Pteranodon (Invicta)

A full review of this figure will be added at a later date.
Feel free to send your reviews to plesiosauria@gmail.com

Pteranodon longiceps (Bullyland)

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.

A full review of this figure will be added at a later date.
Feel free to send your reviews to plesiosauria@gmail.com

Iguanodon (Walking with Dinosaurs Collection by Toyway)

Although a full review will be added in time, I just had to highlight the hind feet on this figure. As you can see below, they look more like alien feet than dinosaur feet; the four pedestal-like toes seem out of place on an Iguanodon sculpt that is otherwise very accurate. 

A full review of this figure will be added at a later date.
Feel free to send your reviews to plesiosauria@gmail.com

Elasmosaurus (Carnegie Collection by Safari)

A full review of this figure will be added at a later date.
Feel free to send your reviews to plesiosauria@gmail.com

Scelidosaurus (Invicta)

 

A full review of this figure will be added at a later date.
Feel free to send your reviews to plesiosauria@gmail.com

Edmontosaurus (Schleich)

Review and photos by Stefan Schröder (alias Libraraptor)

It is time to pay tribute to a real classic: Schleich 1997 Edmontosaurus! Being a huge figure indeed, its size hits the eye immediately. It can compete with the 12 years younger Spinosaurus effortless: 26 centimetres long and 17 centimetres tall, it definitely is one of the larger hadrosaur reconstructions out there.

The whole posture is consequentially bipedal, the skin pattern very detailed. The neck flesh is highly detailed. The head proves why these dinosaurs are called duckbills: The snout is very flat, with detailed nostrils and, well, somehow “sadly” looking eyes.

Schleich usually does not pay much attention to colouring, and the Edmontosaurus is no exception. Its dull overall brown colouring is a bit boring on the one hand but stresses its monumental appearance on the other hand. I don´t know if this figure is really as rare as they say, sometimes it shows up on ebay.

Lambeosaurus (Collecta/Procon)

Review and photos by Stefan Schröder (alias Libraraptor)

This Collecta Lambeosaurus is indeed a strange reconstruction of this upper Cretaceous hadrosaur. In this review I would like to explain why.

But basics first: The Lambeosaurus measures 14, 5 centimetres in length and is 6, 5 centimetres tall. This corresponds to a 1:40 scale. Funnily its highest point is its very end, but more about that later.
First of all there is its colouring. Except of the Invicta Iguanodon, few other dinosaur reconstructions have such a glaring colouring. It is yellow blended with cream tones. Especially the head is very nice, the crest and the snout being lovely coloured in red, light blue and green, while the bill and the cheeks are brown. The skin pattern isn´t scaly but shows many small knobs who probably are meant to hint at knuckles.

Another aspect that makes the Collecta Lambeosaurus rather an unusual reconstruction is its posture. Other figures, for example the Invicta or the great Kayodo Dinoland Series one show it quadruped too, but with a much more bended spine, while this one here looks more mammal like. Besides, I have never seen such a fat Lambeosaurus figure. The neck isn´t S-shaped but straight so one can say that scientifically this reconstruction is probably not correct. As said above, the highest point is its very end. Another critical aspect are its hind feet who look very clumsy, looking more like the foot of a horse than that of a reptile.

But in its whole appearance it is lovely, neat to look at and credible in its appearance. Collecta chose an approach to reconstructing a dinosaur deriving from a different way to interpret its skeleton. Maybe because of this unusualness I love this figure very much.

Plesiosaur (Dinocrats)

 

Photographs by Peter Smith

A full review of this figure will be added at a later date.
Feel free to send your reviews to plesiosauria@gmail.com

Dilophosaurus (Wild Safari)

Wow. Where do I start? This is one fantabulous replica, and it is new for 2009.

It doesn’t surprise me that Safari ltd. decided to make a Dilophosaurus for 2009– After all, the only other dilophosaurs they made were the peculiar Carnegie pair from over a decade ago.

This model is very nice. It’s main colorings are red, cream, bluegreen, and dark brown. The eyes and the inside of the mouth appear to have a “glaze” on them, giving a “wet” look to them. The teeth are white with a brown wash over them, it makes them look nice and rotten.

The sculpt, just like the colors, is very nice too. I love the detailing on the crests, the individually sculpted teeth(!), and the ear holes. His legs are long and thin; very bird-like. Like many birds, he also has large scales on his feet. The head seems rather odd is some spots though; The shape of the fenestra and the position of the nostrils could use some tweaking. He stands just fine on two feet, however, to accomplish that, you have to stand him on the edge of a table or desk— The tip of his tail extends below the bottoms of his feet, so when he stands on a flat surface, he is in the hated “tripod” or “kangaroo” pose.

Overall, this is a very fine replica, and it will look great in any collection. However, since this sculpt was released only a few days ago, it may be wise to wait a while so that any production problems can fix themselves.

Review, photos and diorama by forum member cordylus

Tyrannosaurus Rex (DinoTales series 7 by Kaiyodo)

Tyrannosaurus Rex was a large theropod dinosaur that lived in north america from 68 to 65 million years ago. “Rex” is commonly called the “king of the dinosaurs”, so it surprises me how many models do not do justice to the “king”. This piece by Kaiyodo does it justice, and more.

The sculpt is very nice. It is adorned with wrinkles and bulging muscles; they make it look very real and natural. The arms are very tiny and are tucked under the body, unlike many versions inspired by Jurassic Park. It has no giant pyramidal osteoderms above the eyes, instead it has a smooth “brow” and a light bump in front of each eye, just like there should be. One thing that surprised me was how they managed to get the tooth number correct, while companies like safari and battat couldn’t. The teeth, also, aren’t oversized. Thick muscles sit at the back of the jaws, making it look crocodile-like. The head, body and neck are curved into an “S” shape, with one foot off of the ground, as it appears to be sprinting and roaring at some unseen dinosaur. The base is also very nice; where the right foot of the tyrannosaur lifts off, there is raised mud patches– very realistic. It’s probably the best T-Rex of all the Kaiyodo miniatures (they also released a T-Rex for series 1 and series 5 but are rather bland).

The color scheme is vibrant without being too neon. It is mostly blue and cream, with a light purple belly. The eyes are superb and are painted yellow with black pupils. The scales on the feet are highlighted in the same cream as the body, and there are lovely dark blue stripes on the tail. The tongue is dark pink. The paint is shinier than in other DinoTales series.

All in all, this sculpt is very great and is recommended for any collection. If you are hesitant about paying (relatively) a lot of money for such a small figure (after all, it’s less than 10 cm long), don’t be. I was hesitant about this guy too, but I am very pleased that I bought him. He can be very easy to find on ebay (and he is cheap too!), so get him while you can! It also comes in a light yellow version.

Review kindly submitted by forum member Cordylus