The Diplodocus is one of the biggest dinosaurs on the first wave. Tyco promoted this toyline saying the dinosaurs were realistically made in the correct scale, but I actually doubt it. The Triceratops or the Torosaurus are (quite) as big as the Diplodocus, and compared with the Deynonichus or the flying sauria, I would say something is not fitting.
No matter what, the Diplodocus was presented as the second biggest dinosaur of wave 1 (only the T-Rex was bigger), and the biggest dinosaur of the Valorians, the one that came with Questar, the heroic leader and Mind-Zei, the elder and wise Valorian. There was a third figure included, named Aries (this character did not have any elaborated background in the cartoons). Besides this dinosaur, only the T-Rex and the Brontosaurus came with 3 figures.
The Diplodocus had walking function and also moved the neck from side to side. It was operated by one battery located at the stomach of the dinosaur.
The armour is one of the most impressive ones, with two huge compartments at the sides, each of them opening with six doors that reveal a big number of cannons and one controller seat where 1 figure can seat or stand. There is a pilot cabin behind the neck, which is articulated, but after some usage, it does not stand anymore in any position you like, and the cabin does not close as it should. There is place for one figure there. Remember that the valorians can communicate telepathically with the dinosaurs by using the AMP, so there is no need for controls other than for the cannons and weaponry.
Finally, there are four more accesories, two of them are placed on the neck of dinosaur and two more on the tail, and in my opinion, these are great add-ons! The dinosaur looks pretty amazing with them.
As usual the figures included one rack of accesories, in this case the grey ones corresponding to the first wave. Three figures, three sets.
FACTS and FIGURES:
- Name: DIPLODOCUS with QUESTAR, MIND-ZEI and ARIES
- Toy Line: Dino-Riders (Wave 1)
- Year: 1988
- Company: Tyco (U.S.A.)
- Scale of the dinosaur: 1:24
- Size of the figures: 2½’’ or 6,5 cm
Loved the DinoRiders, my brother and I had a lot of the smaller dinosaurs from the 1st wave. Never got the Diplodocus or the T Rex however I did get the Taurosaurus for Christmas and my brother the Triceratops - we spent hours 'racing' them on our back verandah until the batteries ran flat.
ReplyDeleteHi again David,
DeleteGreat Story!
At the time, I had two neighbours who had Dino Riders. One had the T-Rex (among others), the second one had the Diplodocus and I had the Stegosaurus.
In terms of speed it was always: 1) T-Rex, 2) Diplodocus, 3) Stego, so racing was not really exciting.
I guess with a Triceratops and a Torosaurus it was tighter, since they are the same toy with different heads. Maybe the Torosuarus slightly slower due to the heavier armour (if worn).
Also newer batteries may have made a difference!
BR,
Juan
Thanks Juan. :) I daresay you're correct about the Torosaurus/Triceratops. I loved my Torosaurus as well because it had the hard head/frill compared to the Triceratops which from memory had the softer rubber. Though I did like the radar dish on the latter as well as the 'brain boxes' the bad guys always had on theirs (which reminded me of armoured helmets).
DeleteGreat blog, keep up the good work! :)
Yes, correct that statement about harder plastic and rubber heads. At least my triceratops and my todos auras are that way. Interestingly, recent scientific studies claim that both dinosaurs are actually the same species.
DeleteBR,
Juan
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