Controversial opinions on dinosaur toys

[jc_4130]

On the subject of wild figure poses, what do you all think of the PNSO Basilosaurus?  According to the review on this site it is a realistic pose, but it sure doesn't look very whale like to me... more like a giant eel.  But I am no expert on whale kinematics.

[Bread]

On the subject of wild figure poses, what do you all think of the PNSO Basilosaurus?  According to the review on this site it is a realistic pose, but it sure doesn't look very whale like to me... more like a giant eel.  But I am no expert on whale kinematics.

I am no expert either, but I could have sworn the Museum Line Kronosaurus had this same issue as pointed out by a member when it was first debuted.

[jc_4130]

I am no expert either, but I could have sworn the Museum Line Kronosaurus had this same issue as pointed out by a member when it was first debuted.

Interesting... I have the PNSO Kronosaurus  and it seems like a pretty tame pose.  What seems wrong about it?

[Bread]

I am no expert either, but I could have sworn the Museum Line Kronosaurus had this same issue as pointed out by a member when it was first debuted.

Interesting... I have the PNSO Kronosaurus  and it seems like a pretty tame pose.  What seems wrong about it?

If I remember correctly, someone posted that the back seems too curved, this post was made when the figure originally debuted.

[Remko]

The Basilosaurus pose is pretty accurate or natural as far as I know. These weren't normal whales, but Archaeoceti. They were shaped very different, and yes, more eel like than whale like. Also, despite their huge forms, whales are far more flexible than you might think.

As for the Kronosaurus, I'm not sure.
I know that the old Schleich figure was wrong, as these kind of reptiles had very rigid bodies, and couldn't twist sideways.
The up and down movement may very well be possible.

[stargatedalek]

Basilosaurus is often (including in this case) depicted far thinner than is realistic. If it was actively contorting its body, say to rub itself along the seafloor, this range of motion might not be completely impossible, but it's certainly not how it would have looked while swimming naturally.

The Kronosaurus pose looks plausible if it was to be looking upwards while swinging its tail down, but the pose is clearly meant to suggest this as a swimming movement with the back arching and undulating, which is what's unrealistic as that's not how these animals would have moved.

[jc_4130]

Basilosaurus is often (including in this case) depicted far thinner than is realistic. If it was actively contorting its body, say to rub itself along the seafloor, this range of motion might not be completely impossible, but it's certainly not how it would have looked while swimming naturally.

Something about the image of this thing rubbing itself on the sea floor makes me giggle.  But in any event it seems like a textbook example of what I was complaining about.  As far as land animals, most of the PNSO models look okay to me as far as poses.  The Yutyrannus seems like a good compromise of a dynamic but not overdone posture.  It's not particularly stable as far as standing on its own, but personally that doesn't bother me very much.

[Duna]

On the subject of wild figure poses, what do you all think of the PNSO Basilosaurus?

I've always thought as Basilosaurus as a whale, with a cetacean head, not a crocodile head like most reconstructions. That's why I don't like PNSO basilosaurus, the head looks out of place, just like it had no connection to the body. Cetaceans don't have such thin necks, even the superflexible necks of freshwater dolphins.

My idea of basilosaurus is just like Blue Rhino studios have designed their model. That's why I chose Recur Basilosaurus to be my representative of the species in my collection, and not the PNSO. Recur figure is very good, the only thing is the material is not hard and the pose is twisted.

[Lynx]

I really dislike Mattel toy style. I don't know what it is, but something about the models is just so overly, cartoony? I dunno, even though Hasbro and Kenner made arguably worse toys, their style was just better in my opinion. Mattels models feel very out of place in natural areas, their dinosaurs' colors are very flat, and they feel like they have zero effort put in when choosing colors.

[Faelrin]

@Lynx I think most folks here will probably agree with you. Many of their non canon species sculpts do suffer on that front. And I'm saying that as someone who owns a ton of them. There are a few exceptions though.

