Dino Valley

[Ghouldrool]

A continuation of Dino Quest, with more humans, cooler vehicles and awesome dinosaurs.

[dinoviper]

Sailback w/ Bluefly
We are finally getting some new sets from Chap Mei (sort of) and I can finally get back to writing reviews about them. First to appear at Rite Aid stores in fall 2009 is the 2 deluxe Dino Valley sets each $14.99.
This new line of figures is actually suppose to be the third series of Dino Valley. However instead we get mostly repaints from earlier lines.
First up is Sailback the Dimetrodon a repaint of the original Dino Valley assortment. Sailback has all the same functions and mobility as the original so will move on to the paint job. _{For a more in depth review of the Dimetrodon please check out this link-chapmeitoys.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1242}. The paint apps are spot on and give him a more realistic look. The Dimetrodon can now blend into his surroundings yet still support the bright colors on the sail. The tail and arms seem a little blank and could use a little added color to them. The tongue was also left unpainted making his mouth appear very dull. With a little red paint this can be corrected, I might even paint the tongue black to give it a more septic komodo look. I am glad Chap Mei is coming out of the faze of painting dinosaurs blue and purple and resorting to more natural color. I just wish they would not leave their figures bare in certain areas. This could be a 10 on the coolness scale but instead Sailback gets a 8 1/2 in my book.

Next we have the Blowfly err Bluefly. It is a small one man helicopter that can only hold the pilot. No room for passengers. This is more then likely a repaint from the new Soldier Force because the exact same helicopter is packaged at Rite Aid under Soldier Force. The only features this vehicle has is rotating blades that "you" manually spin and a pivoting nose cannon. The colors are nice and vibrant and suit the Dino Valley line well. This copter seems to resemble the GI Joe Missile Storm Copter from the Spy Troops line _{www.yojoe.com/vehicles/03/missilestorm/}.

The figure included in this set seems to be a repaint of one of the early Wild Quest figures. I have no idea who the name of the figure is. I do like his white outfit and brown straps an equipment. He does not come with any type of equipment or weapons. What is included in this set is a pair of bones attached to a weapon tree that you snap together. The bones form a Tyrannosaurus skeleton which has ball socket articulation in the neck and tail. The arms, feet and legs also move and the skeleton can be broken down and put together in a snap. This is the only new feature in the Dino Valley line so far.

A awesome set despite a few paint app errors and lack of weapons and equipment for the figure. I know most people will be picking up the "other" set for the jeep and raptor. This one should not be too hard to find for those Chap Mei fans and completests.






I decided to paint Sailback's mouth completly with a glossy black giving it a very nasty, wet, septic look.

[dinoviper]

Sneaky Tweak w/ Longrope
The more popular in the new Dino Valley sets at least for me is this set which includes a raptor named Sneaky Tweak and a jeep which resembles the old Jurassic Park Jeep Wrangler. I know several people including myself that are either "pack building" the raptor of "troop building" the jeep. This is a very fun and exciting set in itself and I could not wait to get my hands on it.

The figure included in this set is a repaint of one of the figures from the Wild Quest line. This figure in particular I remember came with the Mega-Tracker with Giant Gorilla. He is a bulky figure and looks likes a heavy machine operator. He has got some nice additions including the radio and headset. The bullet belts and web gear are also well detailed. That is however where it ends as the rest of the figure is painted in flat black and white shirt and pants. He does come with a nice array of weapons which are on a weapon tree shaped like a brief case. His weapons include a Uzi, 2 revolvers, a glock and a cell phone to call his buddies when he is knee deep in dino s*#t

