Opabinia (Kaiyodo Dino-Tales Series 1)

You probably think by now that I’m a supporter of marginal creatures and you’re probably right. But they’re universally fascinating. Ever since the Burgess Shale fauna became famous after being revisited in the late 70’s, these animals have been variously depicted by numerous artists. Even Clive Barker mentions the Hallucigenia in his novel The Great and Secret Show. But replicas came later. I’m pretty sure Kaiyodo was the first company to ever make a Burgess Shale toy (first the Opabinia, then the Anomalocaris and the Hallucigenia) So this was the first replica of its kind (and please bear in mind that this is part of the first installment in the Dino-Tales series) Prehistoric Panorama only followed.

The Opabinia (there is only known species, Opabinia regalis) belongs to that kind of fauna that is unclassifiable because the evidence is very scarce (the Burgess Shale is one of the very few locations where well preserved Cambrian fossils of invertebrata have been found) and because almost none of them has living relatives. Scientists believed that the Opabinia only resembled an arthropod without being one (there are no jointed legs) but recent findings from Greenland suggest that opabinids may have had legs after all. This would mean that the Opabinia actually lived in the benthic region and crawled on the sea floor. There is still much to be discovered, so these replicas actually age faster than others: the Kaiyodo Opabinia has no legs, it’s based on early renditions, it’s positioned as if it were swimming, but does this make it necessarily a bad replica? Of course not.

The 15 lobulated body segments, the serrated proboscis (which is NOT in a transveral position, a more plausible supposition for Dinocarida like the Opabinia or the Anomalocaris), the 5 mushroom-like eyes and the curious tail with 3 blades are de rigueur, they’re present (amazingly detailed by the way; there is no mouth though), but that’s not entirely what makes it so wonderful. The resin is transparent (which is a plus for me) on top of it, the paint job is inextricably complicated (mainly a nacre-like silvery tone on underside and proboscis, a coat of orange on the lobes, some green spots, incluiding the eyes) The ‘exo-skeleton’ is smooth, while the proboscis has an irregular feel.

Most of the Kaiyodo figures seem to have surpassed other companies’ products, even more so if we consider that they’re all miniatures (this piece measures 9 cm, so the scale is almost 100:100) The only downside is that the resin seems fragile.

Unfortunately the Opabinia only surfaces once in a while and it can be moderately expensive.

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Maiasaura (Battat)

The Battat Maiasaura is certainly one of the better replicas of this genus, next to the newest Carnegie Maiasaura. It’s accurate down to the crest above the eyes, and there probably won’t be a better one for the time being.

It’s a simple mold, with excellent detailing of its skin, with a nice color choice of dark burgundy, and some yellow/orange running down its back. One of his better features is that, like all Battat, they are in scale with the Carnegie dinosaurs, and this Maiasaura’s length is the same as both Carnegie Maiasaura so he can be welcomed into the herd quite easily. My only complaint is some of the coloring pattern. There’s a hideous yellow wavy line on both sides of the tail, and it looks quite strange. Another complaint is that he can’t stand well as it’s legs are bent a bit, so he will need support or it’ll fall to its side, but that may just be mine.

The Battat Maiasaura is not that rare and can still be found on Ebay. Itis definitely a worthwhile addition to any dinosaur collection, and for those Hadrosaur lovers, this is a must.

Review and Photos by Emperordinobot

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Albertosaurus (Prehistoric Masterpiece Collection)

Albertosaurus is the smaller cousin of T. rex and is rarely found in the form of a dinosaur toy. The Prehistoric Masterpiece Collection is produced by Japanese sculptors  Araki and Shinzen; the figures are hand-painted and also included in this series is a Styracosaurus.

This figure was discontinued a few years ago, and I’m not sure how much longer they’ll be available, so you should probably order this right now! Simply put, this is a fantastic reproduction of Albertosaurus. It’s undoubtedly the best figure of this dinosaur that money can buy, and probably one of the most accurate theropods I have ever seen for such an affordable price ($15). At about 20″ long, it’s a sizable piece too, probably one of the largest in my collection, (not including JP T.rexes) and makes a fantastic shelf topper.

