HAOLONGGOOD - New for 2024

[thomasw100]

@Cretaceous Crab the neck is less of a liability than you might think. Sauropods have cervical ribs and the vertebrae themselves are thick, being wider than the animal's head. Not to mention that the neck itself was muscular. Think of it more as a continuation of the torso than some frail junture.

But would such fleshy display features on the neck not unnecessarily increase the weight of the neck which was optimized for lightweight with the pleurocels?

[Ajax88]

I assume a reviewer might go over this but until then I just want to put it out there, is the head of the argentinosaurus like kind of huge? I just look at that one pic of it with all the other sauropods and think dam. Especially compared to the mamenchi, but then again maybe mamenchi just has a small head?

Yes, in general Macronarians had pretty hefty heads in sauropod standards. Huge titnosaurs like Argentinosaurs probably had skulls well over a meter long. Brachiosaurus, at only around 2/3rds the length of Argentinosaurus, had a skull roughly 80cm long.

[Ajax88]

@Cretaceous Crab the neck is less of a liability than you might think. Sauropods have cervical ribs and the vertebrae themselves are thick, being wider than the animal's head. Not to mention that the neck itself was muscular. Think of it more as a continuation of the torso than some frail junture.

But would such fleshy display features on the neck not unnecessarily increase the weight of the neck which was optimized for lightweight with the pleurocels?

Yes, you are probably correct.  The image was mainly used to represent the atithesis to plain, gray sauropod reconstructions. I doubt it was meant as a true life-like representation. Sauropod necks were well designed with weight saving anatomy, but patches of bright color and a few lightweight spines were certianly enough for display purposes.

[Leyster]

But would such fleshy display features on the neck not unnecessarily increase the weight of the neck which was optimized for lightweight with the pleurocels?

Not if they were filled with air sacs. There are birds with similar displays, and they fly.

[Flaffy]

I asked EverythingDinosaur last week to see if it was possible to reserve a model of 001 Purple ver. Argentinosaurus given its scarcity.

Unfortunately I have not gotten a response back. Based on this uncertainly, I reckon I'll be sticking with my Lana preorder this time around.

[Ajax88]

But would such fleshy display features on the neck not unnecessarily increase the weight of the neck which was optimized for lightweight with the pleurocels?

Not if they were filled with air sacs. There are birds with similar displays, and they fly.

It would be a VERY bad idea to have a structure that large and delicate connected to your lungs.

[thomasw100]

Argentinosaurus has now climbed up to number 2 of all Haolonggood products at Lana Time Shop sorted by best selling. Number 1 is still Alamosaurus and number 3 is now Mamenchisaurus (was number 2 before). There could not be any better proof that these large 1:35 scale sauropods are a success story.

[Sim]

I'm hoping the success of their sauropods leads to Haolonggood making Barosaurus.  And maybe Brontosaurus.  But Barosaurus is the one I need, after that is made I'd be happy for Haolonggood to make any other sauropod, even Diplodocus.  A Plateosaurus is very much needed as well though.

[Flaffy]

I'm hoping the success of their sauropods leads to Haolonggood making Barosaurus.  And maybe Brontosaurus.  But Barosaurus is the one I need, after that is made I'd be happy for Haolonggood to make any other sauropod, even Diplodocus.  A Plateosaurus is very much needed as well though.

For me I'd like to see a return to a few smaller sauropods first before the next big event. Shunosaurus and Nigersaurus are pretty high on my list, would serve as perfect "appetisers" .

[Carnoking]

I dread the thought of them making more of these big sauropods, especially if they have plans for more Titanosaurs.

The most obvious concern I have would be the question of space, which I think we can all relate to to some extent. Second, if they were to make animals like Dreadnoughtus or Patagotitan, or even Barosaurus and Diplodocus, all these would start to feel like variations on the same idea, especially when it comes to making animals that are used to inform the life appearance of less complete relatives. And finally, it would really start to water down just how special a release like this Argentinosaurus is. Something so large is sure to make for a show stopping centerpiece to any 1:35 scale collection, but if there's a lot of these figures coming out every few months, it kind of loses its luster.

