HAOLONGGOOD - New for 2024

[SidB]

It's exciting that there will be 30 figures from Haolonggood this year!  I'm already looking forward to the Euoplocephalus and Stegosaurus and intend to get the Chasmosaurus!  I keep looking at the Chasmosaurus, it's so nice!

With a tip of the hat to those stalwarts who love and can afford, both cost and space-wise, the really big figures, I appreciate HLG's return to more modestly sized pieces.

[thomasw100]

It's exciting that there will be 30 figures from Haolonggood this year!  I'm already looking forward to the Euoplocephalus and Stegosaurus and intend to get the Chasmosaurus!  I keep looking at the Chasmosaurus, it's so nice!

With a tip of the hat to those stalwarts who love and can afford, both cost and space-wise, the really big figures, I appreciate HLG's return to more modestly sized pieces.

I think that a good mix of a few larger and many smaller figures will be perfect and I believe that Haolonggood will be releasing such a mix this year. The Chasmosaurus is pretty small and upcoming Stegosaurus and Euoplocephalus will not be that large either. OK we know about the 4 large sauropods but I think 4 large models out of 30 in total is quite reasonable.

[Baryonyx]

Fantastic chasmosaurus, thank you V @vampiredesign !
The pose is really good, a subtle run. Considering the brilliant models you released last year, I think Haolonggood could continue with more variety in poses, animals turning or looking in different directions etc. It does not need to be dramatic like Papo for example, but this would add even more life to these very accomplished sculpts.

Of course, the theropods you have created are very impressive for their balance on proportionate feet; I understand the poses are limited to get balance on two feet - but you did achieve this already with the Megaraptor's unique pose!

I hope you don't mind this feedback and thank you again, you are doing unique work!

[thomasw100]

That's a beautiful Chasmosaurus. The pose is really what catches the attention first, so elegant and natural. The green option has my vote.

I noticed that the skin looks to be of a rougher texture than previous ceratopsians (Sinoceratops, Kosmoceratops), and it turns out there are skin impressions that show larger scales:

"The skin appears to have had large scales in evenly spaced horizontal rows among smaller scales.[2] The larger scales had a diameter of up to fifty-five millimetres and were distanced from each other by five to ten centimetres. They were hexagonal or pentagonal, thus with five or six sides. Each of these sides touched somewhat smaller scales, forming a rosette. Small, non-overlapping convex scales of about one centimetre in diameter surrounded the whole. The larger scales were wrinkled due to straight grooves orientated perpendicular to their edges. From top to bottom, the large scale rows gradually declined in size."

(From https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chasmosaurus#:~:text=The%20Chasmosaurus%20specimen%20NMC%202245,horizontal%20rows%20among%20smaller%20scales.)

The attention to detail is very satisfying!

I noticed the rougher skin texture this morning and I am currently uncertain about it. I liked the very fine texture (with some randomly distributed feature scales) of the Kosmoceratops and Sinoceratops very much and was hoping that this would be the same in future releases. I found the texture of the first ceratopsians they released last year (Pentaceratops and Nasutoceratops) too coarse and this was the reason I did not get them. It reminded me of the early quite rough PNSO models. The Pachyrhinosaurus was already finer and I found this quite good. The skin texture of the Chasmosaurus seems to be somewhat comparable to that of the Pachyrhinosaurus, but also crisper which is good.

They seem to have better control of the molding process now than at earlier times, resulting in crisper surface features. We saw that also for the Alamosaurus. This is in my view much more important than the absolute size of skin textures. Rougher scales do look good when they are very crisp. Of course it is much more challenging to obtain super crisp surface textures for PVC models than for resin models.

I am not decided about the color variant. With 30 species including 4 large sauropods being released this year I can only afford to get one per species. Both color variants of the Chasmosaurus look very nice in their own respect. I like the overall harmony of colors more for the brown variant, but then I really like that dark highlighting around the eyes of the green one. This makes it really stand out. I think I will wait for in hand pictures before I make my decision.

