As the Diaclone toyline grew, the scope expanded beyond the standard fare of the highly popular Real & Robo to keep the series from getting stale. Capitalizing on the popularity of dinosaurs among young boys, Diaclone introduced the Dinosaur Robo, such as Pteranodon, a robotic Pteranodon longiceps.
Origins
Tyrannosaurus was designed by Koujin Ohno, the designer responsible for a great number of Diaclone toys, and later, Transformers. Early solicitations and catalogs show an almost uniformly silver design, with a silver painted chest, and the only red details are his crest and lower beak. Interestingly, this version also features a slender gray or silver gun and lacks the sockets under his wings for mounting the eventual missile launchers. The design was altered significantly before production, and the US Patent for Transformers Swoop shows the final version of the design.
Description
Pteranodon’s dinosaurian mode depicts a robotic P. longiceps which can either stand upright or rest in a flight position by by extending a brass landing wheel from his chest, and folding his gold=chromed dinosaurian feet back to reveal two more wheels. He carries two large engine-like protrusions on his back, between which a narrow seat for a Diaclone pilot is located. He has a clear upper beak with two painted yellow eyes, and which comes to a sharp point together with the chrome lower beak. He has the distinction of being able to mount his twin missile launchers under his wings in dinosaur mode.
Pteranodon’s transformation is rather straightforward. The dinosaur chest separates down the middle, to create a gap for the beak portion of his head, revealing the robot face. His arms pull out to the sides and extend down while his rocket engines rotate down and around to form his legs. The robot mode is slender but well-proportioned, easily the most believable proportions of the otherwise bulky and large-legged Dinosaur Robo. He can wield a combination of his chrome sword and two missile launchers, and chrome missiles.
Collector Notes
Pteranodon pays for his less bulky appearance with utter frailty of his design. The upper and lower beaks are very fragile at the hinge, and should always be handled with care. None of the head or neck joints should ever be rotated beyond their natural stopping points. Care should also be taken when pulling his arms out from his sides, as the pins that mount the shoulders are fragile. If the landing gear is left deployed, it can snag and shear off flush with his die-cast chest plates. To make matters worse, tampering with his torso in order to replace parts can cause the miniscule spring-loaded buttons on his back (that click his legs into place for dino mode) to shoot out and become lost.
Variants
Pteranodon does not have any production variants. However, a number of knockoffs such as “Dinosaur Robo” and “Ancient Animal” were released in the US and Europe. These were nearly identical to the Diaclone versions, and loose samples only differ in very minor details. However, it seems that some if not all of these series omitted Pteranodon.
Availability
Pteranodon was available in 1983, and again in 1984 until Diaclone’s cancellation.
Redecos & Retools
Pteranodon’s mold was slightly redecoed in 1985 to produce Transformers G1 Swoop. The mold has not been used since Swoop.
