Discovery Kids Smart Animals 4-Set (Jakks)

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Review and photographs by Indohyus, edited by Suspsy

The objective of many lines of dinosaur figures (aside from making money) is to educate children and adults alike about extinct animals. In the last ten years, many lines have been integrated with modern technology to give children more information on dinosaurs besides a 3D view of these animals. Such is the case here: the Jakks Discovery Kids Scanopedia dinosaur sets. Each set (which ranges from having 1-6 figures in them) has an area that, when scanned by the Scanopedia, gives information on the animals. This is one of their four packs, with a group of Jurassic species to explore.

First up is Brachiosaurus, the largest of this set. It is a little cartoonish, but in general, is accurate and well-proportioned. The front legs are a little too short, as the legs are fairly even in size on this figure. The colour is a pale green with dark patches, which is very appropriate for an herbivorous animal. The scanner mark is on the back left leg, and quite deep in the figure, which is rather distracting, unfortunately. It’s got the most dynamic pose of the set, and is a decent figure all round.

Next is the Stegosaurus, a must for most dino lines. This is a very plump, round stegosaur, which does make it rather cute. The colour is a pale red with patchy reddish-brown spots on the body and on the plates. The scanner mark is again on the back left leg, and is again distracting. The figure has a good pose, and again, it is a decent figure.

Next, the pterosaur Rhamphorhynchus. It is an appropriately thin animal with a slightly cartoonish head, but otherwise a very accurate depiction. The colouring seems akin to the depiction to the animal in the BBC Walking with Dinosaurs series, though simplified with a red head, feet, and tail vane, with the rest of the body in green. The wings are translucent green with light green spots, which helps make the scanner mark (under the right wing) much less distracting. A great figure all around.

Last, but by no means least, is Othnielia. Neornithischians, along with other bipedal herbivores, are very rare in toy lines, so this is a very welcome addition. It is depicted as it should be, small and sleek with complete accuracy to the fossil specimens (although I feel the head and neck could be slightly bigger). The colours and patterns are almost an exact match for the WWD depiction, save for being a paler green and lacking black on the tail. The scanner mark is, again, on the left hind limb and is, again, an eyesore on this dino, but otherwise is an excellent figure. It also stands very well on its two legs without being a tripod. Much appreciated!

This is a fairly good set of figures, well-detailed and well-made for what could easily be a cheaply manufactured line. This is very much for children, as can be seen from the slightly cartoonish look, and goes well with the Scanopedia, a great educational piece. If the scan mark can be filled in (something I am working on), it would go well even in a collection or diorama. These are harder to find, but I think worth it.