Review and images by bmathison1972; edited by Suspsy
In 2023, CollectA added Anomalocaris canadensis to its growing collection of Paleozoic invertebrates, following fellow arthropod Redlichia and mollusks Passaloteuthis, Pleuroceras, Orthoceras, Cooperoceras, and Pravitoceras (not to mention an extant nautilus and horseshoe crab).
The late Cretaceous tyrannosauroid, Dryptosaurus, is a historically significant genus that due to the fragmentary nature of its preserved material has been largely forgotten and ignored. Dryptosaurus aquilunguis was one of the first theropods ever discovered and the first theropod discovered in the Americas.
It’s yet another scorching summer day, but Murmillo is finding relief by wading placidly in the murky shallows of a lake. A slight ripple in the surface catches her eye, but no matter, it’s probably just a fish or a turtle or—a gargantuan alligatoroid that explodes from the water and engulfs her entire head and neck in its murderous jaws!
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.
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.
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!
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
