Terra Battat Dan LoRusso Collection Ceratosaurus

Terra Battat Ceratosaurus





We continue on our quest to look at Battat's recent dino offerings, and now we look at Ceratosaurus, sculpted by Dan LoRusso back in the 90's. Some say this isn't the best Ceratosaurus sculpt in the universe, but in a world devoid of Ceratosaurus figures, who am I to complain? I think it's very nice, and this, while identical to the original, is an improvement. As with all Terra products, it has a fact file on the back, and a nice environment on the packaging's background for those who wish to leave it inside.







The color scheme is much better than the original figure! I mean it's a bit odd to see black then dark red then white, but I don't know. It's interesting and fresh. I don't think I've ever seen a dinosaur sport this combination before. Some say it's dull, some say it doesn't work with the mold, but I say it works fine with the animal portrayed. I love the orange, two toned horn, just as it says in the package "Ceratosaurus may have used the horn for display".





It's a nice figure (by 1997's standards), and given the lack of Ceratosaurus represented in toy form, the repaint will do.







See what I mean about the old one? I actually got it on the same day (I searched for eons), and the old one is...we'll review it later. I like the new one better.

Terra Battat Dan LoRusso Collection Carnotaurus

Terra Battat Carnotaurus







With Dan LoRusso's passing, we do not know if his newer molds were ever going to be released, so we're stuck with repaints for a while, not that this is a bad thing. These are still being found at Target stores across the USA, and the Carnotaurus repaint is a nice view of the old, very hard to find Museum of Boston Carnotaurus. The nice eco-friendly packaging has a nice environment for the animal to stand in, and a fact file on the back as well as Dan's signature.







This mold, made in 1997 or so still holds up today. It is a very nice dinosaur mold. It is hard to argue that the color scheme they chose for this repaint is a little bit dull...If you look at it closer you will get a better impression as with all things in life. It really isn't bad, and I love the little patch of red on the neck.



The classic tripod pose may annoy some, but keep in mind that this was made in 1997, and that even by today's standards, it is not a bad dinosaur. For $8 it's worth every penny, especially if you never owned the old one. It is very nicely detailed. To this day I haven't met a Carnotaurus I didn't like.



For its size and price, it is a well worth museum quality dinosaur figure, and if you are a Dan LoRusso fan, even more so. All Battat dinosaurs are in scale with one another, and they are in scale with Carnegie dinosaurs...at least before they started screwing up the scale as they ran out of dinosaurs to make that were between 5 meters to 10 meters long.







Naturally, I prefer the old coloring better! I will review the original figure at some later date. As you can see they are identical.



Personally I think they complement one another and I tend to pretend that they are from different tribes or different sexes, who knows. These are currently on sale at Target stores, and I have noticed a price reduction, so I highly recommend you find them now before it is too late!

Master Made SDT-02 Diabolus rex AKA Decepticon Trypticon part 2

MM SDT-02 Diabolus rex part 2

Trypticon is known as such because he is a tripleformer, meaning it has three modes. The original Generation 1 Trypticon could go from battery powered walking dinosaur to city mode and mobile battle station mode. This Diabolus rex can transform from super poseable dinosaur of destruction into a interstellar battle cruiser and into battle station mode. This figure is probably like one third of the size of the G1 Trypticon, but the fact that it can transform into a ship instead of into a battle trailer really makes me happy.



Hmm...What does it remind me of other than the Mobile Command mode Trypticon? It reminds me of a ship from some fictional story, but I just can't remember which one. I have not read any other reviews in order for me to give you an unbiased review, but I can't help find the ship mode unusually familiar.









The Jet mode is clunky. It looks really weird without the weapons/thrusters, like a backwards dinosaur. The top of the tail has a removable turret piece that once removed it fits nowhere else. The instructions do not say what else to do with it except to raise the turrets up. The bit feels incomplete. It is also really hard to swoosh around because...it's so heavy! But then again, space cruisers aren't supposed to be as fast as starfighters, right?



The "command ship" module that goes on the back of dinosaur move Trypticon goes on the bottom in this case. It forms a landing mechanism. While all the weapons and pods are customizable, I highly reccomend the pods or a heavy weapon is placed on the posts under the ship mode, otherwise it will fall apart or tumble into different angles. It is a very strange mode, but once the command ship module is underneath, I can't help but feel this Star Trek ship vibe going through.



I should have put the gun/engines in backwards mode, but I was too lazy to do so. The ship mode is cool, and the best way for this thing to get from planet to planet, but I do not think its main function is to travel or attack...



This is a World Engine. A terraforming platform!






Those huge smokestacks remind me of a contamination plant. By the time I took the pictures I have now installed 2 A76 Batteries which now give it that red glow. This object feels less "battle station" and less "city" by the minute. The original Trypticon had this battle station look. This does not. This is secretly turning a planet into wreckage of a world! It looks pretty cool too!



The city mode transformation happens when you split the super articulated legs up, so you can angle the city's pods in any way you wish, which I think is pretty cool, but I'm going for the conservative G1 vibe here. I could very easily just build a circular city. I do not own G1 Trypticon so I am not familiar with its complete capabilities.



This city is too large even for my own Minicons! Heck, a Hot Wheels car will not go down that ramp. So what will? This base is to small for even the smallest of Transformers, so you gotta use your imagination! If anything, it is a small as Micro toys from the 90's era! Remember Polly Pocket? Mad Max? Yeah, it's in that scale, but not on purpose, only on accident. Nothing will slide down that ramp for now. However, it is very true to the G1 Trypticon, and that may be its selling point. The main reason I bought it as I explained in part one is because it had a very Zoids-ish aesthetic, articulation and because it is a Transformer.



This is an impressive toy. It is amazing in every way. For $140 it is well worth it. Highly recommended to any fan of Transformers, robot dinosaur lovers and so forth. I will not buy the Super Deformed Metroplex, its line mate. I used to have Hasbro's Metroplex about two years ago. I wish Hasbro would catch up and start engineering toys in the way this thing was engineered! I own a huge collection of Zoids, Transformers, Zords and more, and this is one of the most complex toys I have ever had (with the exception of Transformers Dark of the Moon Starscream...that thins is Hasbro's absolute masterpiece for the ages in my personal opinion...), which is silly because of how simple the transformation sequence is. It is heavy, so be warned!