Fembrogon's Bestiary (post-2020)

[Fembrogon]

Are you planning to review the Stegodon?

I'm tempted to, but I've let myself fall behind on reviews again so I'm hesitant to commit yet. I'll see about finishing a couple more reviews first and then decide.


Invicta painted series - Liopleurodon


Another beautiful sculpt done new justice with a coat of paint. Although the teeth look a bit messy, the overall color scheme is simple but attractive. It's nice to see a pliosaur that isn't slate-gray or imitating WWD again. There are a few scuffs and scratches I don't think I can get rid of, but somehow "battle scars" just work better on marine animals.

[Gwangi]

That's one of the only painted Invicta figures I have. I would prefer the monochrome version but this one isn't bad. Painted or not it's still my favorite Liopleurodon figure.

[Fembrogon]

Invicta Painted Series - Glyptodon


Aren't they cute? ...At least at this scale. To my knowledge our understanding of Glyptodon's appearance hasn't changed much. It's always interesting to see the contrast between reconstructions of dinosaurs and extinct mammals over the years, even knowing the reasons for it. I do like the variation between these two figures; there's a clear difference in paint shades that makes each of them feel unique.

[Fembrogon]

Thunder Beasts - Dilophosaurus


My goodness, what a big dinosaur this is! I only learned about the Thunder Beasts line fairly recently, having bought Mike Fredericks' Dinosaur Collectibles book a year or two ago. I like the old-school, John Sibbick/Steve Kirk look of this figure, so I nabbed one for what looked like a very good price off Mercari a while back - completely unaware of the figure's actual size (note the 6-inch ruler it's standing on for balance). My, my! I guess I really did get my money's worth.
A couple of proportion and warping issues aside, this guy is pretty cool; again, I really like the period-specific sculpt, and the coloration is beautiful. I just wish it stood a little better.

[Fembrogon]

Favorite Co. (museum exclusive, 2014) - Tambatitanis



You never know what you might find for a bargain online sometimes. While it's not as big or showy as some other high-valued sauropod figures, the "Tamba Titan" is nonetheless a pretty neat figure. It's a pretty solid reconstruction of a sauropod, at least given the fragmentary nature of the holotype. There are bigger and better sauropod figures out there, though, if you feel compelled to drop a lot of dough on a longneck.

[Ludodactylus]

Wow, that Thunder Beasts Dilophosaurus is HUGE! That must have been a surprise when it showed up.

[Fembrogon]

Back in February (oof) when I received The Favorite titan and Thunder Beasts Dilophosaurus from Mercari, I also had several lots of more Kaiyodos included in the cumulative package. Categorizing them all has been a bit tedious, so I'll, uh, use that as my excuse for the delay in updating the bestiary. Now without further ado, the first batch:

Kaiyodo Dinotales, series 1 assortment

001 Tyrannosaurus ("secret" version)

I must admit, Kaiyodo has pretty much always been making pretty good T-rexes. I also appreciate the striking color patterns in the older figures; some of the more recent rexes are painfully drab in contrast.

005b Diatryma(Gastornis)

I have the "a" release in storage, so it's nice to have both now, even if they're currently separated. The beak on this one is brighter and more parrot/puffin-like, which, honestly, might be more reasonable for a forest-dwelling herbivore than forest-dwelling predator.
 
006b Cladoselache

This release is a lovely blue to contrast with the more metallic tones of the "a" version. Still a splendid little figurine.

All three together looking very nice.

015a Axelrodichthys (version 2)

Some of these figures arrived pre-glued, which I opted to undo for the fun of assembly (and hopefully more ease of storage). I think this one gave me a few issues, and I might have missed a minute glob on the side there... Anyway, this is another cool figurine of an oddly underrepresented fish group.

017a Pachydiscus (version 2)

My knowledge of ammonite species is sorely lacking, so this is a new genus for me. Assembly is quite easy on this one; even with a broken peg inside, the figurine holds its shape.

018a Sinemys gamera (version 1)

The differences between versions on this one are pretty subtle - regarding the two versions of the "a" release - coming down mostly to more refined patterns and paint on the second version. I still have to check them carefully to tell the difference.


Version 1 on the right, version 2 on the left.