It may look like a solid plastic figure but it is actually a hollow vinyl construction, like the Galaxy Toys Great Dinosaurs line. As such, it is very lightweight (I’m glad it got here in one piece!) and there are a couple of seams showing, most notably around the tail and midsection, but take a few steps back and they melt into the extreme detailing on this figure.

There are only a couple minor problems that I should point out. First off, there is simply no way this figure could stand without the base, it’s too front-heavy. The figure is meant as a display piece only and luckily I don’t really mind the stand. The only other problem I had was that the right leg in my figure is a little too warped for the foot to fit into the peg on the base, but luckily it comes with a little metal rod to aid in support.

Review and photographs by ‘Itstwentybelow’
Available here ($).
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Original review posted 04/11/07, updaded review by ‘Itstwentybelow’ posted 26/02/2008

Pteranodon sternbergi (Bullyland)

Pterosaurs are delicate gangly creatures, so it is not surprising that for the most part, toy companies have tended to create simple ‘in flight’ postures for their pterosaur figures with the wings outstretched – easier to make. Bullyland broke the mold when they produced two pterosaurs, a typical in flight version (I will call this version 1), and this standing version (version 2), with wings partially folded up. Some companies have since followed suit e.g. Safari.

Both versions represent the same species of Pteranodon, Pteranodon sternbegi. The crest of P. sternbergi has a distinct convex forward facing margin and is more greatly expanded, which distinguishing it from the other species of Pteranodon. P. longiceps, for example, is typically produced by toy companies, the crest in this species is a more simple ’spike’, so it is good to se Bullyland breaking the mold in this regard too (Bullyland also has a P. longiceps of course). The shape of the beak is also different, it apparently curves upwards in P. sternbergi.

The Version 2 Pteranodon sternbergi is nicely detailed, it occupies a quadrupedal posture with the hands supporting the front part of the body, the wing-supporting fingers pointing backwards, and the feet firmly on the ground. The partially folded wings show creases and wrinckles and the body has a fine sculpture of hair; there is even a pteroid bone sculpted in the wing, a fine detail often overlooked or deemed unimportant by toy comapnies. The stubby legs splay out slightly but the feet and hands are both accurate, considering the small size of these elements, Bullyland has done an excellent job. The head and neck lurch forwards, in this standing position it becomes apparent just how large the head of Pteranodon is in relation to the body.

The colour scheme is identical in both versions, although version one also has a fish in the jaws. The wings are red, the body grey, and the beak is yellow, but all of these shades merge naturally into each other, and there are blue highlights on the head: the colour scheme is therefore very impressive. The striking beady yellow eye in the darkened socket adds the finishing touch to this super-cool collectors item. The figure is about 13 cm long.

Available here (€)
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Carnegie Diplodocus 2008, now Available!

This month a new Diplodocus has been added to the list of excellent Carnegie collection dinosaurs. The tail and  neck are held in a biomechanically stable and anatomically correct way (in the old one the neck was in a vertical position and the tail almost touched the ground). It is a beautiful and detailled model – it also nicely shows that ‘Dippy’ was a much lighter animal than, say, Apatosaurus. Diplodocus only weighed about 12-15 t, while Apatosaurus weighed over 22 t.  

Available here
and currently available from Ebay here

Liopleurodon (DinoValley Series 2) (Chap Mei)

As recently featured on the Plesiosaur Directory toys page, there is a new Liopleurodon toy on the scene. Considering the rarity of Liopleurodon toys, and coupled with the huge popularity of this pliosaur, this Liopleurodon figure is sure to be a collector’s item. It’s part of the second series of Dinovalley, produced by Chap Mei. The Dinovalley series is similar to the 1990s Jurassic Park line by Kenner, in that it includes all manner of human figures and vehicles. The Liopleurodon is accompanied by a boat, two human figures, a floating cage, and all sorts of accessories – in fact, the pliosaur is a small part of the set – but it’s the only reason I bought it

The flippers are not posable (the only joint on the whole figure is the jaw joint), and both fore and hind limbs are orientated downwards, the forelimbs slightly more so. The tail also points downwards so that at rest, the figure is supported by the two forelimbs and the tail, with the hind-limbs hovering. The colour is nice, partly based on Walking with Dinosaurs, but there are unique areas too – rows of raised light blue scutes along the animals back, there is plenty of detail on the head (teeth, eyes, a lovely long pink tongue!) but in contrast, the tail and hind limbs have no paint at all and appear as if they were stuck on as an afterthought. This seems to be common amongst Chap Mei figures. The figure is a substantial size at 26cm long.

