Toys, comics and dinosaur stuff

But first, lets talk about feathers

I wish all dinosaurs had feathers...
This is just too glorious.

     I love feathers on my dinosaurs. Not only because it makes them look fabulous, but it's also scientifically accurate and that needs to be more widely embraced.

     Alright, side-stepping the original reason why I started this post, which is to talk about awesome raptor toys and a trex comic that looks amazing, lets talk about feathers on dinosaurs. What's the deal? Why all of a sudden to raptors actually look like "a 6 foot turkey"?

     HERE'S SOME PALEONTOLOGY, MY FRIENDS.

     Let's start with the raptors, since that's a lot of people's favorite dinosaur, with good reason. They're fast, sleek, smart, and have sick as hell hook claws on their feet. They're like the deadly ninjas of the dinosaur kingdom, and who the hell doesn't like ninjas?

     Pirates, I guess.

     Anyway, one of the best evidence we have for certain dinosaurs, namely theropod dinosaurs, having feathers is this amazing fossil of Microraptor. The feather imprints are so perfect and clear, down to the tiny little fluffy feathers on it's face! How amazing is that? The fossilization of some feathers has been so fantastic, that a team from Yale discovered fossilized Melanosomes in the feathers which basically is what determines the pigment of the feathers. WHAAT.

Art by Jonathan Kuo

     So far they have been able to lock down darker colors, like browns and blacks, and the unique one for red. It's a growing theory that the feathered raptors were probably vibrant like that of modern birds, which just makes me very happy.

     As far as Tyrannosaurs go, let me introduce you to Yutryannus huali, an amazing feathered tyrannosaurus with an amazing fossil with feather imprints. I don't think it's widely accepted that they had long, luscious feathers like raptors did, but more fluffy, downy feathers. It's because of this find that the iconic T .rex is now suspected to have had feathers as well.

     Since feathers are evident in the fossil record with theropod dinosaurs, there's been some speculation that dinosaurs probably used them in the same ways as modern birds, or at least similar. Most likely these feathers were used for insulation, protection from the sun and probably mating and defense.
     Think about it. If you were a strapping tyrannosaur and needed to entice the ladies, don't you think a bright, vibrant coat of amazing, shiny feathers would show off how healthy and handsome you were? On the same note, if you came up to another fellow buck who needed to be put in his place, you could roar and fluff up to look bigger and scarier.

     Yeah, that sent the mouth breather running, huh?

     Now on to my original crap I wanted to post about....toys and comics!!

• What the post is actually about

     HOLD ON A DAMN SECOND
     Ok, before I get into the comic and toyline, I just did a search for "Feathered Raptors" to add more pictures into the blog post when I found this:

     Yeah, it's a fucking fully movable, feathered raptor mask. OH MY GOD. I can't find how to buy, but if it's anything like the other amazing masks I've seen like this on Etsy, it's probably like $600.
     BUT LOOK AT IT. HOLY SHIT.

     Ahem....anyway....

     Touching back on the topic of brightly colored raptors, the Beasts of the Mesozoic line from Creative Beast Studios is all about embracing the multicolored feather spectrum of their raptors. In a recent Facebook post, one of the lead designers talked about how they pulled inspiriting for the raptor's many different pallets from birds living today. I'll post that picture they put up, because it's amazing:

     Creative Beast Studios had an awesomely successful kickstarter back in May, and they were able to get fully funded! They're posable and painfully scientifically accurate, which makes me warm and tingly inside. These badboys are about $35-40 a piece, and are available for pre-order.
     I seriously don't know which one I like the best. They're all freaking amazing. I think they go up for grabs in...November? Someone give Alex a hint for me, please. XD

     Next up is a cool comic I found on the Twitter machine by Rextooth Studios. You can read the first part of the comic online at their site, and it looks like the first comic is available to get online for $16.95. The art is very good, but a little cartoony in it's style. The trex has feathers, which is awesome, and I love how Cobalt's eyes shine in the darkness when he hunts at night. While really cool, I'm not a huge fan of the style. I'm not really big into the aesthetics of American style comics, so I'm not jumping to get this one as much as I was Age of Reptiles.
     Still looks cool for any dinosaur fan. Not sure how bloody it gets, so maybe not for kids?

     I think I'm going to go crawl back into bed since I feel like crap today. Until then!

      - M

Things I simply *must* have.

They will be Mine. Oh yes...

I have a very real problem of falling down the rabbit hole of dinosaur themed shopping. It always starts so innocent...a seemingly harmless visit to a paleontology Facebook page or stopping in to visit r/dinosaurs on Reddit. I see something mildly interesting so I click....then follow that link...then another...and another...

Then suddenly I have an entire catalog of shit I must have in my life.

