What plants would you like companies to make?

[Faelrin]

Oh of course an actual figure would be great, I just couldn't help but make that connection when I saw the art for it (again).

[Halichoeres]

I voted for all ten because I think that far too often, prehistoric plants are treated only as a backdrop and not as actors in their own right. That's probably because they don't have eyes

Exactly! I'd buy all ten also, most in multiples.

[Halichoeres]

Anyone else care to vote?

[SidB]

I voted for all ten because I think that far too often, prehistoric plants are treated only as a backdrop and not as actors in their own right. That's probably because they don't have eyes

Exactly! I'd buy all ten also, most in multiples.

I'd get all ten also if the opportunity ever arose.

[Halichoeres]

I voted for all ten because I think that far too often, prehistoric plants are treated only as a backdrop and not as actors in their own right. That's probably because they don't have eyes

Exactly! I'd buy all ten also, most in multiples.

I'd get all ten also if the opportunity ever arose.

I imagine you have all or most of the CollectA and Safari plants?

[SidB]

I voted for all ten because I think that far too often, prehistoric plants are treated only as a backdrop and not as actors in their own right. That's probably because they don't have eyes

Exactly! I'd buy all ten also, most in multiples.

I'd get all ten also if the opportunity ever arose.

I imagine you have all or most of the CollectA and Safari plants?

You've certainly called that one right, @Halichoeres . I know the conundrum that companies face, or at least I imagine so, that is - same design and production costs as fauna, sharply less sales, so I applaud CollectA and Safari for what they've done. but understand why they haven't offered more, let alone other companies for that matter.

[Halichoeres]

The one format where plants have been common and thoughtfully done is the flat metal figures: Berliner, Brumm, Mignot, Schmalkalder. I guess these are products designed specifically with dioramas in mind. A diorama marketing angle might move some units now, but not as much as individual animals.

[Faelrin]

Even David's beautiful BotM accessory packs have appeared to sell poorly. As far as I know they were never restocked, and yet they remain, on sale for quite a while now. I am rather tempted to pick up a second batch as my first ones remain in storage where they have been inaccessible for a few years. They scale far better with the 1:18 (or even the 1:35) figures too (minus the 1:6 critters).

Only the Microraptor (forest) one is sold out, and that's perhaps due to having Microraptor in the first place.

[Halichoeres]

Even David's beautiful BotM accessory packs have appeared to sell poorly. As far as I know they were never restocked, and yet they remain, on sale for quite a while now. I am rather tempted to pick up a second batch as my first ones remain in storage where they have been inaccessible for a few years. They scale far better with the 1:18 (or even the 1:35) figures too (minus the 1:6 critters).

Only the Microraptor (forest) one is sold out, and that's perhaps due to having Microraptor in the first place.

He cast pearls before swine!

[Sim]

Everything Dinosaur once told me the Microraptor accessory pack was having an additional production run, so that one at least sold well enough to make it worth making more.

[Halichoeres]

Stuck at 15 members having voted for a while now. I expected better!

[Protopatch]

Yeah ? Nobody else wants more potential cool prehistoric verdure to embellish their dino settings ?

[Crackington]

Yes, come on and vote fellow members! The herbivores are getting hungry and it won't be long before the carnivores do too!!

[Halichoeres]

Yes, come on and vote fellow members! The herbivores are getting hungry and it won't be long before the carnivores do too!!

That's right, lack of plants is the real reason they went extinct.

[Newt]

OK, I'll be the one to say it. I wouldn't buy any of those. This is not because I don't like prehistoric plants - I very much do. It is not because I don't like the genera you listed - all perfectly lovely. It's because injection-molded plastic plants are unappealing. They look much less convincing than animals in the same medium, and much more like toddler-grade toys.

If any company offered plant figures that looked as much like plants as the better animal figures look like animals (and at a reasonable price point), I'd be first in line. But I've yet to see such a thing. 

I'm hopeful that some clever maker will take advantage of the recent proliferation of 3D printers, laser cutters and engravers, and so on to manufacture some quality paleo-plants. It seems like a niche too small to attract the bigger companies, but a small-timer with low overhead could succeed, and perhaps open up a market for the bigger companies. And of course the same technologies would apply equally to modern flora, which there is probably much more demand for - I'm sure many dollhouse enthusiasts would love some nice to-scale rosebushes and fruit trees, for example. 

[Halichoeres]

OK, I'll be the one to say it. I wouldn't buy any of those. This is not because I don't like prehistoric plants - I very much do. It is not because I don't like the genera you listed - all perfectly lovely. It's because injection-molded plastic plants are unappealing. They look much less convincing than animals in the same medium, and much more like toddler-grade toys.

If any company offered plant figures that looked as much like plants as the better animal figures look like animals (and at a reasonable price point), I'd be first in line. But I've yet to see such a thing.

I'm hopeful that some clever maker will take advantage of the recent proliferation of 3D printers, laser cutters and engravers, and so on to manufacture some quality paleo-plants. It seems like a niche too small to attract the bigger companies, but a small-timer with low overhead could succeed, and perhaps open up a market for the bigger companies. And of course the same technologies would apply equally to modern flora, which there is probably much more demand for - I'm sure many dollhouse enthusiasts would love some nice to-scale rosebushes and fruit trees, for example.

I get where you're coming from. I find the CollectA ones acceptable, but you're right that they don't look as elegant as some of their animals do. Stems and leaves made separately, perhaps from different materials, might be a way to make better plants, and they're among the few organisms I'll buy in a medium other than PVC. There's Favorite Co's Georama sets, which had resin trunks and PVC leaves; Aurora's snap-together plants in the Jungle Swamp set; Tamiya's plastic trunks with stiff paper leaves. 3d-prints and laser cutting as you suggest would extend that tradition. For the purposes of this poll, I'm not married to any particular type of manufacture.

[Newt]

In that case, I'd take most any of them, but with a preference for arborescent species, and special requests for Archaeopteris, Gigantopteris, and some sort of Cheirolepidiaceae.

[Justin_]

I agree that solid, injection-molded plants seldom look good, unless they are intentionally cartoony which could be a possibility, although is an even more niche market than cartoony dinosaurs. Realistic thin leaves and fronds would be very fragile on 3D prints, and tricky to paint. 3D printed trunks and laser cut foliage would result in very fiddly kits. Great only for people with the skills and patience, who could probably make their own from scratch. The best I've seen so far, in terms of practicality and detail, are the flat pewter ones.

[Protopatch]

Everything Dinosaur once told me the Microraptor accessory pack was having an additional production run, so that one at least sold well enough to make it worth making more.

I got this forest environment set a few months ago, and I find that the Araucaria tree included in the box is rather decent, not cartoony, even if it isn't especially "refined".
Which means, in my opinion, that the figure makers can technically produce cool prehistoric greenery without using cutting-edge materials/technologies and at reasonable prices^^

[Faelrin]

I think the plants from the wetlands set also look pretty good. I think I practically begged David (in person) for the fern from that set to be added to the mountain set back in the day. And uh thankfully he did. It really adds to the vibe.