About the scale...

[biniou24]

Hello, I have read on many websites that the scale of dinoriders isn't accurate.

So let's see if it's true or not !  The scale is supposed to be 1/24. Tyco was proud of it, enough to write it on boxes ("authentic 1/24 scale") !

(please note that I'm french so I will have to compare with the metric system, I don't understand the system with inches and feet.  But I still will try to convert into feet)

First, the humans. 

Llahd ("small" figure) is 6,2cm tall, so he may be... 1,49m (4.9 feet) tall. For a child, it seems absolutely perfect.
Tark (a "normal" valorian) is 7,1cm tall, so he may be... 1,70m (5.6 feet) tall. Quite small for a soldier, but not a big deal.
And Questar ("large" valorian) is 7,5cm, so he may be... 1,80m (5.9 feet) tall. Normal size, it seems great (maybe a little too small for a hero).

All in all, the 1/24 scale for humans is OK. So this is a solid base to compare with the dinosaurs.

Now, the dinos...
I've sized all the dinos I own. At the end of the description, I put a rate: A/B/C/D/E... or F
We have too remember that size can change into the same type of dinosaur (there were little dimetrodons and big ones, and so also small horses and huge ones).
And the method I used to size the dinos (hight, length, neck, tail...) isn't perfect too because plastic is rigid.

I sort the following dinos by their rate.

Pachycephalosaurus: 19cm... => 4,6m (15 feet)
According to my old book of dinosaurs (printed in 1986 ^^), it is supposed to size 4,5m (15 feet). What can I say ? 
Scale difference: 0% => rating : A

Quetzalcoatlus: 26cm large... => 6,2m (20.5 feet)
According to scientists, the size varies a lot, 5,5m (18 feet) to 10m (33 feet). Let's imagine the dino-rider's one is quite small and it's fine.
Scale difference: 0% => rating : A

Pteranodon: 26cm large... => 6,2m (20.5 feet)
Great ! It is supposed to be about 5,7m (18.5 feet). So let's just say it's a big one and everything's perfect !
Scale difference: +10% => rating : A

Tyrannosaurus: 46cm long... => 11m (36 feet)
Supposed to be 12m (39.5 feet) long. Great scale ! You can put valorians in its mouth, the scale is OK !  lol
Scale difference: -10% => rating : A

Brontosaurus (new name is Apatosaurus): 90cm long... => 21,6m (71 feet)
I don't own this one (btw I'm searching it ^^), according to wikipedia it's about 23m (feet). You can have a fight between this big boy and a T-rex, it's perfect !   
Scale difference: -10% => rating : A

Torosaurus and Triceratops: 29cm... => 7m (23 feet)
Both are supposed to be about 8,5m (28 feet) long. Not a so bad scale. 
Scale difference: +20% => rating : B

Dimetrodon: 19cm long... => 4,6m (15 feet)
Its length is ranged between 0,9m (3 feet) and 4m (13 feet). So we may say it's a little too big. Nothing dramatic.
Scale difference: +20% => rating : B

Stegosaurus: 27cm... => 6,5m (21.5 feet)
A little too small. It is supposed to be 8,5m (28 feet) long.
Scale difference: -30% => rating : B

Placerias: 11cm long... => 2,6m (8.5 feet)
Supposed to be 3,5m (11.5 feet) long. This figure is a little too short.
Scale difference: +30% => rating : B

Struthiominus: 10cm high... => 2,4m (8 feet)
It is supposed to have the same size as a human. So it's a little too big. Note that the rider is a child (nimbus).
Scale difference: +30% => rating : B

Styracosaurus: length 18cm... => 4,32m (14 feet)
A little too short. A styracosaurus is about 5,5m (18 feet). Not perfect scale but hey, not the worst one of the toyline.
Scale difference: -30% => rating : B

Monoclonius: length 18cm... => 4,32m (14 feet)
It is supposed to be about 6m (20 feet)... so it's too short.
Scale difference: -40% => rating : C

Protoceratops: 12cm... => 2,6m (8.5 feet)
Too big. It was about 1,8m (6 feet) long, so the scale isn't perfect.
Scale difference: +40% => rating : C


Not so bad for all these dinos. And now... the worst scales !

