Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Toy Chest Tuesday! Dino-Riders

Toy Chest is back! It just feels like yesterday since we dished on Shimmers. Before we do any toy talk, let me just say, my foot is better. I had a piece of glass or plastic in my foot that finally came out in what can only be described as a scene out of a horror movie. I actually think it was a piece of plastic, which is only appropriate given my affinity for anything toy related.

Anyways, today we are going to be bringing it back to 1988 with Tyco's Dino-Riders! Back in the day I only liked learning about two things in school. Planets and dinosaurs. Anything else was a total bore and hurt my brain cells. (I mean fractions? Really?) So when Dino-Riders came out I thought it was a cool show. That Tyco also released some of the female characters made it even cooler. The basic premise of Dino-Riders was that a group of humans and humanoids traveled back in time to the age of the dinosaur. The good guys wanted to chill with the dinosaurs while the baddies wanted to control them. Either way the poor dinosaurs ended up becoming every one's ride as battles between good and evil raged on until the Ice Age i.e. the toy's cancellation in 1990.

The toyline consisted of various dinosaur play sets that ranged from small sets to rather large ones. There were also 2 pack action figures of the characters. We will be looking at the two pack with Evil Rulon Skwirm and Heroic Dino-Rider Serena!

The action figure two packs came with a hero and a villain. Each figure was a few inches tall with limited articulation (shoulders, hips, knees, and neck.) The two packs only came with figures, there were no accessories. The card was also decorated with some cool Dino-Riders art. I always thought the artwork for these toys was top notch and really explained what the show was about.

A closer look shows off some colors and how much these figures resembled the old M.A.S.K. figures. These figures were also available in other sets with dinosaurs. However for those who only wanted a certain figure, these two packs were very helpful. Even if certain packs were hard to find.

Skwirm was an Evil Rulon. I am not sure what the story was on Skwirm, but there were all kinds of various Rulons. There were snake headed Rulons, like Skwirm, and other various Rulons with insect heads and even a shark group. They were cool and inventive as far as villains go.

Serena was one of the very few female characters from Dino-Riders. She was a healer and wore pink. She was also incredibly rare. I remember searching high and low for this two pack in stores. I so wanted her pink jump suit. I think in theory jump suits are a great idea, but then you realize that there is no extra flowy fabric to fall back on. Anyways Serena was a fun character even if Tyco had to go and make her so damn rare. (One of these days I'm going to post a rant on female figures always being so short packed.) Anyway, Serena could also be purchased with the giant Brontosaurus set from the second series of toys.

The back of the card featured a great deal of information. A majority of the Dino-Riders sets were at the top while the figure two packs were at the bottom.

Now I'm not about to type out all these long and complicated Dino names, but wasn't the line up impressive? There were so many different sets at varying price points to purchase. I secretly always wanted the Diplodocus set because that looked like a cool contraption on the dinosaur. It just seemed like such a cool idea to merge a play set on top of a dinosaur. Of course all those expectations would be raised with the Brontosaurus set. That thing was huge! 

This section of the figure packs really detailed the different characters on Dino-Riders. There were clearly some repaints, but Serena was not the only female character. There was also Ursus. I also liked Dedeye, the hammerhead shark Rulon character. As much as I adore mermaids, I also think sharks are super cool. Anyways these figures were a lot of fun. For those collecting the line, good luck. Most anything from this line is going to cost a pretty penny on sites like ebay and the like. Loose items will be easier to come by of course. I am also surprised that Dino-Riders has not had a come back. In a climate where everything has been given a second and even third chance I just find it odd that Dino-Riders has been MIA. The toyline lasted for three series and the cartoon only lasted for one. (That sounds like fuzzy math.) So maybe the world isn't really ready for a comeback... What do you think?

That is about it for Toy Chest Tuesday folks! Keep it here as I bring forth all the dorky awesomeness that I possibly can! I'm talking a cool new feature! I'm talking some shocking news in the world of toys! I'm talking one badass She-Ra Saturday! This and much more will be rolling out in the coming weeks!

