The best figure of every species, according to Halichoeres

[Primeval12]

Ah, I was going to bug @WalkingWithBeasts for that Patogotitan eventually but now I'm unsure... The Ampelosaurus is cool too, though my first Haolonggood is going to be the Megaraptor. As for the mosquito.... I appreciate the commitment... Again... 

[Concavenator]

The "problem" I have with titanosaurs is simply that I think the largest ones receive too much attention (relatively speaking) considering they're generally fragmentary (with some eventual exception like Patagotitan, which has relatively good remains despite lacking the skull). Of course, this happens because they're particularly large. I guess this is also why some people are fans of Zhuchengtyrannus, Tyrannotitan, Mapusaurus, etc, despite being poorly known.

Looks like Wild Past has plans to offer a titanosaur for their Kickstarter campaign too. I bet it will be Rapetosaurus which, hey, would be a good choice for a titanosaur!

[Sim]

Kaiyodo Tanystropheus (Dinotales 2)
Scale: 1:45
Sculptor: Ataru Sugaya
Released: 2001

Are the hands and feet of your Kaiyodo Tanystropheus part of the same piece as the rest of the limbs or are they part of the same piece as the base?

[SBell]

Kaiyodo Tanystropheus (Dinotales 2)
Scale: 1:45
Sculptor: Ataru Sugaya
Released: 2001

Are the hands and feet of your Kaiyodo Tanystropheus part of the same piece as the rest of the limbs or are they part of the same piece as the base?

I'm not pulling too hard, but it feels like the neck and tail are separate pieces, and the base and body are one piece

[ceratopsian]

I'm quite glad prudence prevailed and I didn't race over to the NHM to sort through the shop's toy Patagotitans. I no longer really felt the urge to indulge and your critique confirms that feeling!

[Crackington]

I'm quite glad prudence prevailed and I didn't race over to the NHM to sort through the shop's toy Patagotitans. I no longer really felt the urge to indulge and your critique confirms that feeling!

Completely agree, I  was tempted to fork out for the figure when I first saw it at the NHM, but it didn't look that great in person and it was an expensive (though lovely) day out with my youngest daughter already.

I settled for some half price dino Xmas crackers instead (thinking ahead!).

I thought Forum members might be interested to know about it though, so thought best to flag it on the Titanosaur NHM thread.

Despite the criticism of the new figures over on the Collecta 2024 thread, their new sauropod looks a far better figure to me....

[Halichoeres]

Thanks for stopping by and commenting, everyone!

On the Patagotitan, I'd say it looks better than Safari's at twenty paces, but any closer Safari's looks better.

Despite the criticism of the new figures over on the Collecta 2024 thread, their new sauropod looks a far better figure to me....

Good call on the crackers. I also think the CollectA Dreadnoughtus looks quite promising. I'm less impressed with the Polacanthus.

Kaiyodo Tanystropheus (Dinotales 2)
Scale: 1:45
Sculptor: Ataru Sugaya
Released: 2001

Are the hands and feet of your Kaiyodo Tanystropheus part of the same piece as the rest of the limbs or are they part of the same piece as the base?

Sorry for the late reply, I was having trouble with Flickr on mobile while traveling. The base is a separate piece, and there are pegs to attach the feet.

You can see the seams at the base of the neck and tail as Sean points out. So I think it's a total of four pieces.

The "problem" I have with titanosaurs is simply that I think the largest ones receive too much attention (relatively speaking) considering they're generally fragmentary (with some eventual exception like Patagotitan, which has relatively good remains despite lacking the skull). Of course, this happens because they're particularly large. I guess this is also why some people are fans of Zhuchengtyrannus, Tyrannotitan, Mapusaurus, etc, despite being poorly known.

Looks like Wild Past has plans to offer a titanosaur for their Kickstarter campaign too. I bet it will be Rapetosaurus which, hey, would be a good choice for a titanosaur!

I kinda get that, but I differ in that 1) I'm more tolerant of fragmentary species, and 2) I grade "fragmentary" on a curve. For example, in pachycephalosaurs, the most likely body part you'll find is the skull, by far. But on a titanosaur it is almost the least likely part you'll find. Maybe distal phalanges are more apt to be lost, if they're present in the first place, but that's about it. So I don't consider Dreadnoughtus, for example, to be remotely fragmentary.