-Chialingosaurus (2021; aside from some dubious anatomy, otherwise looks okay for a small stegosaur)
-Dracorex (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022; I guess the original is a film species in a way as its design was based on the FK Lockwood Manor design, but still pretty decent sculpt, aside from the inaccurate head sculpt)
-Dsungaripterus (2022; has pycnofibers, anatomy is pretty close)
-Gigantspinosaurus (2023; same as the above)
-Herrerasaurus (2023's version is a much better representative of the real animal's anatomy this time around)
-Majungasaurus (2020; pretty faithful to the real animal's anatomy, minus the extra horn on the head, and some of the weird spines)
-Postosuchus (2020; despite the inaccurate anatomy, and outdated posture, it didn't look too out of place next to my older Safari Ltd one)
-Quetzalcoatlus (2019/pre-Dominion; is covered in pycnofibers and stands out as one of their more believable pterosaurs)
-Sarcosuchus (2020; aside from some issues like the too-short tail, maybe the snout length, etc, the rest is pretty representative of the real animal's anatomy)
-Scutosaurus (2020; which is pretty faithful to the anatomy of the real animal)

The ones I think suffer the most from cartoony proportions, etc (that isn't to say I don't like some of these, but they are worth pointing out):

-Concavenator (2019, 2023 HC)
-Cryolophosaurus (2020, 2021)
-Dimetrodon (2019/pre-Dominion)
-Dryptosaurus (2023)
-Edaphosaurus (2023)
-Elaphrosaurus (2023)
-Genydectes (2022, 2023)
-Herrerasaurus (original version, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021)
-Ichthyovenator (2022)
-Irritator (2020)
-Masiakasaurus (2021)
-Minmi (2018, 2020)
-Miragaia (2022)
-Moros intrepidus (2022; and for being a film species, the wildly inaccurate sculpt was really disappointing to see)
-Ornitholestes (2020)
-Proceratosaurus (2018, 2019, 2021)
-Rhamphorhynchus (2019, 2020, 2021)
-Sauropelta (2020, 2021)
-Shringasaurus (2021)
-Siamosaurus (2022)
-Siats meekorum (2020)
-Sinotyrannus (2023)
-Suchomimus (2018, 2019)
-Tanystropheus (2021)
-Tapejara (2019, 2020)
-Yangchuanosaurus (2022)

The rest of the non film species I'd say are probably in the middle somewhere, like the Coelurus, Protoceratops, Styracosaurus, Troodon, etc.

[suspsy]

I truly believe that Papo could announce that they're folding as of 2023 and we would not at all be worse off for it. They were on fire for many glorious years, but now they're essentially a burnt out husk. Their style hasn't shown any advancement or evolution since 2005. Nobody has expressed the slightest bit of liking for the Protoceratops (understandably) and there's been no word at all on the Mosasaurus.

I'm not saying that Papo needs to fold, just that the dinosaur collecting community wouldn't suffer at all if it did.

[Faelrin]

Yeah I've seen that sentiment from other collectors (like in @SpinoDude 's recent video), and quite frankly I feel it too. Jurassic Park toys aside, they pretty much were what got me interested in collecting prehistoric animal figures as an adult in the first place with their Allosaurus. I wanted it since I found out about it back in 2011 when I found a mod for the JPOG Allosaurus that was based on it, and that was back when I was strictly an action figure only kind of collector (and video games ones at that). They had quite the reign, especially as far as highly detailed figures went (and possibly the first with the articulated jaw gimmick on otherwise static models), and on one hand I feel kind of sad seeing them come to this, since I'm sure they played a part in our collections for many of us here, for better or worse, but plenty of great brands have come out since, and I feel the torch has been passed on as a result. Things like Safari, CollectA, and PNSO, and you've also got things like Nanmu and Rebor for the JP only styled collectors (which most of Papo's initial offerings were) that have long since filled in the niche they opened up.

Edit: I also want to mention I still adore that Allosaurus figure, and it is one of my favorite figures in my collection. Despite many more accurate options coming out onto the market as of late, I still feel drawn to that one. Maybe it's the coloration of it that still draws me to it after all this time, or perhaps the nostalgia(?) of it. It's hard to describe really.

[SidB]

I too found that Allosaurus irresistible. When the color variant came out, I got it too. The one concession that I made was to supinate the wrists on both with a bit of minor surgery and get the seams on the head filled in and blended with the sculpts details. Otherwise, even though I've got more accurate figures, such as the Safari and PNSO, after all these years, I still display both. There sure has to be a nostalgia component at work, but I do clearly remember the high praise heaped on the figure in the old DTB review. I agree, we do owe Papo a debt as collectors, come what may.

[Gwangi]

The Papo Allosaurus is still one of my favorites too, and one of the first figures I got when I started collecting. At this point is has special ranking that guarantees it won't ever leave my cabinet, no matter how many better Allosaurus figures come along.