18 comments:

  1. GREAT post Miss M!
    I remember the first time i saw them , was back in 1989. Was on a visit with the school to see a dinosaur exhibition at Barcelona's history museum. And there was a gift shop where they where for sale, but was too expensive for me. I remember that was thinking about them all the way home . In Spain they didn't show the TV series until 1990.
    Wow Thanks Miss M now i can remember that day back in the late 80's.
    Thanks! :)

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    1. I'm glad you enjoyed this post Nastyroker! Your comment reminds me, I believe Dino-Riders were really seen as important items. I feel like museums and stuff were really thrilled by the detail paid to the dinosaurs. They were a pretty cool toyline and cartoon. I wonder if the show will ever be released on dvd...

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  2. Dino Riders did make a comeback in a way. Mattel bought Tyco and owns the rights to Dino riders, Last year Mattel released the Imaginext Dino Riders that arnt completely the same but pretty cool none the less. The dino's from Dino Riders where also reused in the Cadillacs and Dinosaurs line.

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    1. Oh I did not know that about the Imaginext Dino Riders! I will need to check that out. Thank you for that Brothermidnight! And I loved Cadillacs and Dinosaurs. That was a fun show.

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  3. DO NOT OPEN IT!!! Or, as Rambo said to Murdock in part 2... "I'm coming for you..."

    Totally awesome in every way! And a female figure too!!!

    Made just like M.A.S.K. as you said--which I love!

    Really cool, I don't know what you can get to protect it, maybe if it'll fit in a G.I. Joe star case--might be wider?

    Either way, I'd make it a priority in your collection due to how rare it is.

    Great toy chest!

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    1. Thank you Paladin! I will try to find some case for this item. It was a long search to find this item, but I am glad to own it. And I can never ever open this. Unless I am lucky to find a second one. lol

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  4. check this shit out!

    http://www.dinoridersworld.com/mainpage.html

    There are people OBSESSED with these guys. I think the thing that makes them so sought after is that keeping your loose-Dino Rider in one piece was like keeping your entire Mouse Trap board game together for the duration of your child hood. There were just too many pieces. From what I remember the Dino riders worked about as well as a Mouse Trap game too. I had (and still have, somewhere) The T-Rex. It looked so awesome but I would turn it on, it would start lurching forward and the majority of the armor would fall off along with the hapless rider. I loved the little characters though, and played with the villains for years. Krulos was the big bad and he was an awesome figure.I believe I had him because he came with the T-Rex. I had the shark guy as well and you and I have a shared loved for aquatic characters. This may be why I like the Slush head so much. (he actually has a similar helmet head vibe to the look of Krulos though, but Krulos is more of a snake)
    I love aquatic characters and I also love blue guys, so you can imagine my shock upon seeing the character "Sludj" in the pic you posted above who appears to be some sort of a fish man. I want that one now! Never saw him as a kid.
    Do you remember the line of those skeleton dinosaur characters? The ones with the bones that shot off? I had one that shot off it's tail and my mom took the tail away from me! Though in her defense it was extremely dangerous. Why don't they make fun dangerous toys anymore?
    Speaking of huge toys, I was about to suggest you do a Toy Chest on the Inhumanoids-but then I don't think there were girl characters in that line. Actually it was probably a horrific toyline to girls, but I liked it.(I had Tendril, Dcompose and a couple various tree and rock people)
    And speaking of dino related toys, I was always sad that Dino-Saucers never got beyond the prototype stage of a toy line. That series had serious action figure potential."Fossilize them!"

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    1. Ya know I was thinking of posting the link to that DinoRiders site in the post, but for some reason the site won't work on my computer so I wasn't sure if it was still up or not. But yes, from what I have read on the internet, that site is the site to go for all Dino-Riders stuff.

      I'm glad to know you are a fan of aquatic characters! That is pretty cool. I never saw the bigger dinosaurs, except in the stores. My girl friends weren't that interested in toys and my older cousin who always had the scoop on toy stuff was actually at the point where he wasn't collecting anymore. So it was really just my bother and me that thought the line was cool. I sort of recall the skeleton dinosaur characters, I feel like Burger King had a happy meal toy series on those. But I may need to do more dirt digging.

