Type: Figurine

Review: Elasmosaurus (Wild Safari by Safari Ltd)

4.5 (16 votes)

Here we have another new release from Safari Ltd for 2013, the long-necked Elasmosaurus. I lent a small helping hand with the design of this figure, as I had done previously with Safari Ltd’s other recent plesiosaurian offering (Liopleurodon).

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Review: Gryposaurus (Wild Safari by Safari Ltd.)

Genus: Gryposaurus Brand: Safari Ltd., Wild Safari Classification: Hadrosaur, Ornithopod Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

4.7 (21 votes)

Call me strange, but this is really my favorite new release for 2013. Only Safari Ltd. has the stones to tackle the often-overlooked hadrosaurine (or saurolophine, if you’re keeping up with the times) dinosaurs, with an excellent Edmontosaurus replica being foremost in recent memory.

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Review: Styracosaurus (Soft Model Series 2 by Favorite Co. Ltd.)

Genus: Styracosaurus Brand: Favorite Co. Ltd. Classification: Centrosaur, Ceratopsian Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

4.4 (13 votes)

Although good Velociraptor toys are hard to come by, it’s easier to get hold of a half-decent Styracosaurus – meaning that Favorite (and Araki) had to try a little harder to impress with their Soft Model resculpt of the famous ceratopsian.

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Review: Velociraptor (Soft Model Series 2 by Favorite Co. Ltd.)

Genus: Velociraptor Brand: Favorite Co. Ltd. Classification: Dromaeosaur, Theropod Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

3.1 (7 votes)

Feathered dromaeosaurs are always welcome on the toy market, and especially feathered Velociraptor figures. Perhaps rather unsurprisingly – given that a certain 20-year-old film is raking in the cash yet again this year – the biggest dinosaur toy names (in the West, anyway) continue to peddle scandalously nude figures.

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Review: Tyrannosaurus rex – Feathered & Unfeathered (Soft Model Series 2 by Favorite)

Genus: Tyrannosaurus Brand: Favorite Co. Ltd. Classification: Theropod, Tyrannosaur Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

4 (7 votes)

Favorite’s ‘soft models’ have had a complete revamp this year, with an all-new series of sculpts by the renowned Kazunari Araki. With the exception of Pachycephalosaurus and Deinonychus (replaced by Velociraptor), every animal in the original series has an Araki counterpart, and the differences are quite striking and very interesting.

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Review: Diplodocus (Collecta)

Genus: Diplodocus Brand: CollectA Classification: Diplodocoid, Sauropod Age: Jurassic Type: Figurine

4.4 (16 votes)

Guest review by Niroot Puttapipat (Himmapaan)
Diplodocids are largely represented in figure form by the ubiquitous Apatosaurus (or ‘generic-o-pod’, as a certain friend and esteemed colleague has it), with Diplodocus itself being relatively few in number. I greeted the news of the CollectA model with mixed feelings; glad that there is another to add to the list, but afraid, quite prejudicially, that it might disappoint.

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Review: Stegosaurus (Carnegie Collection by Safari Ltd)

Genus: Stegosaurus Brand: Carnegie, Safari Ltd. Classification: Stegosaur Age: Jurassic Type: Figurine

4 (15 votes)

Now here’s a dinosaur figure that’s somehow evaded review year after year. The classic Stegosaurus model by Safari Ltd has gone through several incarnations since its original release in 1988-9. The Stegosaurus figure is one of the originals in the Carnegie Collection line up.

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Review: Diabloceratops (Collecta)

Genus: Diabloceratops Brand: CollectA Classification: Centrosaur, Ceratopsian Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

3.3 (15 votes)

Diabloceratops, thanks no doubt to its distinctive appearance, media exposure and – of course – that irresistible name, is proving to be quite popular with dinosaur toy manufacturers. This year, both Collecta and Safari are releasing a figure (the latter in their Wild Safari range), with Collecta’s being first out of the blocks.

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Review: Gastornis (Wild Safari by Safari Ltd.)

Genus: Diatryma, Gastornis Brand: Safari Ltd., Wild Safari Classification: Bird, Theropod Age: Eocene, Paleocene Type: Figurine

4.7 (17 votes)

Perhaps surprisingly for an animal that was a staple of popular books on prehistoric life for decades (and made an appearance in Walking With Beasts), models of Gastornis are a little thin on the ground. Happily, Safari have stepped forward with this very decent effort – the first toy “Diatryma” in years.

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Review: Megacerops (CollectA)

Genus: Brontotherium, Megacerops Brand: CollectA Classification: Mammal Age: Eocene Type: Figurine

4.7 (13 votes)

Review and photos by Nathan Morris (AKA ‘Takama’), edited by Plesiosauria.
Megacerops was a large odd-toed ungulate that lived during the Late Eocene in North America. It is most commonly referred to by the synonymous name Brontotherium. Brontotherium means ‘thunder beast’, and its origins come from an old American legend that suggest that these beasts ran across the clouds, while causing thunder to roar with their footsteps.

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Review: Carnotaurus (Papo)

Genus: Carnotaurus Brand: Papo Classification: Abelisaurid, Ceratosaur, Theropod Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

3.4 (22 votes)

In the past, Papo have tended to make their theropods either too scaly or too monstrous. Fortunately, the real Carnotaurus was both very scaly and rather scary-looking – why, it even had a pair of devilish horns protruding from its very toothy head.

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Review: Concavenator (Carnegie Collection by Safari Ltd.)

Genus: Concavenator Brand: Carnegie, Safari Ltd. Classification: Allosaur, Theropod Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

4.4 (19 votes)

In recent years, the fossil beds of Spain have provided spectacular examples of dinosaurs, but perhaps the most famous is Concavenator. First revealed in 2010, this allosauroid’s distinctive physique made it an instant celebrity. The peculiar hump along the back does not seem as awe-inspiring as the humongous sails lining the backs of certain other critters, yet it has clearly made an impression upon us.

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