The best figure of every species, according to Halichoeres

[Georassic]

Congrats, Hali! You continue to be my collector hero with the Tropeo.
And, you're making me start to consider trilobites with that game set!

[bmathison1972]

Keeping in mind dinos are not the focus of my collection, what makes this figure so special (really, it is genuine curiosity)? Thanks! 

[SBell]

Keeping in mind dinos are not the focus of my collection, what makes this figure so special (really, it is genuine curiosity)? Thanks! 

It's a Walking with Dinosaurs figure that was only released as a promo with a magazine. The main line was pretty limited, but this one is especially rare.

Between rarity and WwD, it's highly sought after

[bmathison1972]

Keeping in mind dinos are not the focus of my collection, what makes this figure so special (really, it is genuine curiosity)? Thanks! 

It's a Walking with Dinosaurs figure that was only released as a promo with a magazine. The main line was pretty limited, but this one is especially rare.

Between rarity and WwD, it's highly sought after

Neat, thanks Sean! I am always curious what makes certain figures so sought-after or the cause for an exciting reaction when someone gets one 

[Concavenator]

@Halichoeres I was wondering, have you considered repainting some figures in order to make them more accurate? Like for example the Safari Microraptor getting some sheen to it.

[Halichoeres]

Thanks for visiting, everyone! I appreciate the kind comments.

It deserved a presentation all to itself, especially such an informative one. I was amazed to see the page reference on the model! Many, many congratulations. And good you leapt when you did, as sterling has now risen against the dollar!  It's a handsome figure and looks in very good nick.

Yes that was pretty lucky timing! I didn't get it quite at the nadir of the pound's path, but it was still very favorable compared to the usual rate.

You must feel as though you belong to some esoteric club now, with this acquisition. Were you on the lookout for the Ornithocheirus or did you just happen upon it?

Incredible to see you got your hands on this one. How did you acquire it? Would also love to see this get a review of the DTB.

Amazing how this figure still holds up for the most part. A shame there are no up to date versions of Tropeognathus either (or most other pterosaurs for that matter).

A few years ago I was looking pretty actively on UK Ebay, but I was also looking for other British figures. It's harder to find the time for that anymore, and once I'd gotten every other British item on my wish list it didn't really seem worth it. So I wasn't searching very actively, and I first saw the listing when @UK posted it to the "new on Ebay (UK)" thread, offered at a ludicrous asking price. I then got an email from Ebay about it, since it was still one of my saved searches. I made a much lower offer, expecting the seller to reject it out of hand. Instead they countered, and I countered, and I ended up getting it for hundreds of pounds below the asking price.

I was initially worried because it arrived like this:


But it was packed well enough that the insults to the box don't seem to have affected the figure itself.

PLEASE write a review for it on the DTB.

I could swear there already was a review of it, but I don't see one. Am I crazy? Was there one before? It hadn't occurred to me to review it, but sure, why not?

Interesting to hear how it has been re-classified since the TV series, but am I reading it correctly that Ornithocheirus is still valid? It's just this particular sub-species from WWD that has been included in Tropeognathus?

If that's the case I wonder if you could keep the TS Toys one as your Ornithocheirus instead? It's pose is quite reminiscent of the TV show, but not sure about those teeth!

Yes, that's right, Ornithocheirus was split, but not invalidated. Ornithocheirus has historically been a 'wastebasket' genus, and many, many now-separate genera have been included in it, from Cimoliopterus to Aussiedraco. In another bit of taxonomic confusion, the genus Criorhynchus, whose type species is based on the same specimen as the type species of Ornithocheirus, has been synonymized, which means the Happy Kin Criorhynchus is now my Ornithocheirus:


I think this is a slightly better representation of Ornithocheirus than the TS Toys version, so I still think I'll probably trade the latter. But you're right that it captures the stance depicted in WWD very well!

Big congrats on acquriring such a holy grail! Despite the lack of pycnofibres, it's still a legendary piece that stands the test of time.

