My great thanks to Happy Hen Toys for their generosity in providing this figure for review, which is now available for sale at their website happyhentoys.com.
Two whole years after rumors of its existence first began circulating among dino collectors, Papo’s figurine of the Australian apex predator, Kronosaurus queenslandicus, has finally emerged from the realm of myth and begun landing on the shores of retail shops worldwide.
Proceratosaurus. “Before Ceratosaurus“. I remember when I first laid eyes on the exquisitely preserved jaws of this animal, found in England from the rocks of the mid Jurassic. The picture was in most dinosaur books throughout the 80’s and 90’s, accompanied by a somewhat vague description usually saying that it looked like Ceratosaurus and Ornitholestes due to the nasal horns (in the case of Ornitholestes, the nasal horn never existed, as the fossil skull was somewhat warped).
When is a Velociraptor not a Velociraptor? I would imagine every dinosaur fan is familiar with the famous “swift thief”, and seasoned enthusiasts are probably aware there’s a history of confusion surrounding the dromaeosaur’s identification. V. mongoliensis, the type species of Velociraptor, is currently the primary species recognized under the genus; however it might not be the only one.
Since getting into this hobby over a decade ago I’ve had a list of my favorite ceratopsians I’ve hoped to someday have on my shelves. When I started, none of these animals had good representations available. But as the years have gone by, and this hobby has seemingly exploded in popularity, I’ve been able to gradually check them off the list.
CollectA has a new ankylosaur coming out in 2024: a 1:20 scale Deluxe-sized version of Polacanthus, a relatively famous but poorly known English nodosaurid.
At 27.5 cm long and 13 cm high at the tip of its tail, the Polacanthus will rival this year’s Stegouros for the title of CollectA’s largest ankylosaur!
Most of the known basal tyrannosauroids from Asia are relatively small fry like Dilong, Guanlong, and Xiongguanlong, with the 7.5 metre long Yutyrannus being the most famous exception. But Sinotyrannus was an even bigger beast, estimated to have achieved around 9.1 metres long and 2.8 tons, which would put it in the same size category as Albertosaurus, Daspletosaurus, and Gorgosaurus.
This video showcases all 34 entries in the Dinosaur Toy Forum Diorama Contest 2023. You can view all the entries in detail and see the results of the winners’ poll on the DinoToyForum here.
Back in 2017, one of the best preserved fossils discovered was making the rounds. It was named Borealopelta markmitchelli, “Mark Mitchell’s northern shield”, honoring the man who spent more than 7,000 hours carefully preparing the fossil material, and slowly carving it out from the rock it rested in.
This week’s reveal from CollectA includes the second ever toy of the gigantic titanosaur Dreadnoughtus (Mattel’s was the first one). At 1:100 scale, it is nearly 24 cm tall and 32 cm long, which makes it smaller than this year’s Ruyangosaurus, but still pretty darned big!
Now here’s something a lot of collectors, myself included, have been craving for a long time: a high quality figure of Megaraptor!
As usual, Haolonggood is offering this terrific tyrannosauroid in two different colour schemes.
My only concern is its stability, as the right leg appears to be balancing on just the tip of one claw.
Feast your eyes upon the stupendous Samuel! This towering Alamosaurus is perhaps PNSO’s finest sauropod yet, standing close to 30 cm tall and boasting a very long and very thick neck and rows of spiky osteoderms on his back. He’ll undoubtedly go well with Cameron, or indeed most other Tyrannosaurus rex figures!
Nigersaurus is a genus of rebbachisaurid sauropod that was discovered in the Elrhaz Formation in Niger, Africa. It lived during the middle Cretaceous and is notable for its small size (by sauropod standards), short neck, and bizarrely shaped broad muzzle packed with over 500 teeth.
CollectA’s first 2024 reveal is their 1:3 scale take on Dearc (pronounced “jark”), a Middle Jurassic rhamphorhynchine discovered in Scotland. Named and described in 2022, it had an estimated wingspan of up to three metres and was the largest flying creature of its time.
The head appears to have been inspired by the northern gannet.
The Cyberzoic Kickstarter is officially over. 1,637 backers contributed an impressive combined total of $608,230 US to bring David Silva’s long dream closer to fruition. Naturally, it will be at least a year before the figures ship, but judging from the images, the wait will be worth it.
