Recent Acquisitions

[Flaffy]

Picked up some superb new Collectasaurs and a lovely Paposaur at my local dino dealer this week!:

Great haul! I'm still on the fence regarding the Shastasaurus myself. It just doesn't quite look like an icthyosaur, a bit too penguin-y maybe? And the long snout morphology is definitely more consistent with S. sikanniensis, which might not even belong to the genus Shastasaurus; but the extreme length makes me think it's a Shonisaurus skull sculpted onto a Shastasaurus body, a chimera.

My turn to praise Haolonggood for another terrific release, the Tianzhenosaurus ... here in it's bluish/green shading, and it's a real beauty. Plus a comparison shot with a few relatively recent and classic ankylosaurids -

I was very impressed by the intricate paint job on the Tianzhenosaurus as well! Got the blue version same a syou, and I dare say it's one of the best Ankylosaur figures on the market. Was surprised by it's small size though, I don't have the CollectA Borealopelta on hand but I feel that they're very similar in size?

[Faelrin]

S @SidB What's the ankylosaur to the right of the Safari Ltd Ankylosaurus? Great assortment there by the way. Really shows off how diverse this group is.

[Flaffy]

New shipment from EverythingDinosaur! Only had time to open and inspect the CollectA figures, but I ended up going for all 3 PNSO Carcharadontosaurids as well...

Very impressed with these 2023 figures. The material they've used this time around seems to be a lot harder than the softer Schleich-like plastic of previous years. Which I don't mind as it feels more durable, less likely to paint chip, and allows for a greater definition of detail to be presented.




Found myself gravitating towards the Hadrosaurus in particular. A stunning figure despite the dimmunitive size. The manus anatomy could've used a bit of work, but overall it's a sleeper hit of the group. Ceratosuchops on the other hand does not properly display a tooth notch, nor the correct dental anatomy if it were lipped as @Sim has pointed out in the CollectA 2023 thread. A shame, but the rest of the figure is so well done I find myself ignoring this issue. I am particularly fond of the paint scheme chosen for this release.




Then there's of course the star of the show, the Ruyangosaurus! Everything I've ever wanted from a titanosaur figure and more. The inclusion of osteoderms is very reasonable, as they've been found on many other titanosaur species, and would've served an important function as mineral storages for such a massive animal (and secondarily for defence). The scales are a too big and pebbly, which reminds me of PNSO's older days of corn-on-the-cob style detail work; very odd as the previous sauropod Mammenchisaurus had more reasonably sized scales (though still oversized), and as shown in the Hadrosaurus, it's not like CollectA can't do minute scales on their figures. Definitely prefer Safari's method of doing sauropod skin in this regard.

Other than that, love the pose, proportions and size of the figure! Which again, makes me wish Safari's Patagotitan was this big. The difference in shelf presence between the two is palpable. Interesting to note that despite being the smaller figure, the Patagotitan's head is larger than the Ruyangosaurus's.

[Flaffy]

S @SidB What's the ankylosaur to the right of the Safari Ltd Ankylosaurus? Great assortment there by the way. Really shows off how diverse this group is.

Vitae Jinyunpelta, deluxe colouration.


Image credit: @Halichoeres

[Faelrin]

@Flaffy Thanks. Can't believe I forgot about that one.

[SidB]

S @SidB What's the ankylosaur to the right of the Safari Ltd Ankylosaurus? Great assortment there by the way. Really shows off how diverse this group is.

Vitae Jinyunpelta, deluxe colouration.


Image credit: @Halichoeres

It's a nice figure. Too bad Vitae is gone (apparenyly).

[Duna]

Other than that, love the pose, proportions and size of the figure! Which again, makes me wish Safari's Patagotitan was this big. The difference in shelf presence between the two is palpable. Interesting to note that despite being the smaller figure, the Patagotitan's head is larger than the Ruyangosaurus's.

Yeah, Safari's is disproportionated. Collecta gets this things much better. Take the standing diplodocus, for example.

[EmperorDinobot]

Most of my recent BOTM purchases except for 3 raptors, and the rexes. They are too big for the desk.
If anyone wants me to review any of these except for the Guanlong, as that one is being taken care of, let me know. There are a few of them missing on the archive.

[DragonRider02]

I unexpectedly came across Toyway WWD Ankylosaurus on our version of Vinted. It costed me around 21$ in total.

[Flaffy]

The Red Ouranosaurus and Black Pentaceratops has landed!

Having both Ouranosaurus on hand, I do still prefer the green version, but the red one is very very nice too. They complement each other perfectly on the shelf, and I'm really glad I decided to include both of them in my collection! Unfortunately my red Ouranosaurus suffers from a pretty noticeable paint scuff at the tail end; and I do wish the blue was applied more carefully, as blue smears can be seen on the jaws.





The Pentaceratops is a stunner. Perfect paint application, gorgeous colour choices on a wonderfully detailed sculpt. Despite the crocodilian osteoderms on the hip, I do very much prefer Haolonggood's take compared to Papo's. Though I beleive both figures can coexist on the shelf, as Pentaceratops specimens vary quite a bit in skull length and frill height (proportionally); with Papo representing a tall frilled specimen, and Haolonggood a shorter frilled one.

