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Saturday, January 15, 2011

Bone Age: T-Rex

I vaguely remember these toys from my childhood, but when I had a chance to pick up a large bag of parts I couldn't resist. I took a gamble on the purchase and it paid off to some extent. Since I don't have much information on these toys nor do I have the instructions this won't be a very in depth review...sorry.


From what I remember these toys were basically large building sets...kind of. Each dinosaur came with a caveman type figure about the size of the figures that came with M.A.S.K. toys. The figure's accessories were very simple - ranging from clubs, small bones to spears. Additional figures were also sold separately. Each dinosaur could be broken down into bones and the rebuilt as some sort of vehicle...and I use that term loosely. There were also smaller sets that were weapons or small vehicles.

I had enough parts in the bag to construct what I think is a complete T-Rex. I gotta say that for a toy from the mid to late 80's I was impressed with the overall quality. The bones were cast in sturdy plastic and for the most part were still white. Old white toys don't usually stay very white. The connector points are cast in clear plastic. The set holds together fairly well. The T-Rex is a little top heavy making it hard to stand up on it's own without some sort of support, but not impossible for it to stand. I think the caveman figure was supposed to "ride" in the skull as the mouth is articulated enough to let it open and close. There isn't really any other articulation to speak of.


The back spine pieces are a different shade of white and I'm not sure if that was meant to be or if the plastic has started to yellow. I wish I had remembered to pull out my measuring tape as this toy stands fairly tall. I don't own the toy anymore, but my best guess from memory would say the toy stood about 2 feet tall.


You would have thought that these toys would have sold well. 1) they are dinosaurs and what little boy doesn't like dinosaurs? and 2) they are a building set of sorts. A lot of the toys I grew up with had some sort of accompanying cartoon show on TV or at least a comic book. Bone Age from what I understand didn't have either so there wasn't an outside force that helped draw kids (and their parent's wallets) in. It's a shame too because when I tried to research these toys after I bought the bag I found some rather nice sets. They don't seem to be all that common on the secondary market either, but that doesn't surprise me if they didn't sell well to begin with. I wish I had more information about these toys to share with you, but for now that is all.

8 comments:

  1. I loved these as a kid, I had the T-Rex and Pterosaur(?), and a couple happy meal ones. I really wanted the deinonychus but I never got it.

    P.S. The T-Rex also had a boulder that he could fling from his springy arm.

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  2. Thanks for the info about the boulder. Now that you mention it I think I do remember that feature.

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  3. My friend gave me the skull when I was a kid. I absolutely loved it. I played with it so much, I ended up losing it. I've been trying for years to figure out what toy it came from, and now I know. I'd love to get another skull, though given the toy's age, it seems unlikely.

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  4. I have that bugger but there's something wrong with the hip joint, one piece can't go all the way in and that causes the joint to break every time.

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  5. We have this dinosaur and want to know if it has any value?
    A couple pegs are broken to put together otherwise in great condition.

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    1. Most of the Bone Age toys can carry a premium on the secondary market, however it all depends on completeness and overall condition. If the broken pegs you speak of don't impede with the construction of the toy then yes, it still may bring a decent price if you were to sell. I'd potentially be interested...if you have pics you can email them to me at flywheels (at) yahoo.com

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  6. Quiero saver si vendo uno que tengo cuanto me darian por el

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    1. I believe you were asking how much you could get for your set? It all depends on which set it is and if it's complete? Does it come with it's original box and or instructions? All of these factors can contribute to how much these sets can sell for on the secondary market.

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