“Hello again, fellow dinosaur lovers! Dr. Bella Bricking and Beth Buildit here, at your service!”
“What’s up with that flight cap and goggles, Doc?
“Well, Beth, today we’re going to be reviewing that iconic denizen of the Cretaceous skies, the Lego Pteranodon! So I figured I’d dress the part, you know!”
“Ah, gotcha. Well, let’s get on with it then.”
“Unlike those Coelophysis we reviewed last time, Beth, the Lego Pteranodon requires some assembly. It is made of five parts: the main body, the wings, the skull, and the mandible. The latter two are made of rubberized plastic to ensure safety and durability. When assembled, the Pteranodon‘s mouth opens wide and its wings can flap. It has four studs on its back and two sockets in its belly, allowing it to be mounted as shown. Also note that the feet are sculpted similar to minifigure hands, enabling them to grasp a variety of Lego items.”
“Not that they were actually capable of carrying off things that way in real life, right, Doc?”
“That is correct, Beth. From the tip of the bill to the toes, the Pteranodon measures 10 cm long and the wingspan is a respectable 20 cm, making it approximately in scale with minifigures such as ourselves.”
“Colours are pretty decent too, Doc. Light brown and dark brown with red markings on the head, and yellow eyes. This critter comes from set 5883-1: Tower Takedown. A green one showed up in set 5888-1: Ocean Interceptor and a red and grey one features in set 75915-1: Pteranodon Capture.”
“Oh yeah, and all three versions have thick black markings around their eyes that make them look like they’re teed off.”
“Those poor things! Come on, Beth, let’s give this one a little cheering up!”
“Whee! So what is your final word on the Lego Pteranodon, Beth?”
“Definitely an improvement over those Coelophysis, Doc. It’s bigger, it’s got moving parts, it’s unmistakeable as a Pteranodon, and most of all, it’s fun to play with. Just like you’re doing right now.”
“Bingo, Beth! Toodle-oo, fellow dinosaur lovers, see you again soon!”
“Ugh. Fish breath.”
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The assignment of sternbergi to Geosternbergia is not fully accepted in taxonomic circles. Then again – there is an old saying in taxonomy. Put three taxonomists in a room and you will get four opinions. Myself, I have not read through the papers so I do not have an opinion either way yet.
Great review by the way. I have all four of the mentioned Lego figures. I was fortunate in an eBay auction to get the older sternbergi figure.
Thanks! And I like that old taxonomic saying.
Interestingly, Lego has actually portrayed both species of Pteranodon! This review covers their P. longiceps, while the older Johnny Thunder dinosaur sets often contained a P. sternbergii (which came as a single piece), as seen in the Track Master set here: http://lh3.ggpht.com/_FcqpDR2ICTo/TAMQFWoSTuI/AAAAAAAAGo4/V_TXdBiUcRw/s1024/lego_dino_explorer_pics_008resized.jpg
I never had any of those sets, sadly, and they’re now way too pricey to attempt to acquire. Also, if we want to get technical, that old toy would now be an example of Geosternbergia. 🙂