Looking for a good Icthyasaur

[jc_4130]

Doing a little marine reptiles display.  So far I am getting the PNSO Tylosaurus and Kronosaurus (I guess technically Eiectus now) to represent Mosasaurs and Pliosaurs.

  As far as quality and price I really like PNSO, but not sure about their Icthyasaurs.  And I was looking for something in scale with the other two (about 1/35?).  Opthalmosasaurus is nice but seems way out of scale.  Eurhinosaurus has some shape accuracy issues.  Himalayasaurus is intriguing but seems to be based on very fragmentary data - maybe it's close to another better known genus?  Any other suggestions around 1/35 scale?

[Halichoeres]

J @jc_4130 there's always the Walking with Dinosaurs Ophthalmosaurus by Toyway:

It's closer to 1:20 than 1:35, but the PNSO version is probably more like 1:10.

And there's the CollectA Excalibosaurus, but it's more like 1:40 or 1:45:


Truth is there just aren't that many options for ichthyosaurs in the scale you're requesting.

[jc_4130]

Yes it seems good options are limited even though there initially seemed like so many.  Given how quickly things are being released, maybe I should just wait for now .

Of what's available, Himalayasaurus seems like the best fit.  Although little is known of Himalayasaurus proper, it seems like a fairly accurate representative of a generic large icthyosaur.  Plus it seems to be about the scale I want, and as an 'apex predator' icthyosaur it fits well with the theme of the other models.

[Halichoeres]

Of course there's always the good old bird-muppet Schleich Shonisaurus!

[Duna]

Safari new ichthyosaurus is good, too. Not sure about the scale:

[postsaurischian]

Safari new ichthyosaurus is good, too. Not sure about the scale:

 As Ichthyosaurus it would be a bit too large for 1:35 of course, but I think it would make a nice display with the larger PNSO marine reptiles.
 I would choose this one, it's highly accurate, very beautiful and to be honest, there are a few larger ichthyosaurs that look pretty similar to Ichthyosaurus .

[ItsTwentyBelow]

Halichoeres - why would you recommend the Schleich Shonisaurus and Toyway Opthalmosaurus to this person? Those two are long out of production and not at all easy to find for a good price.

I have a good 3-piece ichthyosaur display on the bathroom counter right now consisting of the PNSO Eurhinosaurus, PNSO Himalayasaurus, and the CollectA Excalibosaurus, with Schleich man standing among them for a 1:40 scale reference. I'd recommend the PNSO Eurhino as one of the best widely available ichthys currently.

[Concavenator]

I also recommend the Safari Ichthyosaurus, I have it and I'm happy with it - it's accurate, beautiful and very affordable.

[Halichoeres]

Yeah, the Safari Ichthyosaurus is great, as was the Carnegie before it; I only left it out because it's at a very large scale relative to what the first post seemed to ask for. Even the Kaiyodo Ichthyosaurus is about 1:20 or 1:25.

[jc_4130]

I'd recommend the PNSO Eurhino as one of the best widely available ichthys currently.

Unfortunately it looks like Eurhinosaurus has some shape errors, which would annoy me.

The Safari Ichthyosaurus is tempting.  It's definitely out of scale but as postsaurischian said, there are some larger relatives of similar shape.  And it has the 'classic' Ichthyosaur shape.  And it's cheap.  Unfortunately it seems to be sold out at any legit looking shop - out of production?  Still thinking about Himalayasaurus, but honestly I have trouble giving PNSO the benefit of the doubt that there is a solid basis for the animal.  As far as I know only small fragments of the animal have been found.

I think this is a sign to hold off for a bit and see if something better comes along.  And maybe a good plesiosaur, of which there are even fewer options.  I have the Safari Elasmosaurus, which is a solid shape but a bit small in scale (and the face is on the cartoonish side)

[Shane]

The Safari Ichthyosaurus is tempting.  It's definitely out of scale but as postsaurischian said, there are some larger relatives of similar shape.  And it has the 'classic' Ichthyosaur shape.  And it's cheap.  Unfortunately it seems to be sold out at any legit looking shop - out of production? 

For the record, it's not out of production.

It should be coming back into stock on the Safari Ltd store site very soon.

[Shane]

Just an update on my previous post -

The ichthyosaurus is back up on the Safari Ltd site for anyone interested.

https://www.safariltd.com/products/ichthyosaurus

[jc_4130]

Just went to order it... but $25 minimum order?  Balls.  I've been meaning to get the Eofauna Kononbelodon so I may as well wait until it's in stock at Dan's Dinosaurs or somewhere like that.

[Halichoeres]

Halichoeres - why would you recommend the Schleich Shonisaurus and Toyway Opthalmosaurus to this person? Those two are long out of production and not at all easy to find for a good price.

I didn't notice this comment before, but given how few options there are I figured it was best to cast a wide net. I'd have left them out if there had been anything in the OP to specify "must be in production" or "must be under $30" or anything like that. There are only about 8 ichthyosaur figures in production and only maybe 3 remotely fit the stated criteria.