The jaws have a snapping action, activated by a button on the back. The figure is rather cartoony but as cartoon pliosaurs go, it is pretty accurate. So where do you get it? I found mine in a local Tesco, and I spotted it in the UK in the ELC. So far I have failed to find it on the web – as soon as I do, I will link to it from here. If anybody can help, please let me know…

Overall, a nice figure, but with a number of typical Chap Mei caveats.

Available here

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This blog entry was updated on the 06/02/08, original post date: 21/11/07

Saichania (Dinomania Series 1, by Kaiyodo)

Kaiyodo is known for making excellent dinosaur sculpts with awesome coloring, for but many a fan’s grief, they’re sold only in Japan. from 2004 onward, some of these could be found in specialty stores across America, but the quantity was minimal and they were always gone very quickly. Series 1 was the only series released in America, under the name Dinomania, and it was comprised of several dinosaurs, reptiles, fish, and fossil replicas. One of these was the Saichania.

Saichania means “beautiful” in Mongolian dialects. It isn’t necessarily called beautiful due to the dinosaur’s aesthetics, but due to the great condition in which Saichania’s fossilized skeleton was found. Saichania was an ankylosaur unlike any other. It was covered in large, triangular plates across its back, sides and towards its belly (which was previously unknown for ankylosaurs), covered with smaller plates like chainmail on its softer sides, and it was a low slung animal due to its short limbs. Like all ankylosauridae, it had a club on the end of its tail.

The mold Kaiyodo made is simply the most accurate Saichania figure ever (Kinto was making one, but decided to leave it as a skeleton. THAT would be the most accurate one). The figure displays its triangular spikes perfectly, and armor everywhere on its body. The head sculpt look just like the fossil. The animal is posed as if it were ready to strike an enemy tarbosaur. The coloring is mostly tan, with a flesh colored underbelly, dark plates, and the only complaint I have with this color scheme is that its beak is covered with a hideous white, making it look as if Saichania had been drinking too much milk. But all in all, the sculp is extremely detailed, and so is its color. At around just 6 cm long, you’d have to hold one in your hands to completely appreciate it.

All in all, Saichania is simply “beautiful”. Accurate mold, good pose, good colors, and an easy build (All Kaiyodos come with candy and need to be built). It’s one of my favorite molds of any dinosaur line, and every thyreophoran lover should have one in his or her pocket for good luck. I was very lucky to have found one Saichania within the five Kaiyodo boxes I found in that store two years ago.

Available here
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Review by Emperordinobot

Ceratosaurus (Battat)

This guy is an interesting variation of your everyday theropod: it was medium-sized, possessed horn-like protuberances on its head and a fourth finger, which is odd for a Late Jurassic dinosaur. They don’t even know exactly how to classify this member of the Ceratosauridae (it’s been said that it could be a basal tetanuran). I don’t know why this guy is so popular, there must be dozens of Ceratosaur replicas in circulation, but I feel special fondness for the Battat and the 4-D Fame Master versions (Safari version is passable and I’m pretty sure there’s an AAA Ceratosaurus clearly based on the Battat)

The Ceratosaurus was not as large as the contemporary Allosaurus, but it was menacing alright. A slender hunter, it must have preyed on Stegosaurus and Camptosaurus. The ‘horn’ was very thin, so it probably served to attract the opposite sex, (not to fight with it, for pete’s sake)

The Battat Ceratosaurus includes the name of the species on which they based the toy (in this case, Ceratosaurus nasicornis, it appears that there are other five species). It was an excellent choice, Dan Lorusso did a good job; paradoxically it has an innocent look in its eyes; this is the only Battat theropod with its mouth closed, so only the upper teeth are visible and just barely. The ‘crests’ and the horn are in the correct places, the skull itself is well proportioned. Ribcage and limbs are muscular. The skin is lovely, the creasing and sagging of it is marvelous (specially at the neck), some very cool osteoderms were added; on top of that, several ornamental spikes run along the back. The claw detail is superb. The colours are arrayed in an intrincate mixture of green, bony yellow and some brown stripes.

