Tedco "Land And Wings" Dinosaur Set Review:
As you all know by now, I love the products created by Lontic/Tedco. I ordered this complete "Land And Wings" Dinosaur set direct from Tedco as I have never seen this assortment at retail. Their shipping was cheap and quick, it arrived barely 5 days after I ordered it. Tedco even sent the retail display case along with the product! This set contains 6 individually packaged sets consisting of 1 large articulated plastic land dinosaur and 1 small static vinyl flying dinosaur figurine. 2 of the 6 articulated dinosaurs I already had from previously purchased sets (Allosaurus and Diplodicus), but the 4 that I did not already have plus the 6 mini flyers were hard to pass up at this price.
Lontic/Tedco articulated figures are made from a rigid plastic without a lot of flex. They are solidly built and heavier than they look. This makes them great toys as they could probably take rough play without breaking. The articulation on the dinosaurs is consistent across all of the figures, swivel neck OR hinged jaw (usually swivel necks for herbivores and hinged jaws for carnivores), swivel hips/shoulders and swivel tails. The paint apps are quite nice and there are some pretty complex tampos for markings on their hides.
The smaller static vinyl dinosaurs are hit or miss. Some of the sculpts are simple or sparsely detailed, possibly due to the size of the figurines (about 1.25" - 1.5" tall). Some are pretty accurate depictions of the creatures while others seem to be so vague that I cannot identify what species they are supposed to be. The paint apps are basic, far less complex than their larger articulated pack mates. They should all look great after repainting though.
The sculpts are all very well done. The dinosaurs' skin textures are extremely detailed and the feathered areas on those with plumage is likewise very well done. The biggest surprise is that unlike a large number of the dinosaur figures that Lontic/Tedco produces, every single one of these are original sculpts and not "borrowed" from other lines (several dinosaurs are bootlegged from the Hasbro "Jurassic Park III" line). The Oviraptor and Therinizosaurus are particularly nice and were the main reasons I ordered this set.
As I had mentioned in my review of the static vinyl Dinosaur sets last week, the small vinyl figurines that had larger articulated counterparts were painted in colorschemes that matched their larger brethren. I have added pictures of the Therizinosaurus and Parasaurolophus with their vinyl dopplegangers. The smaller vinyl figurines could be used as juvenile examples of the same species.
This set retails for $60.00 and shipped for $7.49 (could be higher depending on where it is shipped to), which is a bit high per piece, but since there are alot of pieces that appear to only be available in this set, it was worth it to me.