More Dinotales coming up soon (ideally)...

[Fembrogon]

I'm experimenting with Postimages' thumbnail link options for this post; you can click on each photo for a larger view. If anyone likes or doesn't like this viewing method, let me know.

Kaiyodo Dinotales, Series 2 & 3 assortment

025 Allosaurus

I have the black & white limited release in storage, but I always thought the standard snake-stripe version looked really nice too. Despite being a decade old I'm inclined to say this is still one of the best Allosaurus sculpts ever released on the market.

029 Stegosaurus

This fellow arrived with two of its tiny tail spikes broken; thankfully the tips were still there, and somehow I managed to be deft enough to glue both back in place without any obvious blemishes. Like the Allo, I think this sculpt has aged impressively well, even compared to "Sophie" reconstructions.

The two make a great pair.

035 Meiolania

Eikoh's newer figure should make a nice companion to this one. Assembly is kind of interesting for this figurine, with how the limbs and head layer between the shell. It's very solid once put together, though, and fairly easy to disassemble afterwards.

039 Megatherium

Figures of Megatherium seem to be pretty consistent even after all these years, and this figurine still looks pretty good next to Kaiyodo's "Recently Extinct" version of the animal from a few years ago.

041 Acanthostega

I don't know how realistic grape-soda purple is for a large amphibian, but it sure looks great on the minifigure! Acanthostega was a pretty frequently-featured name in books I read growing up, so it's a relief to see SOMEONE was willing to make a toy of it, and quite a nice one too. We definitely need more prehistoric amphibians being made.

057 (2003 Expo) Acrocanthosaurus

I guess Kaiyodo had a thing for black-&-white megatheropods: Tyrannosaurus, Allosaurus, Acrocanthosaurus and Tarbosaurus all got variations on this theme. I do think it looks pretty good overall, but it's kind of funny in hindsight when many of us lament companies like Safari and PNSO going through color "trends" nowadays.

070 Trochosaurus

A therocephalian! If I had known about this figurine when Walking With Beasts or Primeval were airing, I would have been eagerly on the hunt for this unique creature. I'm kind of surprised there aren't at least a few more therapsids on the market following those shows, but I guess the demand hasn't shown strongly enough.

Series 4 selections up next!

[Crackington]

Fantastic little figures those Kaiyodos and agree that they still hold up well today! Small is beautiful 

[Fembrogon]

Kaiyodo Dinotales Series 4 assortment
Out of all my Dinotales in the bestiary, the Series 4 figures might collectively be my favorites; I feel like Kaiyodo peaked here with the quality of their sculpts, while maintaining a great variety of genera. For what it's worth, I have yet to obtain any series 6 or 7 figurines to compare with.

074 Therizinosaurus

The color scheme of this one reminds me a little of the Land of Giants WWD special. I love how tall and portly the figurine is; therizinosaurs are remarkable to me for how very un-theropod-like they appear, and that's perfectly captured here.

075 Megalania

With how many "giant great white" megalodon toys there are, I'm a little surprised there aren't more "giant komodo dragon" Megalania toys. Kaiyodo of course delivers a very fine rendition, although I'm behind on the science for the creature, so I don't know how well it's aged.

076 Pteranodon

This might be one of the finest renditions I've seen of the classic pterosaur to date; it's a truly majestic little figurine with a splendid silhouette, full of fine details. I'll have to refresh myself on Pteranodon science sometime to see just how well this figurine holds up.

I'm also curious what sort of fish it's got in its beak. Any guesses, @Halichoeres? It doesn't look quite so generic to me.

077 Xenacanthus

More weird prehistoric sharks are very welcome; it's criminal there aren't more on the market. Xenacanthus in particular is a genus I recall showing up a lot in books; it's one of those animals which has that codified prehistoric "look" to it in its features. Kaiyodo knocks the aesthetics of this one out of the park once again.

078 Douvilleiceras

Another new ammonite for me; this one's a bit more showy than the Series 1 Pachydiscus. I admit I don't find it as attention-grabbing as the others in this set, but it's still very nice.

