RESULTS: Top 10 Prehistoric Animal Toys of 2018 - THE POLL

[PumperKrickel]

As fans of prehistoric animals we are quite obsessed with the past, so let us once again take a look back today. Not into the real world of millions and millions of years ago like we are used to, but into the world of plastic figurines of the not-too-distant past of 2018.
It was a fruitful year. A year in which the world of dinosaur toys gained some new companies that will leave lasting impressions for years to come. A year in which established companies stepped up in big ways and produced some of the most gorgeous figures of their history. And now it´s up to us to decide who should be considered the best of the best. The cream of the crop, which rises to the top. It will not come easy, for you can only pick 10. The rest shall perish, so choose wisely! Empires may fall and titans may die and when the dust settles, only 10 figures shall remain. Our top ten prehistoric animal figures of 2018.

[PumperKrickel]

@dinotoyforum Could you possibly put a link to the poll somewhere prominent, so it doesn´t have to be pushed to attract votes?

[Faelrin]

I voted. This was certainly not easy to pick only ten let me tell you, made all the harder from not only a good selection from brands such as Safari Ltd and CollectA of some often neglected species, but also with the first of the Beasts of the Mesozoic, and with Mattel having acquired the Jurassic World license and blowing it out of the water, harkening back to what Kenner did by having a mostly in scale line with hunans and vehicles in addition to the vast plethora of species. I'm pretty sure Vitae was new on the scene too, and if I recall correctly this was also when PNSO came back on the scene after some troubling time.


The first three of the ten figures I picked included the Beasts of the Mesozoic Dromaeosaurus (fan's choice, though I think the brown variant is missing from the poll which I would have went with but I still love this one very much so it is fine), the Velociraptor mongoliensis (the first one made after all), and while it was hard to pick a third (especially out of all the accessory packs, including what are often neglected species), I ultimately went with the Troodon/Mountain pack, as that ended up the favorite of my bunch, not only because of the snowy theme, but because of the plants it features (such as that large Arucaria tree, and the other one of those, the fern, I did ask about if it could be included, which David thankfully pulled off). It also did unfortunately run into the trouble of the genus becoming a nomen dubium. As such the figure going forward has been renamed Stenonychosaurus, since most of what it was based on came from the remains of that genus. Additionally figures of troodontids in general are unfortunately rare to see made (although again same goes for those other accessory pack species except Microraptor). I picked the Velociraptor as it was the first figure's prototype that I had seen back in March of 2016, on reddit. I had no idea of what was to follow, and what I would end up with in addition to that particular figure, which is also the first of its kind, a highly detailed and articulated and up to date dinosaur action figure. The Dromaeosaurus (either color), quickly became one of my favorites. Not only was this the first dromaeosaurid discovered and named, which was sadly neglected when it came to figures made, but something about the colors and head shape also appealed to my interest in the Jurassic Park raptors, despite these being feathery. While the figures did have a few issues (in my case) when I finally received them, overall they've been a blast to pose and display.


The next two I picked were the CollectA Estemmenosuchus and Iguanodon. One is of a much neglected and fascinating Permian (and Paleozoic) animal. The Iguanodon is certainly far from the first of its kind but it is easily one of the nicest and accurate made. It also is much larger then the Safari Ltd one which provides a nice option for those that would have liked a bigger figure of this genus.


My next three went to Mattel. As someone who has spared no expense with collecting this line, I would be a fool not to vote for some of them at least. After Hasbro's rather poor handling (and poor distribution and thus poor sale) of the license back in 2015 after how long fans had waited for Jurassic World to release due to its troubling history, the bar was dropped so low (with permanent wounds on one side and screw holes on the other, and bad quality control for most figures), that anything could have gone with Mattel being given the license after it was pulled from Hasbro. Thankfully Mattel went all out with (mostly) movie accurate sculpts, a line (mostly) in scale, and featured various humans and vehicles in addition to the prehistoric creatures, often having lots of articulation and fun gimmicks. Again picking only a couple of these was no easy feat. I ultimately picked the Carnotaurus, the Mosasaurus, and Legacy Spinosaurus. I fell in love with the Carnotaurus and Mosasaurus after seeing both leaked prior to the toys being revealed at NY Toy Fair the next year, and even more so at their reveal there, and of course once I finally was able to buy them. They were also among the first of a collection that has expanded a whole lot more since. And while not completely accurate the Carnotaurus comes close, which is a plus to me as Carnotaurus is one of my favorite dinosaurs. It would be a shame if I were to not mention the rubbery skin of the Mosasaurus, a nice tribute to the older Kenner figures that often had that, which was an often desired and requested feature by fans for a long time. I picked the Spinosaurus, because despite its controversial release and poor distribution, and while it isn't perfect in its likeness to the JPIII Spinosaurus, it is very nice to have another large option for this creature as the previously animatronic one by Hasbro is quite rare (and expensive) to come by these days. The articulation on it is a bonus too.


