Controversial opinions on dinosaur toys

[Gwangi]

I see the appeal in armor clad, weaponized dinosaurs. Dinosaurs lend themselves well to that sort of thing, hence their popularity with kids (I was one of those, once). I'm not personally into it though. I collect the Tyco Dino-Rider dinosaurs but just the dinosaurs, I have no interest in trying to track down any of the accessories.

For their time, the Tyco dinosaurs (first DinoRiders, then museum line) were one of the best large (articulated) toys available. And popular as well. The Tyrannosaurus rex is even used in Toy Story.
In only have the Ankylosaurus and the Quetzalcoatlus, none of the other toys. But loved that show. And was surprised after rewatching it that there was only one season.

Sure, the dinosaurs are terribly outdated, but as a kid, we didn't care.

Yup, I've heard that Toy Story/Dino-Rider trivia before. I had a bunch as a kid, including the T. rex. Some of them still hold up reasonably well, like the Kentrosaurus and Edmontonia. Robert Bakker was a consultant on the line and it shows in some of the better toys. I collect them pretty casually these days but I've reviewed a few for the blog and used the Brontosaurus for my 100th review. They're still some of my all time favorite dinosaur toys. 

[Concavenator]

@Sim I don't care about my figures not scaling up to each other, but I admit that when they are in scale they do look nicer indeed. So I think your collection of BotM dromaeosaurids will look pretty neat.

Yeah, more 1:35 BotM figures would be just great! I was initially going to get one of the Utahraptor too, both variants look gorgeous (the BotM is particularly outstanding). But then Safari came in, so I will be going with theirs instead as it's smaller and it's another very good depiction. And I don't do exceptions to my 1 model/genus rule. That said, had Creative Beast went with Austroraptor instead of the fragmentary Achillobator, I would most likely plan to get it too. I still hope they get to it at some point, or someone else for that matter (except the likes of Schleich and Papo, please and thank you). Unenlagiines are particularly neglected among dromaeosaurids (which, in turn, are also neglected in general).

[Stegotyranno420]

I am not sure where this goes, nor do i wish to hurt anyone, but.

Is it just me or lately the forum feels bland and repetive. It appears all there is nowadays is the same topics, arguements, complaints, defenses of complaints, without any actual news to balance it. The PNSO thread feels very much like their releases of 2023.

Sorry if it sounds rude or aggressive. I guess its my young, undeveloped control of lack of stimulation speaking. Nonetheless I am very happy to be here, still my favorite place on the internet 

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

I am not sure where this goes, nor do i wish to hurt anyone, but.

Is it just me or lately the forum feels bland and repetive. It appears all there is nowadays is the same topics, arguements, complaints, defenses of complaints, without any actual news to balance it. The PNSO thread feels very much like their releases of 2023.

Sorry if it sounds rude or aggressive. I guess its my young, undeveloped control of lack of stimulation speaking. Nonetheless I am very happy to be here, still my favorite place on the internet 

People/members really don't change much so your going to get a bit of repetition. I feel getting older I'm not moved by as much and get pretty bored unless it's something really stand out.  Probably a lot of factors though.

[ceratopsian]

I think that feeling is partly the outcome of the fact that you've been here quite some time now, @Stegotyranno420.  When you first joined, all the discussions etc were new to you and it was a fresh untrodden world!

I am not sure where this goes, nor do i wish to hurt anyone, but.

Is it just me or lately the forum feels bland and repetive. It appears all there is nowadays is the same topics, arguements, complaints, defenses of complaints, without any actual news to balance it. The PNSO thread feels very much like their releases of 2023.

Sorry if it sounds rude or aggressive. I guess its my young, undeveloped control of lack of stimulation speaking. Nonetheless I am very happy to be here, still my favorite place on the internet 

[SidB]

I am not sure where this goes, nor do i wish to hurt anyone, but.

Is it just me or lately the forum feels bland and repetive. It appears all there is nowadays is the same topics, arguements, complaints, defenses of complaints, without any actual news to balance it. The PNSO thread feels very much like their releases of 2023.

