Japan has a prolific industry for collectibles and merchandise, although it is a fairly insular market that western collectors might find tricky to break into. There are always new surprises to uncover from riches of new releases each year. One such item which caught my attention in 2022 was a set of minifigures produced by The Access, a company dedicated to planning, manufacturing, and wholesaling a variety of in-house products for multiple age ranges.
All Tyrannosaurus Reviews
Review: Ancient Fossils (Toob by Safari Ltd)
Of all the product lines offered by stalwart manufacturer Safari Ltd, the “Toob®” line gives them the freest rein to explore unusual taxa. I’m personally fondest of the Toobs that furnish small versions of small animals that might scale well with Safari’s full-size figurines. We’ve reviewed some of their most interesting Toobs featuring “alive” animals here, here, here, here, and here.
Review: Bendable Dinosaur Playset (Dorda)
Review and photos by Emperor Dinobot, edited by Suspsy
Hello everyone! Welcome to yet another EmperorDinobot(TM) dinosaur review! Today we are going to give a look at these quirky bendable dinosaurs from Dorda! Made in 1987 (I think I would have to lift up their skirts to make sure it was ’87 or ’88), these dinosaurs look a wee bit like the Playskool Definitely Dinosaur figures from the late 80s, but definitely have their own aesthetic and gimmick in order to keep kids and strange adult dinosaur toy collectors entertained for hours!
Review: Black Tyrannosaurus (Dinosaur King by Sega)
The idea of genetically altering creatures for ulterior motives is a common thing in various stories, usually resulting in some big bad creature that our heroes must defeat. Dino media is no exception to this, and here we look at a model of one Tyrannosaurus that ended up bigger and stronger than others in it’s series: the Black T.Rex from Dinosaur King.
Review: Carnivorous Dinos (Toob by Safari Ltd.)
When it comes to tubes of miniatures, or “toobs,” Safari Ltd. remains the undisputed ruler. That said, they haven’t released any new toobs in years, and many of their prehistoric-themed ones are really showing their age. Today we’ll be examining one such example, Carnivorous Dinos, consisting of twelve miniatures representing a veritable Who’s Who of Mesozoic (and one Paleozoic) Meanies.
Review: Carnotaurus Gyrosphere Escape (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom by LEGO)
Review by James Hirleley, photos by Roselaar, edited by Suspsy
Dinosaurs roamed the earth once again this past June in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Following suit, LEGO released a wave of sets to commemorate the latest blockbuster movie from the dinosaur-themed franchise. The Carnotaurus Gyrosphere Escape (75929) set boasts 577 pieces, which makes it one of the largest sets from the LEGO Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom lineup.
Review: Cretaceous Collection (Kaiyodo Capsule Q Museum)
Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops, Velociraptor, Mosasaurus, and Pteranodon. What a familiar lineup! This is a set decidedly influenced by the hype surrounding the latest installment in the Jurassic Park franchise, consisting of five iconic creatures from all over the Cretaceous.
Review: Diablo (Primal Rage by Playmates)
Review and photographs by Funk, edited by Suspsy.
As most dinosaur fans that grew up in the 1990s know, Primal Rage from 1994 was a fighting game pitting stop motion animated dinosaurs and apes against each other, with very violent and sometimes bizarre attacks that inevitably led to parental outrage.
Review: Dilophosaurus Rex (Jurassic World Hybrids by Hasbro)
When you read the title of this review, what do you expect to see? If you’re expecting some sort of new species of Dilophosaurus, then you’re giving the minds at Hasbro way too much credit. In reality, it’s a retool of their Bashers and Biters T.
Review: Dino Skulls (Toob by Safari Ltd.)
From the savage teeth of tyrannosaurs to the intimidating horns of ceratopsians to the endearing crests of hadrosaurs and to the peculiar noggins of pachycephalosaurs, dinosaur skulls truly are stupendous. I previously reviewed Safari’s toob of prehistoric mammal skulls; now I’ll be looking at their Dino Skulls toob.
Review: Dinos (Toob by Safari Ltd.)
Review: Dinosaur Advent Calendar 2016 (Schleich)
This year Schleich followed in the footsteps of companies like Lego and Playmobil in offering an advent calendar, but this one is dinosaur-themed! 24 days of dinosaur goodies sounds pretty attractive, so I bit the bullet and picked one up. I opened it long before Christmas, so that maybe this review can help you decide whether to buy one yourself.