These six little dinos, sculpted by the Carnegie Collection’s own Forest Rogers, may look pretty dated today; but they manage to blend old and new aspects of science to produce a charming set as a whole.
Safari ltd. stands as one of the giants of educational, scientifically accurate dinosaur & animal toys today; but it’s easy to forget the company didn’t start out this way.
Larami’s Museum set is looking pretty dated now, but it’s a charming playset all the same and one of the more memorable imitators out there.
It’s said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery; by that metric the dinosaur toy industry has been incredibly generous towards the leading toy brands.
“Season’s Greetings, fellow dinosaur lovers! Yes, it is I, Dr. Bella Bricking and my invaluable assistant and companion Beth Buildit, back once again to celebrate the holidays with you!”
“Hiya, folks. Sure hope 2021 was kinder to all of you than 2020 was. Suffering studs, did that year ever bite.
Playmobil’s 1.2.3 line is the equivalent of Lego’s Duplo line: simpler, safer versions of their main products aimed at toddlers. When I saw that there was a dinosaur-themed set among the 2018 releases, I knew that I had to get it for my son. As I write this, he’s still far too little to understand the first thing about prehistory, but he certainly enjoys banging the toys together or sucking on them.
“Good day, fellow dinosaur lovers! Time once again to delve deep into the world of Lego with yours truly, Dr. Bella Bricking, along with the indispensable Beth Buildit! And how is little Bronwyn today, Beth?”
“She’s just fine, Doc. Although I’m still not sure my sister would be cool with all this.”
“Stuff and nonsense, Beth, she’s going to have a perfectly lovely adventure just like last time!
Review and photos by Charles Peckham, edited by Suspsy
Trying to find information about either the creator of these toys, a Chinese company named Yantai, or their American distributor, Learnplay Inc., isn’t easy. According to one of the few sources I was able to find, Yantai has been around since 2011 and their Halftoy line is just one of hundreds of designs they have made.
Cheap dinosaur sets are fairly common on the market, offering a variety of creatures for a reasonable price (though usually picked from a very select group of species), something to keep kids entertained for a few hours. Wenno are a prime example of this, having released a few sets for ancient and modern species.
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 pose), an aggressive fight pose, all the better when you have two to joust with.
Here is an interesting fact. In the United States of America, the release of the limited edition Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom Kinder Joy Eggs would have been illegal if it had been released in previous years. The reason for this is that any candy with a toy or “non-nutritive object embedded” inside it has been illegal since 1938, when the U.S.
