Controversial opinions on dinosaur toys

[Sim]

The colour inspirations for Beasts of the Mesozoic figures started as those of real animals and they have naturally expanded from that.  It feels like the desire for non-animal colour inspirations (e.g. Dino-riders, WWD, etc.) has got so big that it overshadows the real animal colourations to a degree.  And I say this as someone who suggested a Dino-riders colouration once.  One reason I think this is because the Fan's choice colourations went from 4 real animals (raptor series) to 3 non-animal colourations and only 1 animal colouration (ceratopsian series).  The options in the ceratopsian Fan's choice poll were also more non-animal colourations than animal ones.  Also David just showed an in-progress Allosaurus colour scheme and already there was desire expressed for the WWD colouration to be used for it.  I've also seen much more instances of non-animal colourations suggested for BotM figures.

Maybe David thinks it would be good to reduce the number of non-animal colourations hence why he said he wouldn't use pop culture ones for the tyrannosaur series.  Personally I find the BotM non-animal colourations look less natural than the ones inspired by real animals.  Having said all this, I would love to have BotM sauropods with the colourations of their Invicta painted counterparts!  I don't know why I feel the way I do.

[Sim]

I've watched a lot of PNSO and Beasts of the Mesozoic video reviews and I find it quite annoying how the packaging and other stuff a figure comes with is shown off before the figure is shown properly and reviewed.  I just want to see the figure, not the box it comes in!  If the other stuff has to be reviewed as well I would prefer if it were done after the figure.  I can't count the number of times I've had to click ahead of the review of the box which is done every. single. time.

[Faelrin]

I mean I would like a WWD styled Allosaurus but only if it were in 1/35 scale to go with the Kickstarter exclusive T. rex and the Toyway Allosaurus I have. WWD and the Ballad of Big Al special hold a special place in my heart as they either introduced me to Allosaurus, or what got me hooked on it growing up. For a while it was my favorite dinosaur. That said I would still prefer and support an original coloration (or extant animal based) for the mainline versions.

[Carnoking]

I've watched a lot of PNSO and Beasts of the Mesozoic video reviews and I find it quite annoying how the packaging and other stuff a figure comes with is shown off before the figure is shown properly and reviewed.  I just want to see the figure, not the box it comes in!  If the other stuff has to be reviewed as well I would prefer if it were done after the figure.  I can't count the number of times I've had to click ahead of the review of the box which is done every. single. time.

Good note and I do wonder how far spread this sentiment is. Perhaps I'll have to try the reverse order and see.

[Halichoeres]

I also don't care about packaging most of the time, but there's a certain logic to dealing with that first, because you encounter it on the way to getting to the figure. I don't watch a lot of video reviews, but on the rare occasions that I do I don't find it much of a hassle to just skip to the parts that interest me.

That said, there does seem to be a sizeable audience for unboxing. I don't understand it, but it's definitely there.

[suspsy]

In the case of BotM, I think the packaging does warrant reviewing given how much effort has gone into it. David could easily have cut corners and shipped the figures in plainer boxes with a basic logo and maybe the head of a Velociraptor or a Triceratops or a Tyrannosaurus rex. Instead, he hired professional artists to create genuinely top notch individual paleoart for each and every single product. Those artists fully deserve acknowledgment.

[Halichoeres]

Yeah, I wasn't thinking of package art like that. I was thinking of the simpler PNSO boxes or the Jurassic World packaging.

[Gwangi]

When I was writing my review for the Hammond Collection T. rex I had a paragraph dedicated to the packaging but it did not survive the editing process. I don't care about packaging, and to suddenly bother reviewing it after 200+ reviews felt too contrived for me. I also usually skip over the packaging part in the video reviews I watch. I seldom keep packaging but I have been keeping the PNSO and Hammond Collection boxes in storage. For the time being, I have the space, but if I ever don't then they're gone. BOTM packaging should definitely be covered in reviews though.

[Mellow Stego]

I'd imagine fancy packaging art is a needless expense nowadays.

Companies would use packaging art as a form of advertising on store shelves. A lot of money would go into it.

I'd be happy with a plain white or black box if it would help decrease the price a tiny amount.

[Gwangi]

I'd imagine fancy packaging art is a needless expense nowadays.

Companies would use packaging art as a form of advertising on store shelves. A lot of money would go into it.

I'd be happy with a plain white or black box if it would help decrease the price a tiny amount.

I agree with that too. I miss when Aliexpress had the option to buy PNSO figures without packaging for a cheaper price. And when I buy vintage toys online I prefer to find them without the packaging because they're cheaper and I would just feel compelled to remove them from it anyway.