What is really a major step forward is that they have given the eyes a more bluish color tone, which makes them look so much better than the eyes which had this white almost human looking touch. This was the reason why some people stated that the eyes of some Haolonggood dinosaurs would look a bit cartoonish. It is great that they seem to have done away with this. It is a simple thing to change and has such a profound effect on the overall appearance of a model.

[SidB]

It's exciting that there will be 30 figures from Haolonggood this year!  I'm already looking forward to the Euoplocephalus and Stegosaurus and intend to get the Chasmosaurus!  I keep looking at the Chasmosaurus, it's so nice!

With a tip of the hat to those stalwarts who love and can afford, both cost and space-wise, the really big figures, I appreciate HLG's return to more modestly sized pieces.

I think that a good mix of a few larger and many smaller figures will be perfect and I believe that Haolonggood will be releasing such a mix this year. The Chasmosaurus is pretty small and upcoming Stegosaurus and Euoplocephalus will not be that large either. OK we know about the 4 large sauropods but I think 4 large models out of 30 in total is quite reasonable.

I have to agree - 4/30 is not excessive. Though these four are/will be very large, the price point seems appropriate and quite affordable relative to the resins. For me, I'll probably just be able to get one, likely the Argentinosaurus, if that actualized. I have the PNSO Alamosaurus, with which I'm pleased; numerous Mamenchisaurs and Brachiosaurs also, from various brands, but I don't have an Argentinosaurus, so the prospect of a 1/35 one is exciting, though its space-gobbling size will preclude me getting any others if that size I suspect.

[thomasw100]

I have to agree - 4/30 is not excessive. Though these four are/will be very large, the price point seems appropriate and quite affordable relative to the resins. For me, I'll probably just be able to get one, likely the Argentinosaurus, if that actualized. I have the PNSO Alamosaurus, with which I'm pleased; numerous Mamenchisaurs and Brachiosaurs also, from various brands, but I don't have an Argentinosaurus, so the prospect of a 1/35 one is exciting, though its space-gobbling size will preclude me getting any others if that size I suspect.

Considering the price of the large sauropods, I do also think that this is quite affordable. Of course the expensive shipments adds to the cost as well. But this probably boils down to the old saying that you pay with money or time. So if one wants these sauropods as soon as they are released, one has to pay the high shipping cost. If one can wait until stores like Dans Dinosaurs and the like have this in stock, this will be less expensive, but one has to wait longer.

[PoptartDoodle]

Chasmosaurus has been long overdue, I'm glad to see Haolonggood be the ones to bring it.
Please correct if I'm wrong but it appears to be belli from the more v shape of the posterior margin of the parietal, as well as the shape of the P3 epiparietal and nasal horn being observed more in belli than russelli.
Between this and Kosmoceratops, Haolongood is dangerously close to Vagaceratops (Chasmosaurus) irvensis, which to my knowledge hasn't seen a model since Safari's in 2012, and would better show the Chasmosaur clade in the potential deep split in Chasmosaurines.
I'm jumping the gun from excitement, I'm just happy to see great representation for Chasmosaurines and not just Triceratops or Torosaurus.

[Flaffy]

Chasmosaurus has been long overdue, I'm glad to see Haolonggood be the ones to bring it.
Please correct if I'm wrong but it appears to be belli from the more v shape of the posterior margin of the parietal, as well as the shape of the P3 epiparietal and nasal horn being observed more in belli than russelli.

Good call on the frill anatomy. I'm wondering if this is another case of a mash-up of various species within the genus. The frill is definitely more consistent with C. belli, but the recurved brow horns are signature to C. russelli (with C. belli lacking prominent brow horns alltogether).

Skeletal by GAT

[Sim]

I've come to the conclusion that the Haolonggood figure is C. belli, based on the parietal bar, too.  I think we can't know for sure how long the horns of C. belli were when individuals of it were alive, remember for example how some thought Pachyrhinosaurus had a horn growing on its nasal boss.  The shape of that horn was unknown.  I've also seen a comparison of two lizards which looked similar externally but one had its spines supported by bone cores while the other had spines entirely of keratin significantly altering its shape from its bones.  The point I'm trying to make is that even based on definite C. belli specimens I think the horns of the Haolonggood figure are within possibility.

