The best figure of every species, according to Halichoeres

[Primeval12]

Dumb question, should the Mattel Gryposuchus be added to the reference page? I know it's a Cenozoic animal but I believe it's the only figure of this species made and damn good at that!

[Roselaar]

Dumb question, should the Mattel Gryposuchus be added to the reference page? I know it's a Cenozoic animal but I believe it's the only figure of this species made and damn good at that!

I know of no other, so I find it a likely candidate for sure!

[Concavenator]

@Halichoeres I am wondering, will you be replacing Battat's Maiasaura with Haolonggood's? More pics of the latter are now up, and I think it clearly has the hornlets.

[Halichoeres]

Bony fishes of the Cretaceous (and Cenozoic, a little):


EoFauna Konobelodon
Scale: 1:35
Released: 2022
Late Neogene of Eurasia and North America
As I've said before, I don't normally collect Cenozoic stuff, but EoFauna has spent the whole last year on a Ty***nosaurus, which I won't touch with a ten-foot pole and which I hope sells poorly. At the same time, I don't want EoFauna to go under, so I got this instead. Some small part of me hopes that Showanna's choice of launch figure dooms them as a company, but another part of me wants them to survive long enough to make something interesting.


Elephants are pretty great. I can see why EoFauna is a little fixated on them.


Lhi Chinn Industrial Diplomystus
Scale: 1:1 or 1:2 for a very large individual
Released: 2000
Early Cretaceous - Mid Paleogene of Eurasia, North America, Africa
Some of you may remember Big Mouth Billy Bass, a novelty fish toy that would burst into song and start moving if its motion sensor was triggered (or if you flipped a switch, depending on the model). There were lots of variations capitalizing on the same basic theme from other companies. The Taiwanese company Lhi Chinn made several, including a lobster, a crocodile, and a duck. But the apotheosis of the electric singing fish gag is clearly this Diplomystus skeleton (with a bit of skin still clinging to it in places). It's not actually a terrible Diplomystus, but, much like the Safari version, it works better as Knightia. It's missing some key herring features, but it's roughly the right shape and has the right fin complement. I'm really amused that they went to the trouble of specifying a particular fossil genus.


The head still moves and the soft plastic has held up well more than two decades later. Its owner must have kept it out of direct sunlight.


With CollectA's Pleuroceras for scale.


CollectA Dreadnoughtus
Scale: 1:60
Sculptor: Matthias Geiger
Released: 2024
Campanian - Maastrichtian of South America
For years and years the only titanosaurs you could get in the West were the Safari and Schleich Saltasaurus figures. But they've been really popular lately! This is a reasonable effort by CollectA, if a bit smaller than I would have preferred. It's narrow-gauge, leading at least my copy to be unsteady on its feet. Nice overall, though. It replaces my giant Mattel one. I slightly regret assembling Mattel's, because it will now be impossible to ship. Anybody want to come pick up my copy?


Nolcorp Psittacosaurus
Scale: 1:45 - 1:60
Released: 2021
Barremian - Albian of Eurasia
One of the Extinct For a Reason bath bomb figures, I went for this because I thought it might just be a small enough dinosaur to work in this scale. This is the first time I've met a Psittacosaurus that was a bit too small for my collection! I probably won't keep it, but I'm glad I tried it on for size. Awful cute, and well done for how minuscule it is.



These aren't even close to my largest titanosaur figures, and even compared to them the Psittacosaurus looks puny!

Dumb question, should the Mattel Gryposuchus be added to the reference page? I know it's a Cenozoic animal but I believe it's the only figure of this species made and damn good at that!

I know of no other, so I find it a likely candidate for sure!

Oh you're right, of course! I always meant to add it upon release, but then when the release happened I forgot. I've rectified the omission. I also need to add it to the USL!

@Halichoeres I am wondering, will you be replacing Battat's Maiasaura with Haolonggood's? More pics of the latter are now up, and I think it clearly has the hornlets.

I'd probably still buy Haolonggood's if I didn't have the Battat, but I do have the Battat, so I think I'll just keep it that way. Bummer they messed up the crest; maybe they learned the wrong lesson from Ouranosaurus.

[Flaffy]

Thanks for this comparison! Was hoping to see the Safari Patagotitan next to the CollectA Dreadnoughus. I'm very tempted to send my (eventual) copy of the Dreadnoughtus to Martin for a Prehistoric Planet inspired repaint. That whole sequence in the desert is without a doubt an iconic moment for paleomedia.

@Halichoeres I am wondering, will you be replacing Battat's Maiasaura with Haolonggood's? More pics of the latter are now up, and I think it clearly has the hornlets.

I'd probably still buy Haolonggood's if I didn't have the Battat, but I do have the Battat, so I think I'll just keep it that way. Bummer they messed up the crest; maybe they learned the wrong lesson from Ouranosaurus.

Likewise. Am quite content with my Battat Maiasaura. 26 years since it's release and it's still standing strong despite competition from modern molding techniques.