I decided the best way to cope with the fact that I have a crazy obsession with dinosaur themed anything, is to share and possibly infect others with this adorable virus. 

Since my list is very long, I've picked out some of my top favorites to share. It goes without saying that literally any Papo or Shielch dinosaur toy that's out there must be mine, so I'll skip posting a long list of all those that exist.

Instead, this is the more fun or truly amazing items I've come across during my late night Etsy and collector site binge-fests.

Sorry in advance for the expensive crap you're about to want. 

PS: I've saved the best one for last.

The List

1.) Inflatable T-rex costume ---- $100

How is this not the best one, you ask? Because this one is something that will eventually be mine in the future. I have a goal of owning this wondrous creation in 2016, either for A-Kon or for Halloween.

These awesome suits have become something of an Internet sensation, and I have yet to get sick of seeing them. People don these amazing costumes and do the most insane things, from ice skating, to pole dancing to competing in American Ninja Warrior. 

They're so incredibly doofy and cute that it's hard not to just adore the hell out of them. 

Plus, not only are they license from Jurassic World, they're WAY cheaper than the realistic Walking with Dinosaur style suits that cost well into the thousands.

It's the best of both worlds: silly and you get to be a dinosaur. This is kind of a life goal of mine, and what I've wanted to grow up as since I was five.

2.) DinoStoreus Skulls, Skeletons and Full Flesh Models ---- $44 - $350

I wanted to start with the basics: awesome collectible statues. I think these are something every dinosaur fan would want/need, and they are as pretty as they are reasonable in price. 

You've got a couple options when it comes to these guys: skull, full skeleton and fully fleshed models. They're perfect desk pieces and I've seen these in paleontologists offices. Honestly, I was trying to pick my favorites, but I'd really love any of these pieces. They're all SO cool.

3.)  Regaliceratops bust from BlueDino ---- $179

I think I've gushed about my love for this Ceratopsian in the past, but it's worth mentioning again how freaking cool it looks.

This bust is really gorgeous. It's hand sculpted and painted by the artist, and I would kill a man to have it in my grubby hands. It does have the option to come unpainted for a little cheaper, but I'm pretty sure I'd botch any type of paint job. I have zero skill in that department. It'd end up looking like a toddler scribbled on  very nice piece of art and I'd probably have to kill myself.

I'm a pro at pining for stunning works of art though. 

I love how detailed it is, especially the frill, and how he kept the red theme from Julius Csotonyi's painting. Simply amazing.

4.) Trilobite Plushie from PaleoGirl Crafts ---- $43

HOW ADORABLE IS THIS GUY??

I cannot get over how fluffy and sweet his little face is. Yes, ok...this isn't a dinosaur but good lord do I love Trilobites. 

As soon as this brilliant woman is taking commissions again, we're having a conversation about a Tiktaalic....

5.) These ridiculous as fuck dinosaur heels  ---- $260

Because I'm a lady with refined taste and class.

Plus, those are totally the same T-rex toys I have and their jaws open and close. That's just fancy.

6.) Custom Baby Raptor Sculpture ---- $70

This is so beyond cute. Not only can this sweet little dude look however you want, but he is all curled up like he's fresh from his egg. I want to snuggle him! 

It's always cool to see dinosaurs in different poses besides roaring, fighting or charging. Don't get me wrong, those are all awesome, but I do love seeing babies and sleeping dinosaurs too.

It makes them feel like real animals, which they were, and not mythical monster-beasts.

Either way, this guy is fantastic and I need an orange one in my life one day.

Side note, I wish they had feathers. :C

7.) Baby Raptor Blind Box by Rebor -- ~$5 for one or ~$40 for the full set

Two baby raptor things!? So neat, right?!

I don't think these guys are available stateside. The only place I could find them is at everythingdinosaur.com, and everything is in Euros. 

They're cute as hell little blind boxes that come in different colors. I really adore all of them and per Rebor style, always pretty and well detailed. I really hope they come across the pond and pop up at something local.

Looking at you, GameStop and ThinkGeek. Don't fail me.

8.)  Dimorphodon Judy and Punch by Rebor ---- ~$45

Yet another amazing find and correct...they're also not dinosaurs.

I KNOW, CALM DOWN.

But c'mon...these come as a pair and they have names. I love them so much, and I love that Judy is in flight while Punch looks up lovingly at her. I'm not usually big on the flying reptiles -- I mean, I do think they're really neat, but they've never been my top favorites. These little dudes are just too cool and they'd look so good in the collection.

I guess I should give pterosaurs more love.

I think most people will recognize those pterosaurs from Jurassic World as the "trex head flying dinosaur hybrid", to which I say, get the fuck off my blog you filthy peasant they're actually real animals and not hybrid.