Some C. belli specimens were recently considered to be a new, Vagaceratops-like Chasmosaurus species, based on parietal bar ornamentation.  Personally, I don't buy their separation from C. belli, Styracosaurus has shown individual variation can make the frill ornamentation vary quite a lot, in one case even creating an asymmetrical frill that palaeontologists said would be considered to belong to two different species if each side was found separately.  The reason I bring this up though is that one of these Chasmosaurus specimens, NMC/CMN 2245, has recurved brow horns, as can be seen in the image below.  This might be a specimen of C. belli, it was actually assigned as a paratype for that species and not everyone agrees it isn't a C. belli.
  (Image source)
The Haolonggood figure looks at least in part based on this specimen, to me.

P @PoptartDoodle, do you want Haolonggood to make Vagaceratops?

[thomasw100]

So if Haolonggood really will release 30 models this year and already more than 70 days of this year have passed, this would mean about one release every 10 days until the end of the year.

[PoptartDoodle]

I think we can't know for sure how long the horns of C. belli were when individuals of it were alive, even based on definite C. belli specimens I think the horns of the Haolonggood figure are within possibility.

Yeah I was referring to the size of the nasal horn when compared to the postorbitals. It's been stated that the horns and p3 epiparietal aren't autapomorphic, but still noticeable between the species, so at least having the nasal horn longer than the postorbitals is enough for me honestly.

do you want Haolonggood to make Vagaceratops?

Yes I'd love that, they've been so close twice phylogenetically.
Haolonggood's willingness to make models of more obscure dinosaurs that few or none have made is an amazing quality that should never be forgotten by them.
I will never shut up about this, but Haolongood already has a more diverse group of Chasmosaurines than PNSO. The latter, Triceratops and Torosaurus being so closely related it's been debated if they are even separate animals.
I'm sure they're not selling as well as a Triceratops would have, but it's important to show the variety in which Chasmosaurinae had rather than fixate on one or two species.

[Flaffy]

I feel that Vagaceratops is unique enough in morphology to justify a figure, regardless of it's phylogenetic placement.

That being said, there are many many other Chasmosaurs I'd like to see figures of first, especially since Centrosaurines tends to take the spotlight when it comes to non-Triceratops ceratopsian figures. Aujaceratops, Coahuilaceratops and Navajoceratops/Terminocavus are all very high on my list.

[GojiraGuy1954]

Safari already has a good Vagaceratops, no?

[Gwangi]

Safari already has a good Vagaceratops, no?

I think so, I feel no need for another and wouldn't replace it.

[Takama]

Safari already has a good Vagaceratops, no?

Yeah, but if they retire it soon (if it isent alredy)

Hgood could be the right choice for those who miss out

[bmathison1972]

Safari already has a good Vagaceratops, no?

I think so, I feel no need for another and wouldn't replace it.

I wouldn't either, but as Takama said, it could be good for those that don't have Safari's or where Safari products might be hard to get.

[Gwangi]

Safari already has a good Vagaceratops, no?

I think so, I feel no need for another and wouldn't replace it.

I wouldn't either, but as Takama said, it could be good for those that don't have Safari's or where Safari products might be hard to get.

That is certainly true. I think the figure was retired last year too.

[Flaffy]

Safari already has a good Vagaceratops, no?

Personally I'm not a huge fan of how "detattched" the hip feels from the torso. It's not a bad figure by any means, but I just feel that the whole flow of the sculpt is less elegant than Doug's more recent ceratopsids, or Haolonggood's attempts.

[Jose S.M.]

While its true that the quality of Safari's ceratopsid sculpts has improved a lot, that photo of Vagaceratops doesn't make justice to what it looks like in hand, still I agree that hte hip area looks a bit weird. I'm very happy with Haolonggood ceratopsids, they keep improving and to me are tied with Doug Watson's ceratopsids as my favorites in toy form.

[PoptartDoodle]

there are many many other Chasmosaurs I'd like to see figures of first

Oh yeah I should've clarified I'd like a Vagaceratops at some point, but have way more that I'd rather see first. A Navajoceratops and Terminocavus from Haolonggood would be an incredible pair.