Of course, it would be a simple soulution to just not buy every big Sauropod HLG should choose to make(crazy, I know), but without knowing what to expect, it makes it really hard to say which figure is going to tickle your fancy the most, or even if more will get made. So do you skip this Argentinosaurus and hope for another massive sauropod you like more down the line? Or buy it because its such an impressive and novel release only for HLG to unveil another shelf-eater you like more later on? Makes me pine for the good old days of figure releases where a company would show off everything planned for the year and that would be it and you could plan accordingly. HAOLONGGOOD sort of did this with their catalogue earlier this year but there have been a few surprises here and there, and I don't relish the idea of ponying up the cash for this big boy only for something else to come along that could very well replace it. Obviously we can expect a Brachiosaurus/Giraffatitan at some point but even that feels like it's at least in a different "class".

But perhaps that is just the double edged sword we're faced with in this golden age of model collecting.

[Sim]

The most obvious concern I have would be the question of space, which I think we can all relate to to some extent.

Yes, I know what you mean about space.  I'm doing what you mentioned later on, not buying all of Haolonggood's large sauropods.  Out of all of them I only have the Apatosaurus.  I actually don't have much space left for figures, but I've decided I would be happy to give space up for a nice Barosaurus.  My space is set up in such a way that if I use it for one big sauropod figure I have room for another very large figure too, the space wouldn't be able to be fully used by smaller figures.  I might get the Haolonggood brachiosaurid to fill the remaining space next to a Barosaurus figure if it gets made.  I don't have a brachiosaurid currently, and I'd like to get to know one better through a figure of one.

Second, if they were to make animals like Dreadnoughtus or Patagotitan, or even Barosaurus and Diplodocus, all these would start to feel like variations on the same idea, especially when it comes to making animals that are used to inform the life appearance of less complete relatives.

You mean like how Maiasaura and Edmontosaurus look like variations of the same idea?   Or Alamosaurus and Argentinosaurus?
I won't support making more large titanosaurians, they are all fragmentary and tend to have their gaps filled in the same way, consequently looking essentially the same.
Haolonggood's only diplodocid is Apatosaurus. Barosaurus and Diplodocus looked fairly different to it and appear to have lived noticeably different to it.  Apatosaurines such as Apatosaurus appear to have used their neck for fighting, which is reflected in the Haolonggood figure which has spikes on its neck.  Diplodocines such as Barosaurus and Diplodocus don't have the morphology for that, so I think they would have behaved noticeably different.  I find the image below very good at showing the difference between these two types of diplodocids, Apatosaurus is at the top and Diplodocus at the bottom.
  (Image source)
Notice how much wider and heavily built Apatosaurus is compared to Diplodocus in the torso and especially in the neck.  Apatosaurus also has a larger head which is wider too.  And notice the longer neck in Diplodocus compared to Apatosaurus's, Barosaurus had an even longer neck!
I think a diplodocine would be distinct enough from Apatosaurus for it to be worth being made by Haolonggood.  I would prefer Barosaurus to be the one to get made as it has no good figures, despite being known from good remains and having a unique look (to me it looks like a cross between Diplodocus and Mamenchisaurus).  In contrast, Diplodocus has a number of good figures already (Wild Safari, Eofauna, Carnegie Collection, REBOR).

And finally, it would really start to water down just how special a release like this Argentinosaurus is. Something so large is sure to make for a show stopping centerpiece to any 1:35 scale collection, but if there's a lot of these figures coming out every few months, it kind of loses its luster.

I don't know, I don't find myself feeling that way..

The most obvious solution to all of these issues would be to just not buy every big Sauropod HLG should choose to make, but without knowing what to expect, it makes it really hard to say which figure is going to tickle your fancy the most, or even if more will get made. So do you skip this Argentinosaurus and hope for another massive sauropod you like more down the line? Or buy it because its such an impressive and novel release only for HLG to unveil another shelf-eater you like more later on?