I agree with your general point about "biggest _______ ever," though. I think being the biggest whatever is pretty much the least interesting thing possible about an organism.

[Halichoeres]

Some Cretaceous gnathostomes:


Passion Charger Onchopristis
Scale: 1:50 for a large specimen
Released: 2023
Albian - Maastrichtian
Etymology: Gr. "barbed saw"
This came with a Spinosaurus model kit, but the maker was gracious enough to supply me with the fish without requiring me to buy the dinosaur. It's one of the nicest Onchopristis models anyone has done: barbed teeth, wide pectoral fins, reduced dorsal fins.


It even includes all four nares. Unfortunately the lower lobe of the tail broke in transit. Not the end of the world, but a bit of a bummer.


Bandai Mawsonia (MegaHouse Kaitai puzzle)
Scale: 1:80 - 1:120, depending on specimen
Released: 2023
Berriasian - Cenomanian
Etymology: after Joseph Mawson, an English railway engineer who worked in Brazil and supplied AS Woodward with fossils
This delightful little toy came with a Spinosaurus puzzle toy. The dinosaur isn't bad, but I'm not especially interested in it, so I'll probably trade it at some point. The printed materials actually identify it specifically as Mawsonia, which wasn't obvious from the promo photos. That alone makes this the most thoughtfully executed prehistoric fish in Bandai's history.


The other side, consistent with the accompanying dinosaur, shows the coelacanth's skeleton. It shows the lack of vertebral centra, and even better, it shows the ossified lung that most coelacanths have. The modern gombessa (Latimeria) has lost this ossification, but Mawsonia would have had it.


It is much smaller than I expected, which makes the level of detail even more impressive. Shown here with renowned paleoichthyologist HJ Simpson, and with Bandai's second best prehistoric fish figure.


PNSO Gorgosaurus
Scale: 1:25
Released: 2023
Campanian of North America
Etymology: Gr. "fierce lizard"
It's 1:30 if you base it on record-setting individuals, but its proportions are not consistent with exceptional specimens. It's proportioned like a younger animal, with the tibia markedly longer than the femur. It's closer to 1:25 for those individuals. Part of PNSO's onslaught of lipless theropods, it does still have things to recommend it. It has one of the more striking color schemes among PNSO's tyrannosaurs, for example. Combine that with a dancer's pose, and it replaces the squatting Papo figure.


Having second thoughts about confronting Styracosaurus.


Grin Studios fish fossil, cf. Diplomystus
Scale: 1:10 - 1:20
Released: ?
Cretaceous - Paleogene
Etymology: L. "double mustache" is my best guess, maybe in reference to its mobile maxillae?
This is from a line of simulated fossil toys called "Gold Dig It! Dino Dig!" The toys are embedded in a dense sand matrix that a kid is tasked with extracting with flimsy plastic toys, presumably to keep the kid occupied and out of their parents' hair for the longest possible time. Obviously I used a regular grown-up hammer. None of the prizes liberated from the sand are actually identified by name, but most of them are easy enough to work out. There's strong overlap with Safari's Ancient Fossils Toob, but they aren't knockoffs. They're original (or at least different) molds, and in this case I think it's better in some respects.


The relief is too exaggerated, and it's rather stylized, but the overall body shape is a better match for Diplomystus than Safari's version is. Safari's honestly looks more like Knightia. Stay tuned, there's yet another Diplomystus on its way to my collection in a month or two...

[Stegotyranno420]

Wait... you found an Onchopristis withoit having to buy the complementary Spinosaurus accessory piece? Awesome.

[Fembrogon]

That kit Onchopristis really drives home how unique-looking the animal was among its relatives; I admit I've never researched the genus much. Such a waste for toy sets to not represent it better!

[Primeval12]

-DUPLICATE-

[SBell]

I just realized that the Passion Charger kit with the Onchopristis also contains a few Mawsonia. It would be great if more of these designers would release their accessories separately... I don't want the dinos or the bases, just the fish!