[Sim]

I don't think BotM packaging has got to be reviewed, I think it's up to the reviewer whether they review it or not.  I've watched BotM reviews by Bioniclesaurus and Spinodude and they were decent even though they didn't include the packaging.

Reviews that review the packaging also show the packaging at the start of the video in the introduction.  Since the reviewer doesn't say anything about the artist, they could just express liking the artwork without the contrived packaging review.  I'll add that after reading responses in this thread I watched the packaging part of a BotM review and the packaging art was clearly visible in the intro and for the packaging part of the review the reviewer just brough it closer which was unnecessary and cut off some of the artwork.  I also don't see the point in saying the BotM logo is here and here and it's done with red foil here and there's a drawing of a Triceratops head here.  Why do I need to know all this?  Wouldn't it be nicer if I discovered it after I buy a BotM figure?  The rest of the information in the packaging review is equally unnecessary in my opinion, saying that on the back there's info on the dinosaur and a checklist for other figure's in the wave.  Again, this feels like stuff that is better left for an individual to discover after they get a BotM figure and when a reviewer covers it it feels like they were forced to do it.

It feels like the packaging reviews have become something that needs to be done rather than something that's done to share something interesting with the person watching the review.

[Halichoeres]

I can see how some of that might be pretty tedious, and I'd probably just skip it. This is speculation on my part, but I've heard that YouTube's algorithm rewards longer videos, so it might be that some YouTubers are just padding the run time so that their reviews perform better in searches or on autoplay. I imagine most figures probably don't require more than about 5 minutes to cover, not really.

[Gwangi]

I also agree that reviews of the packaging are tedious. When I say that BOTM packaging should be covered in reviews I mostly mean acknowledged and momentarily focused on, and not actually reviewed. A couple pictures or whatever, for the written reviews anyway.

[Aerosteon]

Seeing especially the theropods of the Collecta brand, I see that there is something strange about their legs. In general I like the sculpting and the color, the Collecta figures have good designs and variety, but in terms of theropod legs, it is something that I can not stand, I see them very thin in the calf part of a ridiculous way. It's a shame because collecta is one of my favorite brands, but theroposdos above all suffer from rickets in their hind legs.

I hope Collecta one day corrects this.

Here I put a comparison of how some of the figures are and the correction that I would make.

Original Collecta



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Original Collecta



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Original Collecta


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Original Collecta


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Original Collecta


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Original Collecta


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[Halichoeres]

It's not just the calves. In a lot of cases they also have them doing ballerina moves, with just the tips of the toes touching the ground. For example, check out the Bistahieversor:

[EmperorDinobot]

"I feel like a fat ballerina!"
- Hound, Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)


Controversial opinion:
I actually like the bright green on the new Safari figures. In fact, I like bright colors on all dinosaur figures, past and present. Dull colors make Luis a dull collector.

[Aerosteon]

It's not just the calves. In a lot of cases they also have them doing ballerina moves, with just the tips of the toes touching the ground. For example, check out the Bistahieversor:

I don't understand why factories like Collecta don't see these anatomical errors, when they've been making dinosaurs for so long, I don't understand why they don't take references from other dinosaur artists, what the person who gives him the ok prototype of the figure thinks. The figures would gain a lot from these small changes.

Tell me, on what have they been based to make this figure of Afrovenator? What was the person who sculpted it thinking? What does it have to do with the remains?

[Sim]

It IS strange how CollectA doesn't give the hindlimbs enough muscle.  That Afrovenator @Aerosteon posted looks like it only has rods instead of lower legs.  And of course that isn't the only problem it has.  I also noticed that if the Bistahieversor @Halichoeres posted has its feet correctly on the ground its torso would nearly touch the gorund!  Its legs are extemely short!

[Faelrin]

CollectA's theropods have always been pretty weak for me, when compared to other brands. The lack of leg musculature is just one of those issues. Where I think they shine their most is with their ornithopods, invertebrates, and stuff like their Edaphosaurus, Estemmenosuchus, and Xiphactinus that nobody else bothers with (edit: Lisowicia as well). Maybe their mammals and pterosaurs too.

[Gwangi]

CollectA's theropods have always been pretty weak for me, when compared to other brands. The lack of leg musculature is just one of those issues. Where I think they shine their most is with their ornithopods, invertebrates, and stuff like their Edaphosaurus, Estemmenosuchus, and Xiphactinus that nobody else bothers with (edit: Lisowicia as well). Maybe their mammals and pterosaurs too.

I feel similarly. In fact, I'm not particularly fond of CollectA's dinosaurs in general. And I find their mammals to be hit and miss too. Their invertebrates, fishes, Paleozoic critters, and the like are what grab my attention the most.