Before starting this review, I want to extend my thanks to Happy Hen Toys for generously offering this review sample for the Blog. Happy Hen Toys has, in my experience, become on of the most reliable sources for extinct & extant animal brands alike in the United States. Be sure to check out their website at happyhentoys.com; more links will be provided below.
Upcoming releases from LEGO (New for 2023)
3.3 (31 votes)
LEGO is marking the 30th anniversary of Jurassic Park with five new sets based on scenes from the film, including the first ever Brachiosaurus figure. These are all slated for release on June 1.
Velociraptor Escape. Don’t rightly recall Ellie ever driving an ATV.
Dilophosaurus Ambush. Looks like the arrow sign can actually spin.
Upcoming release from Safari Ltd. (New for 2023)
4.6 (82 votes)
Behold Utahraptor! This big-headed blue beauty is based on the latest research, so it looks quite different from other Safari dromaeosaurs. A must-have for sure!
Jurassic World Destruct-A-Saurs Helicopter Set with Pteranodon (Mattel)
1.5 (68 votes)
EmperorDinobot here with another Pteranodon from the Jurassic World Franchise by Mattel. Destruct-A-Saurs saw very little distribution across the US, and the few that were found were purchases along the southern border, so collectors were scrambling to get these from our Mexican pals who were always willing to help.
Armadon (Primal Rage by Playmates)
2.3 (53 votes)
Review and photographs by Funk, edited by Suspsy
The 1994 Atari fighting game Primal Rage featured a roster of stop-motion animated dinosaurs and giant apes that battled it out on a post-apocalyptic Earth (or “Urth”), which seems like an irresistible concept for a toyline, with Playmates jumping to the task in 1996, possibly to coincide with the sequel of the game which never materialised (toys based on characters from the sequel were also produced).
Gastonia (Schleich)
3.8 (59 votes)
Before we begin the review, I would like to extend my gratitude towards Happy Hen Toys for sending this figure along as a review sample. Happy Hen Toys is a U.S. distributor of figures by Safari, Papo, CollectA, Schleich, and other similar companies. In the case of CollectA they’re often the only place that sells their products at a reasonable price within the United States.
3D Dinosaur Pictorial Book (The Access)
3.3 (38 votes)
Japan has a prolific industry for collectibles and merchandise, although it is a fairly insular market that western collectors might find tricky to break into. There are always new surprises to uncover from riches of new releases each year. One such item which caught my attention in 2022 was a set of minifigures produced by The Access, a company dedicated to planning, manufacturing, and wholesaling a variety of in-house products for multiple age ranges.
Upcoming release from PNSO (New for 2023)
4.3 (22 votes)
PNSO’s second reveal for the year is Mungo the Meraxes! This giant carcharodontosaur was only described in 2022, so props to PNSO for being on top of the latest paleontology news. The grey colour scheme is pretty cool too, a welcome change from previous PNSO theropods.
Upcoming releases from Mattel (New for 2023)
4 (33 votes)
Jurassic Park/World fans should be very excited by all the new Hammond Collection toys that have been revealed this week, both of the dinosaur and human persuasion.
Corythosaurus.
Irritator.
Metriacanthosaurus.
Stegosaurus baby.
Tyrannosaurus baby.
Dennis Nedry and John Hammond.
Macrauchenia (MPC)
4 (47 votes)
“If MPC Ran the Zoo”…
Macrauchenia looked like it could have inspired some of the creatures in a Dr. Seuss book, if its history of paleoart is anything to go by. First described in 1838, the “long-necked llama” hasn’t achieved the same level of fame as some of its mammalian contemporaries from the Miocene and Pleistocene; however, its lanky legs, long neck, and peculiar trunk make for a very distinct image, and have earned the genus at least a few toys over the decades.
Diabloceratops (Jurassic World Dino Trackers, Wild Roar by Mattel)
2.8 (63 votes)
It’s time for our annual review of a large Mattel ceratopsian. Every year since 2018 Mattel has released one of these and they always end up being among my favorite toys from Mattel. This year it’s a Diabloceratops, part of Mattel’s Dino Trackers line. What are Dino Trackers? Beats me!
Upcoming releases from Mattel (New for 2023)
4.1 (39 votes)
Earlier this week, we saw the reveal of the very retro-looking Electronic Real Feel Tyrannosaurus rex. Now check out its packaging, which is similarly a homage to the original 1993 Jurassic Park packaging by Kenner.
Also newly revealed are three additional Classic ’93 products. First is the Tactical Claw Pack with Alan Grant, a Gallimimus, a juvenile Velociraptor, and a bunch of accessories.
Tyrannosaurus rex (1/18 Scale Kickstarter Exclusive)(Beasts of the Mesozoic by Creative Beast Studio)
4.8 (170 votes)
Marbhtach’s crimson eyes are fixed on Banrigh’s as he carefully lays the freshly caught pachycephalosaur still oozing life on the ground before her. Whereupon he slowly backs away, nodding his head and cooing softly with each step while Banrigh sniffs and scrutinizes his offering. And it must indeed be to her liking, for she enthusiastically yanks off one of the hind legs, flirks it into the air, catches it deftly in her mouth, and swallows it whole.
Upcoming releases from Mattel (New for 2023)
3.3 (55 votes)
Among the many new toys Mattel is releasing for this year is the Electronic Real Feel Skin Tyrannosaurus rex. The colour scheme is clearly a homage to the original Electronic T. rex from Kenner’s 1993 Jurassic Park line, while the swallowing gimmick with a retrieval slit in the belly is reused from the Bull T.
Iguanodon (Marolin / VEB Plaho)
3.8 (40 votes)
Can you detect the tiny ear conches?
A firm from the German Democratic Republic, VEB (Volkseigener Betrieb) Plaho, released a series of highly collectable die casting plastic dinosaur figures in 1967. They were sold in the Museum of Sena in Thuringia, Germany, until the mid-1980s. The follower firm to Plaho, Marolin, re-released them in 1990.