The vehicle included in this set is loaded with features. The Longrope jeep can either snare a running dinosaur or blow it to hell with its firepower. This jeep does have some firepower that is for sure. A machine gun is mounted on the drivers side hood and a automatic grenade launcher is attached to the passenger side roll cage. Exactly how these weapons fire is up to the imagination. I assume they are both auto fire because I for one would not sit up on the roll cage pole and shoot a grenade launcher while doing 70mph on a rocky open field. Anyway, the features include rotation in both gun mounts, free rolling wheels and a snare on a ball socket joint that can elevate and rotate. The snare is supported by a bracket on the roll cage so it want drag in front of the jeep. The snare also has a removable rope to better snag a dinosaur. One last thing I forgot to talk about in my last review was the new Dino Valley logo. The design can be found usually on the left side of the vehicle. It took me a while to figure out where I have seen this logo before, then it hit me. The logo is based on Turok Dinosaur Hunter video game. It is a awesome design and I must complement Chap Mei on how it suits the new Dino Valley series.

I am so glad Chap Mei finally released this dinosaur again. It did come in a Dino Valley II set a few years ago but the set very made it to the U.S.. The raptor as it is often called is actually a Deinonychus from Dino Quest the very first series preceding Dino Valley by several years. The original Deinonychus was a sickly yellow with brown stripes which maybe beautiful to some but I prefer this new repaint. Sure I have griped and complained in the past about Chap Mei using too much blue and purple on their dinosaurs. Well the light blue, teal complements this figure with its white body and black stripes. I am also happy to see Chap Mei went in and painted the tongue making it the highlight dinosaur of this set and series. Features include a button on the back that when pressed makes the jaws snap and the arms move up and down. Both arms and legs are articulate and it complements the original Velociraptor of the JP toy line though slightly smaller. Sneaky Tweak I love the name and often wonder where Chap Mei gets its clever names for its figures and creatures. In the 3 3 /4" universe this is a big "raptor" Deinonychus or Velociraptor I think it is way too big to be either one and will most likely be a Utahraptor in my toy-verse. These are perfect pack building dinos but the $14.99 is a major bummer and I don't plan on getting as many as I originally wanted to get.

[dinoviper]

By far the most sought after figure in the Dino Valley collection is the notorious Liopleurodon. This was one of those figures that only came in a playset and the playset was almost impossible to find. The first Liopleurodon came in a medium size set along with a red air boat and Alex Aqua. It was of course the most difficult to find and the most popular among Chap Mei collectors. The second featuring the Liopleurodon came in a larger package with a zodiac patrol boat, a raft that attaches to the rear of the boat and two figures. This playset was part of the Dino Valley II line.


Lets began by looking at the patrol boat. The boat was originally part of the soldier force line and was painted black and red. Most of the same equipment is on this version of the patrol boat that I know of. I recently had a near head on collision with an actual zodiac while at work checking fike nets for eels in North Charleston. These boats are popular among the Navy and Coast Guard and operate as Homeland Security. They also don't give anyone the right of way while on patrol. We decided not to argue with them considering they had a machine gun at the stern, (the back of the boat). Anyway the Chap Mei patrol boat features a rotating radar/sonar dish, the steering wheel moves and the engine turns side to side. The propeller rotates and the spot light at the bow turns right and left. The spot light does not light up which is a disappointment, for a few extra cents Chap Mei could have put a battery. The boat the hod up to two figures but you can make room for more. The boat also has a really cool anti-poaching logo on the side with a picture of the Liopleurodon. I really really like this boat despite the spot light malfunction. I am a huge fan of 3 3/4" boats and they can be pretty hard to come by. I guess toy companies are afraid they are a hazard because some poor kid might drown playing with a toy boat in a bath tub. This boat has far more features to it then the air boat and is a fun little water craft to explore the Jurassic seas from marine predators.


Next up is the raft which attaches to the stern of the patrol via a rope. The raft is made up of two flotation buoys and a platform which a figure can stand on. Two figures can fit on the raft one in front and the other in back although the raft is designed for just one passenger. The raft features a water cannon which does not fire and is the very same gun on the Wild Quest air boat. I guess the cannon is used to drive away stubborn marine predators who like to bite off more then they can chew. The raft also has a rear cage which unfolds so the rider can get in or out. They can also use the gate as a ramp to dive into the murky blue. The raft has a pretty cool Dino Valley sign posted on the side of the raft with a picture of the Liopleurodon. The raft is mostly a tow vehicle and is not the highlight of this set. It would have done fine with just the boat however the raft does complete the set as a additional small vehicle piece.