I had a conversation with a coworker a couple months ago involving this creature, and it amazed me that he thought they were one of the genetic experiments. In looking up the information about it, because I'm not as well depth in pterosaurs, Dimorphodons are commonly searched for as "the trex flying dino from Jurassic World". 

To be fair, I only knew about them because I watch a lot of dinosaur documentaries and I remembered them from one of of the many that were on Netflix (grumble, grumble), so I'm not acting like I'm so snooty jerk.

Well...I kinda am. More people should watch dinosaur stuff, damnit!!

9.) Feathered T-rex toy from Collecta --- $25 (though I've seen it go for like $70)

That's right! Finally a feathered T-rex!! 

This toy just came out and my god I want it. You don't see not naked T-rex toys ever, so when this one hit the market, it started to sell out right away. 

I love the color pallet of this dinosaur and the feathers looks so cool. I'm glad to see model companies starting to embrace scientifically accurate dinosaurs these days. 

It warms my heart. 

10.) New Papo dinosaurs: Baryonyx and feathered Velociraptor ---- ~$26/each

MOAR FEATHERS!!

I just recently learned abut Baryonyx, and this dinosaur is so strangely cool looking that he's slowly becoming a new favorite. I'm also just tickled as hell about the raptor having feathers, because I'm yet again being a snobby asshole about things.

I really like the Papo line and I think they're going to stay at the top of my list. All of their toys are so incredibly detailed and often in the coolest poses. Very lifelike in the smallest details, and they pick the coolest dinosaurs to make toys out of. 

I only have the one Papo toy, my beloved Dimetrodon, and I always loved how his skin folds a little where his body is turning. 

It's the little thing that makes this toy company so damn good. That and they're fairly cheap and stateside, which is nice. 

Side note, the raptor isn't out yet, but the Baryonyx is. 

11.) Dinosaur Hair Clips from ThinkGeek --- $15

Because, again, I'm a lady with sophisticated class and taste. 

Cute, colorful, and sticking with the classics. You can't go wrong!

Plus, they'll go great with those freaking heels and the next item too.

12.) Double sided velociraptor necklace --- $22

Cause....cause orange and skeleton. :3

13.) T-rex shower head --- $20

Nothing says shower time quite like a roaring dinosaur skull vomiting steaming hot water at your face.

You can pick the color you want, which means it'll fit any theme for your bathroom and guys let's face it...can you really go back to your normal, not T-rex shower head now that you know this exists?

No. No you can't.

And the grand finale: 

14.) Raptor Body Pillow --- $50

Your wifu got nothing on my raptor. 

I need this guy to live next to my Souji Okita and I need to snuggle with it SO BAD. This is just too ridiculous not to have. I love that he's on the bed sheet background, I love that he's smiling, I love that he has feathers.

I just. Plain. Love it.

- M

Perot Museum: Art meets Science

Alamosaurus and T-Rex

This is not the first time I've been to the Perot Museum and it is definitely not going to be my last. I think I've been at least three times so far, and each time I still get those wonderful butterflies of excitement in my tummy when I walk inside. Since the museum is so new, it still has that sparkle that hasn't been dulled over thousands and thousands of field trips that will eventually wear it all down.
Sadly, that's the state of most museums in the DFW area, especially Fort Worth. The museums have seen so much foot traffic and natural destruction of curious children that it starts to look extremely dated and defeated.
That's not the case with the Perot Museum. It's gorgeous. The exhibits are still shiny and exciting with new information and up to date displays and interactive games for the kids at every turn. They've done a great job keeping it very entertaining but also really alluring for adults. It doesn't feel overly children geared, and is unapologetic in it's clear cut facts about evolution and science.
Thus, Perot Museum has got to be one of my all time favorite places to visit.

The building itself is so hypnotically strange from the outside, so unique you can't help but fall in love right away. I'm not going to do this building description justice, but I can't help but describe it as a giant, gray mud hut with a slanted window falling down the side of it.
Hey, I warned you it was going to sound weird.

Here's what it looks like from the outside:

Weird, right?

It looks more like a modern art museum than a museum of natural history, and I'm sure this was absolutely on purpose. It wants to dray you in and surprise you with education. 

I guess calling it an art museum isn't too far from the truth though, because the exhibits are set up like works of art. They are beautifully displayed and alluring, especially the Gem Hall, which is like walking through a hidden treasure vault.

The museum is made up of several floors with different exhibits on each one, but my absolute favorites are the Life: Then and Now (dinosaurs), Becoming Human, and the Gem Hall. All of them are fantastic, but I of course adore the dinosaur hall the most and love the fact that the top floor of the dinosaur exhibit is all about birds and lets you get close to the tall Alamosaurus face.