Sorry if it sounds rude or aggressive. I guess its my young, undeveloped control of lack of stimulation speaking. Nonetheless I am very happy to be here, still my favorite place on the internet 

My favorite place too, @Stegotyranno420 , and, of course, I do notice the same factors at work at different times. I officially joined in 2016, but had lurked around for several years before starting to participate. So you see a lot of cycles come and go. Furthermore, if one is self-transparent, one notices them in oneself too.
 There seems to be certain characteristics, regardless of age, that are inherent in those members who endure through the ups and downs of the years. A certain balance, fairness and patience go a long way in maintaining one's interest level, as well as getting along with other members, especially those with sharply different temperaments. An attitude of giving, openness to positive change (truth) and a refusal to jump on bandwagons of caustic negativity sure help.
I am certain that as you hang around, positive, fresh and new developments and initiatives will emerge to revitalize the mix. They always have in my experience.

[Faelrin]

I think it's cause things have slowed down over all? I know this forum usually gets the most activity with new releases (plus recieving new releases). This year overall has had a lower number of releases as well compared with last year. Here's some Dinotoycollector stats based on companies at this time (please note I'm bit behind adding some BotM stuff, Haolonggood Edmontonia, Mattel, etc, but not anything extensive). I'm only going to include the major players (CollectA, Creative Beast, Mattel, PNSO, Safari Ltd, etc). One can check the website for the rest. This is of course only what's been added so far (including multiple colorways as seperate figures), and not everything released in that year (as in some companies are missing. Maybe some figures missed here and there).

2022 (total 410):
-CollectA: 8
-Creative Beast: 23 (most probably count as 2023 because of delays, and still need corrected)
-Haolonggood: 11
-Kaiyodo: 10
-Mattel: 174
-Nanmu: 30
-PNSO: 13
-Rebor: 14
-Safari Ltd: 6
-Schleich: 5
-Takara Tomy: 73

2023 (total 283):
-CollectA: 10
-Creative Beast: 17
-Haolonggood: 15
-Kaiyodo: 11
-Mattel: 114
-Nanmu: 12
-PNSO: 6
-Rebor: 3
-Safari Ltd: 3
-Schleich: 5
-Takara Tomy: 37

While it is the middle of the year, a good lot of these have a lot less to offer this year. Mattel, Nanmu, PNSO, Rebor, and Takara Tomy have the biggest drops so far. They may increase before the end of the year however. Haolonggood on the other hand has increased, and will likely continue from here.

[ceratopsian]

I think this is a perceptive analysis S @SidB.

I am not sure where this goes, nor do i wish to hurt anyone, but.

Is it just me or lately the forum feels bland and repetive. It appears all there is nowadays is the same topics, arguements, complaints, defenses of complaints, without any actual news to balance it. The PNSO thread feels very much like their releases of 2023.

Sorry if it sounds rude or aggressive. I guess its my young, undeveloped control of lack of stimulation speaking. Nonetheless I am very happy to be here, still my favorite place on the internet 

My favorite place too, @Stegotyranno420 , and, of course, I do notice the same factors at work at different times. I officially joined in 2016, but had lurked around for several years before starting to participate. So you see a lot of cycles come and go. Furthermore, if one is self-transparent, one notices them in oneself too.
 There seems to be certain characteristics, regardless of age, that are inherent in those members who endure through the ups and downs of the years. A certain balance, fairness and patience go a long way in maintaining one's interest level, as well as getting along with other members, especially those with sharply different temperaments. An attitude of giving, openness to positive change (truth) and a refusal to jump on bandwagons of caustic negativity sure help.
I am certain that as you hang around, positive, fresh and new developments and initiatives will emerge to revitalize the mix. They always have in my experience.

[Halichoeres]

Thanks for that, @Faelrin. I love numbers!

[Concavenator]

Pretty sure what I'm going to say goes into the right thread: I actually like PNSO's strategy of releasing clusters of animals belonging to a certain group in succession. That said, I understand that most people may not like it and prefer to be surprised as to what the next figure could be, considering it could come from whichever group. As someone previously said, I think that people could feel tired of this because all of this year's releases from PNSO have been big theropods, and they all lack lips and are mostly brown. But imagine, for example, that they give us a streak of, say, hadrosaurids. We could get in a matter of a/few months figures of overdue genera like Maiasaura, Brachylophosaurus and Saurolophus. Or a streak of sauropods.

I'm aware that this strategy has a clear disadvantage, though: if you're not interested in whichever group/s they've decided to tackle you would be bored for a while (at least when the companies following said strategy are concerned, PNSO in this case). Which I'm confident has happened to several people this year already.