The two figures in this set are none other then Chip White and Alex Aqua. I have reviewed these figures in previous sets so I won't go into much description. Chip is your basic rescue/zoo keeper even though he is an individual my collector use him as a troop builder to their collection. Chip does not come with any weapons or accessories. I tend to believe he is used in this set to pilot the patrol boat.
Alex is the highlight figure in this set and is light years better then the Alex that came in the Sea Life set I reviewed. Alex is the exact figure described in other sets he has the same tattoos blond hair red BCD jacket and blue gloves and swim trunks. He comes with the same accessories fins, scuba mask but now comes with a scuba tank. His mask attaches to the tank by the hose and Alex looks pretty awesome with his complete scuba equipment. His additional accessories include a flashlight which hooks to his leg and his dive knife. I only wish this figure came with the sheath that holds his knife to his leg. I don't know why Chap Mei did not include that on this figure. Alex also has a harthingy gun which fits in his hand. The harthingy is a little smaller then the three prong harthingy that came with his original Dino Valley single pack. I also prefer the harthingy included in this set as opposed to the one that fires.




Of course the gem of this set and the Dino Valley collection in general is the Liopleurodon. Thankfully Toys R Us has produced this figure as part of the Sea Life collection but it has taken years for them to finally achieve it. The Liopleurodon is a medium size figure which has a button on its neck that when pressed closes the massive jaws. The fins are stationary and the figure can easily be displayed on a flat surface by the front fins and tail. The Liopleurodon is the most detailed and painted figure in the Dino Valley collection and perhaps in the Chap Mei toy line. It reassembles the Liopleurodon featured in the BBC series Walking with Dinosaurs. A dark blue backside and a light blue belly make this one of the most beautiful yet deadly creatures ever made. The teal scutes on the back and ridges on the tail is Chap Mei's way of adding a little creative appeal. You can notice tiny scars to the skin and plate like scales on the flippers which give it a resemblance to modern sea turtles. I will say the head is a little to big but that is what actually sells the toy. Only true dinosaur experts would actually care that the head is out of proportion with the body. The scale is another factor on the Liopleurodon. Walking with Dinosaurs had the animal at a massive 82 feet which is an over estimation. From what fossil evidence that has been collected a better estimate would be close to 50 feet about the size of a full grown sperm whale. Even at that estimate maybe pushing it. Of coarse an actual scale 3 3/4" Liopleurodon figure would be massive and expensive. Only the die hard collectors would pay for it and that is not what Chap Mei is marketing too. This is the ideal size to sell this product, it is just the right scale to munch on medium sized dinosaurs and humans. I tend to use the small Plesiosaurus and Icthyosaurus as the Liopleurodons main prey in the Jurassic as well as in Dino Valley. Who is to say a bigger Liopleurodon "could" be planned in the near future. Until that day comes the Dino Valley Liopleurodon is still the reigning champion of the Jurassic sea.

[dinoviper]