How do you plan do display him in your collection? Surely he deserves a dedicated pedastal or throne of his own!

It's almost at a large enough scale to say the pycnofibers just aren't visible. But yeah, it really holds up quite well. I haven't decided how to display it yet, although it conveniently scales reasonably well with most PNSO figures. I might rig a harness to suspend him from the shelf above out of the kind of clear elastic tape that kids use to make bracelets. It does seem somehow beneath its dignity to just put it on top of a CollectA cycad tree like I've sometimes done with pterosaurs.

Congrats, Hali! You continue to be my collector hero with the Tropeo.
And, you're making me start to consider trilobites with that game set!

Thank you! The nice thing about trilobites is they don't take up much space! But you'd definitely have to add a new scale category for any except the very largest taxa.

Keeping in mind dinos are not the focus of my collection, what makes this figure so special (really, it is genuine curiosity)? Thanks! 

It's a Walking with Dinosaurs figure that was only released as a promo with a magazine. The main line was pretty limited, but this one is especially rare.

Between rarity and WwD, it's highly sought after

Neat, thanks Sean! I am always curious what makes certain figures so sought-after or the cause for an exciting reaction when someone gets one 

Yeah, I think it's safe to say it's the most widely coveted figure in my collection now, but it's far from the rarest. There are no more than three copies of any of the Life game miniatures painted by Oammararak herself, so those are all by definition much more rare, for example. But there are of course many more people who collect the WWD figures thanks to the legendary status of the documentary series, and this is definitely the hardest of those to pick up. I wonder if it rankles WWD collectors that I have never seen the series in its entirety and only have three other figures from the set.

@Halichoeres I was wondering, have you considered repainting some figures in order to make them more accurate? Like for example the Safari Microraptor getting some sheen to it.

No, I've never seriously considered that, for a couple of reasons. One, with dinosaurs sensu stricto in particular, there will almost always be another, perhaps more accurate, version by and by, and if I swap out a figure it's easier to trade or sell it if it's in factory-original condition. Two, I have a large backlog of unpainted figures, especially Paleozoic fish and plants, that I'd like to paint. Those are a priority, and I wouldn't move on to dinosaurs unless I had quite exhausted those. And of course, Paleozoic fish and plants are much less likely to be supplanted by figures from a major manufacturer.

Apologies if I missed anyone's questions, pretty sure that was the largest number of comments on a post I've ever gotten in this thread.

[Gwangi]

I recall some detailed posts about it here on the forum but no, there's never been a proper review of it on the DTB. I don't think any other reviewer has it to review so... this task was appointed to you. And if you do not find a way, no one will.

[Fembrogon]

It's kind of surreal to me thinking about how rare and desired the WWD toys have become; I still remember visiting England when the show was new and seeing the brand-new toys sitting on the museum shelves. A lot of the WWD designs show their age, but that "Ornithocheirus" still looks quite good indeed! Congratulations on the acquisition. Here's to hoping more companies will approach these genera in the future!

[triceratops83]

It's always fun to hear the story behind the acquisition of a rare figure. I'm glad it arrived in good nick considering the condition of that box.

[Loon]

Congrats on the Ornithocheirus! I can 100% agree on your sentiment about chasing rarities. The world of holy grail seeking is so exhausting, but I think I'd return just to get this figure one day.

[Gothmog the Baryonyx]

Nice to see that holy grail of a pterosaur in an actual human's collection. I wouldn't say its worth that price but it is quite a lovely figure for the time it was made, I like the colour too, even without the WWD tie in.

Also,  I do like Trilobites, just not enough to see hundreds of the tiny little buggers. Lovely and colourful too.

[Halichoeres]

I recall some detailed posts about it here on the forum but no, there's never been a proper review of it on the DTB. I don't think any other reviewer has it to review so... this task was appointed to you. And if you do not find a way, no one will.

OK, I'm on it! I'll just need to snap a couple more photos.

