I, EmperorDinobot, have a less than healthy obsession with the Beasts of the Mesozoic. These are the dinosaurs I wanted to own as a kid. Dinosaurs that were articulated beyond what Kenner and later Hasbro’s dinosaurs could do. And here I am, roughly two decades later, sitting in bed with my own personal computer doing what I always did as a kid: browsing the catalogs which sometimes came in the boxes, or just the back of the card for some figures, always plotting what I should get next.
Type: Action Figure
Review: Guanlong vs. Lystrosaurus (Jurassic World: Chaos Theory, Epic Evolution Danger Pack by Mattel)
3.9 (19 votes)
Recently, Mattel has started dabbling with small-figure two packs, first with an Eoraptor vs. Stegouros pairing and then with the set we’re looking at today, Guanlong vs. Lystrosaurus. I think these two packs are a fantastic idea and hope that Mattel will produce more of them in the future.
Review: Rauisuchus (Jurassic World: Chaos Theory, Epic Evolution Danger Pack by Mattel)
4.2 (17 votes)
Rauisuchus is a genus of pseudosuchian that lived in the late Triassic of what is now Brazil. It is also the latest pseudosuchian and Triassic taxa offered from Mattel, who has miraculously produced more of these animals than any other toy company I can think of.
Review: Irritator (Jurassic World Dino Trackers Wild Roar by Mattel)
4.3 (21 votes)
Last year was an exciting year for Irritator! Not only did we get two new figures by Mattel, but we also got a new study looking at the jaw articulation of Professor Challenger’s Irritating creature from Brazil! Join me, Emperor Dinobot, as we look at one of the most interesting figures Mattel has given us thus so far, barring the lack of accuracy and focusing on the artistic license given to this swampy animal!
Review: Becklespinax (Altispinax) (Jurassic World: Chaos Theory, Epic Evolution Battle Roarin’ by Mattel)
4.4 (30 votes)
Leave it to the Jurassic World franchise to once again thrust an exceptionally fragmentary dinosaur into the limelight and give it the wrong name in the process. Becklespinax is one of many synonyms for the early Cretaceous English theropod now known as Altispinax.
Review: Albertaceratops nesmoi by Beasts of the Mesozoic from Creative Beast Studios
4.9 (23 votes)
At this point in my life, my reviews are all going to be somewhat personal. As collectors, we tend to form serious attachments to our toys or figures, as they often serve as memory capsules. They remind us of things such as a fun event that led to their discovery, a trip where a collector bought a figure at a gift shop, a gift given to a collector for their birthday, or by a special someone that may or may not be with them anymore, etc.
Review: Monolophosaurus (Jurassic World: Chaos Theory, Epic Evolution Strike Attack by Mattel)
Review: Velociraptor (Blue) (Jurassic World Hammond Collection by Mattel)
3.6 (31 votes)
When I reviewed the original Hammond Collection Velociraptor, I was pretty forgiving of it, but truth be told, it has not aged well in my eyes. While I don’t regret purchasing it, I ultimately disliked it enough not to bother with the subsequent Hammond Collection JP3 raptors that featured all the faults of their predecessor.
Review: Dryptosaurus (Beasts of the Mesozoic by Creative Beast Studio)
4.7 (37 votes)
Leapin’ lizards – that ain’t no ordinary lizard!!
If you had to choose just one of Charles R. Knight’s influential and iconic paleoart pieces as his very greatest work, which one would you pick? Out of all Knight’s incredible paintings, the one I personally find most captivating is the 1897 “Leaping Laelaps“, a vivid illustration of two large theropods pouncing upon each other in what could be either play-fighting or serious combat.
Review: Pachyrhinosaurus (Jurassic World: Chaos Theory Wild Roar, Epic Evolution by Mattel)
4.3 (20 votes)
There is no shortage of Pachyrhinosaurus toys. As ceratopsian toys go it is only outnumbered by Triceratops and Styracosaurus, which have been more popular for far longer than Pachyrhinosaurus. But here’s the thing, all those Pachyrhinosaurus toys represent the same species, P.
Review: Giganotosaurus (Jurassic World: Dominion, Hammond Collection by Mattel)
4.1 (48 votes)
Opinions about Jurassic World: Dominion and its Giganotosaurus design aside, if you wanted a decent action figure of this animal upon the film’s release, you were SOL. Mattel only released one Giganotosaurus in the mainline and although it had some cool action features it resembled the animal in the movie about as much as the movie animal resembled the real Giganotosaurus.
Review: Tyrannosaurus rex (Extreme Damage)(Jurassic World by Mattel)
3.1 (16 votes)
Review and photographs by Dilopho, edited by Suspsy
Hello, DinoToyBlog readers! Back in 2018, I took a look at the then brand-new Extreme Chompin’ Tyrannosaurus rex from Mattel. Now, six years later, I return with a look at one of its now numerous variants. There have been over 20 different T.