from fragmentary remains found in England.
One of the very first ornithopods I ever learned about as a small child was Camptosaurus, a mid-sized member of the iguanodontian clade hailing from Late Jurassic North America. Due to its utter lack of horns, spikes, and armour, it has long been depicted in books and museum displays as “stock fodder,” either fleeing from or being eaten alive by the merciless Allosaurus.
This set of reissued figurines offers an updated, good-quality variety of animals for collectors who might have missed earlier releases.
Kaiyodo’s miniature dinosaur lines might be among the very best in the market, even with more and more high-end companies entering the scene in recent years. It’s a shame that acquiring Kaiyodo’s figurines hasn’t gotten any easier for collectors outside of Japan – especially in the wake of the 2020 pandemic, and the ensuing shipping bottlenecks which have only made imported goods all the more expensive.
The final set of Safari’s first forays into dinosaur miniatures features a charming blend of aesthetics, and also serves in retrospect as a tribute to a dawning hobby and its burgeoning artists.
In 1994, Battat was commissioned by the Boston Museum to produce what would become one of the most praised toy lines in dinosaur collecting.
Today I venture into uncharted waters and review a figure by a company I’ve never covered, or bought products by, before. Although I’ve long been aware of Takara Tomy, they’re a Japanese company, making their offerings somewhat difficult to get in the U.S. Also, since their prehistoric figures mostly cover well known genera, or represent Jurassic World animals, they also just weren’t of much interest to me.
If you’re looking for dinosaurs in Japan, then the best place to find them is in the Early Cretaceous strata of the Kitadani Formation, located in the Fukui Prefecture. Species discovered there include the megaraptoran Fukuiraptor, the maniraptoriforme Fukuivenator, the avialan Fukuipteryx, the sauropod Fukuititan, and the subject of this review, the ornithopod Fukuisaurus.
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.