[Primeval12]

The PNSO Gorgo is cool, but I also think that I prefer Papo's for now. The head seems a little off to me. I do agree that the color scheme is amazing though.

On another note, I've started hanging my prehistoric marine life from the ceiling. That Onchopristus would look very good hanging up....

Also I've seen those fossil dig kits (albeit with various rocks rather than fossils) all over TikTok. Never thought one would end up in your collection

[Concavenator]

Will you be painting up the Onchopristis? Also, dang, I severely underestimated how big those guys could get! Guess it's because I always see it depicted alongside the even bigger Spinosaurus.

[Halichoeres]

Thanks, everyone!

Wait... you found an Onchopristis withoit having to buy the complementary Spinosaurus accessory piece? Awesome.

A very nice surprise! I always feel a little rude asking the artist for part but not all of their work, so I am very careful about how I phrase my request. And it worked this time!

That kit Onchopristis really drives home how unique-looking the animal was among its relatives; I admit I've never researched the genus much. Such a waste for toy sets to not represent it better!

Yeah, even quite eminent artists often just make it into an extra-large sawfish. But it was a highly distinctive animal!

I just realized that the Passion Charger kit with the Onchopristis also contains a few Mawsonia. It would be great if more of these designers would release their accessories separately... I don't want the dinos or the bases, just the fish!

It is worth asking! I just make sure to compliment the Spinosaurus but emphasize that I am specifically a collector of fish. I also got a Mawsonia, which will appear in a future post.

The PNSO Gorgo is cool, but I also think that I prefer Papo's for now. The head seems a little off to me. I do agree that the color scheme is amazing though.

On another note, I've started hanging my prehistoric marine life from the ceiling. That Onchopristus would look very good hanging up....

Also I've seen those fossil dig kits (albeit with various rocks rather than fossils) all over TikTok. Never thought one would end up in your collection

It's a close one between PNSO and Papo's Gorgos. I prefer Papo's scale, and the head sculpt is very nice.

I've thought about suspending my aquatics. What are you using to hang them, jewelry cord?

As for the dig kits, I just stumbled on them in Target one day. I can see how they could be TikTok fodder for folks who enjoy unboxing videos and so forth.

Will you be painting up the Onchopristis? Also, dang, I severely underestimated how big those guys could get! Guess it's because I always see it depicted alongside the even bigger Spinosaurus.

The largest rostrum was 2.5 meters long! It was a monster. Eventually I hope to paint this one up, but I have so many things waiting to be painted, who knows when I'll get around to it?

[SBell]

Thanks, everyone!

I just realized that the Passion Charger kit with the Onchopristis also contains a few Mawsonia. It would be great if more of these designers would release their accessories separately... I don't want the dinos or the bases, just the fish!

It is worth asking! I just make sure to compliment the Spinosaurus but emphasize that I am specifically a collector of fish. I also got a Mawsonia, which will appear in a future post.

I suppose so. It would be nice to have a Mawsonia that isn't in a Spinosaurus mouth...!

[Primeval12]

@Halichoeres  I use fishing line to suspend my aquatics.


Also that Rhizodus is telling me to tell you to print one

Same with the fliers



I will  Some I leave on the shelf (like the expensive/heavy/delicate ones) but overall, suspending them has cleared up so much shelf space. Plus the Schleich Mososaurus looks very cool suspended. Better than on my shelf!

[SBell]

@Halichoeres I use fishing line to suspend my aquatics. 



Same with the fliers



I will  Some I leave on the shelf (like the expensive/heavy/delicate ones) but overall, suspending them has cleared up so much shelf space. Plus the Schleich Mososaurus looks very cool suspended. Better than on my shelf!

Cool display. What is the rhizodont-looking one? I don't recognize it!

[Primeval12]

It's a Rhizodus. 3D printed it a while back. You can get the STL here. (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3200122)

 Mine came out a little messed up though (no teeth and a frayed tail)

[SBell]

It's a Rhizodus. 3D printed it a while back. You can get the STL here. (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3200122)

 Mine came out a little messed up though (no teeth and a frayed tail)

Thanks. I wondered if it was a 3d. Wasn't sure where it was from