Postosuchus (Wild Safari by Safari Ltd)

Review by Dan Liebman of Dan’s Dinosaurs

Ever since their bizarre rebirth, Safari’s growing “Wild Safari” line has seen the release of many quality dinosaur figures. The most recent addition to this line is the American archosaur Postosuchus, which featured heavily in the BBC’s Walking With Dinosaurs. Its appearance in the documentary has seemingly triggered the release of several figures from various companies. None yet compare to this release from Wild Safari, however.

While the Postosuchus may seem unimpressive compared to the theropod giants of the Cretaceous, it is worth noting that this species was considered a superpredator in its day. It didn’t need to be the size of a Tyrannosaur; it was already one of the biggest carnivores roaming the land at that time. This depiction offers an upright posture, alert and agile. Though the resemblance to early reptilians is uncanny (and appropriate), this Postosuchus is not easily mistaken for an oversized lizard. This is not some prehistoric crocodile – the golden eyes appear very much alive, and the details of the fenestrae and teeth are outstanding (even for a new Wild Safari figure). The body is tangibly familiar with reptilian scales and scutes cascading across the flanks. The tail is held parallel to the ground, further amplifying its defiant “I am not a croc” image.

The wonderous amagalm of primeval yet novel qualities has been reinforced by the figure’s charming coloration. Cast in a very natural pair of hues, the Wild Safari Postosuchus strolls through the Triassic Texan landscape in dark brown and canary colors, somewhat reminiscient of a yellowjacket. These colors provide a very natural contrast that is striking enough to look dangerous, yet simple enough to lend visual credibility. The instant impression one receives at first glance is that the animal is alive, on the prowl, and definitely not something you’d want to approach in the wild.

It is indeed difficult to find significant flaws on the Wild Safari Postosuchus. His forelimbs are appropriately leaner than his hind limbs, and he ambles along in the conservative, quadrupedal posture (the species is thought to have been capable of some bipedal travel, as the aforementioned discrepancy in limb size suggests). When viewed from a rear angle, the elevation of the tail becomes even more prominent, giving a great sense of dynamic action. In short, this Postosuchus conveys everything it should. It is primitive, tough, and maybe even just a touch arrogant.

Available from Safari.com (here) and Amazon.com (here)

Yangchuanosaurus (Dinosaurs of China by Safari Ltd)

Up for review today is the great Yangchuanosaurus by safari. Yangchuanosaurus is sorely underrepresented in dinosaur toy lines, so I’m glad safari decided to make one (and make it good!) Yangchuanosaurus was a large theropod that was like the t-rex of it’s time. It lived alongside other dinosaurs like Sinraptor and the behemoth sauropod Mamenchisaurus. 

Now back to the replica. The sculpt is very nice, it is obvious that some attention has been given to giving this guy scales all over his body. His legs aren’t deathly thin like some of Carnegie’s replicas, and they look beautiful. The head is very nice, I love the nostrils and the thick ridges going down the snout. It also has noticeable external ears. Unlike many other safari dinosaurs, this Yangchuanosaurus isn’t covered in wrinkles; The only wrinkles that are noticeable are right behind the right side of the head. The pose is fantastic. It is actually in a natural pose, not looking like “RAWR look at me I’m a dinosaur roooaar!!!”. It looks like it is wiping it’s mouth off after taking a drink from a nice prehistoric stream. This is one of the handful of safari theropods that actually has it’s mouth closed, and it looks great. At first glance, the arms seem to be of two different lengths, but when you measure them out, they are equal in length. But as with any dinosaur sculpt; this replica does have it’s faults: The left side of the head has more teeth than the right side does, the tail is very thin, and there is the absence of a dew claw on each foot. This figure is about 8 inches long.

The paint job on this figure is very nice too, and it fits the sculpt well. It is mostly a (slightly greenish) brown all over, and it is slightly more green on the head than other places on the body. The eyes are a fierce forest green with circular black pupils, and to give the illusion of sunlight hitting the eyes, there is a little white dot above each pupil. Fading black bands adorn this beast’s flanks. The ribcages are highlighted in a bright orange yellow color. The claws, unfortunately, are unpainted, and at first glance they look like part of the digits themselves. Oddly, the line of the mouth is highlighted in black– This is the only safari theropod figure that I can think of that has this feature.