[SidB]

I'm waiting somewhat patiently for my black Penta, @Flaffy . Your pictures make me glad that I ordered it. It will co-exist (peacefully, I hope) with my Papo one in the ceratopsid collection. BTW, will you be getting thumb spikes put on your new red Ouranosaurus?

[Flaffy]

I'm waiting somewhat patiently for my black Penta, @Flaffy . Your pictures make me glad that I ordered it. It will co-exist (peacefully, I hope) with my Papo one in the ceratopsid collection. BTW, will you be getting thumb spikes put on your new red Ouranosaurus?

Defo glad I ordered the darker one too. The contrast on the body isn't as harsh as the promo pics make it out to be, kind of a chocolate-y aesthetic that I'm all for; but the frill is wonderfuly vibrant, very eye-catching. I'm half-tempted to add eye spots to the top part of the frill.


Artwork by @HodariNundu


And yes I do plan to add thumb spikes to the orange version as well, eventually, after my exams are over. Gonna get a nice blue copic marker to patch up the paint scuffs as well (I don't know how that happened since I ordered it with the box). Can anyone reccomend a clay I can use? I assume I'd need to get an air-drying clay rather than one that needs to be baked.

[SidB]

That frill is like a horror show visage-guess that's the idea, to spook the competition. Like it!

[BlueKrono]

@Flaffy I use Green Stuff. It's a two part putty that you mix by kneading with your fingers. It's sticky, so it'll adhere well to plastic surfaces, and hardens overnight.

[Flaffy]

@Flaffy I use Green Stuff. It's a two part putty that you mix by kneading with your fingers. It's sticky, so it'll adhere well to plastic surfaces, and hardens overnight.

Thanks for the reccomendation! I assume based on the name that it hardens off to a green colour, so I'll need to completely paint over it to cover the green.
Would you reccomend I start sculpting immediately after I mix the putty? Or would it be better to let it harden slightly so that it'll be easier to shape into a sharp spur? I'm concerned that if it's too sticky/pliable, it won't hold a rigid edge well inditially.

[EmperorDinobot]

That Pentaceratops is fantastic. People keep saying there's an issue with the anatomy. Since my GVHD is messing up my eyes badly, can someone tell me what the problem with it is?

[BlueKrono]

@Flaffy I use Green Stuff. It's a two part putty that you mix by kneading with your fingers. It's sticky, so it'll adhere well to plastic surfaces, and hardens overnight.

Thanks for the reccomendation! I assume based on the name that it hardens off to a green colour, so I'll need to completely paint over it to cover the green.
Would you reccomend I start sculpting immediately after I mix the putty? Or would it be better to let it harden slightly so that it'll be easier to shape into a sharp spur? I'm concerned that if it's too sticky/pliable, it won't hold a rigid edge well inditially.

Yes, it starts yellow and blue. You know it's mixed well enough when it's a homogenous green. I usually start immediately, as my first step is often to affix it to the model. After that sometimes I let it harden just a little so it's not so tacky it sticks to my fingers. Or I wear surgical gloves.

[SidB]

Picked up some superb new Collectasaurs and a lovely Paposaur at my local dino dealer this week!:

Great haul! I'm still on the fence regarding the Shastasaurus myself. It just doesn't quite look like an icthyosaur, a bit too penguin-y maybe? And the long snout morphology is definitely more consistent with S. sikanniensis, which might not even belong to the genus Shastasaurus; but the extreme length makes me think it's a Shonisaurus skull sculpted onto a Shastasaurus body, a chimera.

My turn to praise Haolonggood for another terrific release, the Tianzhenosaurus ... here in it's bluish/green shading, and it's a real beauty. Plus a comparison shot with a few relatively recent and classic ankylosaurids -

I was very impressed by the intricate paint job on the Tianzhenosaurus as well! Got the blue version same a syou, and I dare say it's one of the best Ankylosaur figures on the market. Was surprised by it's small size though, I don't have the CollectA Borealopelta on hand but I feel that they're very similar in size?

To answer your question, @Flaffy, yes, the CollectA Borealopelta and the new Tianzhenosaurus are pretty similar in size, as the photo below illustrates:


We see, left to right, two nodosaurids - the PNSO and CollectA Borealopelta, then an Ankylosaurid - Haolonggood's Tianzhenosaurus and finally the Vitae Zhejiangosaurus, another Nodosaur.

[Roselaar]

Finally found some smaller JW Dino Trackers figures, against hope (they should have been released here months ago, but I was happy to have found them at all!). Also found a Hasbrosaur at a yard sale the same day:

[Fembrogon]

That's a pretty big haul! Congrats on finding the Nothosaurus especially.

I have two more Beasts of the Mesozoic acquired as of yesterday: the Black Velociraptor (to compliment my Protoceratops & V. osmolskae) and the Diabloceratops (to tend the hatchlings - and prepare for Lythronax this summmer!). Both are splendid; the Diablo in particular is really flexible already.


right on arrival


out of the box and ready for action!

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