So we have came full circle and now we are back reviewing yet another dinosaur. Released in the first Dino Valley series the Carnotaurus is basically a Dino Valley Tyrannosaurus repainted with a new sculpted head. This did give it some resemblance to the South American theropod, but not much.
The Carnotaurus has articulation in both legs, when you move the fore arm the other arm moves and the jaws clamp shut. A pretty basic medium size dinosaur figure. Where this figure shines is in the sculpting and paint application where as the sculpt fails as a Tyrannosaur it makes up for as a Carnotaurus. The large feet make it so that it can stand with little help, the tail is a little short but it is long enough to balance the rest of the dinosaur. The tail is actually longer then some other Dino Valley dinosaurs suffering from short tail syndrome. I love the thick spines along the back of the dinosaur, giving him a more reptilian appearance. The head has the traditional Carnotaurus horns with an additional horn on the snout. This gives him a more Ceratosaurus look. I believe both dinosaurs are related but separated by millions of years and living on separate continents. In Dino Valley it would be no shock to see these creatures evolve different head ornaments from its predecessor. The Carnotaurus really has the best paint apps of any Chap Mei dinosaur to date. The greens yellows and browns help him blend into his jungle environment. Or if you prefer his grassland habitat. What I don't like about this dinosaur are the fore arms and jaw. Why could Chap Mei not dish out an additional 70 cents to mold a jaw that matches the head and more Carnotaurus accurate fore arms. Actually the lower jaw is better positioned then the T rex with his massive over bite. The jaw can be ignored but the arms have to go. Scale wise he is pretty accurate with 3 3/4" figures for an actual Carnotaurus. As opposed to the T rex version that needed to be bigger. I can understand the size issue because Chap Mei wanted the Spinosaurus to sell the line. Sometime down the road I hope we do see a larger more accurate Carnotaurus with the bull like head and scutes covering the body. Until then the Dino Valley Carnotaurus works just fine.

[dinoviper]

The Sudden Attack Play sets were medium sized sets that came out in the Dino Valley series. Their were two sets and each one came with a vehicle, figure, dinosaur and some accessories.
First up is the Tracker jeep with Peter Pix.


The jeep was originally part of the Soldier Force line now it has been repainted to look more like a safari type jeep. This is one of my favorite Chap Mei vehicles. I love the paint apps and the additional features to the jeep. The vehicle itself is very sturdy and all four wheels roll. The jeep hold two figures with spare room to fit equipment in the trunk. The extra spare on the hood is molded on so it cannot be removed. The equipment on the roof is actually a light and sound device but my jeep does not have this feature. The rear bumper holds a removable gas can and antenna for long range communication. The blue and white paint apps look really good on this jeep and it reminds me of something that could be used to observe dinosaur on Jurassic Park. The jeep is one of the more interesting vehicles in Dino Valley 2.



The figure that comes with the vehicle is none other then Peter Pix. He is one of the more appealing figures of the series. Peter was also used in Wild Park and had a different pattern on his shirt. The Wild Park version has a bush baby and TV SAFARI painted on his chest. Like most of the other figures Peter can turn his head rotate his arms and raise and lower both legs. His orange vest can be removed but then nobody would see him in his navy blue shirt hat an khaki short pants. I don't know if I would go venturing into the wilderness with a pair of shorts and sandals on my feet. Whoever created this figure did a knock out job. Having a different shirt for Wild Park and Dino Valley was brilliant.
Peter's accessories include a video camera, tripod stand and camera with telescoping lens. Peter can hold the video camera in his hand of let it stand freely on the tripod. The tripods legs can fold out and close for storage. The other camera can be worn around his neck or held in his hand. I only wish he came with the small hand held video camera and canteen like in his other figure does.


This Attack Play set comes with the Dino Valley Therizinosaurus which only came with this set. A blue and hot pink version was released at Toys R Us as a small play set with two other dinosaurs and bio card. I'm actually shocked Chap Mei came out with such an odd dinosaur. It was originally discovered in China so that may account for something. As far as I know Chap Mei is the only toy company to come out with a Therizineosaurus. This figure features leg articulation and when you press the button on its back the arms swing wildly back and forth. Their is no neck or head movement whatsoever. The sculpting is rather interesting with long curved claws, some of which are broken off at the tip. The figure also has a mane that runs down the neck like a horse. This is a little creative ingenuity on Chap Mei's part. As far as the rest of the body goes it is pretty accurate to what this creature actually looked like. Even the short tail is correct as these animals did possess a rather short tail in life. The paint coloration looks great on this figure light tans, browns and a little pink around the eyes and mouth. Much better in fact then the Animal Planet version Toys R Us released.