I think if you like a figure and can afford it, it's worth getting it.  If Haolonggood later makes another large sauropod you like better, surely that wouldn't change how much you like the figure you bought before it?  The Haolonggood Argentinosaurus is so high quality that I can't imagine someone would change their mind about liking it if a new large sauropod came from Haolonggood.  You either like it or you don't, I think.

[Turkeysaurus]

I dread the thought of them making more of these big sauropods, especially if they have plans for more Titanosaurs.

There is/was a huge gap at realistic great quality 1/35 sauropods in market. Haolonggood took a courageous move while other brands preferred stay safe. Fortune favors the bold , i hope HLG would make a good money and fame out of these so they get rewarded.

Right now HLG is only option for scientifically correct 1/35 large sauropods at great quality. It might be wise move produce more before others wake up and want their share of these dinosaurs.

Downside buyers might be more selective once 1/35 sauropods are regular thing. Large sauropods especially with shipping cost might become to much for collector. They might want to skip Barosaurus becase they already have diplodocus and rather spend for 5-10 smaller dinosaurs.

[Flaffy]

I feel like you can only get away with producing the most popular species for these giant sauropod figures.

I suspect there's good demand for the absolutely massive 1/35 Argentinosaurus because:
1) It's popularised as THE largest species of dinosaur ever known
2) A figure of this magnitude is unprecedented in the scientific dinosaur collecting community

[Carnoking]

Sim, You certainly got me on the whole lookalike argument with the Maiasaura/Edmontosaurus example! I mean, I'm someone who unabashedly purchased every PNSO Tyrannosaur and Carcharodontosaur they put out, not to mention multiple Nanmu models of the same movie design, so no, I suppose I shouldn't have any compunctions with HLG deciding to make similar looking animals, or even animals of a fragmentary nature at that.

I think it all comes back to the size and cost of these bigger figures for me. If I'm going to sink that much money and allot that much shelf real estate for one figure, I'd rather it look pretty distinct from its companions in one way or another (excluding size of course), which is why I'm specifically wary of them making more massive Titanosaurs given how much of our reconstructions of those animals are often based on close relatives. For some reason, it would just feel more repetitious in that specific case, even more so than with Tyrannosaurs, Saurolophines, or even members of Diplodocidae. Not to mention the resources needed to keep up with that potential output. It's looking like this figure will very well be the most I've spent on a single dinosaur model, and I could probably buy every PNSO Tyrannosaur for that price and keep them all on the same shelf it would take just to hold this figure!

And whereas I do certainly like this figure and find it's worth getting, my concern (going back to space and funds again) is if they were to turn around a make a Dreadnoughtus or Patagotitan or something or other that I like more. I might still appreciate the Argentinosaurus, but purchasing it does lead to certain preclusions when it comes to considering other figures down the road for the collection. Sure, you could always store or sell a figure to make room for ones you like more, but even those options aren't 100% satisfactory to me.

But hey, don't let me be a debbie downer, none of this is to say that HLG shouldn't go down the path of making more massive 1/35 scale figures or that they're unnecessary, just that the thought of them becoming a more regular occurrence gives me a twinge of anxiety. That said, if folks out here are excited for more enormous figures and are ready to catch 'em all, more power to them. It's truly an exciting time to be a dinosaur model collector.

[Rayeknor]

Where to preorder this besides Lana/EverythingDinosaur?

[thomasw100]

Sim, You certainly got me on the whole lookalike argument with the Maiasaura/Edmontosaurus example! I mean, I'm someone who unabashedly purchased every PNSO Tyrannosaur and Carcharodontosaur they put out, not to mention multiple Nanmu models of the same movie design, so no, I suppose I shouldn't have any compunctions with HLG deciding to make similar looking animals, or even animals of a fragmentary nature at that.

I think it all comes back to the size and cost of these bigger figures for me. If I'm going to sink that much money and allot that much shelf real estate for one figure, I'd rather it look pretty distinct from its companions in one way or another (excluding size of course), which is why I'm specifically wary of them making more massive Titanosaurs given how much of our reconstructions of those animals are often based on close relatives. For some reason, it would just feel more repetitious in that specific case, even more so than with Tyrannosaurs, Saurolophines, or even members of Diplodocidae. Not to mention the resources needed to keep up with that potential output. It's looking like this figure will very well be the most I've spent on a single dinosaur model, and I could probably buy every PNSO Tyrannosaur for that price and keep them all on the same shelf it would take just to hold this figure!

