Pterrible Ptoy Review!!

Imagine my surprise when, wandering through Poundland, I happened to spot an Ornithocheirid amongst the toys!

No, it wasn't some strange cryptid that had remained hidden in the commercial centre of Portsmouth, but a mini action figure!

This particular toy, apparently called "Zon", is part of a toyline for a Cartoon Network series called "The Secret Saturdays". According to Wikipedia, it's not, as I'd hoped, a show about the raunchy secret lives of Frankie, Una and the other three in the girl group "The Saturdays", but "the Saturdays, a family of cryptozoologists that work to keep the truth about cryptids from getting out, in order to protect both the human race and the creatures themselves"

Also according to Wikipedia, "Zon, named after the Amazon rainforest where she was found, is a surviving member of a thought-to-be-extinct Pterosaur species (Tropeognathus) that lives in a nest near the Saturday Headquarters, but isn't truly owned by them. The Saturdays anger her by crashing into her nest during the second episode, but she comes to appreciate them after Zak saves her life. She now uses the cliffs where the Saturdays live as her new hunting grounds. Unafraid of humans, she allows Zak to comb her mane and ride her, but she absolutely resists the family's domestication efforts and refuses to give up the great outdoors. She is rather hostile towards Komodo. In two episodes, she is incorrectly referred to as a Pteranodon. Like Komodo and Fiskerton, Zak sees her as a family member, in this case as a sister. In "Kur, Part 1," Zon is revealed to be aiding Doyle in locating the missing V.V. Argost. She is currently helping Doyle find information about Argost's past."

Of course, Tropeognathus is a synonym of Ornithocheirus, but let's not let that get in the way of the fact that we have an Ornithocheirid toy!

Right, so what do you get for your pound? Well, you get Zon, obviously, a little stand (more on that later) and a base with "The Secret Saturdays" logo on it and some footprints for you to stand Zon on. Zon is held in place with an elastic band, which doesn't damage the figure, surprisingly.

Once out of the packaging, you see some of the problems with this figure.
As you might have noticed, in the picture to the right I'm holding onto her wing. There's a very good reason for this; She doesn't like standing up! Sadly they chose to pose her in a bipedal posture rather than the proper quadrupedal pose that we see much more these days. If you want her to stand up, you have to bend the wings back.

Another issue is with the neck articulation. it has a simple twist joint, but the stylized dorsal crest means that turning the head leaves a bi cut in the neck. Plus the fact she's got her snout pointed down means that you can't get a flying pose.

Which brings me to the stand. It's pointless. I may have accidentally made it look good in the picture, but in the flesh it's really not. If she was in a flying pose, it would be worth doing, but as it is, she could have just been stood on the stand. The presence of peg-holes in her feet means she could have been stood up, but sadly there are no corresponding pegs on the base. Pretty bad decision, to be honest, although how many kids will want this on display? It is a toy after all, although it's presence in Poundland would suggest it didn't sell that well.

But I can tell you all want to know, is it accurate. Well, no. The stylized nature of the character means that it doesn't have to be, so you can forgive some of the inaccuracies, but they do seem to have added a thumb. Then again, most cartoon character animals have thumbs. Also, the wings aren't attached to the legs, and it has no fur. So, not one for the classroom!

Overall, a fun little toy, worth getting to add to the collection, but probably best kept at the back.