Hails and Greetings

[Thagirion]

Found this place through the original forum. Really enjoyed going through those archives.  I have loved dinosaurs since I was introduced to them back in 1st grade. Jurassic Park is in my top 5 favorite movies easily. I was a fan from the start back in 1993. Saw the movie three times in the theater and started to collect the toys and figures since then. I'm not one of those that has to have one of everything though. I collect the figures I like best.  I like realism in my figures and accuracy. I also love fierce and aggressive looks. I can't stand ugly poorly made toys.  I discovered the Papo toys a few years back and am slowly starting to collect those as well.  My collections are far from complete (some more than others) and I'm still on the look out for some rare stuff I've been hunting down for years. And though fictional I am also a major fan of Primal Rage.  What an awesome time for that game to be out when the hype for JP was at its highest.

As far as non dinosaur stuff I'm into sci-fi and action.  I'm an artist, a metal head, a carnivorous plant grower and an aviculturalist.  I love to travel and take photos for fun.  I am slowly working through my collections that have been boxed up for a very long time and hoping to display most of it.  I'm starting with my JP stuff and will have photos to share eventually.

[DinoToyForum]

Welcome! I'm glad to hear the archives are still being consulted 
Look forward to seeing your collection too!

[Thagirion]

Thank you. Yes, I did a search for one of my own toys and it came up. I was surprised to see it had moved then I found this one and glad it wasn't completely closed down.  I'll definitely post pics soon, though I don't really have any group shots. I've been cataloging them individually. So it's been a lot of work.

[DinoToyForum]

We only moved from the archive a couple of months ago, so the new forum isn't showing up very high on google yet.
But glad you found us anyway!

[Himmapaan]

Welcome, Thagirion. 

[Thagirion]

Thanks. Gald to be here. 

[Metallisuchus]

Hah! I knew you were a metalhead when I saw "Hails...". Me too, and same here with JP. It was released the summer I turned 11 and I was fascinated, though I was always a dinosaur (and heavy metal) enthusiast. I also saw the film several times in theaters, but now I can't recall if it was 3 or 5. I think it was 3...

So what metal are you into? I'm into stuff like Diamond Head, Venom, Budgie, Mercyful Fate, Angel Witch, Dissection, UFO, Saxon, etc.

I also love the Papo stuff, but I consider Carnegie/Safari to be my main interest because those are more affordable, easier to find, and offer more variety.

[Thagirion]

Hi Metallisuchus. I now get the reference in your name. JP came out my HS graduation year so that was very special.  It was a wonderful year. Got my first car so lots of good memories associated with JP.  Yes I too was always into dinos. I got out of it for a little while. There was one summer the Disney Channel (back when it was good) was having a "dragons and dinosuar" month. I wanted to record everything dinosaur related. I'd filled up a VCR tape and after all my hard work that was the first tape to ever break on me. I was so upset I kinda got out of dinos for a while.  JP brought me back.

As far as metal goes I like power, melodic death, melodic black, symphonic, progressive.  Almost anything as long as it's fast and has good music writing.  I don't like doom because it's too slow. As far as specific bands go Kalmah is my favorite but I also love Graveworm, Amon Amarth, Ale Storm, Iron Savoir, Gamma Ray, Stratovarious, King Diamond and Equilibrium.

I like realism and ultra detail which is why I like the Papos. Funny name but serious figures. It's what the JP toys should have been. If only they'd made the human figures too.  Carnegie is good. There's a few I like. Safari is too basic for my taste though I do have one figure of a velociraptor by them.  If I have others they were gifts. I'm very picky about all my collections.

BTW, I see we joined almost at the same time. I think you have been here a day longer. So welcome to you as well.

EDIT: Also it's cool we both chose Utahraptor as our dinosaur.

[anchry6]

Welcome!!

Good luck to finish your collection...

[Metallisuchus]

I've got tons of paleontology documentaries recorded on VHS & DVD-R's. It gets annoying when they recycle the same clips though. I guess I'm about 7-8 years younger than you, but when JP was still fresh in everybody's mind, Paleo-World was one of my favorite shows at the time. 

I get your taste - basically you like fast, tight, technical, melodic metal, for the most part. Me, I branched out in every direction. I love doom, but I don't find that the genre has a lot of great bands to offer, so the good ones are few and far between. Kalmah's a good band, but I only have 1 album by them. If you like that kind of stuff, check out Misty Fate from Columbia/Florida.

Yeah I think we share the same philosophy on replicas. I don't differentiate between Carnegie & Safari though, as they're both really Safari. Some of them suck (especially older ones), and some of them are great. I think the idea is that Carnegie designed their line on paper, and Safari manufactures them.

Yeah, I'm trying to get used to this thing too. This is my first forum ever. I generally dislike these things, but this is such a special forum to me that I had to join.

As a JP fan since 1993, raptors hold a special place in my heart, and Utahraptor was the king of the raptors, so he's one of my favorites.

[Thagirion]

Thanks Anarchy6, I'm working on it. Doesn't help that since I joined here now I've discovered new stuff I want.  It's good and it's bad haha.

Metallisuchus, I remember paleoworld. I think it was out while I was still in college. Yeah seems I'm a few years older than you then but close enough to have similar memories. I'm an 80's child for sure.

I get your taste - basically you like fast, tight, technical, melodic metal, for the most part.

That's right. Thanks for summing it up so well. I'll have to remember that as I have a hard time explaining it sometimes.

Well forums are better than places like facebook or twitter because they can have substance. They've been around since the 90's too but they can have their draw backs.