It's kind of surreal to me thinking about how rare and desired the WWD toys have become; I still remember visiting England when the show was new and seeing the brand-new toys sitting on the museum shelves. A lot of the WWD designs show their age, but that "Ornithocheirus" still looks quite good indeed! Congratulations on the acquisition. Here's to hoping more companies will approach these genera in the future!

Yeah, honestly it wouldn't break my heart if some other company made a really nice Tropeognathus; then I could let this one go to someone who has more attachment to the line or to WWD. What a time to visit a museum, though! The selection at museums these days is pretty dire, I imagine due to their delegating buying to third-party vendors.

It's always fun to hear the story behind the acquisition of a rare figure. I'm glad it arrived in good nick considering the condition of that box.

Yup, I'm grateful for the seller's careful packaging!

Congrats on the Ornithocheirus! I can 100% agree on your sentiment about chasing rarities. The world of holy grail seeking is so exhausting, but I think I'd return just to get this figure one day.

When I was younger I collected more pop-culture type figures (Star Wars, Marvel) and there are so many limited or chase figures, and I didn't make much money, so it could be pretty discouraging. There is thankfully a lot less of that in prehistory collecting, although more of it than I thought when I first started out.

Nice to see that holy grail of a pterosaur in an actual human's collection. I wouldn't say its worth that price but it is quite a lovely figure for the time it was made, I like the colour too, even without the WWD tie in.

Also,  I do like Trilobites, just not enough to see hundreds of the tiny little buggers. Lovely and colourful too.

Worth it is certainly relative. I don't regret it, but I also have a pretty strong suspicion that I'll be able to sell it for a pretty similar amount one day (maybe plus a bit of inflation).

And fair enough on trilobites! I wouldn't mind a hundred or so, but after that you'd really start repeating body plans ad nauseam like companies do with spinosaurids and allosauroids.

[Ikessauro]

I recall some detailed posts about it here on the forum but no, there's never been a proper review of it on the DTB. I don't think any other reviewer has it to review so... this task was appointed to you. And if you do not find a way, no one will.

OK, I'm on it! I'll just need to snap a couple more photos.

Wow, that box was quite abused in the mail! Lucky the figure was ok! Looking forward to seeing your review on the DTF. I did a review when I got mine, for my channel, but didn't write one for the DTB, so it will be nice to have yours up in the blog!

[CarnotaurusKing]

Wow, I didn't even think it was real! Congratulations on procuring such an elusive (and that's putting it very lightly) figure! Definitely one of the best in an already phenomenal and legendary line.

[Halichoeres]

Thank you both! And now, some saurischians of the Mesozoic!


Safari Ltd. Cryolophosaurus
Scale: 1:30
Sculptor: Doug Watson
Released: 2022
Early Jurassic of Gondwana
This is the earliest dinosaur whose discovery I can remember learning about from the news. I'm still waffling on whether to keep this, as it's nearly identical in size to the Battat version, and they're both really nice. The overbite on Battat's figure might nudge me in favor of this one, even though on balance I generally prefer closed-mouth theropods.


This food chain has a missing link.


With the rest of the 2022 Safari Ltd gang. I skipped the other two Dino Dana figures, one for being a Ty***nosaurus and the other for not measuring up to the Stygimoloch I already have.


PNSO Lingwulong
Scale: 1:30
Sculptor: Zhao Chuang or someone in his workshop
Released: 2022
Middle Jurassic of Laurasia
My scale estimate is based on an average of limb elements, but it's hard to be sure about their precision because the paper describing the genus included very, very few linear measurements. Instead, I had to go based on the skeletal diagram, and who knows how careful the authors were in assembling that (Remember Shringasaurus?). So take the size estimate with a grain of salt, but I think the average should be reasonably close.


Aside from the weird exposed teeth, this is a really nice figure and a good companion to the Dicraeosaurus.


Like most recent PNSO figures, it's predominantly brown, but there's a refreshing bit of blue on the tail. I hate to see it go, but I love to watch it leave.


