Dinosaur Mini Tub A (Papo)

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Review and photos by ‘Resurrection of the dinosaurs.’, edited by Suspsy

Today, we will be taking a look at Papo’s first tub of miniature dinosaurs, which contains Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops, Brachiosaurus, Stegosaurus, Spinosaurus, and Velociraptor. The second tub contains Carnotaurus, Allosaurus, Pteranodon, Dimetrodon, Ankylosaurus and Giganotosaurus. Papo has not yet released a bigger version of Giganotosaurus, although there are still high hopes for it. Papo has also released repaints of all of their mini dinosaurs from both tubs (see the reviews for Giganotosaurus and Carnotaurus).

These dinosaurs have nearly the same dull colours and sculpts as their big versions. First we have this Triceratops. At first sight, it looks good. The eppocipitals, beak, horns, and toe nails are painted grey and the main colours for the body are light washed muddy brown merged in algae green, which may have been spray painted. The eyes are painted black. There are scales sculpted all over the body and also sculpted nostrils. I think this charming little Triceratops is good overall compared to the big version.

Next, we have the mini Spinosaurus. It almost looks like the big version, with its two hornlets above the eyes, the crocodilian-like head, and the scaled body. The colours for this one may have been spray painted also, with light grey merging in dark greyish blue.The teeth are not sculpted but painted white, with black lines between them. The sail is light grey and the tiny eyes are light green with black dots for pupils. This one obviously has many inaccuracies, of course. Instead of the two hornlets above the eyes, it should have a single crest. The feet are oversized, the nostrils are not even painted, the black paint between its teeth is quite bad and its tail is dragging. The pose is rather strange too, with its right arm raised in the air. Maybe it is giving a roar? Details include crocodilian-like scales all over the body, sculpted spines, and bird-like feet. If you want an accurate version of a mini Spinosaurus, check the one from CollectA’s second prehistoric tube. Overall though, it is a nice little toy.

Now, we have this little Stegosaurus. To me, it looks very much like the baby from The Lost World: Jurassic Park. The colours are green for the plates, the feet, and the top of the head, and light grayish brown for the rest of the body, the tail spikes, and the tiny beak. There is also black spray paint as shading behind the legs and arms. The eyes are tiny and are yellow with black dot pupils. The nostrils are very tiny and there are scales sculpted all over the body. It is very similar to the big version. The spikes on the tail could be smaller and the head as well. The front legs are appropriately smaller than the rear ones. The mouth is open, maybe eating or calling to its mother. Overall, this Stegosaurus is very cute and chubby.

Next we have a small Brachiosaurus. First impressions are good, although there is not much detail on it. The colours are dark greyish blue merged in beige for the underside. The eyes are orange with black dot pupils. Details include some wrinkles, muscle definition, and the backbones. The front arms are appropriately larger than the hind ones. It also has its tiny crest. I do not have the large version yet, so I used the Schleich World of History version instead for a size comparison and in playtime, I use it as the miniature’s mom. Overall, a nice little rendition of this herbivorous giant.

Next, we have the mini Velociraptor. The colours are brown along the back, grey for the rest of the body, black for the claws, white for the teeth, and orange for the eyes with black dot pupils. At first sight, this is not a real Velociraptor, but a featherless Deinonychus or a JP raptor. The head is all wrong; it should be long and slender with sharp teeth. This one has a deep, JP-style head with painted teeth that are not sculpted and a small crest on the head. The tail is dragging and the hands are pronated. This is the least appealing toy of the set. The only accuracy that I can see is that it has its famous killing toe claws. I do not have any Papo ‘raptor’ apart from this one yet, so instead I used the CollectA Procon version for comparison. And again, during playtime, I use it as the miniature’s mom.

We end with the infamous Tyrannosaurus rex. It is very reminiscent of ‘Junior’, the baby seen in The Lost World: Jurassic Park, just like with the baby Stegosaurus. Now, this one is not bad, very film accurate, but scientifically inaccurate. It is in a tripod stance, the feet are oversized, and the head looks too much like the JP version’s. The body is of mud brown colour, the claws are black, and the tiny eyes are yellow with black dot pupils. The teeth are not sculpted, but are painted white with black lines between them, like on the Spinosaurus. For details, there are scales all over the body and bird-like feet. The only accuracy is that there are two tiny digits on each arm. Overall, this one is not bad. Here it is with the large running version from 2012.

Overall, these miniatures are not perfect and may not appeal to everyone, but may easily please little ones. I am surprised to see that this set has not been reviewed for so long on the DTB. You have the choice of getting this first set, the second set, both, or the repainted versions. This is one of the sets with which I started my dinosaur collection. They are made of durable plastic and do not break easily. They are easily available on dinosaur-related sites or sellers like eBay and Amazon.