I'm fascinated by our similar tastes. Raptors are my faves too then tyrannosaurs are my seconds fave. I like theropods best and will always go for them first.  I loved the raptors in JP and well we know they were really Utahraptors so that's why I picked them for my profile.

[Metallisuchus]

My early memories are pretty good compared to most people my age, so my tastes for most things pop-culture is older than what you'd usually find in people born during the early 80's. I really loved that decade and some of the early 90's as well. Things were better - metal/rock, horror, video games, toys, pro-wrestling, action movies, etc. Even the pop music was better. I welcome all the cheesiness with open arms, haha.

Yeah, it's rather odd to have similar tastes. I know a lot of metal fans into the same sort of bands, but one who is into collecting dinosaur replicas is an odd coincidence, considering the fact that both (real) metal fans & dinosaur enthusiasts are somewhat rare.

Our favorite dinosaurs are probably very similar too, beyond raptors. I think naturally guys are drawn to the carnivores. Some of my favorites include tyrannosaurus, carnotaurus, giganotosaurus, mapusaurus, majungasaurus, carcharodontosaurus, spinosaurus, cryolophosaurus, alioramus, baryonyx, suchimimus... And I like dimetrodon a lot as well. Girls tend to favor herbivores for some reason.

[Thagirion]

I have great childhood memories too.  Loved the 80's. The 90's were very good to me too. I agree things were better then and how I wish I could go back in time and do it over knowing what I know now.  I love 80's pop and rock. That's my second fave after metal. Though I think pop went back in the early 90's and I let it go and concentrated soley on metal. I haven't listened to raido in decade. Don''t need it. I have a massive CD collection.

Yeah, it's rather odd to have similar tastes.

I don't think it's odd, I think it's cool. I'm such a rare breed I'm thrilled when I find someone I can relate to and can relate to me.   It's nice when fandoms and interests over lap, but yes some combinations are very rare and don't often happen or they are unidirectional.

Girls tend to favor herbivores for some reason.

Haha, yeah wimpy girly dinosaurs.  I'm so glad I'm not like that. I like all those dinos in your list too.  And then when I have nothing left but to chose herbivores I'd even go with the manly choice; the ceratopsians.  Triceratops, Styracosaurus etc as they are tough and not easy meals for the theropods. They're respectable.

I'm also a big fan of the Cambrian fauna which were all invertabrates.

[Metallisuchus]

Yeah I can't just have MP3's, or whatever they call 'em nowadays. Music fans collect RECORDS, not FILES! I mainly collect CD's out of convenience, but I do like vinyl and cassette as well.

Obviously, I didn't mean "odd" in any negative way, but just like you said, it's thrilling to find somebody with similar tastes, especially when it's on a multiple-level basis.

Oh, are you female? I guess I just assumed you were a guy for some reason. Same here when it comes to herbivores - the more dangerous, the more interesting. I like Euplocephalus, Stygimoloch, Kentrosaurus, and certopsians.

I must admit, I don't know much paleo-wise outside the Mesozoic, especially when it comes to sea creatures, but I do find crocodiles interesting.

[Thagirion]

I like to rip some of my albums to mp3 to have on my computer. That way I can just start them on media player without getting up to look for the album. But nothing beats having the real CD with the artwork.  I could have a complete album on mp3 first but I don't feel that I own it until I get a hard copy.  It has to be real that way and something I can really own.

Yes, I'm a female.  It's ok, everyone assumes I'm a guy. I don't mind really and I usually don't say anything unless they ask which is usually way later and then they're surprised.   I've never been into girl stuff.  There's very little cutesy stuff that I like. Mostly it makes me sick. As far as figures, cartoons and movies go. But I do like bright colors to wear so in that sense in real life I look like a typical girl.  Then I get the oppsite problem in real life and people are shocked when they find out how dark I really am despite my bright exterior.  Ah yes, Stygimoloch is awesome. Even love the name.  Not into sauropods at all and the duck bills  eh, they don't do much for me either. They're food for my raptors and tyrannosaurs.

Well I love evolution so studying the biological history of the earth has always fascinated me.  The Cenozoic is my least favorite era as I'm not much into mammals, but I do love birds the dino decendants.  I love biology in general so I do like the marine life too of the reptiles and ancient sharks.  Just all of it gets me rather excited when I think about it.

[Metallisuchus]

I used to do that - upload from CD to hard-drive. Mainly, it was for compilations. I was always big on making those. These days, I listen to music in the car, or I just look up whatever I want to hear on Youtube.

Image can be deceiving at times. It's obvious that I'm a metalhead when people see me, but they're surprised by my taste/knowledge of non-metal music at times, or that I'm not into getting high or partying much. Then of course, when people find out my intellectual interests, they're usually shocked. As if metal fans are just drunken, drugged-up, closed-minded idiots or something...

I like some sauropods, like Amargasaurus, Brachiosaurus, but generally they're just giant grazers and follow the same body form.

It's funny, I have one of those cut off denim jackets - you know, you put 'em over a biker jacket and throw patches and pins on 'em of your favorite bands. Well I have a few odd patches in my collection - a Tutankamen exhibit patch, and a Dinosaur Land, VA patch. Good to mix things up a little!

[Gryphoceratops]

haha I love primal rage.  Used to have all the action figures.  If I ever get a snake as a personal pet I'm naming her Vertigo. 

[Thagirion]

I hadn't expect this thread to come back up.  I've been looking through my folders trying to find my unfinished 3 page Primal Rage comic from back in the 90's.  I'm still obsessed with it and since Malidicus and I are still going through our collections boxes we came across some of the figures and will be putting them out. I'm trying to photograph all my JP stuff and now my Primal Rage stuff too as I'm a huge fan and had almost everything they made for it.