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).
Common legends says, that the first remains of Iguanodon were discovered in the heaps of a road cut by the wife of an English country doctor. Now, this may be true or not, but the doctor, Gideon Mantell, described the species in 1825 on basis of just a few teeth.
Before we begin with the review, I want to ruminate on some things, because this review is significant in a couple of ways. For one, it’s my 200th review for the Dinosaur Toy Blog. I’ve known it was coming for some time now and over the course of several months deliberated over which figure should be selected for the occasion.
Of all the theropods of the Jurassic period, the most well known is the Allosaurus, and for good reason. Measuring 9.7m long, there were few other predators that stood a chance, with the exception of Saurophaganax. This got it starring roles in a lot of dino media, being the original big dino predator.
Of all the vertebrates on earth, only three in the history of life have achieved powered flight. Two, the birds and bats, are still amongst us today, but the third, the pterosaurs, have long since become extinct. This makes them an intriguing group, especially given that some reached incredible sizes.
The two valid species of the North American hadrosaur Edmontosaurus, E. annectens and E. regalis, are known from multiple fossil specimens. Taken together, they make the genus “fully known.” But while a complete skeleton can give us a reasonable idea about an animal’s appearance in life, it is not necessarily a full or accurate one.
Although the “Asian Tyrannosaurus” doesn’t enjoy the same fame as its close American relative, Tarbosaurus bataar has gained a little notoriety for itself in recent years; it’s one of few dinosaurs to receive the (dubious) honor of starring in at least one feature film of its own, and a few toy companies have also begun giving Tarbosaurus attention.
There aren’t a lot of dinosaur toys on the market that specialize in articulation (David Silva’s Beasts of the Mesozoic line being the main shining exception right now), so the announcement of Mattel’s Amber Collection for their ongoing Jurassic World line was reason for excitement.
Ceratopsians are a fascinating group. Their bodies aren’t very diverse, but the skull work is incredible. And one of the greats when it comes to that is Styracosaurus, with it’s spiked frill giving it a fearsome appearance (even if the frill itself offered little protection due to the holes, but I won’t tell the predators if you won’t).
There are a lot of paint-your-own models out there, from the modern to the mythical and they can be a lot of fun. There a lot of ones for dinosaurs, so I thought I would review one. As opposed to other models I’ve reviewed, there is no building involved, so you can just pick up and go.