My last two votes (which again wasn't easy with the phenomenonal selection) went towards the Safari Ltd American Mastodon, a beautiful and intricately detailed figure of a ling neglected Pleistocene mammal, and the Safari Ltd Regaliceratops, on account of it being the second figure of this relatively recently published ceratopsian that quickly became one of my favorites after finding out about it due to the distinctive crown like shape of frill. I also like the color scheme on it as the eye spots on its frill.

Lastly, as I only had ten votes to work with, I may as well mention my next ten runner up's which are:

-Beasts of the Mesozoic Buitreraptor/Wetlands pack (a nice and accurate figure of a neglected species. All the plants in that pack are a must have too, and the base is quite lovely with the broken cycad and muddy water)
-Beasts of the Mesozoic Mononykus/Desert pack (again a nice figure of a neglected species, and it also comes with a dandy Protoceratops skull perfect to pair with any of the Velociraptor figures in this line)
-CollectA Dunkleosteus (perhaps my favorite figure of this genus so far, even if the reconstruction of the tail is out of date, but at least they tried to give it more of a shark like shape, rather then it being fully eel like. Also props for the plates not being white like on so many other figures)
-Mattel Battle Damage Blue (I've brought this figure with me to so many places, so it now has sentimental value to me, aside from loving the movie accurate paint scheme and articulation, especially the neck)
-Mattel Battle Damage Stygimoloch (ditto)
-Papo Acrocanthosaurus (I realize it is a repaint but it is by far their better version of it, with that stunning exotic color scheme, that looks far more natural)
-PNSO Anchiornis (finally an accurate model of this genus with so much fossil evidence that we have a good understanding of what it's life appearance would have been like)
-Safari Ltd Ankylosaurus (which became sadly slightly out of date before it was released)
-Safari Ltd Triceratops (finally an accurate take of this genus that takes the discovered integument into account, though unpublished, while being highly affordable)
-Safari Ltd Hyaenodon (a nice model of this ferocious predator, and possibly the only non retired one of it now)


Edit: Fixed typos.

[PumperKrickel]

20 members have already voted, but what about YOU?

[DinoToyForum]

Voted! Thanks for setting it up (wow, that's a long list, must've taken you ages to set up!). 

[PumperKrickel]

Voted! Thanks for setting it up (wow, that's a long list, must've taken you ages to set up!). 

Took me about 5 hours, which includes setting up the poll the first time, only for either my pc or the page to refuse to add the poll to the thread. Thankfully it worked the second time. 

Thank you for putting a link in the news section!

[PumperKrickel]

Alright, might as well reveal what I voted for. 

My first vote went to the BotM Linheraptor. I don´t find the species itself too exciting, but the colouration alone made this a must have figure for me. It´s absolutely stunning, in person much more so than in images. This vote is also very much vicarious for the whole line. All ten votes could easily have gone towards David´s raptors, but that would be a bit boring I think. Nevertheless David created a wonderful thing with this line and I predict his figures to be regulars on the top ten polls for years to come.

Next was what is possibly my favourite prehistoric figure of all time. The Collecta Iguanodon is absolutely fantastic. It´s large, accurate, visually pleasing and most importantly: It just feels real. It feels like a real, living, breathing animal. This figure is absolutely befitting an animal of such paleontological significance as Iguanodon. To me this might be the absolute maximum in how good a prehistoric animal figure can be.

Next up are the Favorite and the Mattel Baryonyx. These are also votes that represent merely the tip of the iceberg for how good the respective companies are. They just so happen to be of the same species. Baryonyx wasn´t really that well represented in figure form and suddenly two stellar figures come out the same year, of course at least partially due to the animal´s usage in Jurassic World 2. Both Favorite and Mattel generally aren´t too concerned with perfect accuracy, instead these companies go for a feeling of nostalgia and an overall consistent style. Delightful figures.

I deemed the revival of PNSO worthy of at least one of my votes, so I chose the Nemicolopterus. I just love figures that represent animals in nearly 1/1 scale, if it´s of an obscure species even better. And it´s just so cute and gorgeous. Again, numerous PNSO figures would have been worthy of a vote, but this one will have to do.

