It’s rare for me to audibly gasp from surprise, but that was exactly how I reacted in 2019 when I rounded the corner to the Chicago Field Museum’s “Evolving Planet” exhibit, and came face-to-face with the colossus now standing guard outside the exhibit entrance. When preparation began for installing Maximo the Patagotitan in the Field’s main hall, while Sue the T.
Type: Plush
Review: Wiwaxia (Paleozoic Pals)
4.5 (14 votes)
In life, Wiwaxia was covered in spines and scales that would have made it about as cuddly as a sea urchin, an animal it resembled but was not related to. Good thing then that Paleozoic Pals made this plush Wiwaxia to snuggle with instead.
Review: Tyrannosaurus rex (Large Sue Plush 2018 by Wild Republic)
4.6 (25 votes)
This solidly-built stuffed toy represents The Field Museum’s star dinosaur attraction at its latest, biggest and best.
The ubiquitous dinosaur Tyrannosaurus rex has seen many incarnations and reconstructions in the two centuries since its discovery by human scientists – and plenty of merchandise has been produced to match.
Review: Dilophosaurus Plush Pair (Unknown Company)
4.2 (12 votes)
Dilophosaur fans of multiple varieties get the best deal with this pair of charmingly well-constructed plush predators of semi-anonymous origin.
The realm of gray-market (dinosaur) toys is full of, well, gray areas to be cautiously navigated; in an online age it’s especially easy to get lost in a malaise of sketchy knockoffs and bootleg toys from unknown sources.
Review: Orthoceras (Paleozoic Pals)
4.9 (10 votes)
Paleozoic Pals is a line of plush toys commissioned by the Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) and sold at the Museum of the Earth, located in Ithaca, New York. Since its launch in 2015 the line has done quite well, and now has 13 distinct plush toys to its name (as well as slippers, a body pillow, and other merchandise) with more on the way.
Review: Mammoth (Cuddly toy giveaway by Mammut)
3.9 (10 votes)
A Swiss company which produces outdoor clothing and equipment named itself „Mammut“ after the iconic Mammoth, probably because the prehistoric giants were as well equipped against cold and rainy weather conditions as you are supposed to be if you wear a Mammut product. The company even leads a black mammoth in their logo.
Review: Opabinia “Oakley” (Paleo Pals)
4.9 (7 votes)
However you look at it, Opabinia was a remarkably odd-looking creature – so it’s a natural choice for a big cuddly plush toy, right?
I’m guessing most people wouldn’t look at a five-eyed worm with a snaggle-toothed trunk and react with, “Aw, how cute!” Granted, most people aren’t paleontology nerds, either, so your mileage may vary in perspective.
Review: Triceratops Plush (Kohl’s/Yottoy)
3.8 (9 votes)
This cheap plush toy certainly won’t win any top 10 lists for quality restorations, but it’s plenty charming for what it is.
Kohl’s is a USA-based retail chain that primarily sells clothing, but like any big store, they do offer a few other kinds of merchandise as well. One line of collaborative merchandise is the Kohl’s Cares line, a charity-led series which couples new and old children’s books with plush toy characters.
Review: Woolly Mammoth (2020) (Cuddlekins by Wild Republic)
4.3 (7 votes)
Review and images by Bryan Divers, edited by Suspsy
Another great woolly mammoth toy from Wild Republic! This product has gone through several overhauls since its original introduction in 2007: the fabric color was darkened in 2008 and the fabric itself was changed completely in 2012 from a stiffer, white cotton-backed fabric to a more flexible fabric with matching brown backing.
Review: Maiasaura “Lil’ Hadro” (Dinotopia by Accent International)
4.3 (9 votes)
Review and photographs by Loon, edited by Suspsy.
We return to the land apart from time to review the second Dinotopia plush released by Accent International in 1993, “Lil’ Hadro.” This is certainly an odd choice by Accent, as no character named “Lil’ Hadro” appears in any of the books.
Review: Protoceratops “Bix” (Dinotopia by Accent International)
4.1 (8 votes)
Review and photos by Loon, edited by Suspsy
Released in 1992, James Gurney’s book Dinotopia follows the shipwrecked scientist Arthur Denison and his son Will as they journey through the titular island, where dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals escaped extinction and coexist with humanity. This book was extremely popular during the 1990s, garnering sequels, prequels, all sorts of merchandise, a computer game, and at one point, was going to be adapted into a Hollywood movie by Sony. That didn’t pan out, but Disney did end up producing a TV miniseries in 2002.
Review: Trilobite (Asaphiscus wheeleri) (Giant Microbes)
4.2 (6 votes)
Although I’m somewhat of a veteran plush reviewer most of my plush reviews so far have been toys in the Paleozoic Pals line. Those reviews include two trilobites and so I’m excited to review yet another trilobite but this time from a company that has not yet been covered on the DTB, Giant Microbes.
Review: Trilobite (Isotelus maximus) (Paleozoic Pals)
4.7 (7 votes)
The Paleozoic Pals line of plush Paleozoic fauna has really taken off over the last five years, releasing two plush toys a year since they began in 2015. It was my hope that I would be able to keep up with them through these reviews but having moved away from the Museum of the Earth where they’re sold I’ve fallen a bit behind.
Review: Tiktaalik (Paleozoic Pals)
4.5 (6 votes)
For those interested in paleontology and evolution beyond dinosaurs the name Tiktaalik should be a familiar one. Discovered on Ellesmere Island, Canada, and formally described in 2006, Tiktaalik is significant in broadening our understanding of how sarcopterygian fishes gave rise to land dwelling vertebrates.
Review: Woolly Mammoth (1997 Missing Links/United Exhibits by Safari Ltd.)
3.6 (8 votes)
Review and photos by Skinny Davenport, edited by Suspsy
This review is of a resin model my parents bought me at the Smithsonian back in 2000, my very first ever woolly mammoth toy! I remember clutching her lovingly in the cafeteria as we chowed down on pizza in the museum restaurant.