Podcast Show Notes: Episode 23 – Invicta Toys and Rebecca Dart

Our first episode of 2023 celebrates classics of two different kinds: the masterly palaeoart of the Queen of #DrawDinovember, Rebecca Dart, which surely merits the stamp of ‘modern classic’; and, in what Niels has determined is a one-off for us and not the beginning of a foray into collectibles, the enduring charm of the Invicta dinosaur toys commissioned by London’s Natural History Museum, beginning in 1974. How does Rebecca work her timeless magic on her snapshots of deep time, and what role does a love of plants play in it? Will Marc and Natee persuade Niels of the merit of the Invictas or simply be too run away with by their enthusiasm as collectors? Is it premature for Natee to be eating a Cadbury’s Creme Egg?

In the News

• Oertijdmuseum, Noord-Brabant, the Netherlands, may hold one of the very few dinosaur eggs that contain the remains of an embryo. Press release.
• ‘Uncinate processes.’  Deep reptilian evolutionary roots of a major avian respiratory adaptation. Paper by Wang et al.
• Balaenognathus maeuseri: a new pterodactyloid pterosaur with a unique filter-feeding apparatus from the Late Jurassic of Germany. Paper by Martill et al. Twitter thread by palaeoartist, Joschua Knüppe.

Vintage Dinosaur Art

The dinosaur (and other prehistoric animal) toys produced by Invicta Plastics of Leicestershire in conjunction with the Natural History Museum, London, beginning in 1974 and running until c.1994. Photographs by Marc from his own collection (with additional image of the Megalosaurus by Nathan Morris). You can see more images together with reviews of the full set of figures (minus the blue whale) on the Dinosaur Toy Blog. There is also an excellent page for them on the Dinosaur Toy Collectors’ Guide website by ‘Rexford.’

Interview

Natee interviews Vancouver-based artist, art director, and character designer, Rebecca Dart. ‘Extinct animals and Barbarian ladies are my personal jam.’ Follow Rebecca on Twitter and Instagram. David Orr’s previous interview with Rebecca is here.

Thomas Halliday‘s, book, Otherlands, mentioned by Rebecca, is published by Penguin.