Walking with Dinosaurs by Toyway

[Crackington]

 Trying to pin down the manufacturing history of the Placerias is rather tricky. It seems to have first appeared in a set of poor quality figures some years ago from a Chinese company called Nayab. It stood out as a very well sculpted figure and as it was clearly based on WWD. As it was cheap, it became very popular with us dino enthusiasts!

However, it was not part of the original Toyway WWD series, licenced by the BBC.
Interesting that Toyway now is selling it with those other cheap looking dinos though.

We should also remember that Toyway is quite an old company that once marketed the WWD range, not all it's dino models are related to the show (it also produced the London Natural History Museum models too, replacing Invicta, alas!).

The TS Toys are interesting too and I recall hearing of them in the early 2000s. Not sure if they were ever  "official" WWD merchandise though?

[frank08]

How do you know the Placerias is Toyway, is it marked? I never heard this before.

In a toy blog review, I read that the Placerias was packaged by Toyway.

[frank08]

The TS Toys are interesting too and I recall hearing of them in the early 2000s. Not sure if they were ever  "official" WWD merchandise though?

I heard that they were unofficial WWD toys, but we can consider them whatever we want to. Like that Placerias.

[frank08]

This picture is Walking with Beast's collection. I noticed that in the far bottom right is our Placerias and that behind the Stegosaurus is the Safari Tapejara that I also have.
I think that when I complete my WWD collection it will be the TS Toys and the Toyways excluding the pesky Pterosaur. Most will consider a collection complete without the Pterosaur, but TS Toys made one in a walking position. Also Walking with Beasts, what brand is that Diplodocus, I heard that TS Toys made one but it doesn't look like that.

[frank08]

Who else noticed that CollectA'a Iguanodon has a striking resemblance to the WWD American Iguanodon. We should look for toy makers who replicate dinosaurs from WWD. Feel free to post any resemblances that you find.

[Roselaar]

And then there's the peculiar set of WWD Baby Dinos, with the Safari molds...

[frank08]

Do you think that Toyway copied Safari with their babies? I saw a review for a different looking set on the blog but these are copied safari babies! And where did that Pteranodon come from? Pteranodon was seen in Nigel Marvin's Sea Monsters but not in the original series!

[frank08]

[WalkingWithBeasts]

This picture is Walking with Beast's collection. I noticed that in the far bottom right is our Placerias and that behind the Stegosaurus is the Safari Tapejara that I also have.
I think that when I complete my WWD collection it will be the TS Toys and the Toyways excluding the pesky Pterosaur. Most will consider a collection complete without the Pterosaur, but TS Toys made one in a walking position. Also Walking with Beasts, what brand is that Diplodocus, I heard that TS Toys made one but it doesn't look like that.

Actually I'm not sure of the brand of the Dipplodocus, it's identical in appearance to the TS Toys one apart from the colour but it's also made of soft rubber rather than hard plastic. I couldn't find that particular one online, but the company that produced that one also made a couple of others based off the TS Toys including the Muttaburrsaurus, Torosaurus, Ankylosaurus and Polacanthus. I managed to find some of them on a German website but they don't ship to the UK I don't think.

https://www.spielzeug-guenstig.de/Stretch-Figure-Edmontosaurus-approx10cm.html
https://www.spielzeug-guenstig.de/Stretch-Figure-Punacosaurus-approx10cm.html
https://www.spielzeug-guenstig.de/Stretch-Figure-Nodosaurus-approx10cm.html
https://www.spielzeug-guenstig.de/Stretch-Figure-Stegosaurus-approx10cm.html

I do also have that CollectA Iguanodon in that display, you just can't see it in the photo. The other non-Toyway ones that are in the photo but partially hidden are the CollectA Ornithocheirus, CollectA Plateosaurus, CollectA Liopleurodon, Safari Tapejara and Schleich Anhanguera and a Schleich Allosaurus which I crudely repainted to resemble Big Al. I have the baby dinos as well somewhere - I shall have to dig them out!

[Crackington]

Very nice collection and I like the way you look for similar models to fill in the gaps in the original series. Nothing wrong with that as Frank08 points out and interesting way to collect.

The books look good too. Have you come across WWD The Evidence by Dave Martell and Darren Naish? This was a BBC book released soon after the series was originally shown.

[WalkingWithBeasts]

Very nice collection and I like the way you look for similar models to fill in the gaps in the original series. Nothing wrong with that as Frank08 points out and interesting way to collect.

The books look good too. Have you come across WWD The Evidence by Dave Martell and Darren Naish? This was a BBC book released soon after the series was originally shown.

Thanks for the feedback. I don't have the Evidence book yet but I've got the book that accompanied the series, along with the Beasts, Sea Monsters and Cavemen ones. If there were enough models for a collection, then I'd put together a Walking with Beasts display using visually similar models but alas, the ones I've ever come across that resemble creatures from Walking with Beasts are the AAA Entelodon and Hyaenodon, both of which I already have in my prehistoric mammal display (http://dinotoyblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=8681.0).

