POLL: What are your favorite toy companies?

[Flaffy]

Do keep in mind that Invicta figures are very old. They are not new figures, hence the retro style.
Invicta did in fact paint their figures in later runs and not all of them are horribly inaccurate by modern standards.

[CrypticPrism]

I guess it's just everyone sucking up to it that grinds my gears.

[Flaffy]

I guess it's just everyone sucking up to it that grinds my gears.

What? If you don't like Invictas that's fine, but you don't have to call people who like Invicta figures sucking up to it...
They were very well made figures for their time, and you'd be surprised on how much detail they managed to pack into even their smallest offerings.

[stargatedalek]

All of their non-dinosaurs are still perfectly accurate today.

[BlueKrono]

CrypticPrism, I get what you're saying. I think Invictas are a bit overrated too, but I think the nostalgia effect is to blame for a lot of that. Look at me, I love Marx and they are older and far more inaccurate. Even though I'm not a huge fan I still feel the need to point out that some of Invicta's sculpts are still about the most accurate of the species made YET, and they're over 40 years old. I think that's pretty incredible. A lot has changed in our knowledge of prehistoric life since then, and Invicta's still on top in some cases. I think that's another reason they are so widely admired.

[Bertensgrad]

Kenner is my favorite just because they did the orginal jurrasic park lines. I was in prime dinosaur toy age as a kid. Getting action figures with baby dinosaurs were great. Even better was having scaled dinosaurs that could physically eat these 6" figures whole. Though my parents never got me that particular bull t-rex.

[Bowhead Whale]

I voted for seven of them, including "Other". And when I voted for "Other", I was thinking of IMPERIAL. Yes, Imperial! In the 1980's, they released a cute set of prehistoric animals, including a very accurate American Mastodon (1989). They even made a Diplocaulus in 1977 or 1978. Not only that, but their 1980's fantasy animal figures were awesome!!!

[Sauropelta]

Wild safari is my favorite despite them messing up the paint jobs on a lot of figures. Doug Watsons designs are very accurate. Some of my favorite figures like Ankylosaurus are from them.

[JohannesB]

What makes the Invicta figures so special to me is their well thought out musculature and skin detail, all very graceful sculpts, even though often incorrect. Of course, me growing up in the the same era that these were made (the earlier figures from my early childhood, the later ones from my teens) is a big nostalgia factor, and as such I am rather biased.

[Shark Toothed Lizard]

I voted Terra, Wild Safari, and Papo.

I picked Papo because of their breathtaking detail. Seriously, I absolutely fell in love with their Compsognathus and their repainted Acrocanthosaurus.
I picked Wild Safari mainly because of their accuracy and occasionally their detail. Makes them look like the real animals.
I picked Terra mainly because it was the first dinosaur company I got a figure of. It was their Amargasaurus and Acrocanthosaurus, and they still look great, especially since the T.Rex holds up as pretty accurate if you think it had scales rather than feathers. I never really had any nostalgia for Carnegie (considering I'm just like, 13) I even own a few of their figures, but in my opinion, they really don't give much of a spark. I will say their 2015 velociraptor and caudipteryx is very nice!

[Dinoguy2]

What makes the Invicta figures so special to me is their well thought out musculature and skin detail, all very graceful sculpts, even though often incorrect. Of course, me growing up in the the same era that these were made (the earlier figures from my early childhood, the later ones from my teens) is a big nostalgia factor, and as such I am rather biased.

I know this is an old post but I have to chime in and agree! Invicta May be out of date but they have some of the most believable looking figures ever made. They look like real animals with weight and bulk, not animated fantasy creatures like some modern lines create. I'm not even that nostalgic for them - to this day I only own 4.

Still, I voted for Carnegie. They didn't have as high quality an overall line, but when they knocked it out of the park they really knocked it out of the park. And nostalgia definitely helps.

[khallam]

I'm new to the whole dino toy collecting. The only experience I have so far are with Papo figures (only got 2) and I really like them.

My main aim is toy photography so I go for detail, pose and colouring

Any suggestions of other models that work well in photography are greatly recieved 

[SidB]

K @khallam - by all means check out the diorama section of the Dinosaur Art division on the DTF. You'll surely find answers there

[Halichoeres]

I'm new to the whole dino toy collecting. The only experience I have so far are with Papo figures (only got 2) and I really like them.

