Now Or Then?

[Concavenator]

I personally feel like dinosaur model collecting has evolved quite a lot in recent years, the overall accuracy and quality of the figures has (overall, there are some exceptions) has improved ,to the point that , right now, in 2019, it could be perfectly said that we are in a " dinosaur toy collecting paradise" situation

Some truly mighty brands went extinct, like Carnegie and Battat Terra.

But also, some amazing brands came out of the blue, like Eofauna and PNSO.Since Carnegie disappeared, Safari may have had more energy to focus on their Safari line, which kind of had a "rebirth" in 2017, being that year with the most releases probably ever from Wild Safari and also seeing the introduction of some of the line's most iconic pieces such as their Tyrannosaurus
and Velociraptor.CollectA also improved quite a bit, both in quality and accuracy.

So in this topic I would like to ask you,in which times do you think/feel like collecting is better ( and also in which times you have  enjoyed more collecting: From 2015/2016 and backwards ( Carnegie Collection and Battat Terra) or from 2017/2018 and afterwards ( and now,2019, as well) ( Eofauna, PNSO,BoTM, and so on...)

If so, why?

Cheers

[Shonisaurus]

Honestly in my case I value much more the dinosaurs called chinasaurs from the time of the 70s and 80s of the last century. Although they were much cheaper in my case, they caused me greater satisfaction. I also value the Vintage figures of Invicta.

In my case I was born in the 70s with all the good or bad things that happened to me at that time. I was more excited about collecting then with less resources and with dinosaurs at a "bargain" price. It was much more happy that with the current dinosaurs superprecious figures (both resin, vinyl or PVC dinosaurs), a thousand times better done.

It is true that the figures have evolved "for the better" but I would not change for the dinosaurs from now to the time I collected the dinosaurs that I got every five or six years with poorly made figures (except for Invicta, which are beautiful figures for me), dinosaurs of the "Middle Ages" metaphorically speaking because he sincerely enjoyed and was more enthusiastic with much less possibilities and being the dinosaurs of worse quality.

Honestly in my case I stay with the dinosaurs of then in my time we had less possibilities and less comforts but in my case I was much happier without any luxury and most importantly with the innocence of a child / teenager or young person that I do not have in the present as it happens to all adults unfortunately.

The illusion of collecting Vintage figures of that time has a higher value than the dinosaurs and prehistoric animals of today. I value more the dinosaurs of then (being the bad sculptors) than the dinosaurs of now (being the dinosaurs and outstanding sculptors).

And my ancestors can assure you that they were much happier than me, having almost nothing. I do not mention it from the moralistic point of view but sincerely at the time when dinosaurs were "rare" figures in the collector's market (resin or hard plastic figures such as Starlux) or toy (as were the Chinasaurs) I was a lot happier and valued as a true gift from heaven dinosaurs that cost almost nothing but that filled me with an illusion and a happiness that I do not experience at present.

With the dinosaurs of before I was happier as a child than with the very expensive dinosaurs of now being an adult and being able to buy dinosaurs of those characteristics.

[Pachyrhinosaurus]

Objectively, the best time to collect dinosaur toys would be now since you have all the new releases and could always get older figures second-hand.

I don't collect any of the newer brands. PNSO, Vitae, Rebor, and the like never caught my interest. I think Southlands is the only new line that I've considered buying. This may be because of my shift in focus towards older figures, where in the last few years I've been getting into vintage brands and retired models from brands that I've been collecting previously. Safari is largely the only current brand I collect anymore, but of course I don't restrict myself to it.

I'd say I prefer collecting before 2015/2016 because that's when I built up the bulk of my collection and when the figures I like most (especially Carnegie) were in production and easily available in shops. Also the presence in shops in general. When I finished my collection of in-production Carnegies (2012, I think) not one was purchased online. Now my brick-and-mortar options are much more limited.

[Shonisaurus]

Obviously and I stick to the question of the thread I enjoyed more From 2015/2016 and earlier (Carnegie Collection, Invicta, Bullyland, Schleich or Battat Terra), in this case time spent in the collection of dinosaurs was better. I had one more enthusiasm.

[Ravonium]

To answer your question: now.

[PumperKrickel]

deleted

[Jose S.M.]

If a person likes to keep updated and reflect new knowlege in their collections then now is a better time for them, but some people prefer old school style and some both, it depends on the person. To me personally it's Now.