While this is a remarkable mass market figure (the retail price was very low) we cannot help but notice that Battat had a lot of production problems: the paint job is messy on certain spots (the teeth aren’t properly painted), the left forelimb is a little bit malformed, the toy cannot stand on its own (the pose is quite dynamic, but it leans forward a little bit too much)

Dino Horizons: Earliest Life Set (Prehistoric Panorama, by COG)

Prehistoric Panorama is a recent collection that tries to emulate the format of the Kaiyodo sets (no candy or soft drinks included). They all are miniatures (measuring around 10 cm). Each of the PP sets contains six toys and is more or less thematic. The dinosaurs they made are no match for Kaiyodo’s highly stylized products, but the rest of the critters (be it fish or arthropod) are passable. For me, the best set is the erroneously called ‘Earliest Life’ set (apparently they have no knowledge of the Precambrian life forms; what’s more, it’s stated in the booklet that the Palaeozoic was the first geological era… [sigh] go figure…). Included are 6 creatures that lived during the Cambrian era, invertebrate life forms whose fossils have only been found in the Burgess Shale in Canada and in some parts of Asia, so this is a quite cool set, maybe not as bold as Kaiyodo (the position is rather static, the paint jobs are simple), maybe not entirely accurate (they seem to be based on typical book illustrations from ten years ago, but you don’t find toys solely based on this kind of fauna everyday). Each figure is contained inside a little case (a tag is attached to it) a booklet (unfortunately the information is not very useful) the necessary instructions to put the puzzle together and a key chain of sorts. The puzzles are not too complex (usually four pieces) The plastic is some kind of smooth vinyl. The set includes:

HALLUCIGENIA: This and the Kaiyodo version are the only Hallucigenia replicas out there. Although Kaiyodo’s version is probably more beautiful due to the artistic liberties, I love the efficient simplicity of the traditional.looking PP rendering. It has no eyes, no orifices, the undefinable blob represents the head, while the tail is a little bit more worm-like. The number of spines and tentacle-like tubes is correct (14 pairs in all), although the ‘feet’ end in two claws, whereas it’s been established that there was one claw only. The tiny appendages where the… tail?… begins are present, too. The colouring is rather dull (blue sprayed on white) but then again, who knows? Maybe this is accurate after all. I’m glad they didn’t envisioned it as an onychophoran (velvet worm-like) which is currently the most accepted theory for some reason.

AYSHEAIA: I really liked this fella, it’s chubby and resembles strikingly an evil mutant catterpillar. The Aysheaia is supposedly related to the modern onychophora (such as the modern Peripatus, a worm-like creature that has arthropod qualities). It must have fed on primitive sponges. The colour pattern is quite simple, but the texture is interesting (kind of rough). I find two major flaws in it. One, there’s a pair of legs missing and two, I don’t know where they got the idea from, but the legs themselves should have the same kind of spines found on the two big posterior appendages.

PIKAIA: Interesting animal, it is supposed to be one of the first vertebrates ever. PP did a good job reconstructing the body (very much like an eel) but they put big eyes on it, which is rather doubtful, since it’s not an advanced chordate, if at all (it was thought at first that it was a polychaete worm). It must have been easy prey for the big Cambrian hunters like the Anomalocaris. On top of its head there are two protuberances (nobody know why, maybe they were antennae) Underneath the first segment one can see several minuscule appendages (their function remains unknown as well, they probably were vestigial).

OTTOIA: This is a Cambrian priapulid worm, so it’s the first replica of its kind. It was supposed to feed onlarge things (scientists think that they’ve found traces of other Ottoia worms inside the digestive tract of one of the Burgess Shale specimens, so that would make it a cannibal) but it’s possible that they just filtered things through the feeding tube. This worm would bury its body in the sand and from there catch its prey. The PP Ottoia is a nice life-like reproduction, they even positioned it as if it were buried. The feeding tube and the… head?… have some tiny markings, I guess those are the spines that are characteristic of this kind of worms; the rest of the body has a ringed pattern. The colouring ranges from dark red to clear orange.