My main aim is toy photography so I go for detail, pose and colouring

Any suggestions of other models that work well in photography are greatly recieved 

Other companies that make highly photogenic models are:

Safari
CollectA
Favorite Co Ltd
PNSO
Vitae
Kaiyodo
EoFauna
Australian Age of Dinosaurs (they just have one figure, an Australovenator, but it's a very nice piece)
Colorata
Schleich, occasionally

[GojiraGuy1954]

Rebor

[Over9K]

Nanmu, Rebor, Eofauna, PNSO, X-Plus, Gecco...

[Shonisaurus]

Although I think I have already answered it in previous posts, my favorite brands are Safari, Collecta, Favorite, PNSO and Rebor today.

[Sarapaurolophus]

CollectA has been my favorite for years now. Started out with the excellent horses by Deborah McDermott, got a few wild animals and finally got into their dinosaur range a little later.

So CollectA is overrepresented in my collection.

But I also enjoy PNSO, Kaiyodo and select Papos. When it comes to Safari I actually dig their current animals more than their dinosaurs. Mostly because I am often a bit iffy about their paint.
I don't like how the mouths are often lined in black, as if the dinos are wearing lipstick. Safari is also on the more expensive side, about as much as Papo. And since Papo has some real stunners, imo, I often gravitade to them more.

Also helps that I can buy Papos locally.

[Shonisaurus]

For me Papo is another one of my favorite dinosaur companies. Especially since they made the spinosaurus limited version that is part of my profile picture in DTF.

[SenSx]

1) Nanmu is my favorite: great sculpts and paint jobs, articulated jaws and  translucent teeth that place them above W-Dragon for my liking.
Each of their product also has a human figure and a postcard.

2) W-Dragon is a closed second: same strong points, but no articulated jaw and  translucent teeth (except for Giganotosaurus, maybe their future products will all have that).

Sometimes I prefer Nanmu interpretation, sometimes W-Dragon.
The only bad side are the high price (but you pay quality) and also the size, they are often too big for the scale they are supposed to have (1/35) but not sure if it is such an issue.
They are also harder to get in Europe/US, so shipping can be tedious.

3) Rebor: It really depends here.
There are Rebor products I don't like, but when I like them I just adore them.
Great sculpts, great paint job, and articulated jaws +  translucent teeth.
GnG figures are outstanding for their price: great sculpts, paint jobs, and size, just no articulated jaws.
If only they could improve their poor quality control, paint jobs is very fluctuant from one figure to an other of the same model, articualted jaws sometimes have trouble to open or close, broken teeth, and they often don't stand well.
There is a lot to improve here, especially given the sometimes high price that do not excuse those flaws.
What I do like is that they sometimes do specimen very rarely seen as figures: like the recent Titanoboa and hopefully the Sarchosuchus and Deinosuchus, and they also release other kind of strange collectibles, Aliens and so on, they are actually trying things.

4) Papo: great sculpt and paint job, very realistic figures, articulated jaws.
If I had to advice someone who wanted to start a collection, including JP figures, with a good ratio between quality and price, I'd tell him to get Papo figures: good value for money.
The only flaws are sometimes the weird poses that can ruin otherwise great sculpts (Giganotosaurus, Acrocanthosaurus, Dilophosaurus), and they can be inconstant with their scale (Gorgosaurus).

5) Safari: The most accurate figures with natural feel you can get (maybe with PNSO and now Collecta).
They are not as striking as Papo, but they can be better for purists and no JP fans, also very affordable, more than Papo.
I'd advice that line too, especially if you want accuracy and no JP dinosaurs.
I like some of their stuffs better than Papo's

I don't own enough figures from other brands to really make a clear statement, but PNSO, Collecta and Itoy seem very nice.
I also own the 3 Iron Studio JP Velociraptors, but that's another range of products, high quality (although I had lots of paint issues I had to fix on mine, not super happy about it).

As for the worst, yes I do agree that Schleich and Mojo are ugly most of the time.
More toys for children than anything and cheap.
But there are exceptions, I like the Schleich Oviraptor and Herrerasaurus.
The Schleich Baryonyx also has a good sculpt (but bad paint job).

Mojo seems to be doing good mammals, I own a nice Mojo Cat.