[thomasw100]

Pretty sure what I'm going to say goes into the right thread: I actually like PNSO's strategy of releasing clusters of animals belonging to a certain group in succession. That said, I understand that most people may not like it and prefer to be surprised as to what the next figure could be, considering it could come from whichever group. As someone previously said, I think that people could feel tired of this because all of this year's releases from PNSO have been big theropods, and they all lack lips and are mostly brown. But imagine, for example, that they give us a streak of, say, hadrosaurids. We could get in a matter of a/few months figures of overdue genera like Maiasaura, Brachylophosaurus and Saurolophus. Or a streak of sauropods.

I'm aware that this strategy has a clear disadvantage, though: if you're not interested in whichever group/s they've decided to tackle you would be bored for a while (at least when the companies following said strategy are concerned, PNSO in this case). Which I'm confident has happened to several people this year already.

In principle I agree with you that if different groups of dinosaurs would be covered equally well over an extended period of time then probably everybody would be happy. However, I do not think that PNSO will be giving us five sauropods and five hadrosaurs next year. We may get a few ceratopsians but I am afraid that there will be even more theropods. Not that all these  theropod figures would not be great. I like each and every of them based on the quality of sculpting work and paint application. But many people have space restrictions so they decide to limit their collection to certain groups of dinosaurs, or certain rock formations etc. And of course not everybody has an unlimited budget. So if lets say PNSO releases 3 figures from the group that interests a collector in one year, this will be affordable. But if they release 10 in a year, this might quickly exceed the available budget.

[Faelrin]

@Concavenator Tbh I don't mind this strategy at all. It's really just the fact it has only been (lipless large) theropods from them this year (from only 3 groups no less, though Megalosaurus aside, mostly 2), and no other variety. If they had alternated between a group of theropods and ornithischians, pterosaurs, marine animals, etc I think people would be more excited about their reveals this year. Both the groups of theropods are also pretty heavily represented on the market as well, even if there was room for more up to date models. I imagine more neglected groups like oviraptorosaurs, ornithomimosaurs, etc got representation people wouldn't feel so let down.

The color schemes have had little color variety as well, which also certainly does not help. Not everything has to have tones of brown and yellow. The most recent Gorgosaurus and Megalosaurus have had a little bit of splashes of color on their heads, but they can do even better then that I think, when they previously put out things like the Deinocheirus, Lambeosaurus, this year's Meraxes, Suchomimus, etc.

[Halichoeres]

@Faelrin bingo. If it were a cluster of carcharodontosaurs and then a cluster of something that wasn't ecologically equivalent, I'd grouse less. They really only do these clusters with select theropod clades and select ornithischian clades. They have never done three sauropods in a row, or three ornithomimosaurs, or three ichthyosaurs, or three placoderms, or three synapsids. It would rankle less if they weren't focusing on the groups that are already overdone.

It might be a coincidence, but it is striking that PNSO's most monotonous stretch comes right after their announcement of a new CEO. I wonder if this new person said, "well, these things with big heads, small arms, and lots of teeth seem to sell best, let's make nothing but those."

[postsaurischian]

.......  If they had alternated between a group of theropods and ornithischians, pterosaurs, marine animals, etc I think people would be more excited about their reveals this year. .......

Just because a handful of DTF members are repeatedly airing their grievances about PNSO's releases doesn't mean "people" aren't excited.
I still like what they're doing and I can patiently wait for their non-theropod figures in the future while there are so much more tempting offerings in the rest of the world than I have money and space for .

[SidB]

.......  If they had alternated between a group of theropods and ornithischians, pterosaurs, marine animals, etc I think people would be more excited about their reveals this year. .......

Just because a handful of DTF members are repeatedly airing their grievances about PNSO's releases doesn't mean "people" aren't excited.
I still like what they're doing and I can patiently wait for their non-theropod figures in the future while there are so much more tempting offerings in the rest of the world than I have money and space for .

An excellent point @postsaurischian . When using a collective term like 'people', we must carefully qualify it with descriptives such as 'all', 'most', 'some', 'a few', 'no', otherwise our assertions become fallacious, or contain logical fallacies.

[Halichoeres]

.......  If they had alternated between a group of theropods and ornithischians, pterosaurs, marine animals, etc I think people would be more excited about their reveals this year. .......

