The Carnegie Plateosaurus and You

The Carnegie Plateosaurus

Brightly painted, with white and black/brown horizontal stripes, the base-tan Carnegie Plateosaurus took these Dinosaur toys to a whole new level. Standing twice as tall, at five inches, as the earlier Marx and MPC Plateosaurus Dinosaur toys these also greatly out-weighed those long out-of-production figures at two & three-eighths ounces (2.375 oz, 66 gms)- approximately ten times as much, in fact.

Their introduction in 1994 as part of the Carnegie Collection provided the world of Dinosaur toys with a new and not entirely innocuous herbivore. Looking closely (Below) at this

fellow's face presents us with an expressive, even attitudinal Dinosaur toys figure. The detailing on this guy is really superb as can be readily seen.

The detail of the Carnegie Plateosaurus' skin (Right) is neither the random cross-hatching nor stippling of earlier figures but rather a pattern that is consistent throughout the entire figure. If there is a fault here at all it is that the hips are quite small and the upper legs are under developed, just sort of stuck onto the lower torso. They look like the legs belong to a smaller creature. On the other hand the detailing at the attachment points is well done and the detail of the lower legs is quite good. (Below)

(Above- Detail of Right side)

Unfortunately the fore paws lack the detail and realism of the feet. (below, left and right) The "fingers" are quite stubby and the long "thumb" claw is totally lacking while the "pinky" finger is of the same length as the others. Interestingly enough the Plateosaurus' hand was similar to our own.

(Palm left, back of "hand"- right)

(The Carnegie Plateosaurus faces down a pack of Carnegie Dilophosaurs)

Looking down (Above & Below) we see a very nicely proportioned and well sculpted Dinosaur toy. Those narrow hips and hypertrophied upper thighs, due to the manner in which they are melded into the main body, really

look a lot better than a truly close examination would suggest.

The belly (Below) has the Carnegie Collection, Safari Ltd. imprint, as well as the year of initial production, 1994. This is considered to a "museum quality" model, as is the entire Carnegie Collection (opens new window).

Unfortunately for the updated (in 1996) Carnegie Plateosaurus Dinosaur toys the Carnegie Tyrannosaurus Rex was updated at the same time and, as can be seen below a single Carnegie Tyrannosaurus Rex gets to chase while

a pair get to picnic....(Below)

This verifiable vegetarian is eight and three-quarters inches (8.75", 22.3cms) in length. Nominally 1/40 scale (as are all the Carnegie Dinosaurs) these are pretty right-on. I find it to be 1/41 scale at thirty-feet for an adult.
I consider that well within measurement error and Dinosaur size differences.

Anyone seriously collecting Dinosaur toys will consider the Carnegie Plateosaurus as an indispensable member of his or her herd of herbivores. Representing one of the earliest "Dinosaur sized" Dinosaurs this Prosauropod was in a direct line with what became the largest of the Dinosaurs, the Sauropods themselves. (Such as the Apatosaurus, the Diplodocus, Cetiosaurus and others.

(Below, detail of left side)

According to Safari Ltd., (opens new window) the manufacturer of the Carnegie Collection these Carnegie Plateosaurus are "discontinued." Now whether that means out-of-production forever (like the Deinonychus) or simply pulled for a makeover is unknown. The only fixes necessary are to the upper legs and the forepaws anyway. It is quite a good model if not up to the standards of the newest Safari figures, but then it is fifteen years older. It is quite collectable if not quite a collectible in its own right. While I needed these two for the page my beloved wife, DinoWoman, thinks they are really cute. That's good enough for me.

(The 2009 Safari Postosuchus pops out of ambush....))

As for taste these are non-toxic as far as anyone can tell and may be chewed on but that would be a terrible waste of perfectly good Dinosaur toys. Let the Tyrannosaurs, Allosaurus and the new (2009 Dinosaur Toy of the Year) Safari Ltd. Postosuchus (A Triassic Apex Predator, BTW) do the

(Our Plateosaurus pair do a quick pirhouette and take off....)
chowing down. If and when they can. Despite its extreme 'good looks' the only good look the Postosauchus seems to be getting is at the back-end of the Plateosaurs....

(As the Carnegie Plateosaurus pull away we see why the Postosuchus was an evolutionary dead-end while the re-productive Plateosaurus proved the progenitor of gigantic, terrible, lizards.)

If you decide that you want one (or more) of these you shouldn't find any trouble in garnering your own. There are several for sale on eBay and more, I suspect, all over the web. Average price seems to be $7.50 and up. You might even find some as part of a "lot" of Dinosaur toys and get it for a much lower price along with other Dinosaurs.

(Sometimes it's just better to get away from it all....)

Over all I would say that this is a pretty realistic and fairly attractive figure that certainly won't embarrass you on a date, dinner or at the movies. Given its size you can probably get it in at the "under six" discount. It fits in scalewise with most of the other major manufacturers Dinosaur toys and will be a welcome addition to your Dino-Toy Box.

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