Although I’ve been collecting toy dinosaurs for over 15 years my only representatives of the second dinosaur described by science have been the 1961 Marx, 1980 Invicta, and 1992 Carnegie Collection Iguanodon figures. It’s a somewhat embarrassing confession but let me explain myself. Shortly after its release I very nearly bought the Safari Iguanodon. I had it in-hand in a...
I initially wasn’t planning on acquiring either the Mattel Iguanodon or Skorpiovenator for my children’s dinosaur collection, but back in February 2024, Amazon Canada put the Roarin’ Battle Pack on sale for $26.94, which in this country is three dollars less than the retail price of a single toy in the Roarivores/Roar Strikers/Wild Roar size category....
This is my first review as an author rather than guest reviewer at this blog, so I’ll start out with a classic figure, the UKRD Iguanodon from 1992. Iguanodon of course has the distinction of being the second named dinosaur genus (after Megalosaurus), and has remained relatively famous for a non-American dinosaur, even being the protagonist of a film, Disney’s...
What set of “ultimate dinosaurs” wouldn’t include the second dinosaur described by science? Although hardly obscure I wouldn’t exactly call Iguanodon popular either so any new figures of it should warrant some attention and a time to shine on the Dinosaur Toy Blog. Don’t worry though, a figure like this doesn’t require much discussion so we’ll keep things brief. This...
Sometimes in our clamour for the most spectacular, expensive, hot new dinosaur figures, we can forget there’s still plenty of joy to be found in plain, cheap, cool old dinosaur figures. And you can’t get cheaper than free! The German Margarinefiguren, or Margarine Figures, by Wagner, came free with packets of ‘butter’ (and maybe other products, I don’t know) in...
“How do you do, fellow dinosaur lovers? Dr. Bella Bricking and Beth Buildit here once again, wishing you all both a happy National Dinosaur Day and a happy Pride Month! Are you ready for yet another dive deep into the exciting world of prehistoric LEGO sets?” *sigh* “Why are we wearing these getups, Doc? I’m cooking in here!” “Why, we...
Can you detect the tiny ear conches? A firm from the German Democratic Republic, VEB (Volkseigener Betrieb) Plaho, released a series of highly collectable die casting plastic dinosaur figures in 1967. They were sold in the Museum of Sena in Thuringia, Germany, until the mid-1980s. The follower firm to Plaho, Marolin, re-released them in 1990. Plaho / Marolin did...
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. The Battat Museum dinosaur...
Since they first started producing tube sets back in 2015, CollectA has covered a pretty decent variety of prehistoric life, wild animals, sea creatures, and farm stock. In 2021, they went back to the beginning with a third dinosaur (mostly) set consisting of ten figures, all based on previously released toys. First we have this elfin Alamosaurus. Measuring around 8.5...
Well, I’ve shown you the worst of this line, let’s waste no time and get straight on to the best of them! Starting off the top half is everyone’s favourite three horned herbivore Triceratops. This features one of the best poses of the lot (something I haven’t talked at length about as most the figures are in a generic standing...
This set of reissued figurines offers an updated, good-quality variety of animals for collectors who might have missed earlier releases. Kaiyodo’s miniature dinosaur lines might be among the very best in the market, even with more and more high-end companies entering the scene in recent years. It’s a shame that acquiring Kaiyodo’s figurines hasn’t gotten any easier for collectors outside...
I’ve been meaning to plug some of the gaps in our Marx review series for a long while, so thanks to the other reviewers who have been most patient with me. The Marx Iguanodon toy under review today was part of the Second Series Mold Group, PL-1083, first released in 1961. Obviously, there’s little point in reviewing these 60-year-old figures...
