The best figure of every species, according to Halichoeres

[triceratops83]

Cool, you finally got that Yingshanosaurus. I remember that being on your want list for ages.

[ceratopsian]

I personally would retain the Carnegie Miragaia, at least until more peer-reviewed work has emerged from the Portuguese research. And the Carnegie is so beautiful!

[SidB]

I personally would retain the Carnegie Miragaia, at least until more peer-reviewed work has emerged from the Portuguese research. And the Carnegie is so beautiful!

I have both the PNSO and Carnegie Miragaias and I have to say that the Carnegie remains a stunning work of art. There's no loss in holding onto it. There are a few Carnegie pieces (e.g., the Tylosaurus, Carnotaurus) that have small quibbles about certain details, bur remain winners overall. Even Forest Rogers' last rendition of Spinosaurus, though now outdated, keeps a relevance as a masterpiece of design and THE best mass produced interpretation of that era.

[JohannesB]

I personally would retain the Carnegie Miragaia, at least until more peer-reviewed work has emerged from the Portuguese research. And the Carnegie is so beautiful!

I have both the PNSO and Carnegie Miragaias and I have to say that the Carnegie remains a stunning work of art. There's no loss in holding onto it. There are a few Carnegie pieces (e.g., the Tylosaurus, Carnotaurus) that have small quibbles about certain details, bur remain winners overall. Even Forest Rogers' last rendition of Spinosaurus, though now outdated, keeps a relevance as a masterpiece of design and THE best mass produced interpretation of that era.

All that.

[JohannesB]

I love the 2009 Safari Postosuchus. This comes to mind first, because that figure started me collected "dinosaur" toy models again.

[SidB]

That Postosuchus is a  favorite of mine too - got mine at the Chicago Field Museum around the same time. I'd hadn't been aware it even existed and was very impressed by it.

[Gothmog the Baryonyx]

Congrats on yours new purchases, that Miragaia is gorgeous and even though it is very odd looking I'm pleased you managed to get the Yingshanosaurus you were looking for.

[brontosauruschuck]

To the blue Dilophosaurus in the middle of the collage: Who hurt you?

The Dilophosaurus points at DeAgostini.
"THEY DID! They also claim that I'm a Dracovenator!"

That and the filarial worms. Like the Aucasaurus, it looks to have elephantiasis, as SidB pointed out earlier in the thread!


Stem-birds of the Jurassic!


Giochi Preziosi Jeholopterus (DinoFroz)
Scale: about 1:2? but it depends which bit you're measuring
Released: 2011
Middle to Upper Jurassic of Laurasia
This pterosaur was famously preserved with extensive pycnofibers (although apparently Martill and Unwin are raising objections to that interpretation in what strikes me as an extremely crank-y way). It definitely wasn't preserved with knobbly horns on its head. Technically this figure isn't labeled Jeholopterus, but "Kerajeholopterus," so I guess "horned Jehol wing." It's typical of the embellished last series of DinoFroz figures. A PNSO mini of this taxon would be just what the doctor ordered.


Rebor's dragonfly returns as scale bar.



Mattel Yingshanosaurus (Xtractaurs)
Scale: 1:25-1:30
Released: 2009
Upper Jurassic of Laurasia
This was part of the last wave of Xtractaurs, and as such appears to have been released in small numbers. It took something like four years watching eBay to track it down; and after B @brontosauruschuck reviewed the rest of the line for the blog, I was starting to doubt whether it had really been released at all. But finally a lot of the action figures popped up and I bought them all just to get this one. (If anybody wants some of the other figures in the line, I'm open to offers.)


I briefly scrupled at opening the package on such a rare toy, but honestly it's not like these are that sought after. The figure is obviously not highly accurate, being stylized and angular (also how brontosauruschuck describes them). But it's the only Yingshanosaurus toy I know of. Just watch, now that I have it, PNSO will make one (though again, I'd rather they prioritize Jeholopterus).

Speaking of PNSO, now that my recent orders are finally starting to trickle in, they've surpassed Favorite to become the 4th largest contributor to my collection.


PNSO Miragaia
Scale: 1:25-1:30
Released: 2020
Upper Jurassic of Laurasia
I was startled when I saw this figure revealed. It departs significantly from what is published on Miragaia, but based on the in-progress work of Francisco Pinto and those he has advised (such as Ashley Patch), this does seem to be what's coming down the pike. It's a very strange morphology for a thyreophoran, and having volunteered to review it for the blog, I find myself wishing more of the material were described in a peer-reviewed forum. But I'll make do. In any event, this is a really striking piece. I'm currently trying to decide whether to keep the absolutely beautiful but apparently outdated Carnegie version or replace it outright.


