When the prologue (and later, trailer) for Jurassic World: Dominion dropped, it was met with a lot of grievances from our community. To be fair, there was a lot to gripe about, from anachronistic animals mingling together, to the sloppy anatomy typical of the franchise.
Type: Action Figure
Review: Allosaurus (Dino Escape: Roar Attack by Mattel – 2021 ver. 1)
3.2 (23 votes)
The star of ‘Battle at Big Rock’ is back to bat under Mattel, with a slight makeover in play features and paint job.
Allosaurus was once a king of dinosaur media, second only to Tyrannosaurus in books and film. Featuring in multiple major productions such as The Lost World, One Million Years BC, and (debatably) The Valley of Gwangi, the “other lizard” ended up getting overshadowed during the 90s and 2000s with the advent of the Jurassic Park franchise and its more novel assortment of “villain” theropods like the cunning Velociraptor and the gigantic Spinosaurus.
Review: Yangchuanosaurus (Jurassic World: Dominion, Massive Action by Mattel)
3.9 (17 votes)
Yangchuanosaurus is a genus of metriacanthosaurid that lived during the middle and late Jurassic in China. In appearance it would have looked very much like Allosaurus. Yangchaunosaurus shows up in the collectable market periodically and several figures represent the species, including the Safari Dinosaurs of China figure and a recent model by PNSO.
Review: Centrosaurus apertus (Beasts of the Mesozoic)
4.7 (52 votes)
Over the years, despite having a large amount of fossil material behind it, Centrosaurus has very little in terms of figures that aren’t named Monoclonius. Fortunately, recent times have brought this near forgotten species to the forefront. Beasts of the Mesozoic leads this by creating three, two juveniles and an adult.
Review: Skorpiovenator (Jurassic World: Dominion, Roar Strikers by Mattel)
3.4 (13 votes)
Skorpiovenator is a genus of late Cretaceous abelisaurid known from the Huincul Formation in Argentina. It was described in 2008 and the genus name means “scorpion hunter” due to the abundance of scorpions dwelling around its dig site. The species name, bustingorryi, was given in honor of Manuel Bustingorry, whose farm the dig site was located on.
Review: Mosasaurus (Dino Escape by Mattel)
3.9 (17 votes)
Mattel’s take on Jurassic World’s giant sea reptile is back as big and beautiful as ever, with a few new interesting quirks up its plastic sleeve.
When Mattel began announcing their upcoming releases in the wake of acquiring the Jurassic World license in 2018, one of the first and most exciting toys to catch my eye was the giant Mosasaurus, an impressive “real-feel” articulated toy that could eat Hasbro’s earlier attempts at the genus for lunch.
Review: Rhamphorhynchus (Jurassic World Dino-Escape, Wild Pack by Mattel)
Review: Tyrannocon Rex (Transformers: Collaborative by Hasbro)
4.2 (39 votes)
Review by GiganotosaurusFan, edited by Suspsy
We take a different path today, not down a path of dinosaurs, but a dinosaur/robot. On September 17, 1984, lightning struck as one of the most popular children’s cartoon shows of all time debuted: The Transformers. 12 years later, a different path was taken with Beast Wars, where the Autobots became Maximals, and the Decepticons became Predacons.
Review: Carcharodontosaurus (Jurassic World Dino Escape 2nd ver. by Mattel)
3.1 (24 votes)
What makes this particular release stand out is its coloration, which contrasts starkly with the plainer pattern of the figure’s first release.
The 1990s were a stirring time for big theropod news: the crocodile-snouted spinosaur Suchomimus from Niger was described in 1998, new fragments of the now-(in)famous Spinosaurus itself were discovered in 1996 and 1998, and the gigantic Giganotosaurus was officially named in 1995.
Review: Struthiomimus (Thunder-Beasts by Sky Kids)
1.7 (12 votes)
Growing up in the 90’s I had quite the collection of toy dinosaurs from a multitude of companies. Everything from UKRD, AAA, and Larami, to Carnegie, Tyco, Kenner, and Playskool. One brand I didn’t have represented was Thunder Beasts, so when I recently came across this ornithomimid that was stamped 1993 on the bottom, I was truly vexed as to its origin.
Review: Velociraptor (male, JPIII – Amber Collection by Mattel)
3.5 (15 votes)
Mattel’s Amber Collection has had a rocky release history, but before the line ground to a halt, Mattel decided to go out on a bang with the highly anticipated male Velociraptor design from Jurassic Park III. Fans were both excited and cautious: would this fan-favorite design be done the justice it deserved?
Review: Shringasaurus (Jurassic World Dino Escape Wild Pack by Mattel)
3 (21 votes)
For many years, the Triassic period has been the most overlooked part of the Mesozoic in toy form, usually Coelophysis or Postosuchus. More recently, however, more and more species are coming to the forefront and being made available in plastic. Even the Jurassic World toyline has jumped to this, as we see here in a recent figure of Shringasaurus, an archosauromorpha from the middle Triassic of India, a bizzare horned species that certainly caught the eye of the public.