Overall, this figure is a 9/10. However, since he has a very non-hunting pose with a closed mouth and docile look, he probably didn’t go over well with children too much, and thus he was discontinued. If you can find him you better get him soon, as soon I wouldn’t be surprised if he became highly sought after.

Edmontonia (Replica-Saurus by Schleich)

The burly, heavily armored, herbivorous nodosaur Edmontonia inhabited North America during the Late Cretaceous period some 70 million years ago. The name simply means “from Edmonton”, as the type specimen was discovered in the Horseshoe Canyon Formation near the city of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada by George Paterson in 1924. At roughly 22 feet in length, Edmontonia was a relatively large nodosaur which could reach a weight of 3 tons. The large spikes on its shoulders may have been used in dominance disputes between rival males, and would almost certainly have been a deterrent to predators such as Albertosaurus, which lived alongside Edmontonia.

Schleich’s Edmontonia was released in 2004 during a time when the company regularly added new and diverse prehistoric genera to its Replica-Saurus line, something which Schleich sadly has not done for many years. It is a good choice for a figure because thyreophorans are often overlooked by companies and Edmontonia’s rather unique armor and spines just look really cool. Also, the only other Edmontonia figure I know of is the Battat. This figure measures a little less than 6 inches in length and is about 2.25 inches tall, and is scaled at 1:40 along with Schleich Man for an accurate size comparison. The colors are a bit drab, with the tan plastic being highlighted with light brown paint around the joints and on its armor and head. Schleich has never been notable for producing exciting paint jobs, but in this Edmontonia’s case it is understandable because the figure is clearly based on the life-sized model of Edmontonia which is on display at the Royal Tyrell Musuem in Drumheller, Alberta, Canada, and which has a similar pose and color scheme (that model is part of a larger diorama which also includes life-size reproductions of Albertosaurus, Struthiomimus, and Stegoceras, and I do recommend visiting it if you have the chance!). Unfortunately, its nails are not painted a different color and almost look like part of the feet as a result. The only other paint is the black used on its eyes. The skin is wrinkly and folded around joints. The forelimbs both have five digits, which is one too many, but it’s excusable as the model the figure is based on does as well. The armor is exquisitely detailed and exhibits some of Schleich’s best, most accurate work, but more on that in a little bit. The head is great and exhibits well the animal’s broad, flat snout, but it is a bit crooked and the sculptors perhaps went a little overboard with the “jowls” and these, along with the expressionless black eyes, give the figure a decidedly sad, dopey expression.

Now on to the armor and spines! Schleich really did their homework on this figure and it’s a winner. They have almost perfectly reproduced the armor of the very accurate full-scale model, except perhaps on the large forward-facing shoulder spines which are split into two subspines in the full scale, but this trait is not present in all specimens of Edmontonia so their omission in the figure is excusable. The rest of the spines are placed accordingly with fossil remains. The three nuchal rings on the neck and shoulders are accurately reproduced on the figure (although there is a big gap in the largest), as are the rows of smaller osteoderms which start on the back behind the forelimbs and continue down to the end of its clubless tail. Unlike Schleich’s Sauropelta, this figure really looks like what it’s supposed to be. I think this figure is better even than Battat’s Edmontonia (GASP!) which has a disproportionately long body and an almost squashed appearance by contrast.

This fantastic figure is one of Schleich’s best and one of my favorite tyreophoran models. Aside from the drab paint scheme and rather static pose (what more can you expect from Edmontonia as far as an exciting pose anyway?), it’s an awesome piece of plastic. It’s been retired a few years now but I recently bought mine from H&H Winner’s Circle for eleven bucks, and as far as I know they still have some left, so head on over there ASAP if you’re interested.