Kentrosaurus: 30cm... => 7,2m (24 feet)
It is supposed to be 4,5m (15 feet) long. Its size would be better if it was the same as... ankylosaurus or placerias toys !
Scale difference: +110% => rating : E

Saurolophus: 19cm... => 4,6m (15 feet)
Too small ! It is supposed to be 10m (33 feet) long.
Scale difference: -120% => rating : E

Deinonychus: hight 12cm... => 2,9m (10 feet)
Too big ! According to wikipedia (and my old book), the figure is more than 2 times too big (supposed to be about 1,2m (4 feet) high).
Note that this dinosaur may have... feathers. 
Scale difference: +140% => rating : E

Diplodocus: 50cm long... => 12m (39.5 feet)
Size varies but it's about 30m (98.5 feet) long. So it's way too small, even if you pull on its neck... But maybe it's a young one ? Valorians making babies dinosaurs to fight ? What a shame !  *yuck*
Scale difference: -150% => rating : E

Ankylosaurus: length 12,5cm... => 3m (10 feet)
Way too small ! An ankylosaurus is supposed to size 7 (23 feet) to 10m (33 feet)... so he could defend itself against a tyrannosaurus !
The figure is about 3 times too small !!! 
Scale difference: -200% => rating : F

Pterodactylus: 19cm large... => 4,6m (15 feet)
It is supposed to be... only 1m (3.5 feet) large. Note that the rider is a child (llahd).
Scale difference: +360% => rating : F



Ok ! so we can see that (in my opinion) there is not really some "averagely good/bad" (D) rated scales. Some are good, and others are bad... or nearly are a nonsense (ankylosaurus should be as big as a stegosaurus  ).

[dinoridersworld.com]

Nice analysis, my man.  I think Tyco had to take liberties with their sizing, otherwise things would have been too costly.  It's clear that a lot of the dinosaurs use the same molds and thus are more or less the same size as each other, regardless of whether their real-life counterparts were of equal size.  Instead of saying 1/24 for each figure, perhaps they could have applied a different scale to each (e.g., 1/32. 1/48, etc.).

[biniou24]

1.
In my opinion...


We can see that (except for saurolophus), the worst scale are the dinos that are from the first wave. And among these 4 dinos, 3 were the cheapset !

Diplodocus wasn't that big because it may be TOO big (and certainly Tyco though kids wouldn't buy it, because too expensive). I think that's the reason for this scale.

The 2 worst scaled dinos are too small because Tyco needed some small/cheap dinos for kids...
Ankylosaurus is very playable (it has a hammer on his tail and spikes on its back !), and Pterodactylus has a lot of plastic but it is quite large, and it can carry a human. For the cheapest price of the toyline, it's very cool.

Deinonychus is very cool with these claws  but how a dino as big as a turkey would have been on a battlefield ?   

With the second wave, Tyco didn't made the same mistake: smallest (and chipest) dinoriders have a (quite) good scale (Protoceratops, Placerias, Struthiominus) and the biggest dino (brontosaurus) has a perfect scale... First wave had a good success, which certainly made Tyco think about making a huge dino.


2.
Now about Placerias:
I was thinking about something... for me it's like a new version of ankylosaurus, but an enhanced one. Its weapon can be dropped (not like ankylosaurus' arrow), it has a "real" helmet, and the head can move. That's another reason why is think Tyco improved this toyline with the second wave (although I prefer the first one, with a better design).

3.
Please help me, do I have to say "about ankylosaurus, he has..." or "about ankylosaurus, it has..." ? 

[dinoridersworld.com]

I agree with your points on 1 and 2.  At the end of the day, they had to create the dinosaurs around their targeted price points.  And I agree that the quality improved in the Second Series over the First.

On 3., I believe it is more proper to refer to Ankylosaurus as "it".  However, if Ankylosaurus had a name - let's say "Andrew the Ankylosaurus" - then I think you can properly say "he". 

And with that, I've pretty much exhausted my knowledge on English grammar . . .

[biniou24]

OK thank you.
Maybe the most appropriate way is to say "it" when we're talking about the "real" dinosaur that lived millions years ago, and say "he" to describe the toy that we all know. 

[biniou24]

added kentrosaurus



Kentrosaurus: 30cm... => 7,2m (24 feet)
It is supposed to be 4,5m (15 feet) long. Its size would be better if it was the same as... ankylosaurus or placerias toys !
Scale difference: +110% => rating : E