[dinoviper]

As I mentioned their were two Sudden Attack play sets, this being the other. This set came with a red Hummer truck, Chip White and Suchomimus.

The red Hummer also appears as a white and black striped version in the Wild Park line with the Grizzly Attack play set. I don't recall this version being used in any other line though I'm pretty sure it was used as a Soldier Force vehicle. I am not as impressed with this vehicle as the jeep. It is basically just a sold piece of plastic with free rolling wheels. It can hold up to three figures two in the cab and one on the roof manning the spotlight. The light does not function and I believe the Hummer has a sound feature that has been removed from this set. Aside from that it has an antenna on the rear bumper and a cool Dino Valley logo on the side of the truck. Certainly not one of my favorite vehicles in the series.


The figure that comes in the set is Chip White a fairly common figure to find. He is in almost every play set and his figure packs still sit on the pegs to this day. He is a interesting figure sporting neon green overalls that can be spotted from space. He has a neat walkie talky on his shoulder that can move slightly. Chip also has a nifty little belt full of all sorts of bells and whistles but gets in the way when sticking him inside a vehicle. I wonder if Chip is a troop builder or just a single individual due to his name Chip White. Chip has articulation in the legs, arms and head.
Chip's accessories include a new molded magenta flashlight and binoculars. He also comes with a large fly swatter which has been seen in several other line including Pirates. The red backpack is also pretty common among other series from Dino Valley to Wild Quest.


The highlight of the otherwise mediocre set is the Suchmimus. Based of the horrid Jurassic Park III figures Hasbro put out some time ago. Chap Mei took a really bad figure based on another company and made it a thousand times better. Dino Valley II gave Chap Mei the chance it needed to really shine. Producing good quality dinosaur never produced by other toy companies. Suchomimus was one of those dinosaurs paleontologist discovered in the mid 90s that turned the dinosaur community upside down. Suchomimus was a 36 foot crocodilian looking meat eater found in North Africa. A lot of the Spinosaurus from Jurassic Park III was based more from this guy since the original Spinosaurus fossils were destroyed in a bombing raid during WWII. We are at least getting, not only recently discovered dinosaurs as toys but dinosaurs that lived in other parts of the world. The Suchomimus has articulation in the legs and when you move the arm the jaws opens and closes. The sculpting is not to bad despite it was taken from a JPIII Hasbro nightmare. The sculpt is pretty dead on with an actual Suchmimus. The tail is a little short and needs to be lengthened greatly. I love how the designers applied small spines to the ridge on the back. The fore arms are exaggeratedly large and need to be shortened. The head is pretty spot on with an actually Suchmimus and I'm so happy Chap Mei didn't leave that awful Spinosaurus head. The coloration is a bit fantastic. I don't know why Chap Mei like to use so much blue in their dinosaurs. I personally don't believe dinosaurs were completely bathed in blue but who is to say. We really don't know what color dinosaurs truly were. The Suchomimus was also sold separate as a single figure and Toys R Us had a red and light blue version of this figure.

[dinoviper]

Growing up my favorite dinosaur was Dilophosaurus. We are talking pre-Jurassic Park here. I had to include my favorite dinosaur. Growing up Dilophosaurus was a big early Jurassic theropod that terrorized what is now the state of Arizona. They grew up to 20 feet and had a kinked snout with big sharp teeth. I remember just before the Jurassic Park movie came out reading the book. I enjoyed reading the part where Dennis Nedry encounters a big adult Dilophosaurus lumber out of the jungle spit venom at his face and then proceed to rip his intestines from his body. That made the Dilophosaurus all that more exciting. Then the movie came out... The movie version was basically a pint sized dinosaur that looked more like a frilled lizard then a large early Jurassic theropod. All the credit went to the T rex and Velciraptor. I was devastated. Kenner then did a "bang up" job with both of there Dilophosaurs. The spitting action was sweet but the figure was a little small. The sound attack Dilophosaurus was a little bigger to support the electronic mechanism inside and a removable frill. When Jurassic Park III was released Hasbro bought out Kenner and the rights to produce the toys. Hasbro created a horrible brood of festering hard plastic dinosaurs with RE-AK Attack action. Layman's terms; sound attack dinosaurs with grotesque sores on their bodies to activate sound. Dilophosaurus was one of the few made for this outrageous toy line. To tell you the truth I don't even remember a Dilophosaurus featured in JPIII movie. In case you are not aware; I'm a hater of JP III action figures