Spinosaurus (Papo)

Today we will be thoroughly looking over the Papo Spinosaurus– He is quite well loved in the dinosaur and Jurassic park communities, so I hope I don’t dampen spirits too much with my somewhat critical review  As for Spinosaurus itself, it was an extremely large theropod dinosaur that lived in northern africa about 100 million years ago. It probably dined on fish and water living tetrapods. 

Let’s start off with the head or this figure. To put it bluntly, basically everything is wrong, minus the long jaws. The lack of a “fish trap” at the end of the jaws, the relatively robustness of the skull, the large and backwards pointing teeth, the nostrils low on the snout, and the two crests are all extremely un-spinosaurid like. The inside of the mouth and the tongue are beautifully detailed, and the lower jaw is poseable (great for display purposes…). The eyes are green with slit pupils, suggesting a nocturnal lifestyle. 

Now let’s focus on the body. Most everything is nice here. Great details and the claws are superb. I love the little spine/scute like projections on the back. The colors are very boring, only shades of grey (Also of note– The paint is very tacky when it gets warm[or at least with mine]). The arms could be a little more muscley, but that is really personal preference (No spinosaurus arms have been found to date). The sail is also very thin– Most likely it should be thicker, because the spines of the sail were very thick and buffalo like, so there was probably muscle and fat coating the sail, making it noticeably thick (There was probably NOT a “hump” like a camel though!). The feet seem a little large; but again, no spinosaurid limbs are known, so that is really personal taste. The body is very robust; perhaps too much– But it still looks nice. The detailing is exquisite. It also stands well, but since the plastic is relatively soft, when it becomes warm the legs can bend and the whole thing can fall flat on it’s face, and due to the delicate paint job, paint wear is just around the corner. The joints are extremely visible and distract away from the detail.

This is a very large figure– Fourteen inches long! He towers over most 1/40th scale dinosaurs. 

Overall, I give this guy an 8/10. I do think this figure is a little overrated, but people love good details and the likeliness to Jurassic Park, so of course he flies off store shelves.

Available from Amazon.com (here)

 

Photo generously supplied by Bokisaurus

Ankylosaurus (Carnegie Collection by Safari Ltd)

I’m pleased to announce that the Dinosaur Toy Blog recently received a number of review samples representing the entire Carnegie Collection, courtesy of Safari Ltd. So, prepare yourself for a Carnegie Collection bonanza of reviews over the next few weeks! We’ve already reviewed the two exciting 2009 additions to the Carnegie collection, the Spinosaurus and Tylosaurus, so now it’s time to look at some of the other existing models in the line. Let’s continue with the tank-like Ankylosaurus!

The 19 cm long Carnegie Collection Ankylosaurus is a relatively new addition to the line, released in 2004. As far as ankylosaurs go the sculpt is quite active – the legs are striding and the head is raised with the mouth open. The heavy-duty tail club is hovering over the ground ready to swipe at any T.rex foolish enough to venture too close. The overall colour scheme is pale lime green with white armour, but there are some nice additonal details – a blue ring around each eye and two blue spots on the tail club. The inside of the open mouth is pink there is a little tongue just visible.

The most distinctive aspect of the ankylosaurs is their armour, which consists of an array or studs, scutes and spines. In many ankylosaur toys the arrangement of these bony elements in rather generic, but the Carnegie Ankylosaurus presents a very particular distribution, which appears to be based on a recent restoration by Kenneth Carpenter published in 2004 (the same year this figure was produced). This indicates Safari’s dedication to providing up-to-date and accurate figures.

The four triangular horns on the head are highlighted in white, the detailed bony surface of the skull is the same colour as the skin and consists of numerous bumps. It matches the fossil skull perfectly. The number of digits is correct – there are three toes on each hind leg and four on each front leg. Number of toes and fingers is another detail overlooked in other ankylosaur figures. The shape and form of the tail matches the fossil remains exceedingly well, as does the figure in general, making this a definite keeper for fans of these spectacular dinosaurs!