A sample of stegosaurs.


OK, just the good ones.


And just the Chinese ones.

I'm stoked! You should review it!

[Halichoeres]

Thanks for stopping by, everyone!

I tend to agree with those of you counseling me to keep the Carnegie Miragaia. It's one of the most elegant dinosaur figures in my collection, and I think I can only bear to part with it if I have a high degree of confidence that it's incorrect.

@Failed archaeologist I agree, that's the finest Postosuchus that's been made as a toy. There's a nice resin model of the more updated bipedal posture, but so far all the proper toys are committed quadrupeds.

I'm stoked! You should review it!

I might in time! I have a long backlog to get through.

[Halichoeres]

Amniotes of the Triassic!


PNSO Atopodentatus
Scale: 1:10
Sculptor: Zhao Chuang or somebody in his workshop
Released: 2020
Middle Triassic
As a committed Triassic partisan, this was easily the most exciting of the recent PNSO releases for me. I'm hoping for some more in this vein. As is often the case with PNSO, there are some minor proportion problems [edit: after taking some more measurements, I take it back. This is one of the best-proportioned products I've seen from them]. All the same, it's a really beautiful, dramatic sculpt. As Patrx pointed out in his thread, they avoided the temptation to give it gobs of highly defined scales, except on the extremities. The overall effect is much more lifelike than most of their recent dinosaurs, to my mind. A wonderful figure.


The comparison photo nobody asked for, with DeAgostini's Ceresiosaurus. (Of course, if somebody asks for another comparison photo, I'll try to oblige.)


3d printed Kannemeyeria
Scale: 1:25
Designer: Mike Eischen
Upper Triassic
I've had this for more than five years, and I just got around to painting it. It's my first time painting a sculptural object since I was a very young child.


These aren't really quite to scale (the Lisowicia is about 1:20), but with the huuuuuge variety of dicynodont figures available, one makes do.


I'm pleased that the colors mostly did what I hoped they would do. Liquitex acrylics mix well (except purple. You have to buy purple). However, it's clear to me under the harsh light of my photography table that some of the mixes should have been a different consistency when applied.


The best I can say about this first attempt is that I learned a lot.

Some of the intermediate steps looked pretty dire.


Lots of you know more about painting than I do; I'm open to advice.

I'll update the reference list on page 1 directly.

[Gothmog the Baryonyx]

Congrats on your new acquisitions, the Atopodentatus is indeed a lovely sculpt.

Your painting is pretty nice for a first go, interesting choice of colours too

[Bokisaurus]

Wonderful new additions and good starts on painting 😃

[SBell]

I do need to get that Atopodentatus sooner rather than later...

[Loon]

Great new figures. As a similarly partisan fan of the Jurassic I love these two. I didn't even know the dicynodont existed. Also, couldn't agree more about the sculpt of the Atopodentatus, it's so much nicer than most of the recent dinosaurs, probably one of their best.

[Sim]

Good job painting that Kannemeyeria, you gave it a nice colour scheme!

[Faelrin]

Bit by bit the Triassic selection grows. Nice colors on the Kannemeyeria. Reminds me of a sunset. Probably better then what I would be able to do, if/when I ever get around for that poor Greererpeton I sculpted.

The Atopodentatus is seriously one of the best they've done. I hope they do more strange reptiles (like a Longisquama) in the future.

I'll check in a bit if I butchered the spelling of any names, and fix them if need be.

[Pachyrhinosaurus]

Kannemeyeria looks good! I've been meaning to pick up some of his pieces.

[triceratops83]

I love the colours on the Kannemeyeria - you did a fantastic job! Must've been a pain with those print lines, though.

If that's the artist that does those Charles R. Knight looking figures on Ebay, I've always meant to get their Tyrannosaurus and Arsinoitherium.  It's good to know that someone out there appreciates old school palaoart (although that's not so much a problem for mammals than it is for dinosaurs).

[Halichoeres]

Thanks, everyone, you're entirely too kind!

Must've been a pain with those print lines, though.

I sanded the heck out of it, but eventually I stopped because I was worried about losing intentional detail. Let me tell you, dry brushing perpendicular to print lines is a recipe for sorrow. I really didn't anticipate how much I'd have to take their 'grain' into account.

Also, on the Atopodentatus, I take back what I said about the proportions. I'm working on reviewing it for the blog, and after taking a whole bunch of measurements the figure is actually excellent in that respect.

[Shonisaurus]

@Halichoeres My congratulations for your all our acquisitions, on the other hand I emphasize apart from the apodentatus, the lisowicia bojani, highly coveted figure in my collection. I hope they will soon be received in physical stores, among which the Store of the Museum of Natural Sciences of Madrid stands out.