Spinosauridae indet., cf. Siamosaurus
Scale: 1:25 - 1:30
Sculptor: Zhao Chuang or someone in his workshop
Released: 2022
Barremian or Aptian of Eurasia
As far as I can tell there is only one way to defensibly refer to this Chinese tooth taxon that was previously referred to the plesiosaur Sinopliosaurus: "Spinosauridae indet." The "cf. Siamosaurus" is optional. I think it's pretty likely that if more remains are ever found, they'll be given a new genus name. But this might be something like what Siamosaurus looked like, and it's close enough that it saves me the trouble of buying the horrible Jurassic World figure. Anyway, I'd have preferred that PNSO just made the plesiosaur.


A theropod doing its best impression of a crocodile.


PNSO Deinocheirus
Scale: 1:30 plus or minus a bit
Sculptor: Zhao Chuang or someone in his workshop
Released: 2022
Maastrichtian of Eurasia
Terrible hands, loveable face. One of the theropods I find most interesting, for its striking departure from the typical shape. My copy stands well so far, but on the shelf I'm keeping the stand under it just in case. Replaces the CollectA deluxe version.


With its much smaller relative. This slightly exaggerates the size difference between them, since the Kaiyodo is closer to 1:35.

[Stegotyranno420]

Congrats on all of those PNSO figures aswell as the Cryolophosaurus

[ceratopsian]

"Spinosauridae indet." makes me feel much less on edge and queasy!!

As for PNSO stands - all my PNSO theropods stand well on their own. But I don't take any risks and all always avail themselves of their supports.

[SidB]

Excellent parade of sculpts, clearly showing the benefits of the latest fabrication technology and research. Your comments on the possible impending replacement of the Battat Cryo with the new Safari reminded me that one of the most interesting aspects of your collecting strategy is its demonstration of this progress, as well as the tension between acceding to this thrust and holding onto the best of the past. Since I tend to collect multiples of far, far fewer taxa, it's a fascinating process that I don't have to necessarily experience. All the better from my perspective, since I'm frequently nostalgia driven and often hold onto figures way beyond their "expiry date". I also appreciate the effort that you continuously make to ascertain the scales of your figures. Most helpful, @Halichoeres.

[bmathison1972]

Wonderful additions, Tim! I recently also received the Safari Cryolophosaurus. I love it (but I have nothing to compare/contrast it with lol). I also have the Lingwulong. I decided to stay with my Safari Deinocheirus, however Watson theropods take priority with me, hehe, but I did also just receive the PNSO Therizinosaurus!

[Concavenator]

Your comments on the possible impending replacement of the Battat Cryo with the new Safari reminded me that one of the most interesting aspects of your collecting strategy is its demonstration of this progress, as well as the tension between acceding to this thrust and holding onto the best of the past. Since I tend to collect multiples of far, far fewer taxa, it's a fascinating process that I don't have to necessarily experience.

As someone who also shares his collecting strategy, I can very much relate to what you said here, very well put. Choosing is indeed difficult sometimes, though at least it helps when it comes to saving space and also increasing the phylogenetic diversity represented in your collection (if you care about that, that is, there are no universal rules for collecting as far as I'm aware!).

Really nice newcomers you got there, though I must admit the Spinosauridae indet. just irritates me, despite also being a nice-looking figure, especially considering the previous Suchomimus (the spinosaurid with the best remains) rumours and the fact that there isn't a really good figure of it. PNSO also shared some Suchomimus paleoart on Instagram prior to the reveal of that thing, which all in all made the announcement of said figure a total prank in my eyes. I would have also preferred they'd released the plesiosaur instead of that.

BTW, I was wondering, will you be replacing the Papo Gorgosaurus with the BotM? I know the Papo is around your preferred scale, but the BotM is noticeably more accurate and, even though this is subjective, arguably better looking as well. Though it's also quite expensive, but then again you also got the BotM Torosaurus back in the day despite also being a behemoth and expensive.