Amazingly realistic dinosaur skeleton replicas tower over the guests, frozen in mid action as fan-favorite t-rex stomps along side the breathtaking Alamosaurus who stretches high above the first floor. A massive pterosaur sores above with long skeleton wings spanning several feet while avicious Mosasur flanks the opposite wall. 

A parade of other dinosaurs and far distant cousins surround the t-rex and Alamosaurus battle: hadrosaurs grazing calmly, raptors sprinting with claws displayed as they ready attack, and a Pachyrhinosaur mulls about towards the back.

Murals of these creatures in the flesh hang as testaments to how beautiful they would have been in life as well as in death, the backdrops to help fill the imagination.

 
 

Being Human is my next favorite, a perfect hall to visit right before Darwin Day even though this post isn't going live until after the 12th. I actually was at the museum on the 4th but haven't gotten around to write about it until now. 

As a side note, totally unrelated to the post, I'm actually home sick from work with a mild cold. While it sucks I'm feeling like three-times-hammered dogshit, I was able to get my Darwin Day blog post finished and get this post going during my recovery time. I'm sitting on the couch listening to my dogs snoring and my husband playing Xcom, musing about the upcoming awesome events and my past visit to the museum.

Not a bad way to spend a sick day.

Walking into the Being Human hall is so dreamy. There are pillars of cubed pictures showing our clearly human skulls along side our almost human ancestors floating high above wax hyper realistic wax models of hominids and humans. A long white table height display is not far from these silent statues showing the always humbling diagrams of hand and arm bone similarities between all species. Outlines of a cat's arm is shown next to a bat's, a frogs beside a whales, and our wiggly fingers besides chimps.

A giant table displaying the entire tree of life is topped with magnifying glasses so you can read the incredibly small print of all the names around the massive family pinwheel, the jagged lines tracing back in fewer and fewer brackets until it reached the very middle in all its simplicity. A small red dot in the blur of names simply states "You are here".

Behind this table Darwin's own small paper doodle is displayed above the reality he inspired the great scientists after him to discover.

 

While I'm very much in love with the dinosaur hall, the Gem Hall is pure magic. Sparkling treasures rest behind panes of glass and under soft light, casting shimmers across the dim and haunting room. Natural precious gems in their raw form vying for attention beside the often more impressive cubed and otherworldly minerals. 

It's hard not to lust after these remarkable treasures.

 

If the dinosaur exhibit is my true love, the Human Hall is my passion, then the Gem Hall is my incredibly guilty pleasure. I should know more about them than I do, especially as a fossil nerd and anthropology major, but honestly my geology skills are embarrassingly small. I remember bits and pieces from my geology II class from many years ago, but I never really kept up with it. I typically stuck with the biology, evolutionary or anatomy studies of things instead of the actual geology. Each time I visit the Gem Hall, it makes me want to take another geology class so I know what I'm reading. 

But instead I go home and blog about my visit and read about other things for hours. 

We also had a chance to visit the travelling exhibit all about Bio-Luminescent life. We weren't able to take pictures inside, so sadly I don't have any to share here. The whole room was dark with the displays lit up with models and information. Water effects rippled off the walls during the deep sea areas, which were my favorite, and showed the alien life that lives at the ocean floor. They had a display about the Vampire Squid, another favorite, and had some live luminescent fish in tanks we could peek into.

Of course, the fish were pretty tired from the boatload of kids who came in before us, but we got to see a little of their twinkling before we left.

I have seen three of the travelling exhibits including this one, and so far my favorite is still going to be the Animals Inside Out one from the very first visit.

Alex, my husband, surprised me by taking me to the Perot Museum a couple of years ago for this very freaky but amazing exhibit of real, skinned models of animals. It showed the muscles and inner workings of giraffes, goats, camels, and of course a couple humans were tossed in as well. It was all very well done and hauntingly mesmerizing. If I felt like digging through my Facebook to find the pictures I would, but instead I'm going to gracefully bow out of that and let you instead just enjoy the current pictures from the last visit.

While this wasn't my first time here, it was an amazing trip. Jess was with me of course, but my dear best friend Shen had never been before. I'm going to wager that the Gem Hall was her favorite, considering that she was having a mild panic attack over the beauty of some of the pieces there. 

I cannot wait to be able to go back again and see my old favorite exhibits and whatever amazing travelling one they have to offer. 

The museum also does Social Science nights on occasion, which hosts lectures and adult themed (not like...sexy time adult stuff, just with like alcohol and no kids) activities and drinks. One of these days I'll catch one and let you know how it goes. They tend to be on weekends and I am one of those not nine-to-five types, much to my dismay.

If you're in Texas and remotely close to Dallas, there is zero reason for you not to go check out this amazing museum. I'd suggest going in the week to avoid the crowds and catch one of the travelling exhibits, they're usually pretty damn cool.

- M

You can check out my full album of my visit on my Facebook here.