But if Papo stopped making prehistoric animals it wouldn't hurt my feelings. They still do fantastic extant animals though, so I would hate to see them fold completely.

[Bread]

Even if Papo went under, we'd still see those Papo standing rex everywhere...

[stargatedalek]

But if Papo stopped making prehistoric animals it wouldn't hurt my feelings. They still do fantastic extant animals though, so I would hate to see them fold completely.

This exactly. Their modern animals are some of the best around, especially the birds.

[Flaffy]

I truly believe that Papo could announce that they're folding as of 2023 and we would not at all be worse off for it. They were on fire for many glorious years, but now they're essentially a burnt out husk. Their style hasn't shown any advancement or evolution since 2005. Nobody has expressed the slightest bit of liking for the Protoceratops (understandably) and there's been no word at all on the Mosasaurus.

I'm not saying that Papo needs to fold, just that the dinosaur collecting community wouldn't suffer at all if it did.

I recall EverythingDinosaur warning Papo that putting the Giganotosaurus in such a ridiculous pose will likely disappoint and put-off many collectors. Lo and behold Papo didn't heed EverythingDinosaur's advice and went ahead and gave us that infamous mess of a wasted opportunity.

Paired with Papo's unscrupulous marketing of the """Limited Edition""" Spinosaurus, their prehistoric line certainly won't be missed by me if they scrapped it entirely.

[Eatmycar]

Hot take inbound: I can't justify any figure that requires an 'optional' posing rod to hold it up. It turned me off of BoTM's raptors, and it keeps me away from PNSO entirely. Their herbivores are nice, but it's 2022. Why can't their figures stand without warping? I feel way too many hold them up on a pedestal because they are "paleoaccurate", but if it can't even stand on its own, it is barely a step away from a statue. At least some of Mattel's worst sculpts can usually stand on their own.

It's a damn shame, too, because that Deinocheirus is gorgeous.

[SidB]

I truly believe that Papo could announce that they're folding as of 2023 and we would not at all be worse off for it. They were on fire for many glorious years, but now they're essentially a burnt out husk. Their style hasn't shown any advancement or evolution since 2005. Nobody has expressed the slightest bit of liking for the Protoceratops (understandably) and there's been no word at all on the Mosasaurus.

I'm not saying that Papo needs to fold, just that the dinosaur collecting community wouldn't suffer at all if it did.

I recall EverythingDinosaur warning Papo that putting the Giganotosaurus in such a ridiculous pose will likely disappoint and put-off many collectors. Lo and behold Papo didn't heed EverythingDinosaur's advice and went ahead and gave us that infamous mess of a wasted opportunity.

Paired with Papo's unscrupulous marketing of the """Limited Edition""" Spinosaurus, their prehistoric line certainly won't be missed by me if they scrapped it entirely.

Papo's apparent distain for direct feedback from collectors has been in evidence for years now, though clearly their view of the larger market dominates their thought and plans. With that in mind, I take what I can from them and leave the rest, which I suppose is the approach most of us take. Then again, we don't do any better with Schleich, do we? I guess that which bothers me the most is the jutaposition of generally high production values with indifference to accuracy, which is sometimes somewhat acceptable and other times simply beyond the pale. I haven't given up on them for 2023, just not holding my breath. I'll stick with Safari and PNSO in the meanwhile.

[Lynx]

Hot take inbound: I can't justify any figure that requires an 'optional' posing rod to hold it up. It turned me off of BoTM's raptors, and it keeps me away from PNSO entirely. Their herbivores are nice, but it's 2022. Why can't their figures stand without warping? I feel way too many hold them up on a pedestal because they are "paleoaccurate", but if it can't even stand on its own, it is barely a step away from a statue. At least some of Mattel's worst sculpts can usually stand on their own.

It's a damn shame, too, because that Deinocheirus is gorgeous.

It is made out of plastic, and every company's figures will warp over time, PNSO is no exception. Of course, some companies have found ways to fix this.. sort of.. (big feet, tripods, over-the-top poses) but a simple plastic rod solves this without making the figure itself worse.

I own a couple of PNSO figures and can tell you most don't need the rod. The rod, for me, is simply in case it warps enough that it physically can't stand anymore, and needs to be put back in place. The rod helps keep the pose while also not affecting the figure's looks.

The year 2022, not much has changed in this regard. They are sculpted mounds of plastic.


Of course, I respect your opinion, just wanted to bring that up as to why exactly PNSO has these rods in the first place.