Help with Safari Ltd’s Bipeds

[Concavenator]

None of all 6 of Safari's theropods that I own (Acrocanthosaurus, 2017 Tyrannosaurus and Velociraptor, Citipati, 2019 Allosaurus, and Anzu  ) are able to stand by their own. It's quite frustrating because it gives the impression that every single Safari theropod that I buy will start falling over. It's okay that they sculpt their theropods without bases, but Safari should be aware that there are problems with that.

The only one I can't fault them for is the Anzu, because mine has a broken foot and thereby cannot stand. But with the other theropods, with the exception of the Acro, all follow the same pattern: Right when I get them they stand seemingly fine. But some time after, they start falling over. The T.rex lasted like a week before it started toppling over, and now it has scuffs all over (a shame since it's a gorgeous model). And the Allo lasted more, like 4 months, but now it's unable to stand on two feet and rests at its hand. Back when I got the Acro in 2012 it didn't stand even at first. For some reason, in 2018 I put it on a flat surface and surprisingly, it stood, so I placed it on the shelf not supported on the wall because it was not needed any longer. But again, for some reason, since some weeks ago , it has started falling over yet again. And as of this writing, my Safari Velociraptor has fell again, even if it can have its wings as support. I guess I will have to think very carefully whether or not buying more of Safari's bipeds, which is a pity 

Do you guys have any solution for this? I have tried the hot water- cold water method and it doesn't work, at least for me.

[ceratopsian]

You are not alone in having a problem with Safari bipeds. A good few of mine don't stand on arrival, let alone after a few weeks. The Dilophosaurus that came last week has a slightly warped foot. No chance of staying upright. It will, however, stand if the tail is lower than the feet, that is if the feet stand on a table mat and the tail on the table. As the legs are slender, I am going to try hot and cold. But I will put some BlueTack under the feet before risking it on my cabinet. Same with the Deinonychus. My first T. rex went back to the seller as badly warped. The replacement was better but stands in my cabinet supported against the wall very carefully positioned. It can't be trusted!  I don't want it to knock down others when it topples. My Anzu has never stood unsupported. I could continue....  I live in a temperate climate, far from tropical heat and humidity. I find judicious use of BlueTack helpful if the model isn't too heavy. I think that it is an inevitable problem with bipeds without bases and without "clown" feet. You accept it and live with it. You learn how to make your own bases and attach the model to them. Or you avoid them altogether. (For that matter I have a few bipeds on bases that aren't stable too, but it's proportionately far less of a problem.)

[Jose S.M.]

I have the same issue with Tyrannosaurus, Citipati, Acrocanthosaurus and Allosaurus. I've had no problems with Velociraptor and as for completely free bipeds Yutyrannus, Monolophosaurus and Masiakasaurus never gave me any problems and I've never received a warped figure from them. It's a shame about the Tyrannosaurus, such a great model but can't stand.
That I did with them was find a way to prop them , usually a small piece of clay under the foot that is causing the trouble.
Also is frustrating to have pieces with bases that have problems too, both of my PNSO minis are leaning to the sides heavily and of them already loses balance. My CollectA Lythronax and Bistahieversor lean to the right and left respectively, I had them side by side and they ended up bumping heads!

[Shonisaurus]

Fortunately I have not had any problems with the mentioned Safari bipeds, I am lucky.

[Lanthanotus]

The hot wateror hair dryer method usually only works for body parts without constant strain or load on them and works better for thinner body parts than for thicker and heavier. I do not own that many theropod models, but the Safari Tyrannosaurus also gave me headaches, especially since it is made from white plastic which makes every scuff shine out like illuminated (really can`t understand why they did not gave it a dark base color). However, bending the ankles/lower feet into the right position by the help of hot water and then drilling a hole deep into the lower feet/leg/ankles and inserting a strong wire should fix the problem. At least does it for me.

Select a strong wire or unbendable steel as from steel nails, carefully drill a holeof the right diameter deep into the according body part, test fit the wire and when all is right finally glue it in with a bit of superglue. You may need to fit in more than one wire to make the figure stand indefinitely, not only because they have more than one leg, but also because warping often occurs in between joints, like the ankles where it`s hard to fix the issue with just one wire as the direction of the limb turns in the joint.

My Eofauna Giganotosaurus also has issues to stand indefinitely, especially when it gets warmer. A bit of Blue Tack (here it is called Patafix) under one foot fixes that problem without any further treatment. And before I inserted wires to the T. rex I just placed it in the shelf so, that the very end of the tail snug under a sauropods belly. This way the T. rex was also able to stand on its own for a while when I moved it out there.

[Gwangi]

Fortunately I have not had any problems with the mentioned Safari bipeds, I am lucky.

Same, with the exception of the Anzu. The rest stand fine, and I have a lot of Safari bipeds. Weird how that works. For those models that do fall I end up sandwiching them between other models but I also keep them on a crowded shelf.

[Lanthanotus]

Weird thing is... aside from those big foot Schleichs and some tripod theropods (or even 5 pointed ground earthquake proven Schleich Spino that surprisingly can stand on its two tiny feet), my most reliable biped in terms of stability and endurance is the phenomenal CollectA Rajasaurus, and that is despite being carried around in my cargo trousers a lot for occasional photos shots for my small boy when I am on tour.

[Duna]

You can fix them very easily. Just heat water near boiling temperature. Put the leg or the foot (or both legs or feet) you want to fix, in the water for about 10 seconds. Then place the figure on a table, press the feet on the surface and maintain them with your fingers. Wait a minute or so to cool and done. I've done it many times and it works perfectly, almost all figures do not need another fix.