The Velociraptor pack has come across an unguarded nest of eggs. But a hungry Deinonychus has also found the nest, and he’s not in the mood to share!
The Playmobil Deinonychus is a small figure, standing only up to 9 cm tall and measuring 14 cm long. That said, it is probably the scariest-looking dinosaur in the line. Like the real animal, it is equipped with sharp teeth and vicious claws. The sculptor has done a fine job of rendering the fearsome inner toe claws while still making the toy safe for a small child to play with.
This is the second version of the Deinonychus. The first one, released as part of the original Dinosaurs line in 2007, was coloured green with yellow and grey spots and yellowish for the eyes and claws. By contrast, this one is beige with yellow airbrushing and an elaborate orange and brown camouflage pattern, black eyes, white teeth, a purple tongue, and brown hind claws. It’s a much more striking colour scheme and goes to show that sometimes, things are better the second time around.
The Deinonychus is articulated at the lower jaw, neck, shoulders, and hips. It can be posed either upright or hunched over in a dynamic “poised-to-pounce” stance. The wrists are non-pronated, always a welcome sight, but the tail is too short. And of course, the figure is lacking feathers.
The Velociraptors are also improved recolours of the originals. Their main colour is still orange, but they now have black spots and airbrushed red running down the length of their spines. Also included in this set is a dark green snake.
I like to think that these new Velociraptors are males and the duller ones that came with the T. rex are females. There were three that came with the set, but I gave one away to a little boy I encountered while climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro last year. Perhaps it will help inspire him to become a paleontologist someday. 🙂
The attractive female SAURUS researcher appears to be of East Indian descent. I call her Mary. She’s armed only with what appears to be a taser gun. Methinks she would be wiser to pack a piece with more punch if she’s going to be wandering around by herself in maniraptor territory!
The playset centres around a large hollow tree stump which serves as a nest for two cracking eggs of undetermined parentage. The leafy extension has perches and posts for attaching small animals and there are dangling vines and what appears to be a variety of orange Spanish moss. As well, there is a small patch of bamboo and a large flowering plant. And there is a grim assortment of bleached white bones. If this is the nest of a T. rex or some other large theropod, perhaps the Deinonychus and the Velociraptors should look somewhere else for a meal. Mary really shouldn’t be poking around there either.
The Playmobil Deinonychus set is yet another knockout. Lots of cool dinosaurs, an elaborate playset, and a nice human figure to boot (although I’m kind of indifferent to the humans myself). No one should be disappointed by this purchase.
The Dinosaurs line is no longer in production, but some of the toys can still be ordered directly from Playmobil or various online stores. And given the lasting popularity of prehistoric life (and Playmobil’s penchant for reusing their animal moulds), it’s reasonable to assume that a new line will appear eventually. And who knows, perhaps they’ll add a Pachycephalosaurus or a Therizinosaurus next time!
Available from Amazon.com here and Amazon.co.uk here.
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Why is he attacking her, I hate it when animals attack people
In the second to last picture it looks like that Deinonychus is going in for third base. o.O
Nah, he’s just mauling her to death.