082 Eryon

This little guy, however, might be my very favorite of the bunch. Do crustaceans translate super well to toy form and I've been overlooking it all this time? I can't imagine anyone else in the industry tackling a genus like this, but I'm so glad Kaiyodo did. I'd bet a lot of collectors discovered this genus thanks to Dinotales, as I have.

083 Ceratosaurus

The most traditional choice of this lot, but still standout in presentation. Kaiyodo rarely is so extravagant with their dinosaur colors anymore, probably for both cost-cutting and current science. Kind of a shame, though.

084 Ceratosaurus skull

Not much to say about this one other than it's a pretty nice-looking skull. It also assembles way, way more easily than that awful trike skull I got a while ago.

Next up: Series 5!

[JimoAi]

@Fembrogon what's the wingspan on the Pteranodon?

[Fembrogon]

@Fembrogon what's the wingspan on the Pteranodon?

The wingspan is just over 12 cm (4.75 in), so it's a bit on the larger side for a Dinotales figure.


Kaiyodo Dinotales, Series 5 assortment

087(A) Tyrannosaurus

This was Kaiyodo's third original T. rex sculpt for the dinotales line, and in my opinion one of the weakest. It's not bad, mind you; it just feels the most dated, what with how lean it is. The display pose is pretty neat, though.

088(A) Triceratops

Follwing the trend of skinny dinosaurs, this figure is at least a distinct upgrade from the rather plain series 1 version. As I recall, it was the review of this very figure on the Dinosaur Toy Blog which first taught me about proper ceratopsian foot shapes; so in a weird way this figurine is a bit nostalgic for me? I'm pleased to own it for myself after all this time.

090(A) Plateosaurus

The dinosaur most in need of representation out of this set. The figurine looks pretty badly shrinkwrapped, but the hands and feet look terrific. Kaiyodo, this is one dinosaur (of many, really - anything but another T-rex) I wouldn't mind you revisiting soon.

091(A) Carnotaurus

This sculpt has seen some good business, having been retooled for the 2018 Capsule Q set (and the reissue of said set this year). It's a pretty solid likeness of the animal, and as always Kaiyodo impresses me with the fine details in sculpt and paint.

092(B) Eryops

The most exciting figure of the Series by far! I don't think I realized how badly I was in need of an Eryops toy; it's criminal this iconic amphibian is so poorly represented. Kaiyodo does a nice job of depicting it more alert than I used to see in books.

093(A) Oviraptor

Another familiar theropod that is strangely lacking in really good figures. Kaiyodo once again takes the cake. I'd love to see them do more oviraptorosaurs sometime.

094(B) Pachycephalosaurus

A nice rendition of the classic head-butter. I have mixed feelings about bases on figures, but Kaiyodo has always been good about getting the most out the support bases provide.

From what I've seen, Series 5 is where Kaiyodo's diversity of genera first started it's decline - fewer figures per set, and a higher likelihood of repeat animals like the ever-present T-rex. Kaiyodo still wasn't lacking for quality, though; at some point I hope to acquire some Series 6 & 7 figurines too.

Next time, a few special variants and group shots to wrap up the Dinotales tour.

[Halichoeres]

The Pteranodon's fish doesn't positively look like anything I recognize, but there are a lot of contemporaries that can be eliminated based on shape: beryciform fishes, pachycormids, ichthyodectids. What's left are herringlike fishes and plethodids. I guess if I squint it looks slightly more like the latter?

[Fembrogon]

Thanks for the guesses, @Halichoeres; I'll use that as a basis when I get a chance to investigate further.


Kaiyodo Dinotales: Jurassic Park Institute (limited edition) assortment

In 2003 Kaiyodo did a limited-run collaboration with the mighty Jurassic Park brand. All of the figures released were repaints of pre-exiting molds, I think, now sporting JP-appropriate colors. A few of these were mixed in with the lots I acquired.

JP Brachiosaurus


JP Parasaurolophus


comparison with the original Series 1(B) version


JP Stegosaurus skeleton


...And here are the entire lots together!

Series 1-3 sculpts


Series 4-5 sculpts


What a terrific run the Dinotales series had. I'm very glad Kaiyodo is still in the prehistory business, even if their output isn't as wide as it used to be.

Next time, it's back to "regular-sized" entries.