The Dinosaur Boy reviews Discovery’s Triceratops 4D Model Puzzle

Discovery's Triceratops 4D Model Puzzle

Do you know one of the reasons I love to write my blog?  Because people read it and send me stuff to try out.  This time the Discovery Channel sent me a really cool triceratops puzzle called Triceratops 4D Model Puzzle.  I was glad because triceratops is one of my favorite dinos.  It was one of the first ones I ever learned about.  I also loved this puzzle because it’s 4D!  I think what they mean by 4D is that you see inside the dinosaur.  2D would be flat like on paper.  3D means it’s real-looking.  This puzzle is 4D because it takes place inside the dinosaur.

So you get this box and it has each of the dinosaur’s guts.  It’s not put together for you– you have to do that part.  You can play with the organs before you put them in.  There’s a cool book that comes with it that tells all about the dinosaur parts and says what each organ does.  It didn’t take me long to put everything together, but I needed a little help from Dad on the back legs.  The cool thing is that the skin that goes over the top is transparent so you can see the heart and all the guts that you just put together.  And it’s not just the body– it’s the head too!  I think they should do one of these puzzles for ceratosaurus.  I love this puzzle and I even saved the box because it’s a great box.

Here are some pictures of me putting it together.

I let Weston help me open the box. Can you see we're wearing our triceratops shirts?

Opening the package

Putting the guts in

The finished product!

[Dad’s Note:  This puzzle is detailed yet easy to assemble.  The pieces are well constructed and fit together nicely.  An included booklet is not only a guide to the puzzle, it’s a guide to triceratops and its anatomy.  The booklet details each part and organ, providing an explanation of each.  One minor beef:  The writer’s command of the English language leaves something to be desired.  That said, the booklet is an impressive addition to the kit.  Bridger proudly displays his assembled puzzle in our kitchen.  The box?  Well, Mom might have conveniently lost that.  Too bad, it was a great box;).

Christmas is coming, so get your Triceratops 4D Model Puzzle here!]

 

 

 

 

 

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A great post coming tomorrow!

Tomorrow I’m going to have an awesome post about a really cool dinosaur thing I just got.  Sometimes people send me stuff to play with or watch, then I write about it on my blog.  Well, this was such a cool thing I got.  I want the people who sent it to me to know that I didn’t forget about it and that I love it.  But I don’t want to say anything else about it tonight or I’ll give it away.  So get your friends and family together tomorrow night to read my blog and I’ll tell you all about it then!

I’ll give you a couple clues:  It has little horns and it’s armored.  That’s all I’m going to say.

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The Dinosaur Boy reviews Krentz Presentz: Tyranosaurus Rex

Check out this picture of a t-rex I drew.  Normally I don’t love to put pictures I draw on my blog because I don’t think I draw very good.  But this one is probably the best picture I ever drew.  It’s funny because I took this class at Disneyland about drawing and I didn’t do really good at it.  The teacher kept having us draw circles and lines and all these instructions, but it just wasn’t working for me.

The funny thing is that’s the same kind of teaching this guy does on the video he sent me.  He does lines and circles like the teacher at Disneyland, but somehow I can draw dinosaurs with those instructions.  This guy can draw sooo good!  The video shows him drawing stuff and it looks like it’s fast-forwarding, but it’s really normal speed.  Dad said he was wondering what I though about his video, so here’s what I thought:

It’s a dang good video  because he tells you how to draw and you can follow along, but the cool thing is they stop every once in a while and have somebody on there expaining the parts of the dinosaur and giving facts and all that stuff.  That’s actually my favorite part of the video.  I really like watching it even if I’m not drawing.

[Dad’s Note:  Bridger is talking about Krentz Presentz: Tyranosaurus Rex from artist and concept illustrator David Krentz.  Krentz cut his teeth at Disney after graduating from the California Institute of the Arts.  He was a lead character designer on Disney’s feature, DINOSAUR.  Krentz freelances now, and this video is the first in a series that aims to teach kids (and adults, frankly) to draw dinosaurs.

The guys at Krentz Presentz sent Bridger an advance screener copy of T-Rex a few months ago, and Bridger has been drawing them in various settings ever since.  What makes this DVD so special is Krentz’s obvious passion for dinosaurs and the art of bringing them to life through art.  He demonstrates each step in an uncomplicated, very graspable way, advancing from simple lines and circles to the finished picture.  Along the way, he invites paleontologists and anatomy experts to explain how each part of the dino works.  This basic understanding aids in drawing.

If your child loves dinosaurs and would like to learn the basics of drawing them, Bridger and I would highly recommend Krentz Presentz: Tyranosaurus Rex.  Check them out at krentzpresentz.com.]

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