Over the last 3 years CollectA has produced FIVE extinct cephalopods spanning the geologic ages between the Ordovician and the Cretaceous. A magnificent achievement that appears to have come to an end, for alas, no cephalopod has been announced for 2023. But do not despair, with figures of Koolasuchus and Anomalocaris on the horizon CollectA is continuing their streak of releasing the most diverse and interesting assortment of prehistoric critters of any mainstream company.
Type: Figurine
Review: Pravitoceras (Prehistoric World by CollectA)
4.6 (17 votes)
Most paleontology enthusiasts are familiar with ammonites, the predatory mollusks with muscular arms and calcium carbonate shells. Most ammonites’ shells were disc-shaped coils (planispiral) that contained chambers, some of which afforded buoyancy, and one of which housed the squishy parts of the animal. One lineage of ammonites went a little wild with their shell coiling, producing some very strange shapes.
Review: Acrocanthosaurus (PNSO)
4.4 (74 votes)
Acrocanthosaurus? Chances are, if you are a dinosaur fan, you may be familiar with this predator and even be a big fan of it. But step out of the paleontology world and into the mainstream, many would not know what Acrocanthosaurus is.
Review: Tyrannosaurus rex (2020)(Blue Version by Schleich)
2.6 (33 votes)
Schleich can be seen as the equivalent of McDonald’s in that, despite the sometimes lacklustre quality of their products, they are still the most globally successful of all the companies specializing in PVC scale models of extinct and extant fauna. Take for example their 2012 Tyrannosaurus rex mould.
Review: Smok (Deluxe Prehistoric Collection by CollectA)
4.7 (23 votes)
As a person of Polish decent with a love for Triassic fauna I was elated to see that CollectA was producing a figure of Smok wawelski, a Triassic archosaur found near Lisowice village in Poland. And hot on the heels of their excellent Lisowicia too, another Triassic animal from the same fossil site.
Review: Quetzalcoatlus (Field Museum & Mold-A-Rama)
4.5 (12 votes)
Nearly 60 years after Mold-A-Rama imprinted itself as an icon of American toy memorabilia, The Field Museum of Chicago collaborated with Mold-A-Rama to produce a brand-new prehistoric creature in classic plastic form.
Mold-A-Rama figures have been an icon of dinosaur toy collecting for decades. Originally conceived in the 1950s by Tike Miller for personal use, the first official molding machines were revealed to the world at the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair by Automatic Retailers of America.
Review: Dire Wolf (MPC)
3.9 (17 votes)
You’d think a creature like the dire wolf would have a few more toys to its name. Canis dirus (now reclassified as Aenocyon dirus) is almost unheard of on the prehistoric toy market, even though the genus made its introduction to paleo merchandise over fifty years ago.
Review: Titanochelon bolivari (1:20 Miocene Collection by Signatustudio)
4.9 (9 votes)
Review and images by bmathison1972; edited by Suspsy
Signatustudio is a line of animal replicas made by artist J. Miguel Aparicio out of Spain. Most of his models are in the 1:20 scale and represent the fauna of Eurasia, including the Iberian Peninsula, the Mediterranean, Tibetan Plateau, and Euro-Siberian regions.
Review: Cryolophosaurus (Age of the Dinosaurs by PNSO)
4 (27 votes)
Cryolophosaurus is famous for its handsome crest and for being the largest known theropod from Antarctica, and the largest known one from the Early Jurassic period for that matter. Its classification has long been something of a puzzlement, but a 2020 study concluded that it was a derived neotheropod related to the famous Dilophosaurus.
Review: Neovenator (2021)(CollectA)
4.2 (39 votes)
It’s a hot, clear summer day. Birds are chirping in the trees while the pterosaurs overhead call out to each other as they pass in the sky. Turtles and crocodyliformes are basking comfortably on the banks of the calmly flowing river and on one side, a single spinosaur is standing stock still in the shallows, waiting patiently for a meal to swim by.
Review: Glyptodont (MPC)
3.3 (16 votes)
One of the oldest toys of an iconic extinct mammal family still holds up pretty well, especialy alongside its more derivative contemproraries.
MPC (Multiple Products Corporations) toys are known in some circles as the “poor man’s Marx”; many of the prehistoric creatures represented in MPC’s lineup were lifted from the older Marx line, often sacrificing size and sculpt quality for bright colors and cheaper quantity.
Review: Guidraco (Age of the Dinosaurs by PNSO)
3.6 (29 votes)
The name Guidraco means “malicious dragon,” and looking at its head with that tall crest and mouth bristling with dozens of long, pointed teeth, it’s definitely an appropriate name for this Chinese anhanguerid. Although a relatively obscure pterosaur, it’s pretty famous here on the Dinosaur Toy Blog thanks to CollectA’s colossal 2015 toy.
Review: Torosaurus (PNSO Museum Line)
4.3 (41 votes)
The thundering sounds of stampeding animals shatter the tranquil morning air. A herd of Torosaurus has just walked into an ambush on their way to the forest edge and are now running for their lives towards the safety of the open plains. The herd runs tightly together for safety except for one animal who seems to hesitate, stop, then breaks off from the group and heads back towards the forest edge.
Review: Prehistoric Tube C (CollectA)
4.4 (24 votes)
Since they first started producing tube sets back in 2015, CollectA has covered a pretty decent variety of prehistoric life, wild animals, sea creatures, and farm stock. In 2021, they went back to the beginning with a third dinosaur (mostly) set consisting of ten figures, all based on previously released toys.
Review: Carcharodontosaurus (GR Toys by Haolonggood)
4.8 (43 votes)
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a “shark-toothed” theropod model as decked-out and detailed as this one, although a couple of design flaws might have one hesitating at the retail price.
Carcharodontosaurs have ranked among my favorite dinosaurs since early childhood – the notion of meat-eaters even bigger than the mighty Tyrannosaurus was simply too irresistible to my 5-year-old self, and that initial shock and awe has remained embedded in my psyche to this day.