Available from Safari.com (here) and Amazon.com (here)

Carnotaurus (Boston Museum of Science Collection by Battat)

The abelisaurid Carnotaurus was a peculiar theropod from Late Cretaceous Patagonia which survived up until the demise of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. At 30 feet long, Carnotaurus was likely a top predator in its ecosystem. The name means “flesh bull” and refers to the two wing-like brow horns protruding above the eyes and the animal’s characteristically short, deep skull. The holotype specimen was formally described by its discoverer, the famous South American paleontologist José Bonaparte, in 1985. The 2000 Disney movie “Dinosaur” helped moved the formerly obscure Carnotaurus into the public spotlight, albeit with a fancifully beefed up reproduction of the animal that approached T. rex in size, but also with the added bonus of more toy lines introducing their own version of Carnotaurus.

The incredibly awesome Battat Carnotaurus, however, was not a product of movie hype. This figure was released in 1998 as part of the last wave of the Boston Museum of Science Collection, which was probably one of the best and most short-lived lines of dinosaur figures ever produced. It’s about 6.5 inches long, about 3.25 inches tall, and scaled at 1:40 (always a plus!). The color of this figure is just fantastic. Its back and stripes are jet black, while the underside and legs are blood red. In my opinion, this is one of the best theropod paint schemes ever produced, and it doesn’t suffer heavily from sloppy painting, which is a problem on other Battat figures like the Ceratosaurus. I might add that it somewhat echoes the coloration of the Jurassic Park Series II Carnotaurus, but is much more natural. The skin is very detailed, with folds in the neck skin reflecting the way the animal’s head is turned, and nice, accurate bumps running laterally in rows along the back and sides. The claws and horns are tan/yellow, the teeth are white and the inside of its open mouth is purple. The teeth are small but are individually sculpted. The eyes are yellow with black pupils and are ringed in red. The amount of detailing of the musculature, particularly in the legs, is astounding. Battat was definitely the name of the game in the 90s. The animal is taking a long stride, possibly hunting, with its mouth open in a growl. The pose is a tripod stance, but the tail is not dragging, with just the tip touching the ground, and this also saved the feet from needing “snowshoes” or being way too oversized like in the 2008 Schleich Allosaurus.

The figures produced by Battat were and still are some of the most accurate out there, and this Carnotaurus is certainly no exception. Everything is proportioned beautifully. I am very critical of Carnotaurus sculpts because it is easily my favorite theropod. The skull is pretty much a flawless work of art, which is much more than can be said for Schleich’s Carnotaurus. The neck, which was unusually long for a theropod, looks great. The miniscule little arms are very accurate, if a little chunky, but I suspect that is from the molding process and to keep them from easily breaking off. The plastic used in some Battats was substantially more brittle than Safari or Schleich. I like how they are held underneath the body, whereas the Carnegie Carnotaurus looks like it wants to hug you. Carnotaurus is one of few theropods which we have great skin impressions of, and they show that the animal’s back and sides were covered in rows of “bumps”, which Battat has faithfully reproduced here. In short, this is the best museum line Carnotaurus ever produced.

This is one of my absolute favorite dinosaur figures. I highly recommend it. Unfortunately it has been retired for over ten years now, so you’d be hard-pressed to find one at a decent price, but if you can, get it. I found mine in the gift shop at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, WA in the late 90s. It came in a window gift box that displayed information about the animal on the back. Someone needs to revive the Battat line because they were truly fantastic, and are yet to be matched.

Sauropelta (Replica-Saurus by Schleich)

Sauropelta was a basal nodosaurid from the Early Cretaceous of North America, dating to around 115 million years ago. The name means “lizard shield”, pertaining to its intricate body armor. Compared to later, larger armored dinosaurs like Ankylosaurus, Sauropelta was a relatively small animal at roughly 16.5 feet long. The holotype specimen was discovered by Barnum Brown in Montana during the 1930s, but the genus Sauropelta was not formally described until 1970, by paleontologist John Ostrom, whose team unearthed additional remains in the same area.

