The Same Old Starting Lineup - Put Me In, Coach!

[Newt]

A suggestion: forget about getting obscure creatures from the big companies. They can't afford to cater to the tiny section of the market represented by hard-core collectors. You know who can? Small-scale producers, many of whom are collectors themselves. There are several right here on this forum.

Buy their stuff! You may have to spend a few bucks more than you would for a comparable mass-produced piece, but you're getting a rare piece representing an obscure beast, and you're funding further production of more like it!

[stargatedalek]

For myself the problem with that isn't price but materials. I prefer plastic over resin or clay and that really does make or break a decision for me.

[Newt]

Resin and (polymer) clay are plastics. Problem solved! 

[stargatedalek]

True enough

But I prefer durable/flexible plastics, even Kaiyodo Dinotales is pushing it for me.

[Newt]

Interesting.

There are a lot of resins available, with variable characteristics. I think most small producers focus on harder resins that will hold more detail, but there's no reason they couldn't cast from the same molds in tougher, more flexible resins as well - except the eternal problem of return on investment (resin's expensive, and its shelf life isn't very long). If there are enough customers interested in such things, it might be worthwhile to offer both a "crisp" and a "tough" version of each model.

[Rogue1stClass]

There is at least one Triceratops figure I think everyone will agree is a very well done figure.  A certain figure from 1994 that will hopefully be re-issued with a new colour scheme soon...



I've never owned the Battat Triceratops, but it looks like the best mass-produced Triceratops figure to me.  I hope I'll be able to own the re-issue.  It's amazing how closely this figure that was originally released in 1994 matches Scott Hartman's 2013 Triceratops skeletal!:


Triceratops skeletal from here: http://scotthartman.deviantart.com/art/Triceratops-74215980

Oh, that's fantastic. Battat's release schedule has not been very good, but it looks like you can still get some resin versions of this Dan LaRusso sold through his Dinosaur Studio from Dan's Dinosaurs. It's $90 and unpainted, but I think that may be worth it.

[DinoLord]

Unfortunately I don't think the Dinosaur Studio website is still in business considering that Dan LoRusso passed away some months ago. However the Triceratops is still available from some third party sellers.

[Sim]

You're referring to the Triceratops on this page, right Rogue1stClass?: http://stores.dansdinosaurs.com/dinosaur-studio/  It's not the same figure as the Battat Triceratops, the pose is a little different.  It's also in 1:35 scale, while the Battat Triceratops is in 1:40 scale.  That resin figure and the Battat Triceratops were both sculpted by Greg Wenzel, who used to be part of The Dinosaur Studio.  You can see the 1:35 resin figure painted here: http://dinotoyforum.proboards.com/post/114553/thread  It is an amazing figure!

Each time I see the 1:35 Dinosaur Studio resin Allosaurus and Lambeosaurus I wish Dan and Greg had made Battat figures of those two..

[Rogue1stClass]

You're referring to the Triceratops on this page, right Rogue1stClass?: http://stores.dansdinosaurs.com/dinosaur-studio/  It's not the same figure as the Battat Triceratops, the pose is a little different.  It's also in 1:35 scale, while the Battat Triceratops is in 1:40 scale.  That resin figure and the Battat Triceratops were both sculpted by Greg Wenzel, who used to be part of The Dinosaur Studio.  You can see the 1:35 resin figure painted here: http://dinotoyforum.proboards.com/post/114553/thread  It is an amazing figure!

Each time I see the 1:35 Dinosaur Studio resin Allosaurus and Lambeosaurus I wish Dan and Greg had made Battat figures of those two..

Yeah, that's it. I did notice it isn't exactly the same figure, but it's close enough to my eye. That painted one is amazing, way better than I could do. I guess I need to see if these are in stock or if they got them from Dinosaur Studio when an order was placed. If I frame this as a project and not a toy, maybe $90 isn't that bad.

Dan's 1:35 Stegosaurus is the best I've seen of that animal, too. And I've been looking at David Krentz's Troodon model for a while. This could get expensive...