Colorata has been making boxed sets of dinosaurs for several years now, which occasionally include dinosaur contemporaries like pterosaurs or mosasaurs, but in December of 2017 they released their first boxed set of prehistoric figures featuring exclusively non-dinosaur taxa. Say hello to the Extinct Animals: Paleozoic Creatures set.
Classification: Invertebrate
Review: Pleuroceras Ammonite (Prehistoric World by CollectA)
5 (20 votes)
Alongside trilobites, ammonites are far and away the most popular group of prehistoric invertebrates. These shelled cephalopods belong to the broader Ammonoidea, which evolved over 400 million years ago during the Devonian. Keep in mind that not all ammonoids are ammonites and actual ammonites from the Ammonitida clade lived during the Jurassic and Cretaceous, a time during which they flourished.
Review: Pleurocystites (Dinotales Series 3 by Kaiyodo)
5 (9 votes)
Review and photos by Charles Peckham, edited by Suspsy
How does Kaiyodo find new animals to make toys of? Much of their Dinotales series consists of strange and obscure animals that even a seasoned paleontologist might not have come across before. Case in point: Pleurocystites, an echinoderm from the Late Ordovician.
Review: Pravitoceras (Prehistoric World by CollectA)
4.8 (18 votes)
Most paleontology enthusiasts are familiar with ammonites, the predatory mollusks with muscular arms and calcium carbonate shells. Most ammonites’ shells were disc-shaped coils (planispiral) that contained chambers, some of which afforded buoyancy, and one of which housed the squishy parts of the animal. One lineage of ammonites went a little wild with their shell coiling, producing some very strange shapes.
Review: Prehistoric Marine Tube (CollectA)
4.9 (15 votes)
CollectA has emerged as one of the most prolific producers of dinosaur figures, with a few other Mesozoic reptiles and some mammals here and there for variety. They’ve developed a reputation for giving some obscure species the plastic treatment, but in general those species have been fairly close relatives of the old standards.
Review: Primeval Predators kit (Royal Ontario Museum)
4.6 (5 votes)
Like many readers of this blog, one of my favorite things to do when visiting a new city is to check out the local natural history or science museum. For getting a sense of the scale and proportions of ancient life, nothing beats seeing specimens, or even reproductions of specimens, up close and personal.
Review: Pterygotus (Dinotales series 7 by Kaiyodo)
5 (8 votes)
Kaiyodo has to be one of the best prehistoric animal lines out there. At a small size, they gave us a wide spread of species from across earth history in glorious detail and beautiful paint schemes. Today’s review shows just this: Pterygotus, a Silurian Sea Scorpion, one of the largest arthropods ever known, reaching a body length of 5.7 ft.
Review: Rayonnoceras (Series 2 by Kaiyodo)
5 (7 votes)
Review and photographs by Indohyus, edited by Suspsy
In my last review, I mentioned how Palaeozoic creatures are rarely produced in toy form. There is, however, a group that is even rarer: prehistoric invertebrates. Outside of toob sets and the Bullyland figures, they are incredibly hard to find immortalized in plastic.
In my last review, I mentioned how Palaeozoic creatures are rarely produced in toy form. There is, however, a group that is even rarer: prehistoric invertebrates. Outside of toob sets and the Bullyland figures, they are incredibly hard to find immortalized in plastic.
Review: Redlichia rex trilobite (CollectA)
5 (16 votes)
In spite of their fame and importance to biostratigraphy, trilobites rarely ever get models made of them, outside of toobs and box sets with other Palaeozoic creatures. This year it seems CollectA is tackling the common creatures of the past that rarely get figures. And even better, they actually named their species: Redlichia rex.
Review: Stegosaurus (Playmobil)
4.5 (13 votes)
Another all-new animal in the 2013 Playmobil Dinos line is the famous Stegosaurus. This one is a mother whose eggs are about to hatch, but she’d better keep a close eye on that hungry crocodilian who lives nearby!
This version of the “roofed lizard” measures 23 cm long from nose to tail tip and stands just over 11 cm tall at the tip of its plates.
Review: Trilobite (Asaphiscus wheeleri) (Giant Microbes)
4.2 (6 votes)
Although I’m somewhat of a veteran plush reviewer most of my plush reviews so far have been toys in the Paleozoic Pals line. Those reviews include two trilobites and so I’m excited to review yet another trilobite but this time from a company that has not yet been covered on the DTB, Giant Microbes.
Review: Trilobite (Bullyland)
4.8 (6 votes)
Review and photographs by Indohyus, edited by Suspsy
Trilobites. Next to ammonites, they are one of the most well-known fossil groups. Known throughout the world from thousands of species, from the tiny to the giant and from spiny to burrowing, no one can deny their fame. From the Cambrian to the Permian, trilobites radiated across the globe, allowing them to become excellent index fossils.
Trilobites. Next to ammonites, they are one of the most well-known fossil groups. Known throughout the world from thousands of species, from the tiny to the giant and from spiny to burrowing, no one can deny their fame. From the Cambrian to the Permian, trilobites radiated across the globe, allowing them to become excellent index fossils.