This unique figure was produced by Schleich during their glory days (2002-2005) and reflects the lovely diversity they were introducing to the Replica-Saurus line at this time. This is the only scale model reproduction of Sauropelta you’ll find from any major company. One of the first things you’ll notice is that this figure is small, at 5 inches long, and I think it is second only to the Desmatosuchus for being Schleich’s smallest. A full 2.5 inches of that is just tail! However, as I said before this was a small dinosaur and it is correctly scaled at 1:40. This figure is very green. The armor is a dark evergreen color, while the underside and legs are more of a lime green. The muzzle is tan, as are the spikes, the nails, and the top of each osteoderm. The skin is good and wrinkly for such a small figure, and the armor is nice and bumpy. The eyes are beady and black, but I think they give the figure kind of a dead appearance. The pose is a bit stationary but acceptable, and the mouth is open.

Unfortunately, this Sauropelta is plagued by Schleich’s continuing trend of producing rather hit-or-miss sculpts. This one is mostly a miss. Sauropelta is an exceptionally well-known nodosaurid, so it baffles me that Schleich managed to screw this one up as much as they did. The biggest problem is certainly the figure’s spikes. The large shoulder spikes are completely absent, and the figure instead has spikes of uniform length running along the neck down to its rump on either side. In reality, Sauropelta’s spike rows were only present along the neck and they stop at the aforementioned prominent shoulder spikes, with none along its sides. The spike arrangement on this figure makes it resemble the closely related Pawpawsaurus more than Sauropelta. However, there are good things to say here. The head is not too goofy looking, and works fine for the figure’s size. Also, the tail is exceptionally long compared to the body, and this is characteristic of Sauropelta, although why Schleich remembered this trait and not the spikes is another head-scratcher. The rest of the armor is accurate enough for Sauropelta as well.

Given its inaccuracies, I still like this figure. It’s unique, the coloration is great and it is a good generic reproduction of a nodosaurid if nothing else. If you like thyreophorans or Schleich, you may want to hunt this one down, but it may be a bit tough because this guy’s been retired for a few years and older Schleichs tend to go up quickly in price. I was lucky enough to find it in a store years ago, but now ebay is probably your best bet.

Amebelodon (Prehistoric Life Collection by Safari Ltd.)

Amebelodon was a genus of prehistoric proboscidean which evolved along the Gulf Coast of North America roughly 10 million years ago during the late Miocene, eventually migrating to Asia via the Bering Land Bridge which would have connected Alaska and Russia. The animal became extinct on the North American continent about 6 million years ago but survived in Asia and Africa up until around 5 million. It belonged to a group called the gomphotheres, more commonly known as “shovel tuskers” due to the prominent, bizarre tusks of their lower jaws. Aside from its head, Amebelodon largely resembled a modern Asian elephant.

It’s always great to see a new genus introduced in figure form, and Safari has recently been a leader in this obscure genus crusade. Although other notable gomphothere figures have been produced, such as the now-retired Bullyland Gomphotherium, this is the first iteration of Amebelodon that I am aware of. At a little over 5 1/2 inches long and 3 inches tall, it is the largest of Safari’s 2005 prehistoric mammal wave. If you like to see figures in scale with each other as I do, this fits the bill for 1/40 if you consider it to be of the species Amebelodon floridanus, which was generally smaller than an Asian elephant, while Amebelodon britti was among the largest proboscideans ever to have lived. The figure is mostly gray, the same color it was molded in, but there are details. The skin is wrinkly and elephantine, the tuft at the end of the tail is black, and the nails are painted a tan/yellow color. The tusks are yellowed and the lower pair show deep grooves, giving them a more lifelike appearance. The tongue inside its bellowing mouth is pink and the nostrils at the end of the trunk are as well. Lastly, there are the orange eyes, which are painted somewhat sloppily on mine, but I don’t know if they are all like that. This Amebelodon is in a walking, bellowing pose with the trunk raised.

