Panosh Place D.I.N.O. Mites Gastornis Panosh Place, ca. 1987
Day #538: November 26, 2012
Gastornis a.k.a. Vicki in DINO Brites
D.I.N.O. Mites Figures
Item No.: #41 Manufacturer:Panosh Place Includes:n/a Action Feature:n/a Retail:cheap Availability:ca. 1987 Other: Available in red and green, probably blue, purple, and yellow as well
The D.I.N.O. Mites line is an odd duck to collect due to its limited articulation and questionable authenticity. I don't even really know if this large, ostrich-like bird is really a Gastornis or something else. Maybe it's a Diatryma, the unnamed toy just has a "41" on it, and in the Dino-Brites line it was called "Vicki." As it is a small wonder, that's pretty appropriate.
At about 1.6-inches tall, there's not a lot of action here, but the sculptor did a good job. A crest and beak are highlighted in glow-in-the-dark plastic, while the figure has appropriately birdlike legs and feet and nicely sculpted feathers. There's no articulation, and these little guys are basically M.U.S.C.L.E. dinosaurs, which is why I loved them growing up. The figure has a lot of personality with big eyes and expressive brows, and his pose doesn't really tell you what he's up to. Is he a friendly bird, or is he going to tear your guts out? As a child these are important issues, and as an adult I really don't know what it is I've got here.
Given recent discoveries that indicate Dinosaurs really are birds, toys like this foreshadow what I fear may be an increasingly less exciting redesign as "facts" enter the picture. I mean, what if the T-Rex is really a big ostrich? Or Triceratops - or Torosaurus - whatever science decides - is covered in feathers now? It certainly changes our perceptions of these creatures as toys and in the movies, but as a child I dug this as a weird little creature in a line of strange dinosaurs. Since the line is ridiculously hard to find for sale (and is dirt cheap) I'd say grab one if you see one. You probably won't see one, but if you do, you may as well go ahead and shell out the less-than-a-dollar these things are worth these days to get one. It's odd, this may well be the rarest or at least most uncommon line I cover here and nobody seems to care about it to any great extent.
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