Next up is the only company that received more than one of my votes. Safari got three of my votes for the Macrauchenia, the Ankylosaurus and the Triceratops. Pretty much everything I said about Collecta´s Iguanodon is equally accurate in these cases. Doug really is a juggernaut in terms of sculpting and these three figures are the masterpieces we have come to expect from him. Especially Ankylosaurus and Triceratops have been recreated in plastic countless times, but in my opinion never with this level of artistry and accuracy.

My next vote went to a company that rarely gets a nod in these polls, but Schleich really stepped up their game with the Psittacosaurus. Of course the horrid colouration will keep this figure back overall, but in terms of the sculpting quality this is one of the rare occasions where Schleich reaches the quality of their big competitors, arguably even surpasses some of them. And such instances should be rewarded, I think.

My last vote went to Vitae´s Wuerhosaurus. The creature itself might not have existed or looked even remotely close to this, but this figure is beautiful. It has exactly the grace I look for in stegosaurs, it is nicely detailed despite the small size and it represents a noteworthy paleontological discovery either way.

Please feel free to share which figures you voted for so I don´t have to keep pushing this thread because I´m genuinely interested. 

[PumperKrickel]

30 members have now voted. 

[Halichoeres]

Voted! This was a very difficult choice, as 2018 was a huge year.

[PumperKrickel]

35 members have now voted. At this rate, we might not be done until 2021.   

[SidB]

Not to  be concerned, IMO. These polls often take a good while to get up to, say, 50 or so members voting. Actually, this one's moving along at a faster clip than the 2018-9 dromaeosaurus-troodontid poll. You should be okay with it.

[PumperKrickel]

You should be okay with it.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Actually I only write these updates to bump this thread into the recent category, because otherwise hardly anyone would see it. However, after putting a lot of work into this poll, I will admit that it is disheartening to see so few people vote or comment.

[ceratopsian]

I've voted.  It was difficult, as the choice was so huge.  Some choices really leapt out at me, like Eofauna's Palaeoxodon.  Some didn't need too much thought: CollectA's Estemmenosuchus.  Some of my choices were perhaps idiosyncratic: I have a real soft spot for CollectA's Mantellisaurus.  I know that Safari's Malawisaurus wasn't universally well received, but I love its rotundity.  Also voted for Safari's Regaliceratops, which I think it really well done.  I gave a few to various of the PNSO miniatures, such as Nemicolopterus, which I keep in my study so I see it all the time; so too the Anchiornis, which I also keep in the study and which reminds me of my trip to China earlier this year; their Tianyulong, which makes me smile whenever I look at it (and how I love seeing more obscure dinosaurs being made into toys!); then somehow I managed to tick the PNSO's Xenoceratops - bit of a mistake, as I was really tossing up between their Liaoceratops (which appeals because its an obscure dinosaur) and small Spinops (which I find aesthetically pleasing)!

If I redid my choices another day, some at the top of my list would remain the same but some would be different.

I like the way these polls allow me to reflect on what came out.  They also remind me how fortunate we are as collectors at the current time.  What an amazing choice for us to spend our pennies on!  Truly something is available to suit all tastes.

[SidB]

The passage of time often imparts a sort of golden glow to the past, in this case the parade of dinosaur collectibles of yesteryear. But subjectivity aside, THIS is the time to be a collector. This really seems to be the "golden age" for collectors such as us. We have never had such a wide range of choice nor access to figures of such quality. It definitely is a privileged moment.

[PumperKrickel]

39 members have now voted, but we still have quite a few ties.

[ITdactyl]

Wow. 3 conclusions after casting my vote.
1. a good number of prehistoric critter figures were produced last year.  What an awesome year.
2. Most of my choices are niche votes (only one other person liked the figure)
3. I haven't voted for something that no one else likes.

[PumperKrickel]

There are still a few figures that received an equal amount of votes. What should we do in these cases?

Also, how long do you think should this poll keep going? We have received 45 votes as of right now, I´d love to get at least 50.

[SidB]

There are still a few figures that received an equal amount of votes. What should we do in these cases?

Also, how long do you think should this poll keep going? We have received 45 votes as of right now, I´d love to get at least 50.

IMO, no harm at all in keeping this poll alive - perhaps aiming for 50-60 voters, if not more.

[PumperKrickel]

There are still a few figures that received an equal amount of votes. What should we do in these cases?

Also, how long do you think should this poll keep going? We have received 45 votes as of right now, I´d love to get at least 50.

IMO, no harm at all in keeping this poll alive - perhaps aiming for 50-60 voters, if not more.

Agree, guess I´m just kinda anxious the 2019 poll will be closed before the 2018 one.

[SidB]

Back to the future?