The dinosaurs from Dino Riders, at the time in which they were made, were supposed to be very accurate 1:32 scale reproductions of dinosaurs. The castings were nice, they had "glass" eyes, were sprayed with state-of-the-art methods and so they were advertised. Today, they are not so eye-catching anymore, and there are better options available in the market, but, of course, more than 25 years have passed since them.
When you visit natural history museums, you usually see plastic toy dinosaurs in the museum shop. I guess back in the early 90s, somebody in charge of the National Museum of Natural History in Washington noticed the quality of some Dino Riders' dinosaurs and probably contacted Tyco to deliver a series of figures to be sold in their museums.
The dinosaurs made for the Smithsonian collection were slightly modified from their Dino Riders counterparts. All electronic circuitry for the walking feature (and the battery cover) were removed, wheels and slots to fit harnesses were also removed and the paintwork was modified in some cases. The box was also designed expressely for the museum. Bigger dinosaurs were sold in big boxes, medium dinosaurs were sold in couples. The boxes had a quality seal "Authorized Replica, Smithsonian Museum". A nice trick to point out the quality of the product.
I have two dinosaurs: the Diplodocus and the Styracosaurus. In general the Smithsonian animals are more difficult to find than the Dino Riders equivalents. And among the Smithsonian´s toys, the Ice Age animals are far rarer than the dinosaurs. It is unclear, if the Killer Warthog was also made for this series of if only the other three Ice Age creatures were actually manufactured and sold in the green boxes.
FACTS and FIGURES:
- Name: DIPLODOCUS and STYRACOSAURUS
- Toy Line: The Smithsonian Institution Dinosaur Collectio
- Year: 1992
- Company: Tyco (U.S.A.)
- Scale: 1:24
Fíjate que lo llamativo de los dinosaurios de Dino-Riders son sus accesorios. Sin embargo, viéndolos así, sin nada, también tienen su encanto.
ReplyDeleteEl hecho de ser articulados, la textura de la piel y los ojos les aporta un toque diferente a otros dinosaurios de los muchos que se pueden ver en el mercado.
Ahora mismo está la colección de Jurassic World de Mattel (hasta Jurassic Park 4,había sido Kenner/Hasbro la licenciataria) que son impresionantes. Estos Dinosaurios en su época eran los más realistas a años luz de los demás, también los más caros, pero ahora ya se ven un poco antiguos. Es ley de vida, los métodos de fabricación van mejorando. Gracias por los comentarios! Saludos!
ReplyDeleteCierto, buena apreciación. Sí, es lo que dices. Todo cambia. Estos tienen, como comentaba, un encanto y un estilo propios que les aporta un toque atractivo.
ReplyDeletePor cierto, he conseguido el catálogo de Comansi de Dino-Riders para vendedores que es una preciosidad. Cuando me llegue y tenga tiempo quiero escanearlo para compartirlo en el blog.
¡Un saludo!
Sí, a veces cambia para peor, otras veces para mejor... depende.
DeleteYo conseguí hace poco un poster de tienda de Dino Riders con la ilustración principal de la primera serie (la que tiene el T.Rex en primer plano) y en los márgenes fotos de los juguetes, creo recordar que en pequeños dioramas. Aún no lo he visto, porque se ha enviado a casa de mi padre.
¡Gracias por el mensaje! ¡Saludos!
Are those Dino Riders-turned-Smithsonian Museum products true or false toys?
ReplyDeleteHi, what do you mean by true or false?
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