Velociraptor (Adventure Force)

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Review and photos by Skinny Davenport, edited by Suspsy

Anyone who has heard of Jurassic Park knows what a Velociraptor is. Next to Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops, it is probably one of the most popular dinosaurs out there. As appealing as this dinosaur is, especially to boys, its appearance has changed drastically in reconstructions over the last twenty or so years. A number of dromaeosaurid fossils have been discovered with feather impressions or quill knobs, including Velociraptor.

Here is “Flossie,” a soft plastic Velociraptor toy I found at my local Walmart. I had been watching this toy for a while and finally scraped up the cash to buy it. She is coloured reddish-orange with dark purplish-brown stripes, yellow eyes, and gray claws. She measures about 24 inches in length and stands about 12 inches tall at her head. I think her texture is amazing to the touch, truly feeling like a real animal. Her scales are nicely done: small on most of the body, but with larger scales around the jawlines and lips. Her teeth are well sculpted and she has a completely red tongue inside her lower jaw.

Flossie has a reasonably horizontal stance for a toy of her size. Although she is technically a tripod, her tail is held out pretty straight and only rests slightly on the ground. Admittedly, many people will probably complain about herlack of feathers, but honestly, I kind of like the Jurassic Park look.The one truly negative thing I’ll say about her is that her hands are pronated, which we know would not have been how theropod dinosaurs held their hands. However, this is a mistake that even respected companies like Schleich continue to make, so I don’t think it is an inexcusable oversight for a more generic toy.

Flossie is probably available at any Walmart of decent size. I hope you enjoyed this review!