[Primeval12]

I vote keep the Taco! It's adorable and I love it so much <3

[Faelrin]

That tiny Psittacosaurus is on my wishlist with a bunch of their other figures. Wonder if it could work as a juvenile or other younger one. So cute.

I can't believe there's a fossil fish version of that singing bass lol. I love watching the videos of the actual one with batteries dying lol. It must be even funnier when it looks like this one!

[Gwangi]

I have a Big Mouth Billy Bass. It doesn't work, the battery compartment rusted out. It was still working about 9 years ago though. I also have the singing Jaws great white and the McDonald's Filet-o-fish. Yes, that last one is a thing, sadly. They were all gifts from my mother in law who knows I'm into fish. I really don't want a collection of them but I might want this one! lol

[Faelrin]

@Gwangi I had to google that filet-o-fish one, and I am mildly disappointed it isn't a singing sandwich lol.

Edit: Or just the fish patty.

[Torvosaurus]

@Halichoeres I still haven't been through everything on here, being 131 pages and all, but I have really enjoyed what I have seen.

So do you have an actual Knightia fossil? They are Wyoming's state fossil and they go from $3 or $4 to $25 or so, depending on the grade. The best one I've seen was a Knightia inside a larger fish (I can't remember which species the larger fish was though.) Both were beautifully preserved.

Torvo

[Concavenator]

I would guess the next releases by Showanna (in case there are) will probably involve Triceratops, Giganotosaurus or Spinosaurus. I would very much like to be proven wrong, though, that would be so boring...

And I get the overall impression that, out of the 100 % of sauropod figures that are released, about a 50 % are titanosaurs, about a 40 % are Diplodocus figures, a 5 % are Mamenchisaurus figures, and the other 5 % is the rest of Sauropoda.  Titanosaur fans must be very pleased, it now seems every single member of the clade is significantly more likely to get made than any other sauropod!

And yes, that's unfortunate about the Maiasaura. I was thinking of sending it for a fix (which would be a simple one), but at the same time I've got quite a few figures to catch up on, so I'd rather do that instead of commissioning fixes for freshly-released ones. Hopefully Wild Past ends up releasing their Maiasaura, it was looking great! Not sure who else would release a new Maiasaura, Safari, perhaps, as an update to the Carnegie model?

Oh and if HLG's Amargasaurus is released and doesn't have complete neck sails, will you still replace PNSO's? HLG's at least has correct manus and even though the neck's sail are incomplete, they're still more complete than PNSO's! 

[Gwangi]

@Gwangi I had to google that filet-o-fish one, and I am mildly disappointed it isn't a singing sandwich lol.

Edit: Or just the fish patty.

Yeah, I realize now that my post probably implies that I was talking about the sandwich/fish patty. 

[Primeval12]

If anyone wants to see fishy in action..

[Sim]

I would guess the next releases by Showanna (in case there are) will probably involve Triceratops, Giganotosaurus or Spinosaurus. I would very much like to be proven wrong, though, that would be so boring...

I looked for Showanna releases online to see what they might make as a "toy" figure next, and aside from Tyrannosaurus what I saw were Giganotosaurus, Mapusaurus, Allosaurus, Spinosaurus, Ankylosaurus and an obscure abelisaurid.  Nothing that interests me, and I've lost interest in their Tyrannosaurus as well.

Oh and if HLG's Amargasaurus is released and doesn't have complete neck sails, will you still replace PNSO's? HLG's at least has correct manus and even though the neck's sail are incomplete, they're still more complete than PNSO's! 

Another error on the PNSO Amargasaurus is that the first neck spine is paired.

[BlueKrono]

Was that Diplomystus really sold with that name?

[Halichoeres]

Thanks for stopping by, everyone! Page 1 updated.

Thanks for this comparison! Was hoping to see the Safari Patagotitan next to the CollectA Dreadnoughus. I'm very tempted to send my (eventual) copy of the Dreadnoughtus to Martin for a Prehistoric Planet inspired repaint. That whole sequence in the desert is without a doubt an iconic moment for paleomedia.
 

Ooh, if you do, I hope we get to see photos! Would you have him add air sacs too?

I vote keep the Taco! It's adorable and I love it so much <3

I will consider it. It is awful cute.

@Halichoeres I still haven't been through everything on here, being 131 pages and all, but I have really enjoyed what I have seen.

So do you have an actual Knightia fossil? They are Wyoming's state fossil and they go from $3 or $4 to $25 or so, depending on the grade. The best one I've seen was a Knightia inside a larger fish (I can't remember which species the larger fish was though.) Both were beautifully preserved.

Torvo

Thanks for the kind words! I do have a Knightia fossil, just a little one. My friend was on a dig in Wyoming and brought it back for me. Also a small coprolite, ha ha. I have seen fossils like the one you describe; several possibilities for the larger one, but a good candidate is Priscacara, or just a large specimen of Diplomystus!

