Carnegie prototypes or real releases?

[Dinoguy2]

I'm not posting this in the ID thread because I know what they are, just looking for anyone who may know whether these are unreleased prototypes or if these variants were ever actually available. Both are from a 1988 brochure pictured in Joe DeMarco's Dinosauriana book. Both also appear in the 1989 Schleich catalog.

First up is a dark green version of the first Carnegie T. rex sculpt. I suspect something like it was released because I've seen dark green versions in people's collections, but not clearly enough to know if it matches this model. Particularly, the ones I've seen have white bellies while this is more yellow, almost like an alternate version of the dark green and bright orange version.


Next is a very unique looking early take on Dimetrodon in orange and green. Anybody know or have any of these?

[SBell]

I know the original Safari models were said to have a 'gold' wash on them--maybe it refers to the yellow wash/highlights on figures like this? I wouldn't know, I don't have any of the first runs (except the mosasaur...but that was a later era)

[Dinoguy2]

I know the original Safari models were said to have a 'gold' wash on them--maybe it refers to the yellow wash/highlights on figures like this? I wouldn't know, I don't have any of the first runs (except the mosasaur...but that was a later era)

Yeah, most of the figures pictured in this ad do seem to be the glossy "gold wash" versions. As opposed to the very rubbery "dull wash" versions in a variety of very matte gray or dingy looking paint. Some are more gold than others and some versions seem to be simplified with just flat yellow paint rather than a tint or wash. I'm just not sure how many of these were actually released rather than painted up for the ad though. For example a lot in this add have dull wash color patterns but obviously glossy and gold tinted paint, while the dull wash were not fully painted. And weirdly the little insert photo photo if the collection with POP display show the actual dull wash models, which I do have most of. That would make me think the glossy gold ones in the main photo are prototypes except that I've seen a few of them for sale on German eBay and in other people's collections (for example a post on version 1 by Webdragon shows the gold wash Triceratops with spots on it's frill).

Edit: here's the full ad so you can kind of see what I'm talking about here.

It's hard to see the insert photo but they are the muddy gray dull wash and very different color from the ones in the big photo. I personally have the Maiasaura, Protoceratops, Smilodon, Euoplocephslus, Baby Apato, and Allosaurus that look basically identical to these. I've seen the Diplo, Pteranodon, Australopithecines, Stegosaurus, and Triceratops looking pretty much as these do. So it's likely the others actually exist out there somewhere, but it seems odd that there don't seem to be any in-hand images of them anywhere.

[Ikessauro]

Nice thread. I have never seen the bright green T.rex with yellow belly though. Not sure it was ever produced, but if it was, there must be a few out there for us completists to find

On a similar note, I have been looking for years for a variant of the Parasaurolophus that might not exist. It is the Yellow Parasaurolophus from 1989.
I found a catalog shot of it on Randy Knoll's Dinosaur Collector Website, with very low resolution, but clearly a yellow version of it.


It is basically the same color scheme as the green one, with dark brown stripes, but instead of green it looks to be a dark yellow body and lighter yellow head.

I always loved this color. I have a vague memory of seeing one for sale on eBay back in the old DTF days, but at the time this was not a priority on my list, I didn't think Carnegie was going to be discontinued anytime soon and for sure I didn't realize it could be a rare variant.

But again, the memory is so vague I can't be sure I am not suffering from some sort of false memory case...

Lately I went on to search for proof it was not an unreleased variant or some sort color distorted picture (maybe a sun bleached catalog or a toy itself??)
The first clue I found to support it's existance is that Safari produced a mini (baby?) Parasaurolophus for the Authentics Dinosaur set back in early 90"s that is exactly this color. Bright yellow with brown stripes and claws. But this doesn't prove it for sure, since other Authentics are different in color from their larger models in the Carnegie line.


But in a Google Image search a few months ago I found this, a picture that could be proof of the yellow parasaurolophus. It was on archive from an old eBay Auction, but the listing is no longer available, so there's no way to get a larger image or more info.