[Faelrin]

Now. There's just so much out there now, so many options for certain genus, etc, even if it is overwhelming to collect at times, and even still more companies being started and adding to that. We are also at a golden age for all the discoveries made in paleontology in the past couple of decades that have really revolutionized how we see and understand many of these creatures, that have been adapted by companies like Safari Ltd and CollectA, etc, but also not only that but the level of detail many of the current sculptors offer, that may or may not have been possible with toy design back in the day (I could be wrong there since I was only born in the early 90's, and was able to reap the benefits of generations prior when it comes to toy manufacturing and designs).

Edit: To further add to this, I used to love collecting dinosaur toys as a child, such as having the whole cast of Primal Rage characters, or nearly all of the Jurassic Park III toys. Due to some life circumstances I was essentially separated from not only my figures, but also eventually my love for prehistoric life. It was in 2014 when I learned of some titanosaur bones being discovered, which reignited a part of me that I had forgotten, and shortly thereafter Jurassic World came out and I ended up getting back into the game, partly by nostalgia, and partly by wanting to relive one of the only joys of my childhood, even if the toys made for it were sub-par and disappointing for many. Yet it paved the way for eventually helping to introduce me to the blog, and in turn the forum here, and all the brands I was completely oblivious too, but eventually gained an interest in collecting (such as Safari Ltd).

Another edit: Basically what I'm trying to say is this hobby is like a fresh start for me, even if it is or was familiar territory, and it gives me something to look forward too, and helps me on my worst days.

[Libraraptor]

The quest for my answer leads me back to the time eleven or so years ago when I started collecting "seriously". Or I took my collecting efforts to another level. Internet made it possible to connect to many people here. I came to complete my Invicta collection, ironically with an extant animal, the blue whale. I had the feeling I had been looking for this one over many years and finally found a great community to help me.
Collecting dinosaur figures back then was an adventure and somewhat exotic. We were a little, quirky community encouraging each other, sometimes discussing personal issues - a cozy place , a refuge place.
By now we are constantly being spoilt by new lines, new species and new possibilities. This has made the hobby more versatile and the amount of people here increased and so did their diversity and styles of collecting and things they are after, which I welcome explicitly.
But to me it seems the pressure increases to keep up with others and to show to be "the best".
I can´t put lots of money into collecting, if I could I would buy all the recent blessings such as all those beautiful PNSOs. But I can´t. I grant each and everyone here their collections and I really enjoy strolling through them virtually.
But at the moment I am tired and think it was better back then when the choice wasn´t as big as nowadays.
Maybe I am wrong and this is a more personal issue, evolving from some heavy crises I went through during the last year or so.
This lead to a weariness in me, I seem to have developed an inferiority complex both in life that flashed over into my hobbies, of which dinosaur collecting used to be the most important one.
All this - at this very moment of writing this - leads me to my answer
THEN

[Nimravus]

I started collecting dinosaurs "seriously" not too many years ago, I would say less than four years ago. I think we are living in the "heaven of dino collecting", a lot of nice detailed figures, not-so-common genus, many companies, several price ranges... In addition to that, internet has made things easier to get whatever whenever. I must admit though that it is a bit overwhelming.

In my case, I must find a balance between money spent and room to keep them, so I am currently thinking of selling some of the old ones I bought three or four years ago and, keep only the masterpieces or only the ones I like most.

I will choose NOW, but because I cannot say "back then"

[Halichoeres]

Now because production quality is higher and a greater absolute variety of taxa is available now. I'm not completely sure about this, but I think that in the past companies like Marx, Starlux, Inpro, etc., were willing to be a little riskier about what species they would make, whereas now a lot of companies play it pretty safe, at least at the beginning. If it's correct--and I'm not sure that it is--that a larger fraction of vintage companies' output consisted of new taxa, then that's the main redeeming feature.

[Dinoguy2]

That depends. In terms of variety and frequency of releases, now is better. You can get a model of most any kind of dinosaur including stuff that was only discovered a few years ago, which is amazing.

In terms of quality though, I think the early 90s was better. The overall build and feel and paint application of those dinosaurs were far beyond most stuff today. I have both the older, fully hand painted versions of some Carnegie and Battat dinosaurs and putting them alongside later versions of the same sculpt, one feels like a piece of art and the other feels like a cheap toy. It's a subtle difference but I miss the old way. Some modern companies manage to match a similar feel even without full painting like PNSO and Vitae but those are niche brands. It's sad to imagine how incredible some of the newer Wild Safari models would be if they didn't have such low-grade paint applications.