      Inhumanoids, I know what they are, but I never had any. Probably because it was more of a boys boy line. lol Like some shows and toylines that were aimed at boys certainly had crossover appeal for girls, but I am not sure that the Inhumanoids worked for me. But I am sure some girls liked them. And Dino-Saucers sounds familiar, I will need to check that out!

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  5. I had Rasp and the pterodactyl (he was one of the snake-head guys). The bad guys reminded me a bit of the evil mutants from Thundercats. Anyway, I also had the vhs tape that told the story of them travelling through time to prehistoric Earth and harnessing the power of dinosaurs.

    This is a great and unique set, Miss M. I love how the girl gets a pink outfit, natch. And yes, they are similar in size to MASK. Makes me wish I still had my Vanessa Warfield figure with her killer purple car. I ebayed that many years ago to make some money to buy Jem stuff, LOL. Ahhh well, hopefully it is in the hands of a collector now.

    - TJ

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    1. Oh my gosh TJ! I bet that vhs tape is soo cool! The bad guys were a lil like Thundercats weren't they?

      And yes, isn't it something with how the girl always gets pink? I mean I can't complain because pink is my favorite color, but I think it would be cool for a guy character to sometimes wear a pink suit or something. And Vanessa Warfield! Oh I have her! I absolutely loved her. I love her even more now as adult because in her old description she is a villain and a feminist! lol I just love that, because I am not sure if she is bad because she is a feminist or she is a feminist that is bad. Either way this lil dorky feminist gets a kick out of that. And I am sure that she is with a collector TJ. Although, what I wouldn't give for a new version of her to come out! She is one of my favorites.

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  6. These look great i might have to see if i can pick-up a few of these sometime they would be fun to have on the toy shelf.

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    1. Hi jboypacman! Thank you for the comment. And yes, you should absolutely pick some Dino-Riders up. They are a fun addition to any collection. Even if the prices aren't that fun. lol

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  7. nice post for remember seeing an episode of the cartoon interesting that the toy line gave the ladies toys two. and glad mattel is trying some of a comeback with imignex line. as for the show on dvd who ever has the rights will proably make it a mod thing if the rights to the show are not stuck in some legal ownership red tape.

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    1. Hey demoncat4, I hate it when legal ownership mess gets in the way of old stuff coming back. That is the worst. For a long time I believe Jem was stuck in that legal ownership drama.

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  8. and as for Vanessa warfield and the rest of m.a.s.k. ever returning to toy shelves. Hasbro who owns the rights said legaly due to not being able to use the name m.a.s.k. said other then the matte tracker they stunk in the gijoe line. no return plus Van was the only female made in the line for gloria and the shark never was made

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    1. I think I recall reading about the problem with M.A.S.K. not really having a likely comeback. That is so sad. I loved Vanessa. Gloria was cool too, but I could never find her when I was younger.

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  9. Hi! I arrived here from "green plastic squirt gun". Great post and great blog!

    This set is quite rare like every two-pack from the second and third series, I am still looking for most of them :(

    Well the thing is that I wanted to recommend you the following document: http://www.jimshooter.com/2011/07/secret-parts-of-origin-of-gi-joe.html?spref=tw

    In it there's a couple of remarks of female figures, you'll surely find it interesting. Although it specifically refers to G.I.Joe, the same is applicable to other toy lines, for example DinoRiders or M.A.S.K.

    Since you say Vanessa Warfield is one of your favorite characters within the M.A.S.K. universe, I invite you to visit my blog and read this article (where the same document above is also mentioned): http://toysfromthepast.blogspot.com/2011/09/58-mask-manta-with-vanessa-warfield.html

    If you take a look at the rest of the blog, I also have a few articles about DR, She-Ra and other toylines you might find interesting.

    Thanks for the article and sorry for promoting my blog here! See you!

    Gog/Juan

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    1. Hello Gog! Do not worry about promoting your blog! I love reading and looking over new sites and other people's thoughts on great toylines that I love. That is fantastic. Thank you for the comment and the links, I will be checking them out later on today! Take care and thanks for enjoying my blog!

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