The Chap Mei Dilophosaurus is based on the Hasbro Jurassic Park III mold. Although it is "based" on the JP III mold; Chap Mei took it to a whole different level. Thats right they took what it was based on and made it better. The Dino Valley Dilophosaurus is a medium sized dinosaur making it the same size as all the other medium sized dino valley dinosaurs. It towers over 3 3/4" humans when standing upright which puts it on average Dilophosaurus size. It has the splayed frill just as the JP version does but it also has a small sail on its back. This gives it a little more character and one wonders if this is actually a Dilophosaurus or something else entirely. The arms are long and the fingers are hooked with sharp claws. It also has these fins or spines on the wrist. The legs are long and powerful and unusually end in two clawed toes. The third toe is much shorter and almost unnoticeable. The tail is surprise; actually long and crocodile like. I just wish more of Chap Mei's dinosaurs had longer tails like this. It's neck and arms rotate and by pressing the sail on its back makes the arms slash back and forth.

This is a colorful dinosaur as pop culture has now portrayed it. The head, back and tail are chocolate in color. The underside is painted a lime green. The frill is green and orange to attract attention. The sail has little teal splashed on the back. I just wish a little color was added to the crests.

As with all of its dinosaurs, Chap Mei likes to take creative liberties in their figures. The Dino Valley Dilophosaurus is by far the most flamboyant dinosaur in the Dino Valley collection. I tend to use this guy a lot in my dios. I see him as a large swift killer of Dino Valley that can run down it's prey slashing to death with its claws and then tear it to pieces with its sharp serrated teeth. They are social animals rarely leaving the cool dark safety of the jungle. They use the frill to communicate with one another and to drive off other predators at a kill. The frill makes the dinosaur appear bigger. Dino Valley is such a small region when a kill is made it brings other scavengers from miles away to compete for food.

[dinoviper]

By far the most popular most abundant dinosaur in any toy collection is the Tyrannosaurus. Chap Mei alone has several, all different shapes and sizes. This one appeared late in the Dino Valley II series and has proved to be by far the most fierce, most rugged, most fun of any T rex.
Overall the sculpting on this light and sound T rex is well crafted the scutes on the neck to the teeth raising out of the gum line give it a primal look. It is slightly larger then most medium sized dino valley dinosaurs. Mostly due to the light and sound feature. Both legs rotate. The arms rotate making the jaw shift slightly in the mouth causing the figure to roar and eyes light up. The roar sounds just like Godzilla when he attacks a city. I love how the mouth is positioned to where the Tyrannosaurus could be let out a bellow or about to take a chunk out of its most recent kill. My only complaint are the arms they are too long and he suffers from the highly contagious short tail syndrome.
What lacks in the arms and tail makes up in the coloration. The body is painted green with dark stripes and white. The head is a dark crimson that combines with the horns above the eyes and jagged teeth, appears to have escape the pit of hell. I only wish the toes and finger nails were painted instead of left blank.
If this Tyrannosaur could be enlarged to the size of say the mega hauler I would be a happy man. However I must make due. This rex lives in a remote valley in the 20th century. It must be able to run down sizable prey and breath the oxygen in todays atmosphere. It has to move through dense jungles and hunt in open savannas. They now so well adapted they can sneak into a campsite at dusk and carry off human prey.