OPABINIA: I suppose this monster and the Hallucigenia are the most impressive toys of the set; in this case, the colour is more uniform (a rusty orange tone). The detail is superior, too (particularly on the lobes that conform the body) There are very few scientific certainties about this creature, but they are mostly there (five mushroom-like eyes, proboscis with a serrated tip, the 3 lobular portions with which the tail ends) There are however several questionable features. The body had 15 body segments, whereas the PP replica has only 10. The proboscis did not function as a mouth, the latter was located at the lower part of the head, but unfortunately there is none on this toy. The designers added an extra set of paired eyes (not of the mushroom type, mind you, but little ones embedded in sockets located on the top of the head). Recent dossil findings suggest that the Opabinia may have had jointed legs (which would make it an arthropod after all) and we don’t see legs on this toy. Some experts believe that the serrated opening located at the tip of the proboscis should be transversally positioned (opposed to the medial representation, a common assumption found on the PP toy, too).

TRILOBITES: Too modest to be identified, this is an obvious case of Olenoides Serratus, another interesting creature of the Burgess Shale playground. Trilobites proliferated for a very long time, and their physiology is very complex, so it’s no wonder that they couldn’t pull it off. The top view of the body seems to be perfectly accurate, the broad lobes are clearly defined, the antennae are well proportioned, but the ventral side is completely wrong, the legs were supposed to spring from the center of the body: On the PP there’s an enigmatic plate covering the legs and a mouth that should not be there at all (it should be on the Opabinia instead) The colours are not exactly exotic, but I have no problems at all with the conservativeness of the black & grey pattern.

All in all, if you like unconventional prehistoric creatures, or if you would like to give your children an educational set of toys, this is perfect for you.

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Postosuchus (Walking with Dinosaurs by Toyway)

“What seems more likely is that creatures like Postosuchus were an example of parallel evolution, the same kind of creature evolving to fill the same ecological role; a morphogenetic preview of the large theropod archetype of the great dinosaurian carnivores of the later Mesozoic.”

Source:http://www.palaeos.com/Vertebrates/Units/270Archosauromorpha/270.700.html

Ain’t that one of the coolest bits of info ever? Something Plato or Borges would be proud of. Anyway, I decided to blog on this piece of art called Postosuchus, it’s one of my all-time favourites, and early Archosauria are very significant, biologically speaking (Alas! Not so for toy makers!)

This large predator measured up to 6 mts (quite possibly an apex predator), it was a member of the interesting Rauisuchian family (cousins of modern crocs) which prospered at first, but then became extinct at the end of the Triassic period.

Largely based on the Postosuchus created for the BBC production Walking with Dinosaurs (mind you, this was an officially licensed product) the Toyway Postosuchus holds many of the characteristicsof its digital counterpart. Even so, the detail of the replica, while more than satisfying, is nowhere near as exceptional as that of the CGI; you must keep in mind that this was supposed to be a mass-produced toy, so many of the delicate features were kind of lost in translation (most noticeable are the poorly sculpted teeth and the eyes, which seemed to be forever turned upwards) but this is still a high quality reproduction of a relatively obscure reptile, so it’s still much coveted by collectors.

The BBC guys accomplished their mission, for the original Postosuchus is accurate (skin plates, 5 digits on each paw, obligatory T-Rex-like head and straight legs correctly positioned) and managed to give it a very fearsome look. Fortunately, the replica retains all this (well, maybe the skull insinuated beneath the skin is a little bit off, but I think that’s about it), the body is muscular but not thick, there are several hints of the rest of the bone structure and they look great.

The fossil evidence suggests that at least some of the Rauisuchians were able to rear up on its hind legs (I vaguely remember seeing the Postosuchus doing that in the series, but I could be wrong) but the replica appears to be quadrupedal. It’s a rigid position, I know, but I like the neutrality of it.

The crocodilian skin is delightfuly scaly and wrinkled, but the belly is smooth. The colouring is vivid (mostly red, black, grey and pale yellow). Some of the paint, however, seems to have been crudely spread (many figures of the WwD set have black smudges, to add their own ‘feel’, I suppose) but nothing too scandalous.

Photos by forum member Piltdown Chickenraptors