Mattel’s Amber Collection has had a rocky release history, but before the line ground to a halt, Mattel decided to go out on a bang with the highly anticipated male Velociraptor design from Jurassic Park III. Fans were both excited and cautious: would this fan-favorite design be done the justice it deserved?
Review: Tyrannosaurus rex (Tamiya)
Review: Majungasaurus (Schleich)
3.7 (32 votes)
Madagascar has always been an island of oddities. From giant lemurs to horned crocodiles, there are a lot of interesting species to see. The Mesozoic likewise has some interesting animals, such as the late Cretaceous Madagascan monster Majungasaurus, an Abelisaurid known for being cannibalistic.
Review: Brontosaurus (Sinclair Dinoland)
4 (7 votes)
Sinclair’s Brontosaurus and its plastic compatriots are time capsules to a moment of zeitgeist in paleo pop-culture, and stand as charming testaments to the evolving nature of paleontology and memorabilia.
Brontosaurus is one of the quintessential icons of dinosaur pop-culture imagery. Described by the famous paleontologist Othniel Marsh, the “thunder lizard” became immortalized with the first skeletal mount at the American Museum of Natural history, and further entrenched by the likes of artists such as painter Charles R.
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: Paradise Parrot (Forgotten Friends Series A by Yowie)
4 (6 votes)
Australia is home to numerous species of parrot, from the Gallah to the sulpur-crested Cockatoo. Many are now quite rare as a result of humanity, but most are now protected and hopefully will recover. Sadly, this isn’t the case for all of them, as one species no longer exists among them, the Paradise Parrot.
Review: Torvosaurus (PNSO)
4.4 (42 votes)
When it comes to large predatory theropods, it’s hard to figure out what exactly makes some genus/species popular while others not so. It’s not just the size or the active predatory lifestyle that propel certain species into stardom, in fact there are many equally large and fearsome theropods that despite seemingly having all the star quality, somehow languish in obscurity.Take the subject of our review today, Torvosaurus, a large apex theropod predator that despite having it all, even a catchy and easy to remember name, still ranks as one of those “obscure” names, failed to garner fame outside of the paleo world.
Review: Pteranodon sternbergi (CollectA)
Review: Choiseul Crested Pigeon (Forgotten Friends Series A by Yowie)
3.8 (5 votes)
The age of Imperialism truly wrecked the ecosystems of the world. Of all of these, island ecosystems were the most at risk, as the animals there were often unique and unable to deal with humanity and the creatures that often accompanied them. The island of Choiseul in the Solomon islands is one such example, as it was once home to the spectacular Choiseul Crested Pigeon, a relative of doves that was endemic only to Choiseul.
Review: Tyrannosaurus rex (Dinoland by Sinclair)
4.1 (13 votes)
Sinclair’s unique figurine was probably one of the finest renditions of the tyrant lizard king a child could ever hope to own in 1964, and remains a delightful piece of vintage memorabilia to this day.
In 1933, in conjunction with the Chicago World’s Fair, Sinclair Oil company commissioned an exhibit of life-sized dinosaur models for display.
Review: Baluchitherium (Paraceratherium) (Lido-Nabisco)
3.4 (11 votes)
With an estimated length of 24.3’ (7.4 meters), shoulder height of 15.7’ (4.8 meters), and neck length of 6.6-8.2’ (2-2.5 meters), the Paraceratherium is believed to be the largest land mammal that has ever lived, or at the very least among the largest. Despite this astonishing fact, this gigantic hornless rhinoceros has been largely ignored in our hobby until recently.
Review: Tylosaurus (PNSO)
4.7 (39 votes)
The vast inland sea known as the Western Interior Seaway of the Late Cretaceous split the continent that we would come to know today as North America from north to south. As the landmasses on either side were ruled by dinosaurs and other terrestrial animals, this inland sea was ruled by huge marine reptiles.
Review: Shringasaurus (Jurassic World Dino Escape Wild Pack by Mattel)
3 (21 votes)
For many years, the Triassic period has been the most overlooked part of the Mesozoic in toy form, usually Coelophysis or Postosuchus. More recently, however, more and more species are coming to the forefront and being made available in plastic. Even the Jurassic World toyline has jumped to this, as we see here in a recent figure of Shringasaurus, an archosauromorpha from the middle Triassic of India, a bizzare horned species that certainly caught the eye of the public.
Review: Prehistoric Diorama (Usborne)
4.7 (14 votes)
Paper is usually not the material of choice for collectors of any sort. I anyway want to introduce you to something that may be of interest for a dinosaur collector, though it are probably not the figures….
The introduced cut out model was first released in 1993 under the title “Make these Dinosaurs” and the art of it, especially the dinosaur desgin, certainly represents this time.
Review: Pteranodon (Jurassic Park: Legacy Amber Collection by Mattel)
3.1 (15 votes)
The Amber Collection Pteranodon is actually quite a mixed bag, with great coloration and good sculpting, but noticeable flaws in articulation.
Say what you will about the film as a whole, but Jurassic Park III had arguably some of the best creature designs in the Jurassic franchise (scientific [in]accuracies notwithstanding).