Schleich Dinosaurs - Prehistoric Fun!
Schleich dinosaurs are quite possibly the most exquisite dinosaurs we will ever see. This is in part because all the real dinosaurs died a long time ago. We won't say this is a bad thing. Let's face it, the dinosaurs were not exactly pet-sized beasts. They didn't fit well inside houses.
There is evidence to suggest that the legend of the dragon is in fact based on the early discovery of dinosaur bones. One can only imagine how frightening it must have been for the people who first discovered these massive bones.
Keeping in mind that these malnourished people tended to be significantly shorter than people are today - the average man in Europe was around 5-foot-5 - and it is easy to see why they were so scared of what had to have been a true monster!
Fantasy elements aside, Schleich toys are well-researched figures. Unlike the dinosaur toys so many of us grew up playing with in the 80s and 90s, these are created to look as life-like as possible. Instead of being a flat green with a dragging tail - an old Victorian idea that stuck around far too long - Schleich dinosaurs have detailed and colorful skin, and sometimes even feathers!
By the way, be sure to explore all of our in-stock Schleich dinosaurs and playsets.
Schleich Dinosaurs - A History of Prehistory
Like many toys produced by the company through the years, it is difficult to say exactly when Schleich dinosaurs first made their appearance. We do know that the toys we know and love could not have been created before 1967, but the exact date of the line itself is hard to place.
While Schleich produced hundreds of different action figures over the decades, the greatest of their dinosaurs have only been available more recently. This is not a coincidence. It has only been in the past few decades that archaeologists have made the discoveries necessary to create truly magnificent and life-like dinosaur figures.
As an example, we did not know until the late 90s that so many of the raptors had feathers. Even after that, the idea of dinosaurs with smooth scales persisted. It is only in recent years that people began to recognize that these creatures were not just giant green lizards but were more likely highly colorful and that feathers and down were probably common.
Schleich dinosaurs have always been ahead of the curve. Last year, in 2019, the Schleich Dinosaur Collection included such greats as the Dracorex and the Dimetrodon. 2018 saw the introduction of the Dino Set with Cave, which included a fantastically detailed Microraptor you simply had to see to believe! This creature was crafted with scientific fact behind it, right down to the probable color of the feathers.
Looking back to the year 2017, the Schleich Dinosaur Collection added a couple of everyone's favorite dinosaurs - a massive Tyrannosaurus Rex and a Stegosaurus. These two are familiar to every child, but those of us with a little age on our bones will be surprised to see the differences between these two toys and the ones we played with when we were young. Not just the detail of the leather-like skin, but the colors on these beasts is amazing.
The dragon-like Barapasaurus and the Dimorphodon were wonderful new action figure discoveries in 2016 - for us, not archaeologists. Archaeologists discovered the Dimorphodon in the 1820s and the Barapasaurus in 1959, but it was only more recently that a toy company took the time to figure out how they may have looked. Like the Spinosaurus Schleich Toys introduced in 2015, these animals may have stayed unintroduced to our children had it not been for the Schleich Dinosaur Collection. That would have been a horrible pity because every dinosaur they have ever released has turned out to be our personal favorite!
The Periods of the Dinosaur
It might surprise you to discover, there were three different periods of the dinosaur. This comes as a surprise to people because we are used to thinking of it as a single great age. Dinosaurs ruled the world for over 175 million years, so to better keep track of what dinosaur lived and when, Archaeologists divided this time up into three distinct periods.
These three periods are the Triassic Period (248 to 206 million years ago,) the Jurassic Period (208 to 146 million years ago,) and the Cretaceous Period (146 to 65 million years ago.) Many types of dinosaurs lived and died within each of these distinct periods, and the only ones that still exist in 2020 are the ones in the Schleich Dinosaur Collection.
Unbothered by the natural disasters that killed off the massive beasts these figures are based on, our dinosaurs can all co-exist together on a single shelf without any infighting. Of course, for the true Schleich toy dinosaur enthusiast, it is entirely possible to focus on collecting yours based on what period they lived in prehistory. You can easily grow huge herds of Cretaceous dinosaurs or focus exclusively on the Triassic Period.
The beauty of Schleich dinosaurs is that while they are as close to looking like a true dinosaur as we may ever get, they can never bite us or eat us. They fit perfectly well in a toy box or in the closet. Even the Giganotosaurus can sit comfortably under the kitchen table. Real dinosaurs would cost an absolute fortune to ship to your house but with Maziply it's possible to get free shipping! Most importantly, Schleich dinosaurs are perfect for encouraging scientific wonder and excitement in our children.
Closing
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