General category for all posts
Who makes it? Play Visions, as part of their classic Prehistoric Marine Reptiles series. The elasmosaur is number 6 if you're curious. When did it come out? The figure is stamped 1998 so...1998? The Play Visions Elasmosaurus, just swanning around...yes, it is based on older imagery. Still available? As with other excellent marine reptile sets, this one is discontinued. It has been for some time now. It has been for some time now--and is still highly sought after. Where can…
Who makes it? Schleich, from their too-limited run of prehistoric mammals. Item number 16518 When did it come out? I believe it was 2002...although some snuck out for Christmas of 2001 It's a shaggy boy! Still available? Nope. Not at all. They didn't last long either. Where can it be found in my displays? With...so many large prehistoric mammals. Of course. How does it fit in the collection? At the time I was primarily a Schleich collector, and prehistoric mammal…
Who makes it? A Chinese toy company called Chick Yuet, part of a set of mid-sized vinyl prehistoric mammals When did it come out? I got it in 2006 or 2007. So around then maybe? Not bad for a dollar store toy...with terrifying red eyes for some reason Still available? Sadly no. They appear to have gone completely out of business around 2007-2008. And these mammal figures went with them. Worse, right before their demise photos were found of a…
Who makes it? Colorata, in their Stag Beetles Real Figure Box. It's number 1 in the set. Yes, it's a little dusty. It's on my son's shelves...and even behind glass... When did it come out? Not sure. At least 2004 although there may have been revisions in that time (it's true of many of the Colorata boxes I have) Different view. You can see the red legs! Still available? According to the Colorata website, yes. And from at least a…
Who makes it? Safari Ltd, part of their Carnivorous Dinos toob. And yes, it's one of the 4 not-dinosaurs in the dinos toob...but it is carnivorous! The toob number is 699004. When did it come out? I want to say around 2003. There have been a few adjustments to things like the paint schemes, rarely for the better. This is supposed to represent one of the most powerful and largest marine predators ever... Still available? Surprisingly yes--given how many times…
Who makes it? One of the figures in the Epoch "Life Account of the Trip" series of gashapon figures, the Marine Fish set. Item number 05. When did it come out? It's hard to say. Probably around early to mid-2000s. Despite being only a few centimetres long, the face is very detailed--right down to the little open mouth catching plankton! Still available? No, like many of these sets they are limited releases. They show up somewhat regularly on Japanese auction…
Who makes it? Safari Ltd as part of their Prehistoric Sea Life Toob, item number 682404. It's a set that I've previously talked about before. When did it come out? The toob was released in 2009 Still available? I still thought it was...even though it was discussed by me before! I think I'm in denial. Where can it be found in my displays? On a whole shelf of small toob-size animals, mostly from Safari! How does it fit in the…
Who makes it? Produced by Yujin in conjunction with a NHK-Canada Film Board production called 'Miracle Planet'. Part of a series of 14+3 secrets capsule set. In it's display form, on a fancy plinth! When did it come out? Same time as the series, around 2004 Still available? Only in auctions and peer-to-peer. As with many of these 'event' figures, this one was only around for a short time. The Apatosaurus, along with some of the other figures in the…
Who makes it? CollectA, as part of their Prehistoric Mammal mini box set, item number 89A1100 When did it come out? 2019 Still available? It hasn't been out for a year yet...it had better be! (It is) Somehow, for such a small figure, it can still appear large! Where can it be found in my displays? Along with several other mini set figures, including CollectA ones. How does it fit in the collection? It's a prehistoric mammal. And it's a…
Who makes it? This northern pike figure is from Elastolin, part of their Aquatic Animals line When did it come out? It is apparently from the 70s. Although I obtained it much more recently. The fish does not come with a base, but it also doesn't really stand well. A little modelling wax and a reused bottlecap figure's piece gives it a place to rest. Still available? From what I can tell, somehow, yes! There is a German site that…
Who makes it? Yowies, as part of their first series of animal figures. When did it come out? The series came out in 1997 This is a very smiley bat. But it really doesn't feel like it's really capturing the face of the real thing. Still available? Each series was short-lived, probably lasting about a year each. So not in original form, but probably easily available as resale or trades. Where can it be found in my displays? I don't…
What is this? Some figures that get picked are not really much to talk about...so I'll speak to them as a group. In this case, it's a group of pewter prehistoric animals from a company called Arizona Silver. I don't know a tonne about them, but I do have a story behind them. The whole lot of them. As far as I know. I first became aware of the models when I was managing the dino museum (which I know…
