Released in 1978 the Invicta Pteranodon has a very vintage look to it, almost like something out of a Ray Harryhausen picture. Unlike Harryhausen’s stop motion marvels this Pteranodon doesn’t have bat wings though, which is a relief. But much like bats, we know that pterosaurs adopted a similar posture when on all fours, with the wings folded and tucked back.
It’s virtually unthinkable for a dinosaur toyline not to have at least one pterosaur and Playmobil has gone with that most familiar of flyers, Pteranodon.
How the Tapejara ever became a toy in the Jurassic Park toy line is puzzling when you look back at the turbulent time before Jurassic Park III was released. Hasbro downsized after the failure of the JP Chaos Effect toys, and the lower than expected sales from Star Wars Phantom Menace toys.
One of several Pteranodon figures from Bullyland. This figure appears to represent P. longiceps and contrasts with Bully’s smaller P. sternbergi figures (one reviewed previously: here)
Notice the metal ring attached to the back so you can hang this figure for display.
Many cheap dinosaurs (known as ‘Chinasaurs’ in the dinosaur toy collecting community because they are typically manufactured there) have a habit of adding vicious teeth to each and every species of prehistoric creature, predatory stegosaurs and triceratops abound for example, and Pteranodons; the name means ‘winged and (ironically) toothless’, with a ferocious maw.
Pterosaurs are delicate gangly creatures, so it is unsurprising that toy companies have tended to create simple ‘in flight’ postures for their pterosaur figures. Pterosaurs with the wings outstretched are easier to make. Bullyland broke the mold when they produced a pair of pterosaurs, a typical flying version (I will call this version 1, it also has a fish in its mouth), and a standing version (I’ll call this version 2), with wings partially folded up.