This leads me to think that:

1 - This Yellow Para really was produced, but it was a very short lived run

OR

2 - the model color in the catalog shot is a result of color distortion, where the catalog image was changed by editing or the catalog itself was sun bleached before being scanned/photographed and that the model in the eBay listing was also either sun bleached or the lighting in which it was photographed made it look yellow.
I don't believe the picture from ebay is a repaint, the paint looks pretty original to me, if that's something I could say.

I'd love to hear what you guys have to say about this one, specialy D @Dinoguy2


If anyone here has one of these, I'd love to see it and of course, if the owner considers selling, I'd be more than happy to pay well for it.

[Dinoguy2]

Nice thread. I have never seen the bright green T.rex with yellow belly though. Not sure it was ever produced, but if it was, there must be a few out there for us completists to find

On a similar note, I have been looking for years for a variant of the Parasaurolophus that might not exist. It is the Yellow Parasaurolophus from 1989.
I found a catalog shot of it on Randy Knoll's Dinosaur Collector Website, with very low resolution, but clearly a yellow version of it.


It is basically the same color scheme as the green one, with dark brown stripes, but instead of green it looks to be a dark yellow body and lighter yellow head.

I always loved this color. I have a vague memory of seeing one for sale on eBay back in the old DTF days, but at the time this was not a priority on my list, I didn't think Carnegie was going to be discontinued anytime soon and for sure I didn't realize it could be a rare variant.

But again, the memory is so vague I can't be sure I am not suffering from some sort of false memory case...

Lately I went on to search for proof it was not an unreleased variant or some sort color distorted picture (maybe a sun bleached catalog or a toy itself??)
The first clue I found to support it's existance is that Safari produced a mini (baby?) Parasaurolophus for the Authentics Dinosaur set back in early 90"s that is exactly this color. Bright yellow with brown stripes and claws. But this doesn't prove it for sure, since other Authentics are different in color from their larger models in the Carnegie line.


But in a Google Image search a few months ago I found this, a picture that could be proof of the yellow parasaurolophus. It was on archive from an old eBay Auction, but the listing is no longer available, so there's no way to get a larger image or more info.


This leads me to think that:

1 - This Yellow Para really was produced, but it was a very short lived run

OR

2 - the model color in the catalog shot is a result of color distortion, where the catalog image was changed by editing or the catalog itself was sun bleached before being scanned/photographed and that the model in the eBay listing was also either sun bleached or the lighting in which it was photographed made it look yellow.
I don't believe the picture from ebay is a repaint, the paint looks pretty original to me, if that's something I could say.

I'd love to hear what you guys have to say about this one, specialy D @Dinoguy2


If anyone here has one of these, I'd love to see it and of course, if the owner considers selling, I'd be more than happy to pay well for it.

I believe a yellow Parasaurolophus like you describe does exist, however, the photos you posted seem to be color distortion (note the shadow in the first one is also yellow). Also, the all-yellow head version seems, at least based on my research, to be quite late (mid-90s or so). Prior to this, the head was either white and yellow, or all white, or even unpainted/greenish as in the 1990 Safari catalog version (which I did see on eBay a few times but didn't buy for some reason). If a 1989 yellow version exists, it should ironically not have a yellow face.

Juan Ramon Perez Martinez, who has a lot more Carnegie variants than me, has the real yellow one shown in this pic he posted to one of the dino collector facebook groups:

Note that not only is it yellow, it lacks black markings on the face, unlike most other paras with the exception of the dull wash versions.

This version is also similar to the one that appeared in the 1989 Schleich catalog:


I'd love to get my hands on this one day, but I have never seen it for sale. I much prefer this to the standard version with black markings, which for some unfathomable reason are nearly always painted asymmetrically. I think they must have been doing these by machine or something, there's no way all their painters would make the same mistake over and over again across versions for several years.

[sauroid]

very interesting thread

[EmperorDinobot]

I used to have that catalog!!!!!!!!