[dinoviper]

One of the most unusual Dino Valley creatures is the Pteranodon. It is a very playable figure in the air but proves to be difficult to pose on the ground. Pteranodons are fairly common among collections. Chap Mei already had a smaller version in the Dino Quest run and a bigger, armor clad purple Pteranodon in the Beast Raider collection. Stone Age recently has a giant Pteranodon but has not been spotted in the United States yet. Like the Dimetrodon this is not a true dinosaur but a Pterosaur a group of reptiles that evolved to fly early on during the Triassic Period.
This Pteranodon maybe called a Pteranodon but it resembles the Tapezara from the Jurassic Park III line. Yet this one is far better constructed the the JPIII version which had big cumbersome wings that flopped around loosely and a hideous scab on its back that when pressed made a terrible screeching sound.
The Dino Valley Pteranodon has legs that rotate 360 degrees wings that flap manually and rotate 360 degrees. The button on the back makes the animals neck and head strike. The coloration on the body is a dull blue with flicks of white and light blue wings underside. The head has a striking red and yellow coloration on a black background.
The head is a bit odd with that crest and beak full of teeth. Pterosaurs that is the later species did not have teeth but it gives this figure a more fierce appearance.
The odd crest and teeth indicate to me that this was once a species of Pteranodon that did survive the extinction of the dinosaurs and went on to adapt in the modern world. It gave up its diet of fish and turned to eating meat. Given the size of a full grown adult it could snatch human sized prey off the ground with its powerful talons.

[dinoviper]

Just about every dinosaur toy line has some type of duck bill and usually it is a Parasaurolophus. Thanks to the huge box office giant Jurassic Park in 1993. We see more of the dinosaur in the sequel The Lost World several years later. Kenner at that time put out an awesome figure with action and sound. It was closest resemblance to one in years. That is until Chap Mei put out one in its Dino Valley II line. Both look exactly alike in appearance and color the only difference is the Dino Valley is smaller does not have a sound attack feature and is on all fours. This is the very reason why this Parasaurolophus could be all the more better.
True the Parasaurolophus is on all fours which is most likely how they moved as recent evidence shows. If you move the left rear leg back it appears to be running with great speed. It is a medium sized dinosaur but looks about right next to all the rest of the Dino Valley series. It is still larger then the human figures which is a plus. Like most of the dinosaurs in the line the Parasaurolophus suffers from the annoying short tail syndrome. Then again the JP Lost World version also had a short tail.
The figure is very well detailed with creases in the skin and wrinkles. I think the company had a pretty good model to go by. Actual skin impressions have been discovered in fossils so we have a pretty good idea what the skin looked liked in real life.
The colors are earth toned and are perfect for this type of dinosaur. Olive with black stripes on the body a white face with a reddish crest. This is by far the most scientifically accurate dinosaur Chap Mei has released. Despite the short tail...
All four legs move and when you press the button on its back the head bobs up and down. It appears the animal is head banging to some Metallica or Iron Maiden.
When first released these dinosaurs were impossible to find then late last year Toys R Us started carrying them. So it is still easy to find them and build up a herd of these animals.
Like the other Chap Mei dinosaurs I tend to disregard the small stature and short tail. I tend to think this species over millions of years grew smaller and lost the length of the tail to compete with the swifter more intelligent predators living in Dino Valley today. Since Parasaurolophus were common at the end of the Cretaceous they are the ideal meal for large predators.
I hope in future lines Chap Mei creates some different species of duck bill since the Parasaurolophus is so common among toy companys. It would be wonderful to see a Lambeosaurus or a more exotic Saurolophus. You can actualy keep the body design and just switch the head.

