Pop quiz: which Upper Jurassic dinosaur from the famous Morrison Formation of North America had two rows of large plates on its back and four long spikes on its tail? I reckon the majority of respondents would immediately say that the answer is Stegosaurus, and of course, they wouldn’t be wrong.
Type: Action Figure
Review: Beasts of the Mesozoic Avaceratops (ceratopsian series)
4.3 (25 votes)
Sorry for the absence. I have been gone for some time to take care of personal issues, but never think that I, Emperor Dinobot, have forgotten about you, my dear readers. As you may know, ceratopsians are my favorite group of dinosaurs, and this is evident not just for my love of BOTM’s ceratopsian line, but because I always…I always imagined them as super-large companions.
Review: Tuojiangosaurus (Jurassic World Epic Evolution, Strike Attack by Mattel)
3.5 (29 votes)
Mattel really likes the Shaximiao Formation, a middle to late Jurassic formation located in China. They’ve released many dinosaurs known from the Shaximiao, including Chialingosaurus, Gigantspinosaurus, Mamenchisaurus, Gasosaurus, and Yangchuanosaurus. Today we’re looking at their latest addition to this assortment, the Tuojiangosaurus, part of Mattel’s Epic Evolution line.
Review: Gryposuchus (Jurassic World Epic Evolution, Wild Roar by Mattel)
4.4 (31 votes)
Now here’s something unprecedented from Mattel. No, not a prehistoric pseudosuchian most people have never heard of. Mattel likes those, and this is that too. What makes this one unique is that it represents an animal that lived during the Cenozoic. The era immediately following the Mesozoic and the one in which we’re currently living.
Review: Elasmosaurus (Jurassic World: Gigantic Trackers by Mattel)
4.3 (32 votes)
One of the biggest and admittedly funniest fiascos in paleontological history involved the legendary American paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope and the famous plesiosaur Elasmosaurus platyurus. The latter’s fossil remains were first discovered in 1867 in the Pierre Shale Formation of Kansas and formally described by Cope in 1869.
Review: Mamenchisaurus (Jurassic World, Legacy Collection by Mattel)
3.8 (28 votes)
Mattel’s previous large sauropods made sense. Brachiosaurus, Apatosaurus, and Dreadnoughtus all had significant screen time in the Jurassic franchise. And even though Mattel dutifully, and shockingly, made toys of them all, fans wanted more. Yes, among the Jurassic fanbase there was a subset of collectors yearning for the Mamenchisaurus, which featured briefly enough in The Lost World to allow a motorcyclist to drive between its legs.
Review: Avaceratops (Jurassic World Epic Evolution Danger Pack
3.5 (26 votes)
The chaos continues! Dinosaurs have evolved, and more species are on the loose! This may sound scary, but it does not have to be. The usually docile, bighorn sheep-sized Avaceratops has been spotted at high altitudes, getting comfortable in their modern colder environments. Their sharp horns are a reminder that, while they generally have a gentle disposition, they should be approached with extreme caution.
Review: Eotyrannus (Beasts of the Mesozoic by Creative Beast Studio)
4.2 (40 votes)
As the Neovenator pair appears on the scene, the nesting Iguanodons begin rising to their feet and bellowing aggressively. The carnivores pace back and forth rapidly in front of them, jaws snapping and sharp eyes scanning for any discernible weaknesses as they attempt to panic the big herbivores into stampeding.
Review: Metriacanthosaurus (Jurassic Park Hammond Collection by Mattel)
3.8 (48 votes)
The release of genera such as Metriacanthosaurus, Concavenator, and Irritator in the Hammond Collection line was initially met with controversy. Some collectors were excited to see non-canonical dinosaurs join the prestigious Hammond Collection while others were dismayed, hoping the dinosaurs seen in the films would be given priority.
Review: Protoceratops (Beasts of the Mesozoic: Ceratopsian Series 1/6 by Creative Beast Studio)
4.4 (38 votes)
A famous story, an ancient tragedy, a spectacular discovery. Two dinosaurs, locked in lethal combat, suddenly perished from external forces, their bodies preserved almost perfectly in their last moments of action. What was cause of the combat and demise? Paleontologists have speculated long and hard since the year 1971, when an expedition to the Gobi Desert led to the discovery of the fossil now renowned as “The Fighting Dinosaurs” – a Protoceratops with its sharp beak grasping the arm of a Velociraptor, whose sickle claw is embedded in the herbivore’s neck.
Review: Poposaurus (Jurassic World Epic Evolution, Danger Pack by Mattel)
3.8 (49 votes)
Mattel loves Pseudosuchians, or so it would seem. Just this year they released five of these crocodile-line archosaurs. Not since Bullyland’s heyday have we seen so many representatives of the group made by a single company, and I think Mattel must surely win the award for most Pseudosuchians ever produced.
Review: Medusaceratops (‘Fan’s Choice’ version, Beasts of the Mesozoic Ceratopsian Series by Creative Beast Studio)
4.3 (46 votes)
This figure is technically a repaint of the original sculpt, but since it wasn’t reviewed here yet, I feel I might as well give some background on the production of it. For starters, Raul Ramos initially sculpted a 3D model of the skull (first revealed on July 6 2019), which was then printed and served as a base, for sculptor Simon Panek to use for the final flesh reconstruction of the figure (revealed July 8, 2019).
Review: Xuanhanosaurus (Jurassic World Dino Trackers Danger Pack by Mattel)
3.9 (38 votes)
I, Emperor Dinobot, recently posited a question around, and it was the following: Could Mattel be designing dinosaur figures and naming them afterwards? We already have an example: Roarivores Sinoceratops is actually a Pachyrhinosaurus, but it got a name change due to the fact that Universal wanted to market Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom to the massive Chinese audience, and Pachyrhinosaurus was substituted by Sinoceratops, a dinosaur which represented China.
Review: Carnotaurus (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Hammond Collection by Mattel)
4.1 (62 votes)
Mattel loves Carnotaurus. Our friends at DinoToyCollector.com have catalogued 22 Carnotaurus figures for Mattel’s Jurassic World line, but that number includes the minis, Snap Squad, and similar toys too, and their various repaints and repackages. Either way, the company has still produced an impressive array of Carnotaurus toys.
Review: Piatnitzkysaurus (Jurassic World Dino Trackers Danger Pack)
3.4 (27 votes)
We owe a lot of our pop dinosaur knowledge to books such as “The Humongous Book of Dinosaurs” by David Norman (et al.), written in the very late 1980’s and early 90’s, published by various publishers in many formats, like collectible magazines, all which often included a comprehensive list of dinosaurs from a-z, and from all over the world.