Before we start this review I would like to inform all of you loyal reader that this will be my last review for a while. Simply put: I am taking a break. This review was written and finished before events happened in my life that changed everything.
Type: Figurine
Review: Dimetrodon (Jurassic World: Dominion Captivz by ToyMonster)
Mattel isn’t the only company producing Jurassic World toys and for this review we’re changing things up and introducing Captivz by ToyMonster to the blog. The Jurassic World Captivz are blind bag style toys originally released in Australia that started showing up in the US a couple years ago, with their Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous set.
Review: Tarbosaurus (Schleich)
During the Late Cretaceous, the region currently known as the harsh Gobi Desert of Mongolia was a rich expanse of floodplains, mudflats, and shallow lakes. Here one would find abundant titanosaurs, hadrosaurs, ankylosaurs, and pachycephalosaurs, although no known ceratopsids to date.
Review: Monolophosaurus (Schleich)(2023)
To start, I want to extend my thanks to Happy Hen Toys for generously offering this review sample for the Blog. Happy Hen Toys has rapidly been establishing themselves as one of the most reliable shops for prehistoric animal collectibles in the United States, and I encourage readers to check out their website for purchasing this and other related items.
Review: Fukuiraptor (Favorite Co. Ltd.)
Fukuiraptor isn’t a dinosaur name one hears too often – at least outside of Japan. First discovered in the 1990s, the “thief of Fukui Prefecture” is only known from fragmentary remains between a few specimens, consisting mostly of arm and leg bones. Like its relative Megaraptor from South America, Fukuiraptor was initially described as a dromaeosaur, only for later studies to reveal that the large fossil claw discovered among the remains belonged on the predator’s thumb, not its toe.
Review: Shastasaurus (CollectA)
Review: Anomalocaris (CollectA)
Review and images by bmathison1972; edited by Suspsy
In 2023, CollectA added Anomalocaris canadensis to its growing collection of Paleozoic invertebrates, following fellow arthropod Redlichia and mollusks Passaloteuthis, Pleuroceras, Orthoceras, Cooperoceras, and Pravitoceras (not to mention an extant nautilus and horseshoe crab).
Review: Zuul (Dino Dana by Safari Ltd.)
It’s yet another scorching summer day, but Murmillo is finding relief by wading placidly in the murky shallows of a lake. A slight ripple in the surface catches her eye, but no matter, it’s probably just a fish or a turtle or—a gargantuan alligatoroid that explodes from the water and engulfs her entire head and neck in its murderous jaws!
Review: Edmontosaurus (Schleich)(2023)
Review: Gastonia (Schleich)
Before we begin the review, I would like to extend my gratitude towards Happy Hen Toys for sending this figure along as a review sample. Happy Hen Toys is a U.S. distributor of figures by Safari, Papo, CollectA, Schleich, and other similar companies. In the case of CollectA they’re often the only place that sells their products at a reasonable price within the United States.
Review: 3D Dinosaur Pictorial Book (The Access)
Japan has a prolific industry for collectibles and merchandise, although it is a fairly insular market that western collectors might find tricky to break into. There are always new surprises to uncover from riches of new releases each year. One such item which caught my attention in 2022 was a set of minifigures produced by The Access, a company dedicated to planning, manufacturing, and wholesaling a variety of in-house products for multiple age ranges.
Review: Macrauchenia (MPC)
“If MPC Ran the Zoo”…
Macrauchenia looked like it could have inspired some of the creatures in a Dr. Seuss book, if its history of paleoart is anything to go by. First described in 1838, the “long-necked llama” hasn’t achieved the same level of fame as some of its mammalian contemporaries from the Miocene and Pleistocene; however, its lanky legs, long neck, and peculiar trunk make for a very distinct image, and have earned the genus at least a few toys over the decades.