[dinoviper]

The Dino Valley Dimetrodon is a beautiful and deadly addition to anyones dinosaur collection. Although Dimetrodon is not an actual dinosaur it appeared millions of years before the first dinosaur during the Permian. Even thought this creature never lived along side dinosaur or cave man tons of movies cartoons and toy lines portray them that way. Not that I have a problem with that it adds to the mystery and fantasy of a lost world that time forgot. Almost every dinosaur toy line has a Dimetrodon in it's collection next to the Jurassic Park Dimetrodon the Chap Mei is number one. The Dino Valley Dimetrodon is a medium sized figure with movable legs and when you press the front legs down the mouth widens and the tongue slides out. A very reptilian feature by more effective then the JP Dimetrodons snapping jaw feature. The dino valley Dimetrodon appears more "life like" then many other Dimetrodons made in the past and even other dinosaurs in the Chap Mei line. The tail is a little short for my taste but is seems a typical problem among the medium and large scale dinosaurs Chap Mei creates. Dimetrodon is one of the few Chap Mei creatures where the screw holes are not all on one side. So when posing you don't have to put him on his good side. Or photoshop the holes out of the picture. The skin is well detailed with intricate scale pattens on the legs and body. The mouth is painted a sick pink and I wonder if this create has a bad case of gingivitis or its mouth is loaded with infectious bacteria like the komodo dragon. The color application could be better. It seems Chap Mei has an addiction for the color blue and will paint ever other dinosaur some shade of blue. Aside from that the sail is accurately constructed at least scientifically speaking. The sail is painted in a beautiful shade of red, yellow and orange. It appears as the whole sail is on fire. This might aid it in its survival on Dino Valley to either ward of larger predators and to attract a mate.

[dinoviper]

Although it is not the most menacing of the Dino Valley dinosaurs the Ornitholestes is one of the coolest theropods in my collection. They are brightly colored in yellow and red with black patches adding to the more warm blooded bird like aspect. The head, tail and arms have quills and feathers a very controversial idea even today. The snout even possess the crest of the actual specie. The size is still a little large for a actual Ornitholestes but they are ideal size for 3 3/4 inch figures. They are just large enough to bring down human sized prey. They are however not over exaggerated like the velociraptor in many other toy lines. In general the Ornitholestes among several other animals in the line were derived from the feature documentary Walking with Dinosaurs. I believe several parts of the world who collected Chap Mei called this a dragonosaurus which is a very creative idea. The only gripe I have about this animal is the additional fourth toe giving it a more "Raptor" look to it. This must be a very popular dinosaur to fans of Chap Mei because they made two additional repaints. A more Walking with Dinosaur look to the Dino Valley II series and a neon green and pink Stone Age version which I am repulsed by. Like the Dino Valley pterodactyl the Ornitholestes are easy to come by you can create a pack of them in no time. I like to use the Dino Valley II version as a male and the Dino Valley versions as females. Being perhaps the first of the coelurosaurs they are the descendent's of both T rex and raptor like dinosaurs.

[dinoviper]

I should be reviewing some of my favorite Chap Mei collection since this is a Chap Mei forum before I get too carried away. I am a big fan of the smaller figures Chap Mei offers. First on the plate is the Dino Valley pterodactyl. This is not exactly a true pterodactyl but more a chimera of two completely different species of pterosaurs. It has the tail of a Jurassic Ramphorhynchus and the head of a Cretaceous Ornithocheirus. One theory I have about its unusual appearance is the fact that Dino Valley is a location where the creatures evolved over millions of years into modern day. These creatures would look much different from the animals alive 150 million years ago. These were Jurassic age pterosaurs which survived into modern times. Despite its rather questionable speciation the winged dactyl makes a rather interesting addition to the Dino Valley world. The paint application is dead on, the head is brightly painted crimson same as the chest with a darker navy body. The wings have a lite purple tint giving them a transparent look to them. The skin is detailed and has a scaly reptilian apperence. Two features I really love about the pterodactyl are the head quills and blood vessels on the wing membrane. Unlike many of the small figures the pterodactyl are one of the few with articulation in the neck, tail and wings. These are fairly easy to come by so you can quickly build a flock of them for your prehistoric world. I tend to use these creatures a basically scavengers feeding off of recently deceased dinosaurs. Their long snouts and sharp teeth are perfect for tearing out small pieces of flesh as well as snatching up small mammals, reptiles and fish.

[Jbyrdd]

Very detailed Dino line, these was available at KB Toy stores.