Photographs and review by Indohyus, edited by Suspsy
Nearly two years ago (tempus fugit!), I posted a review on the Discovery Kids smart animal four set and mentioned there were other sets released along with the four pack. Today, we look at the Cretaceous two pack, containing two species from the Late Cretaceous, the famed Tyrannosaurus rex and the ceratopsian Protoceratops. Let’s dive right in.
First, the Tyrant king itself! The Smart Kids take on this mighty theropod measures in at 3.7” high and 6.4” long, making it small compared to most other lines, but fits well with the Discovery Kids line. The all-over orange colour with brown spots and stripes is quite nice, not too flashy, but far from dull. The pose is extremely dynamic, as if it is chasing down a swift prey item, though I question whether T. rex could hold its arms in the position they’re in. Anatomy is pretty good all over, save for those arms (possibly), and I like that it does stand out of a tripod pose despite the small size of its feet. Overall, a pretty good attempt, even with the annoying scan section on its leg.
Now, if T. rex is going to be accompanied by any dino species, it should be a ceratopsian. However, I can’t say I was expecting THIS species: Protoceratops, which became extinct at least five million years prior to the appearance of T. rex. Oh well! Onto the little guy proper. And little is right, at 2.8” long and 1.4” high, this is a tiny figure, but still in scale. It’s in a plain pose, perhaps just about to feed or try to intimidate a predator by snapping at them; it’s up to your imagination. The colour scheme of beige with dark brown stripes works well for a desert/scrub-dwelling animal. What I will say is this is a very plump, squat animal, very rounded where it shouldn’t be, like the frill. The body comes off as wider than it should be, making the animal look like it needs to go on a diet. It also appears to have too many toes on its hind legs, which is also the area of the scan section for the Scannepedia. An okay figure at best, but not without its charms.
Ultimately, this two pack is an okay grab if you can ignore or cover over the scan sections. While it will certainly keep kids quiet for a bit, collectors won’t be bowled over by it, save for some of the good points of the T. rex. If you want it, best to hunt eBay, otherwise, it can be skipped over.
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That is an absolute chunker of a Protoceratops!!
By the way, the distracting little Discovery logos on their flanks are actually just stickers. I have the Othnielosaurus (Othnielia) from this series and it looks much nicer with the sticker removed. It doesn’t affect the scan functionality, either.
I was actually planning on reviewing these guys. I’m glad that I’m not the only one who remembers these guys exist!
Looks interesting. Reminds me of a lower-grade Ravensburger Tiptoi production. Colorful and what looks like robust sculpts. I do agree that it is an odd pairing. I am interested in the sculpt of the rex, as the arms seem to be in a dubious position, but I guess that’s taking into account the potential rough playability factor. Its skull shape is also very “round” for lack of a better term, with significant edges on the cheeks and brow-ridge. The feet are, surprisingly, a fantastic (and what looks to be accurate) size.
I have also looked EVERYWHERE online for this set, but have had no luck at the moment in locating it, as I was interested in the rex. Ebay currently has none and it seems like the over-arching system isn’t too popular, so this one may fade into the pages of dinosaur toy history in a few years.
Admittedly, I had the same issue. Lucky find on eBay when I got it, so guess have to get lucky.
I searched “Discovery Kids dinosaur” and one result was a set of 8 that included both of these. Another search term that might be useful is “Scanopedia,” which is what Jakks called this scanning gimmick.