In the birdwatching hobby there exists something known as a “spark bird”, the species that sparked your interest in birds and got you into bird watching. Although I am a birder, I do not have a spark bird, but when it comes to the dinosaur toy hobby, I do have spark dinosaur figures: the feathered Carnegie Collection toys released in...
Since they first started producing tube sets back in 2015, CollectA has covered a pretty decent variety of prehistoric life, wild animals, sea creatures, and farm stock. In 2021, they went back to the beginning with a third dinosaur (mostly) set consisting of ten figures, all based on previously released toys. First we have this elfin Alamosaurus. Measuring around 8.5...
Despite only featuring dinosaurs, this set still offers an interesting variety of genera; but how well do the designs hold up? Welcome to the fourth and final review for the Z-Cardz dinosaur figurines, part of the larger Z-Cardz line that began in 2001. Produced by a small company named California Creations, Z-Cardz were a pioneer brand in what are now...
From the savage teeth of tyrannosaurs to the intimidating horns of ceratopsians to the endearing crests of hadrosaurs and to the peculiar noggins of pachycephalosaurs, dinosaur skulls truly are stupendous. I previously reviewed Safari’s toob of prehistoric mammal skulls; now I’ll be looking at their Dino Skulls toob. There are eleven skulls in total, all painted medium brown with streaks...
It always seems that whenever you start collecting something where you don’t know what is in the packaging, be it a blind bag, booster card pack etc., there is always a certain figure or card they are specifically looking for, such as a rarity or favourite. This review will cover the figure I was hunting for, and eventually got: Gigantoraptor,...
When considering the family Oviraptoridae, the first species that comes to mind is probably Oviraptor itself. But despite its fame, Oviraptor remains a very poorly known animal. Much of our understanding of these unique dinosaurs comes from a close relative, Citipati. Indeed, by all rights, Citipati really ought to be the most famous oviraptorid. Not only has it provided the...
Back in 2016, I posted my first blog on the Dinosaur Toy Blog, Papo’s Woolly Rhino. Now, two and a half years later, I have hit a big mile stone, my 50th review. For big events like this, reviewers either go for a nostalgic piece from their collection, something big or something rare and pretty. My review will be the...
Review and photographs by Indohyus, edited by Suspsy When it comes to makers of model sets, the Japanese company Tamiya should be familiar to most. From planes to light infantry, they have created a wide range of products. One of those lines, however, consists of dinosaur models. The first set of these models were mostly famous ones like Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus,...
Oviraptorosauria, a group of well known dinosaurs that everyone’s aware of but few people count among their favorites. Personally I’ve been in love with the group since childhood, when I first gazed upon an Oviraptor in “Dougal Dixon’s Dinosaurs”. That illustration left quite an impression; here you had this menacing, scaly, lithe predator stealing an egg under the cover of...
Within the unfortunately short time of its existence, Chinese company PNSO released two products in collaboration or commission for China Post. One is their glorious Mamenchisaurus, the other is a boxed set of “Seven Little Dinosaurs”. Unlike the “Six Little Dinosaurs” the seven do not depict juvenile dinosaurs but rather adult ones, though they are indeed not big figures....
Normally I prefer to write about noble fishes, but occasionally I must sully myself with filthy theropods. Today is such an occasion. Join me for a look at Schleich’s Oviraptor. Schleich has earned a lot of derision for their sometimes hilarious depictions of dinosaurs. Their 2018 slate of releases has plenty to mock, but there are several figures that are...
This year has seen toy companies embrace feathered dinosaurs like never before, if not always with perfect execution. Accuracy stalwarts like Safari Ltd and especially Kaiyodo have been giving us feathered dinosaurs for years, but now even Papo and Schleich are getting on the plumage train. Another late convert is Japanese company Colorata. Colorata, named after the specific epithet of...