[frank08]

4 weeks until my Toyways get here! Tyrannosaurus, Torosaurus, Iguanodon, Utahraptor, and the Postosuchus! I can't wait! Also, which figures are rarer? TS Toys WWD or Toyway WWD? I'm also getting the Toyway British Natural History Museum set. A Diplodocus and a Kentrosaurus. I know they are not technically WWD but I thought it was worth mentioning. But it would be interesting if we calculated the scale for each of the toys mentioned here.

[Halichoeres]

YES!!! AT LAST! THANK YOU!!! But, back to the Placerias. I read that it is made by Toyway and I saw it in the series, so should we consider it a Toyway figure instead of a chinasaur? And should it be considered the best figure for that species? I really admire your work!
* and I know this picture is from a review on the blog, but I will try to post my own figures from now on. I tried posting my figures on deviant art but it still won't work. Will try again.

Well, thanks for saying so! I'm glad that people get use out of it. I'm familiar with this figure and used to have it, but I actually prefer the Tyco version, in part because of the tusks. On the Tyco version they correctly look like outgrowths of the skull; on the one you're showing, they look like elephant tusks derived from teeth instead. But this one is a close call.

Crackington pretty much nailed it above. I don't think Toyway had any hand in the design and initial manufacture of this figure, but they also stopped making original material and started selling repackaged goods at some point, so this can't be official, but hey, neither are the TS Toys figures.

@WalkingWithBeasts those soft ones are also by TS Toys. I have the two ankylosaurs, from that same German shop (a German forum member kindly forwarded them to me). The tags have TS Toys insignia.

[WalkingWithBeasts]

YES!!! AT LAST! THANK YOU!!! But, back to the Placerias. I read that it is made by Toyway and I saw it in the series, so should we consider it a Toyway figure instead of a chinasaur? And should it be considered the best figure for that species? I really admire your work!
* and I know this picture is from a review on the blog, but I will try to post my own figures from now on. I tried posting my figures on deviant art but it still won't work. Will try again.

Well, thanks for saying so! I'm glad that people get use out of it. I'm familiar with this figure and used to have it, but I actually prefer the Tyco version, in part because of the tusks. On the Tyco version they correctly look like outgrowths of the skull; on the one you're showing, they look like elephant tusks derived from teeth instead. But this one is a close call.

Crackington pretty much nailed it above. I don't think Toyway had any hand in the design and initial manufacture of this figure, but they also stopped making original material and started selling repackaged goods at some point, so this can't be official, but hey, neither are the TS Toys figures.

@WalkingWithBeasts those soft ones are also by TS Toys. I have the two ankylosaurs, from that same German shop (a German forum member kindly forwarded them to me). The tags have TS Toys insignia.

Oh interesting, thanks for conforming.

[frank08]

I saw the Tyco one and I think it looks good, but the Tyco one is very expensive (if I can find it online at all), but the Placerias by Toyway is (thankfully) on the desk that I'm sitting at right now. So for me it's just a matter of easy access. If I can find the Tyco one at a flea market then I will happily get one but until then, I have the Placerias by Toyway. Also, does anyone know who makes a good Nanuqsaurus? I'm a big fan of that genus (not as much as I am of Torosaurus) but I still would like to know who makes one.

[Halichoeres]

Yeah, that makes sense. They're both pretty decent, but I'd love to see a really good version of Placerias someday. (The upcoming Lisowicia looks pretty good, in the meantime!)

As for Nanuqsaurus, as far as I know nobody has ever made one under that name, but if you consider the WWD 3D Gorgosaurus as a Nanuqsaurus, well there are several of those. My personal favorite is the one by Golden Link:



But there are several by Vivid as well that are pretty nice.

[frank08]

Thank you my friend, I will save my money (but I will get that Collecta Lisowicia). But does anybody know the scale of the Toyway Postosuchus? I'm trying to find all the animals from New Blood at the same scale so I can build a dino-rama based off the episode. Once I hear the scale of the Toyway Posto I will look for other Triassic animals of the same or at best similar scale. I wish that companies would focus more on rarer species other than making 10 new T. rexes a year! I sent a letter to Safari ltd to pitch some new ideas to them, but I wouldn't hold my breath. They haven't responded! I can take new dino figures but I'm unsure if my wallet can! I'm sure you felt like that before. Right? 

[frank08]

As for Nanuqsaurus, as far as I know nobody has ever made one under that name, but if you consider the WWD 3D Gorgosaurus as a Nanuqsaurus, well there are several of those. My personal favorite is the one by Golden Link:

But there are several by Vivid as well that are pretty nice.

I wish that they made a Nanuqsaurus with white feathers like in so many paleoarts. But I do like that one. I just wish that there was a feathered Nanuqsaurus.

[frank08]

I read that the Postosuchus was 1/15. If you agree with that then we should try to find other figures from New Blood at 1/15

[WalkingWithBeasts]

I read that the Postosuchus was 1/15. If you agree with that then we should try to find other figures from New Blood at 1/15

The Toyway Postosuchus is pretty much the same size as the Safari one.