@Gwangi I had to google that filet-o-fish one, and I am mildly disappointed it isn't a singing sandwich lol.

Edit: Or just the fish patty.

Yeah, I realize now that my post probably implies that I was talking about the sandwich/fish patty. 

Honestly, the sandwich singing would have been a much funnier product. The top bun folds up, and the patty flaps in time to the music.

If anyone wants to see fishy in action..

Thank you for sharing that! I haven't tried mine out yet, but as you can see in the video it has an ordinary power cable, so no batteries necessary.

I would guess the next releases by Showanna (in case there are) will probably involve Triceratops, Giganotosaurus or Spinosaurus. I would very much like to be proven wrong, though, that would be so boring...

And I get the overall impression that, out of the 100 % of sauropod figures that are released, about a 50 % are titanosaurs, about a 40 % are Diplodocus figures, a 5 % are Mamenchisaurus figures, and the other 5 % is the rest of Sauropoda.  Titanosaur fans must be very pleased, it now seems every single member of the clade is significantly more likely to get made than any other sauropod!

And yes, that's unfortunate about the Maiasaura. I was thinking of sending it for a fix (which would be a simple one), but at the same time I've got quite a few figures to catch up on, so I'd rather do that instead of commissioning fixes for freshly-released ones. Hopefully Wild Past ends up releasing their Maiasaura, it was looking great! Not sure who else would release a new Maiasaura, Safari, perhaps, as an update to the Carnegie model?

Oh and if HLG's Amargasaurus is released and doesn't have complete neck sails, will you still replace PNSO's? HLG's at least has correct manus and even though the neck's sail are incomplete, they're still more complete than PNSO's! 

To be fair, there are SO MANY titanosaur taxa, geez. I'm always startled by how many.

As for Maiasaura, it wouldn't surprise me if PNSO made one. Probably Museum Line with a baby, for $70.

I would guess the next releases by Showanna (in case there are) will probably involve Triceratops, Giganotosaurus or Spinosaurus. I would very much like to be proven wrong, though, that would be so boring...

I looked for Showanna releases online to see what they might make as a "toy" figure next, and aside from Tyrannosaurus what I saw were Giganotosaurus, Mapusaurus, Allosaurus, Spinosaurus, Ankylosaurus and an obscure abelisaurid.  Nothing that interests me, and I've lost interest in their Tyrannosaurus as well.

Oh and if HLG's Amargasaurus is released and doesn't have complete neck sails, will you still replace PNSO's? HLG's at least has correct manus and even though the neck's sail are incomplete, they're still more complete than PNSO's! 

Another error on the PNSO Amargasaurus is that the first neck spine is paired.

Yeah, I would probably buy an HLG Amargasaurus; even as is it is a clear improvement on PNSO's.

As for Showanna, the only thing I'd consider from that list is an obscure abelisaurid. There aren't many non-Carnotaurus abelisaurid toys, and what ones there are are mostly from DeAgostini, Mattel, or CollectA's cruder early days.

Was that Diplomystus really sold with that name?

Yes indeed!


The text on the box might suggest that they once made an Ophthalmosaurus too:

[crazy8wizard]

So do you have an actual Knightia fossil? They are Wyoming's state fossil and they go from $3 or $4 to $25 or so, depending on the grade. The best one I've seen was a Knightia inside a larger fish (I can't remember which species the larger fish was though.) Both were beautifully preserved.
Torvo

They can go for free if you know the right people to talk to 

[crazy8wizard]

The text on the box might suggest that they once made an Ophthalmosaurus too:

I gotta track down that Ophthalmosaurus. A singing animatronic plaque mounted novelty ichthyosaur is so specific to the things I enjoy that it almost doesn't seem real.

Also the same company has an Allosaur(us?) that sings the same song as the Diplomystus

[Primeval12]

The text on the box might suggest that they once made an Ophthalmosaurus too:

I gotta track down that Ophthalmosaurus. A singing animatronic plaque mounted novelty ichthyosaur is so specific to the things I enjoy that it almost doesn't seem real.

Also the same company has an Allosaur(us?) that sings the same song as the Diplomystus

I don't think it exists unfortunately

[Faelrin]

Bit of a random question but would you be fine if I used your pic for the two Science and Nature Serendipaceratops (I see the Atlascopcosaurus/Laellynasaura is already there), and the Qualia Fukuivenator? Do you also happen to know when the two above Science and Nature figures released? I didn't see anything on the Toyanimalwiki regarding them except some of the 2018 ones. Is the DTC correct with 2014? Figured I could do with updating that companies figures on the DTC after adding the two new Thylacine figures.

Edit: I did a massive investigation between yesterday and today using the Waybackmachine with searching both http://www.scienceandnature.com.au/ and https://www.minizoo.com.au/ and have come to the conclusion that their oldest dinosaur models were available around 2007 and discontinued between 2013-2015.

I also managed to find retailer pics of all those older figures (with and without backgrounds), which I'll probably do a reverse google search to find higher res versions, if available.