And whereas I do certainly like this figure and find it's worth getting, my concern (going back to space and funds again) is if they were to turn around a make a Dreadnoughtus or Patagotitan or something or other that I like more. I might still appreciate the Argentinosaurus, but purchasing it does lead to certain preclusions when it comes to considering other figures down the road for the collection. Sure, you could always store or sell a figure to make room for ones you like more, but even those options aren't 100% satisfactory to me.

But hey, don't let me be a debbie downer, none of this is to say that HLG shouldn't go down the path of making more massive 1/35 scale figures or that they're unnecessary, just that the thought of them becoming a more regular occurrence gives me a twinge of anxiety. That said, if folks out here are excited for more enormous figures and are ready to catch 'em all, more power to them. It's truly an exciting time to be a dinosaur model collector.

I think this depends a lot on what preferences and strategies people have for their collection. For my part, I do only collect scientifically reasonably accurate figures and no articulated figures. This means no BOTM and no Jurassic world figures. Therefore, I restrict myself to PNSO, Haolonggood and few selected resin models. Further I restrict myself to herbivore dinosaurs (with very few exceptions), so I could skip all the megatheropods. I do not collect marine reptiles, pterosaurs and extinct mammals (although some Eofauna figures are really tempting). Finally, I collect one figure per species (again with very few exceptions). This way, I will be able to accommodate a few more large sauropod figures in the years to come. I think the bottom line is that unless you have a very large amount of space available, you have to limit your collection one way or another.

[Duna]

Where to preorder this besides Lana/EverythingDinosaur?

Yes, I would like to know that. Those re-shippings from Lana or Everything Dinosaur (that is not now UE) are very expensive to my country and have to go through Customs.
I would like to know if there is the possibility to preorder from Aliexpress (as other figures could) so I could know the shipping costs and the total price, taxes included.

[thomasw100]

Where to preorder this besides Lana/EverythingDinosaur?

Yes, I would like to know that. Those re-shippings from Lana or Everything Dinosaur (that is not now UE) are very expensive to my country and have to go through Customs.
I would like to know if there is the possibility to preorder from Aliexpress (as other figures could) so I could know the shipping costs and the total price, taxes included.

For people residing in the EU ordering from Everything Dinosaur is kind of pointless. You pay customs fees twice. First you pay indirectly for the charges that Everything Dinosaur has to pay upon import from China. Then you pay customs fees once more for import from the United Kingdom into the EU. You could contact Speelboer in the Netherlands. They are the Haolonggood reseller in the EU actually.

[SenSx]

Where to preorder this besides Lana/EverythingDinosaur?

Yes, I would like to know that. Those re-shippings from Lana or Everything Dinosaur (that is not now UE) are very expensive to my country and have to go through Customs.
I would like to know if there is the possibility to preorder from Aliexpress (as other figures could) so I could know the shipping costs and the total price, taxes included.

For people residing in the EU ordering from Everything Dinosaur is kind of pointless. You pay customs fees twice. First you pay indirectly for the charges that Everything Dinosaur has to pay upon import from China. Then you pay customs fees once more for import from the United Kingdom into the EU. You could contact Speelboer in the Netherlands. They are the Haolonggood reseller in the EU actually.

Are you sure about that ?
Because I thought you only paid taxes once.
And comparing the prices between Lana and Everythingdinosaurs, they seem even (if you don't have to pay taxes from UK).
However things could change with this heavy Argentinosaurus, maybe it will be cheaper with Everythingdinosaur this time, instead of rail shipping from China ?

[PoptartDoodle]

It sucks about the Argentinosaurus paywall to get Huayangosaurus because I'm still unsure I have the funds or space for it, but it's not the end of the world.
Though it has me worried about the remaining ceratopsids on their catalog, as well as having to look at future catalogs they release with a grain of salt since it seems any small model could get sucked into a large sauropod exclusive purchase.