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 here.
Type: Tube
Cambrian Life Toob (Safari Ltd.)
4.6 (15 votes)
Review and photos by Stemturtle, edited by Plesiosauria.
Wonderful ‘toob’! New for 2013, this collection illustrates the explosion of new animal phyla in the Cambrian Period, from 541 to 485 million years ago. The eight toys in this set are well-sculpted, good-sized, and colorful. Safari Ltd lists the range of sizes as 1.5” (4 cm) to 3” (7.5 cm).
Wonderful ‘toob’! New for 2013, this collection illustrates the explosion of new animal phyla in the Cambrian Period, from 541 to 485 million years ago. The eight toys in this set are well-sculpted, good-sized, and colorful. Safari Ltd lists the range of sizes as 1.5” (4 cm) to 3” (7.5 cm).
Carnivorous Dinos (Toob by Safari Ltd.)
2.4 (14 votes)
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.
Dino Skulls (Toob by Safari Ltd.)
4.6 (14 votes)
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 of dark grey for a worn appearance.
Dinos (Toob by Safari Ltd.)
3.1 (7 votes)
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 all started with the original Dinos Toob.
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 all started with the original Dinos Toob.
Dinosaurs I (Authentics Habitat Collection by Safari ltd.)
2.6 (10 votes)
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 didn’t start out this way.
Dinosaurs II (Authentics Habitat Collection by Safari ltd.)
4.1 (9 votes)
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 grow their brand.
Dinosaurs III (Authentics Habitat Collection by Safari ltd.)
3.9 (12 votes)
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.
Feathered Dinos Tube (Safari Ltd)
4 (9 votes)
Safari Ltd have produced several tubes (or ‘toobs’ as they call them) that contain a diverse selection of mini-dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals. These tubes are a great choice for the indecisive amongst us. Why pick one single large dinosaur when you can get an entire tube of small dinosaurs for the same price.
Prehistoric crocodiles (Toob by Safari Ltd)
4.7 (12 votes)
Having recently familiarised ourselves with the prehistoric sharks ‘toob’ by Safari Ltd, let’s now pour out the contents of a different toob. This time it’s the turn of the prehistoric crocodiles. Before we begin though, be aware that strictly speaking, many of the species in this set aren’t true crocodiles, as the toob contains a taxonomic mish-mash of non-dinosaurian reptiles.
Prehistoric Life Toob (Safari Ltd)
3.9 (9 votes)
Safari Ltd has released several new tubes in 2010, or Toobs, to be funky but grammatically incorrect, each of which contains a selection of prehistoric critters. But before we pour these new toobs out for review, let’s take a look at one of the existing toob sets. We previously rummaged through the Feathered Dinosaurs Toob here, so now we’ll cast our eyes over the 2005 ‘Prehistoric Life Toob’.
Prehistoric Mammal Skulls (Toob by Safari Ltd.)
4.6 (7 votes)
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 undersides.
Prehistoric Mammals Tube (Collecta)
3.9 (13 votes)
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.
Prehistoric Marine Tube (CollectA)
5 (7 votes)
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.
Prehistoric Sea Life Toob (Safari Ltd.)
4.5 (8 votes)
Review by Cordylus, photos and figure captions by Plesiosauria
This is truely a marine reptile lover’s dream come true. For years, Nothosaurus, Metriorhynchus, Basilosaurus and the like were all hard to find and expensive (if there were any to even be found) – until now.
Last september the dinosaur collecting community was stunned by the toys safari ltd was going to release the next year; now, most safari dinosaurs so far this year have been released.
This is truely a marine reptile lover’s dream come true. For years, Nothosaurus, Metriorhynchus, Basilosaurus and the like were all hard to find and expensive (if there were any to even be found) – until now.
Last september the dinosaur collecting community was stunned by the toys safari ltd was going to release the next year; now, most safari dinosaurs so far this year have been released.