The final set of Safari’s first forays into dinosaur miniatures features a charming blend of aesthetics, and also serves in retrospect as a tribute to a dawning hobby and its burgeoning artists.
In 1994, Battat was commissioned by the Boston Museum to produce what would become one of the most praised toy lines in dinosaur collecting.
Cryolophosaurus is famous for its handsome crest and for being the largest known theropod from Antarctica, and the largest known one from the Early Jurassic period for that matter. Its classification has long been something of a puzzlement, but a 2020 study concluded that it was a derived neotheropod related to the famous Dilophosaurus.
In life, Wiwaxia was covered in spines and scales that would have made it about as cuddly as a sea urchin, an animal it resembled but was not related to. Good thing then that Paleozoic Pals made this plush Wiwaxia to snuggle with instead.
This solidly-built stuffed toy represents The Field Museum’s star dinosaur attraction at its latest, biggest and best.
The ubiquitous dinosaur Tyrannosaurus rex has seen many incarnations and reconstructions in the two centuries since its discovery by human scientists – and plenty of merchandise has been produced to match.
The Basic line of Mattel Jurassic World figures is a line of budget friendly toys that are trimmed down in virtually every aspect. They don’t have any action features, the articulation is exceptionally limited, and the paintjobs are typically simplified. So far, they don’t have a presence on the Dinosaur Toy Blog, but today we’re looking at one of the line’s standout figures, the Edmontosaurus, new for 2022.
It’s a hot, clear summer day. Birds are chirping in the trees while the pterosaurs overhead call out to each other as they pass in the sky. Turtles and crocodyliformes are basking comfortably on the banks of the calmly flowing river and on one side, a single spinosaur is standing stock still in the shallows, waiting patiently for a meal to swim by.
One of the oldest toys of an iconic extinct mammal family still holds up pretty well, especialy alongside its more derivative contemproraries.
MPC (Multiple Products Corporations) toys are known in some circles as the “poor man’s Marx”; many of the prehistoric creatures represented in MPC’s lineup were lifted from the older Marx line, often sacrificing size and sculpt quality for bright colors and cheaper quantity.
Dreadnoughtus schrani was a species of titanosaur that lived during the late Cretaceous in what is now Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. It was discovered in 2005 in the Cerro Fortaleza Formation by Kenneth Lacovara and described in 2014. The name Dreadnoughtus translates to “fears nothing,” and what an apt name it is.
The name Guidraco means “malicious dragon,” and looking at its head with that tall crest and mouth bristling with dozens of long, pointed teeth, it’s definitely an appropriate name for this Chinese anhanguerid. Although a relatively obscure pterosaur, it’s pretty famous here on the Dinosaur Toy Blog thanks to CollectA’s colossal 2015 toy.
Review and photos by Faelrin, edited by Suspsy
Before the mainline sized 3.75″ Hammond Collection came onto the scene this year and became all the rage, there was the ill-fated Amber Collection, a line of figures intended for 1/12 scale collectors. After its launch in late 2019, it saw poor species diversity (too many Velociraptor figures), poor quality control, poor accuracy to the source material at times, and limited distribution globally (mostly online only), etc.
The thundering sounds of stampeding animals shatter the tranquil morning air. A herd of Torosaurus has just walked into an ambush on their way to the forest edge and are now running for their lives towards the safety of the open plains.
Confession time. I like ugly sauropods. In fact, my favorite sauropod is widely regarded as one of the ugliest, Camarasaurus. And I’m one of the few collectors that likes the Schleich Barapasaurus, which I reviewed for the blog upon its release.