Just because a handful of DTF members are repeatedly airing their grievances about PNSO's releases doesn't mean "people" aren't excited.
I still like what they're doing and I can patiently wait for their non-theropod figures in the future while there are so much more tempting offerings in the rest of the world than I have money and space for .

An excellent point @postsaurischian . When using a collective term like 'people', we must carefully qualify it with descriptives such as 'all', 'most', 'some', 'a few', 'no', otherwise our assertions become fallacious, or contain logical fallacies.

The context of Faelrin's comment was a thread literally titled 'controversial opinions,' in a respectful direct response to a contrary but respectfully stated opinion. To construe it as meaning all or even most people requires being hell-bent on the most uncharitable possible reading.

[Takama]

I have not posted much lately due to some life changeing issues.

But i do still lurk here.

However, I have to say due to the multitude and price of all of PNSOs models.  If they insist on makeing Theropods costantly now, then why dont they make Dromeosaurs?  AKA the second famous dinosaurs from a certain franchise.    The only one in that Collection i said, over and over is that Microraptor, and my wish is for them to make a Utahraptor at the least.

Besides Utahraptor, I hope they stop dilly dallying and increase their Sauropod selection. And as i said in the past.  I dont want just the small ones like Shunosaurus, Amargasaurus, or Europasaurus.    I want the classic giants like Apatosaurus/Brontosaurus Brachiosaurus, Diplodocus and a Dreadnoughtus.    And before we fuss about size and cost of these figures, remember how they pulled off the Linguwlong.

[DinoFan2010]

I feel like we need more Prosauropod figures other than Plateosaurus. The only Riojasaurus toy I know of is the one by Kid Galaxy, and there are no Massospondylus toys as of yet. I mean, out of the 12 Prosauropod toys that have been reviewed on the DTB, 2 are Lufengosaurus, 1 for Mussaurus, with the other 9 being Plateosaurus.

[Bread]

It might be a coincidence, but it is striking that PNSO's most monotonous stretch comes right after their announcement of a new CEO. I wonder if this new person said, "well, these things with big heads, small arms, and lots of teeth seem to sell best, let's make nothing but those."

This is probably accurate.

Therapods, especially Tyrannosaurs and any other large therapods sell incredibly well.

I still think everyone would not be so over these therapods if they had lips. It's not just the issue of nothing but large therapods, it's the fact that they have anatomy issues.

[Faelrin]

@postsaurischian I have no doubt there are people that still enjoy this year's output. And even if people are tired of the lack of variety they can still enjoy the figures on an individual level that have been released.

However in response to your remark about there being a handful of DTF members disappointed, this is incorrect. It's not just here. From what I've seen there are many other folks expressing over on instagram (like in PNSO's reveal posts), and youtube (reviews, etc) that they tire of the repetiton of (toothy large lipless) theropods. Possibly elsewhere but those are the only places I check these days.

That said S @SidB is right that saying "some people" may have helped clarify it better, as on its own it is pretty vague. I was pretty tired when I posted that yesterday morning.

@Takama Honestly it is strange. I'm not in any particular rush when Safari Ltd and Creative Beast Studio's output satisfy me enough, but there is certainly some strange avoidance to this group going on here. CollectA is another that has not done any in recent years outside of Microraptor as well. I wonder why?

More sauropods from PNSO would be nice to see. I'm still drawn to both their Amargasaurus and Lingwulong, but who knows when I may get around to them. Even like one a year would be something. I do find it strange they haven't done classics like Apatosaurus or Brachiosaurus yet. Though speaking of Apatosaurus, Haolonggood did a lovely Apatosaurus that you might be interested in.

@DinoFan2010 Mattel has an Eoraptor and Guaibasaurus releasing next year. That said while the former is sort of passable as one, the later kind of misses the mark with the head.

Edit: @Bread I have seen this expressed here, instagram, and on youtube many times. In fact I'm shocked to see so many that have. The year's pro-lip paper aside, I wonder if Prehistoric Planet has contributed? It seems tides are changing. Outside of PNSO I remember the Yutyrannus in the JWE2 Feathered Pack was highly recieved, in part due to having lips. And with Rebor's Kiss and Tusk, the former was the better seller, often going out of stock first. Though both also had distinctive colorations and it is possible Kiss was the more favorable of the two, regardless that it had lips (though there are also no doubts there are folks that preferred it for both reasons).