Safari Ltd: New for 2023

[Sim]

The Wild Safari Elasmosaurus is the best plesiosauroid toy available and it's very good.  I very much like long-necked plesiosauroids and that Safari figure is the only one in my collection.

I've noticed the Safari Rhamphorhynchus seems to be popular on Everything Dinosaur and Safari's website, I wish that would be sufficient for Safari to make a new, accurate Rhamphorhynchus!

If toobs sell well, I wonder why Safari retired their prehistoric sharks and prehistoric crocodiles toobs?  I also wonder if Safari has considered a pterosaur toob or a small dinosaur toob?  Those could be great!

[Shane]

If toobs sell well, I wonder why Safari retired their prehistoric sharks and prehistoric crocodiles toobs?  I also wonder if Safari has considered a pterosaur toob or a small dinosaur toob?  Those could be great!

TOOBs sell well as a collection, but not every TOOB is a winner.

[Gwangi]

I understand everyone's practical reasons for not being able to get figures as soon as they release, but that doesn't change the fact that from a business standpoint, it's not really advantageous to keep manufacturing figures that are just going to be taking up space in a warehouse and not moving the units needed to make them worthwhile to the business.

The silver lining is, it's not like these are going to be yoinked from the store shelves or the website. They'll continue to be sold until the inventory is depleted. So there's still time.

All I'm saying is you can't really take it for granted that they're going to be around forever. Especially the "riskier" species that are not a definite slam dunk.

We might be able to guess, but could you share which ones sell the most?  Just curious, I sell more Safari Rex Snapper toys than I sell any Safari dinosaur figures in the shop here.

That snapping Rex toy is abysmal. If any toy should be retired it's that one. I feel bad for any parent that spends money on it. It's just too brittle. My daughter has one and the hands, fingers, feet, and tail tip have all snapped off and been glued back multiple times. Both from play and just being stored in a box with other toys. It's junk.

[Pachyrhinosaurus]

@GojiraGuy1954 I think those models are still great, especially the 2010 brachiosaurus. As far as I know, it's the best brachiosaurus on the market. The 2010 apatosaurus and 2013 elasmosaurus are good ones too. Though I'll admit I'd be down for an enlarged version of the prehistoric sealife toob elasmosaurus...

I can see toobs being good sellers from their availability alone. My local zoo and hardware store sell Toobs but not the standard-sized figures. The zoo used to sell Schleich and I wonder if they went with Toobs (both Wild Republic and Safari) because they're harder to shoplift than loose figures. Speaking of, it would be interesting to see updated versions of the classic Toob lineup (like the generic dinosaur or wild toobs) with the level of detail the toob figures are getting now.

[GojiraGuy1954]

I want to know where the massive fanbases for these ancient figures are which prevents them from being retired

-Apatosaurus (2010)
-Brachiosaurus baby (2013; repaint)
-Brachiosaurus (2010)
-Brachiosaurus (1998)

-Stegosaurus (2008)
-Triceratops (2008)

-Dimorphodon (2013)
-Pteranodon (1999)
-"Pterosaur" (2007)
-Rhamphorhynchus (2010)
-Tapejara (2009)

-Elasmosaurus (2013)
-Mosasaurus (2010)

It may shock you to learn that there are people who buy dinosaur and prehistoric figurines outside of this forum. Lots of them, in fact.

I get the big names sticking around. But what child is clamouring to get "Unnamed Pterosaur" for christmas

[Faelrin]

I still quite like the 2010 Apatosaurus despite its age. It had lips, and got the feet correct. Probably could just have more bulk, and the nostrils were in the wrong position, but otherwise a nice figure for its time.

I don't think there's anything wrong with the 2013 Dimorphodon and Elasmosaurus either?

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

I understand everyone's practical reasons for not being able to get figures as soon as they release, but that doesn't change the fact that from a business standpoint, it's not really advantageous to keep manufacturing figures that are just going to be taking up space in a warehouse and not moving the units needed to make them worthwhile to the business.

The silver lining is, it's not like these are going to be yoinked from the store shelves or the website. They'll continue to be sold until the inventory is depleted. So there's still time.

All I'm saying is you can't really take it for granted that they're going to be around forever. Especially the "riskier" species that are not a definite slam dunk.

We might be able to guess, but could you share which ones sell the most?  Just curious, I sell more Safari Rex Snapper toys than I sell any Safari dinosaur figures in the shop here.

That snapping Rex toy is abysmal. If any toy should be retired it's that one. I feel bad for any parent that spends money on it. It's just too brittle. My daughter has one and the hands, fingers, feet, and tail tip have all snapped off and been glued back multiple times. Both from play and just being stored in a box with other toys. It's junk.

Kids like play features. To be honest though I meant these Snappers :

They are much more durable than the old ones from when I was a kid.

[Gwangi]

I understand everyone's practical reasons for not being able to get figures as soon as they release, but that doesn't change the fact that from a business standpoint, it's not really advantageous to keep manufacturing figures that are just going to be taking up space in a warehouse and not moving the units needed to make them worthwhile to the business.

The silver lining is, it's not like these are going to be yoinked from the store shelves or the website. They'll continue to be sold until the inventory is depleted. So there's still time.

All I'm saying is you can't really take it for granted that they're going to be around forever. Especially the "riskier" species that are not a definite slam dunk.

We might be able to guess, but could you share which ones sell the most?  Just curious, I sell more Safari Rex Snapper toys than I sell any Safari dinosaur figures in the shop here.