This is a very accurate figure, and Safari should be applauded. The skull is very true to life. The two deep recesses on top of the skull are represented well here, as are the position of the tusks. It is thought that gomphotheres had smaller ears, like an Asian elephant, and this Amebelodon exhibits this characteristic. The trunk reflects popular gompothere reconstructions, but as trunks do not readily fossilize, their appearance in gomphotheres is still the subject of speculation. The postcranial anatomy is very elephantine, as it should be. Kind of hard to mess that part up to any noticeable degree, as elephants are still with us. Curiously, the animal’s name is misspelled “Ambelodon” on the tag but is correctly printed Amebelodon on the figure’s belly. I dunno who was in charge of that one.

I like this figure. I really do. Safari was really on the ball with mammals in 2005 and I wish they still regularly introduced new prehistoric mammal genera, but this guy is still available so get ‘em while they’re hot! This figure is very affordable at under $6 and you know you’ll be adding something new to your collection if you get it!

Tylosaurus (Carnegie Collection by Safari Ltd)

The second new addition for the Carnegie Collection in 2009 is a mosasaur – the ferocious Tylosaurus. Mosasaurs are a real rarity in toy form so this is an exciting release! The figure might be considered a replacement for the now retired Carnegie Collection Mosasaurus. I’ll say from the start that the new Tylosaurus is a simply stunning replica – it blows poor old Mosasaurus out of the water. 

This is a sizeable piece, just short of 30 cm. The sinuous sculpt is full of energy and the mouth is wide open as if snapping at some unfortunate Cretaceous creature. The fins form rounded paddles and the individual digits are even visible supporting the webbed fins, the number of digits and their orientation is accurate. Mosasaurs used their long flattened tails for propulsion and the Carnegie Tylosaurus tail rightly has a gentle undulating appearance.

One of the most impressive aspects of this figure is the huge attention to detail in and around the mouth.  In overall shape the head is pointed and the slit-like nostrils are retracted. The teeth are individually sculpted, there are palatine teeth on the roof of the mouth and the tongue and gullet are sculpted in great detail too. The very front part of the mouth forms a pointed tip, which extends beyond the teeth – this is an accurate characteristic for Tylosaurus. The species name Tylosaurus proriger even means  ’prow-bearing knob lizard’  in reference to this anatomical feature. Safari have clearly been doing their homework, consulting with mosasaur specialist Mike Everhart has given this model a scientific edge. 

Although mosasaur skin is known to have been scaly, the individual scales were small and so they are not apparent  at this 1/40 scale. The skin is therefore smooth and has a beautiful and fitting watery sheen. The animal is countershaded with dark green on the top and paler green and white on the underside. A striking series of deep green stripes run along the length of the body and down the tail. Sculptor Forest Rogers should be congratulated on this piece, which I highly recommend. 

Available from Safari.com (here) and Amazon.com (here)

Cladoselache (Kaiyodo series 1)

Ah, Caldoselache. The first shark! How exciting. Up for review today is the first rendition of the first shark, made by Kaiyodo.

 Cladoselache was believed to be a very agile and swift predator- This is very well represented in this replica. The smooth (and scaleless) skin, the large keels, and the thick caudal fin are all features of this replica that point to it being a swift predator.

Everything in this replica is relatively okay—The colors are nice (brown fading into grey with the flanks adorned with white spots), the pose is nice (the tail is slightly pushed off to the right), and the accuracy is very nice. The paint work on the gills is slightly sloppy, but it doesn’t really matter, as the figure is so small you really have to look at it closely to see anything out of the ordinary (it is about 2 inches long). The anal fins are joined together in kind of a “speed bump”—they are not separated and resin fills the place where a space is supposed to be. The lower jaw is also a little too pointed, I would have like it to be a bit rounder. There is one spine in front of each dorsal fin, just as there should be.

 

All in all, this is a very sound replica—And if you like your prehistorical fishies, this guy is definitely for you. I think prehistoric sharks are sorely underrepresented in figure form. Currently this is the only Cladoselache out there, hopefully other companies will start making renditions of this guy! (I’m looking at you safari!)

 

9/10 stars