If my research is correct, it has been 13 years since Safari Ltd. released a prehistoric animal TOOB. Their last was the Cambrian Life TOOB, released in 2013 and retired from production 4 short years later. And in fact, all of the best Safari prehistoric animal TOOBs were retired in 2017, including the Prehistoric Sharks, Crocodiles, and Sea Life TOOBs....
The final set of Safari’s first forays into dinosaur miniatures features a charming blend of aesthetics, and also serves in retrospect as a tribute to a dawning hobby and its burgeoning artists. In 1994, Battat was commissioned by the Boston Museum to produce what would become one of the most praised toy lines in dinosaur collecting. The Battat Museum dinosaur...
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. First we have this elfin Alamosaurus. Measuring around 8.5...
This fine set of little Battat precursors from Gregory Wenzel has aged impressively well, and any collector who’s found a chance to own the set should find these a delight. Back in the 1990s, Safari ltd. was still a bold newcomer on the collectibles stage; with their success on the Carnegie Collection line, the company began exploring additional means to...
These six little dinos, sculpted by the Carnegie Collection’s own Forest Rogers, may look pretty dated today; but they manage to blend old and new aspects of science to produce a charming set as a whole. Safari ltd. stands as one of the giants of educational, scientifically accurate dinosaur & animal toys today; but it’s easy to forget the company...
From the savage teeth of tyrannosaurs to the intimidating horns of ceratopsians to the endearing crests of hadrosaurs and to the peculiar noggins of pachycephalosaurs, dinosaur skulls truly are stupendous. I previously reviewed Safari’s toob of prehistoric mammal skulls; now I’ll be looking at their Dino Skulls toob. There are eleven skulls in total, all painted medium brown with streaks...
Collecta has been bringing out prehistoric animal tubes over the last few years, and while some gave us some great new designs, others have just given us miniature versions of models they already have. This is a case of the latter, as they have released these small versions of their ancient mammals. And two odd balls. Each is based on...
Of all the product lines offered by stalwart manufacturer Safari Ltd, the “Toob®” line gives them the freest rein to explore unusual taxa. I’m personally fondest of the Toobs that furnish small versions of small animals that might scale well with Safari’s full-size figurines. We’ve reviewed some of their most interesting Toobs featuring “alive” animals here, here, here, here, and...
Safari’s very first prehistory toob is charming, but largely showing its age in the details and aesthetics of the figurines. Toobs might be the unsung heroes of Safari Ltd.’s toy lines. I see them wherever Safari products are sold, even when their larger, standard-sized kin are absent. Among the numerous Toobs released have been several focused on prehistory, and they...
When it comes to tubes of miniatures, or “toobs,” Safari Ltd. remains the undisputed ruler. That said, they haven’t released any new toobs in years, and many of their prehistoric-themed ones are really showing their age. Today we’ll be examining one such example, Carnivorous Dinos, consisting of twelve miniatures representing a veritable Who’s Who of Mesozoic (and one Paleozoic) Meanies....
Prehistoric skulls, be they those of dinosaurs, pterosaurs, sea monsters, mammals, amphibians, or any other beasts, are always things of beauty and intrigue. Let us take a look at this interesting variety of mammal skulls from Safari Ltd. There are eight in total, all coloured medium brown with a pale brown wash, and all with their names printed on the...
CollectA has emerged as one of the most prolific producers of dinosaur figures, with a few other Mesozoic reptiles and some mammals here and there for variety. They’ve developed a reputation for giving some obscure species the plastic treatment, but in general those species have been fairly close relatives of the old standards. The prehistoric marine tube, released in the...