That snapping Rex toy is abysmal. If any toy should be retired it's that one. I feel bad for any parent that spends money on it. It's just too brittle. My daughter has one and the hands, fingers, feet, and tail tip have all snapped off and been glued back multiple times. Both from play and just being stored in a box with other toys. It's junk.

Kids like play features. To be honest though I meant these Snappers

They are much more durable than the old ones from when I was a kid.

Ah ok, not the toy I was thinking of. I was thinking of this guy...

https://dinotoyblog.com/tyrannosaurus-safari-ltd/

Anyway, I don't blame a kid for liking play features. That's not the point of my post at all. I was just ranting about a cheap toy.

[Shane]

I get the big names sticking around. But what child is clamouring to get "Unnamed Pterosaur" for christmas

That specific figure? Still puts up respectable numbers. But of the dozen or so you listed, several of them are among the top selling figures in the collection.

[suspsy]

This is an objectively bad Tyrannosaurus rex toy. It's nearly 20 years old, it's inaccurate, and it's sculpting is subpar compared to what Safari puts out nowadays.

https://dinotoyblog.com/tyrannosaurus-wild-safari-by-safari-ltd-2006-sculpt/

And yet I still see it all over the place. The ROM in Toronto is currently hosting the T. rex: Ultimate Predator special exhibit and this was the T. rex figure they were selling in the gift shop. And I saw parents buying them for their kids. As frustrating as it can seem, you just can't argue with sales. And if you try to ignore sales, then your business is not going to survive, plain and simple.

[Flaffy]

I really wish retailers would at least put a little care in the items they stock. Most shops just recycle and restock the same 10 or so figures and call it a day, even when there are updated (and objectively superior) versions of the same species in production.

Of course it makes sense to stock what sells well. But I've seen the following happen time and time again:
1) Store keeps ordering the same old models in
2) Local customer base is saturated as most already own the models
3) Sales decrease
4) Store reduces stock / stops ordering-in new stock entirely

I can't begin to express how tired I am of seeing these old models hogging precious shelf space (in the very very rare instance where I actually find Safari products in person). I guess Mattel's way of doing things does have it's benefits too. Figures having short shelf lives incentivises customers to purchase them while they're available, and forces retailers to stock the next new batch of figures, keeping stock fresh. In the ideal world, Safari would retire the old Tyrannosaurus for example, and shops will thus switch to the newer version available. Maybe even refreshing their stock list in the process. But we do not live in an ideal world, and Safari is a much smaller company than Mattel.  

[Primeval12]

"I get the big names sticking around. But what child is clamouring to get "Unnamed Pterosaur" for Christmas"

I actually really like that figure. The paint job is really cool and the fact that it represents an unnamed species is even cooler. I used to use it to represent Anhanguera in my collection.

I also think that since it is labeled "pterosaur," a kid who asks their parents for a "pterodactyl" may get this one. Anyways, I love that model and can see why it is still in production 20 years later. A model I do miss is the feathered juvenile rex though...

[SidB]

I want to know where the massive fanbases for these ancient figures are which prevents them from being retired

-Apatosaurus (2010)
-Brachiosaurus baby (2013; repaint)
-Brachiosaurus (2010)
-Brachiosaurus (1998)

-Stegosaurus (2008)
-Triceratops (2008)

-Dimorphodon (2013)
-Pteranodon (1999)
-"Pterosaur" (2007)
-Rhamphorhynchus (2010)
-Tapejara (2009)

-Elasmosaurus (2013)
-Mosasaurus (2010)

Here I'll put a good word in for the 2998 Triceratops, sculpted, I believe by Doug Watson. It was an excellent figure for its time, worthy of comparison with the semi-legendary Battat trike. It scales well as a subadult with Watson's later Triceratops, still the best mass-produced one ever made, IMO. It's only major lack is that the two outer toes on the manus have nails and are weight-bearing, a trait that it shares with the Battat. This was an issue that had not yet surfaced way back in 2008, and really, when one thinks about it, I very much doubt that most purchasers would have any inking of it. So, I can see why it would still sell well. I display mine next to the newer one. The colors match well too.

[Chasmosaurus]

It seems to be a re-release of the 2010 kentrosaurus from 2010. It's cool for those who couldn't buy it and are looking for it

[Primeval12]

I wish we got the scutosaurus back instead. I have the original Kentro but it is in bad shape so I guess I will pick it up. That paint scheme is not it though.

[Carnoking]

A lot prettier than the flat green colors of the original.

[Stegotyranno420]

@PrimevalRaptor That would be a far superior chocie.
@Flaffy You and I share very similar sentiments. We can give as much advice, complaints and critiques as we can but our entire forum is a small part of  their customer base. We probably wont be able to change the marketing plan extensively. I doubt most of us critics here have studied marketing and business, aside from a few, and personally I can say a representative like Shane knows far more than myself.
Would I like to see chanege, of course. But I realize by the time that change comes I would be able to order all my figurines online instead.

[SpartanSquat]

I prefferd the original green one tbh

[bmathison1972]

Definitely interested. However, since it's now a 13-year-old sculpt, how scientifically 'out-of-date' is it, based on our current understanding? I honestly do not know.
If it is still a relatively accurate sculpt (and the location of the terminal spines in relation to the tip of the tail is not an issue for me), I will definitely get it!!!

[bmathison1972]

I prefferd the original green one tbh

me too, based on Blog images, but I am OK with this new color scheme.