Fembrogon's Bestiary (post-2020)

[Halichoeres]

I agree that Helicoprion should really be more of a household name, but anything that's not a dinosaur proper is facing an uphill battle!

Dilophosaurus does seem to get worse treatment than its larger, later relatives. Even the Battat Dilophosaurus was one of the cruder figures in the line, to my eye, although still quite a lot nicer than other dinosaurs being made around the same time.

[Fembrogon]

To be brutally honest, I wasn't sure I would be getting any of Schleich's new releases; thankfully Happy Hen Toy's review sample offer made that decision much easier!


Schleich (2023) - Edmontosaurus
It's nice to have another big hadrosaur on the market - although I'm not sure I would have recognized this as Edmontosaurus on its own. The long, swan-like neck feels more akin to a genus like Ouranosaurus. I have plenty of other thoughts regarding this figure, but I'll save them for the upcoming review. 


Schleich (2023) - Monolophosaurus
I think this one fares better than the Edmontosaurus - although that might be another case of how well theropods translate to stylized designs opposed to herbivore groups. The figure still has issues, but as a "generic" take on the genus it seems fine.

[Fembrogon]

My impromptu Collecta haul from a couple of weeks ago:


Collecta - Fukuiraptor
I decided I'd like a partner (rival?) for my Favorite Museum figure. Although this isn't the most striking theropod figure in paint or sculpt, it's still a pretty solid piece overall. This is a reconstruction still from the "megaraptorids as allosauroids" period, so it appropriately looks very allosaur-ish. I'm not sure why Collecta opted to put the biggest claw on the second finger, though.


Collecta - Fukuisaurus
A different sort of "partner" for the Fukuiraptor - jokes aside, this is a lovely little figure. I'm very glad Collecta has been producing a variety of smaller, "plainer" ornithopods; they deserve representation too! Hopefully we might see a revised Camptosaurus or Tenontosaurus in the future.


Collecta - Elasmosaurus
Marine reptiles are another department Collecta has been excelling at recently. I would normally expect an Elasmosaurus toy to try being a little bigger, but this is a splendid-looking representation all the same. A fine example of simple-but-interesting color scheme, too!


Collecta - Cooperoceras
I don't give prehistoric cephalopods enough attention, generally; but this spiky nautilus relative was too neat to ignore. Once again, I'm very pleased Collecta has dedicated numerous releases to this overlooked category in extinct animal toys, even if I admittedly am far behind in acquiring them myself.

[Paleo Flo]

Great CollectAs indeed. The Cooperceras aside I have all your four new figures. I am very pleased by them. Fine representations of the species.

[Fembrogon]

I left out one important figure from the assortment yesterday:



Collecta (deluxe) - Edmontosaurus
This figurine was the main drive behind my compulsory buy. After studying the new Schleich version, I wanted a proper comparison figure; and boy does this one deliver! Collecta's model is quite the impressive piece in hand, with splendid detail to anatomy and skin texture. I also like the reddish color scheme, and the green patches, though distracting, could probably be worked into a more attractive pattern. This is probably the go-to representation for the genus right now.

[TooOldForDinosaurs]

I love the sculpt on this model. I never got to buying it though because of the mentioned green patches.

[Paleo Flo]

Ah, the always tempting Edmonto...I think it is one of the best hardros out there. But I have the Safari one, which staisfied me until this cool one came out. Ah always temting indeed.

[Fembrogon]

Safari Ltd (2023) - Majungasaurus
An exciting start to the year's releases! This is a substantial figure with great design typical of our good Mr. Doug Watson. I also really enjoy the color scheme, which is both strikingly different from other Safari theropods and pleasantly familiar (coincidentally) from older designs by other brands.
I also tend to forget how modest in size Majungasaurus really was; I'm used to always seeing or imagining it as a 30-ft apex predator when it's really closer to 20 ft - not exactly small, but not giant either. Obviously individual presentation took precedence over consistent scaling for this toy, which is fine, because it looks very nice indeed.

Some comparison shots with fellow Safari abelisaur Carnotaurus:





And some comparisons with other recent Safari theropods:

[Halichoeres]

It's different enough in scale from the Wild Past version that both might be able to coexist in a scale-conscious collection. Nice to finally see some good non-Carnotaurus abelisaurs apart from Mattel and decade-old CollectA figures.

[Fembrogon]

Safari Ltd (2018) - Amargasaurus
I was one of the people initially put off by the size of this figure upon release - ironic, given how much some of us clamor for large sauropods - as well as some reservations about the color scheme. All things considered, though, this is a very good plus-sized model of a remarkable mid-sized sauropod. No, it doesn't scale super-well with other figures, but it's a really nice, prominent display piece. I also enjoy the color choices, with the only exception being the bony-looking facial pattern. Amargasaurus has gotten some very good figures to its name.



Safari Ltd (2015) - Sauropelta
I already have a copy of this model in storage, so normally I wouldn't buy a double; but I needed something to fill out my Majunga order and I figured this was one of the best choices. Seriously, I would consider this little fella to be one of Safari's all-time best; it's not the biggest or most elaborate figurine, but it's masterfully crafted and carefully painted. This is one of Safari's most naturalistic dinosaurs. Maybe we're due for some more Safari nodosaurs?


Some group photos for fun:


nodosaur assembly (+ one ankylosaur interloper)


Weird sauropods walking through!

[SidB]

I bought the Safari Amargasaurus too, @Fembrogon , when it first came out and when I display it, I match it with the Wild Safari Carnotaurus and Forest Rogers' old Carno, all in that roughly 1/25-1/30 range that is oversized for my general collections, but that do go well with each other. I agree that the Sauropelta is a masterpiece. I have it plus the PNSO one, and prefer it over the latter, which is still a very good figure.

[Stegotyranno420]

Great safaris. The one time they make sauropod big its too big...haha

[Fembrogon]

Wave 1.5 featured creature!



Beasts of the Mesozoic, Tyrannosaur Series no.03 - Guanlong wucaii
One of the earliest members of the tyrannosaur family tree - maybe it's the superficial similarity to Dilophosaurus due to the crest, but Guanlong might have been a low-key favorite genus of mine for a while after it was discovered. Sadly, few figures have ever been made of it; the Safari figure is the most prominent, but it never quite enticed me enough to purchase it. The new BotM figure is easily the cream of the (small) crop.
On one hand, this figure is easier to handle than the (1:35) T. rex, due to being smaller, lighter, and more flexible in certain joints; on the other hand, the joints that ARE still stiff are kind of scary to work with, because I don't want to damage anything. It took me a couple of hair dryer treatments to loosen up the limbs, and in the process the primary set of feet lost their sturdiness, so I'll have to treat those again at some point (I had the exact same issue with the T.rex; maybe I should remove the feet before hair drying these figures...)
All in all, though, this is still a delightful action figure and I am very pleased to finally represent this genus in the bestiary.

[ceratopsian]

The inquisitive vibe from the pose in your first photo of Guanlong is very appealing.

[Fembrogon]

Thanks! Posing my figures in different ways like that is what makes articulation so much fun.

And suddenly I realized I forgot a photo: the two ends of the tyrant lineage!



_{Not to scale, of course.}

[Fembrogon]

A couple of adjacent Wave 1.5 acquisitions:



Beasts of the Mesozoic, Ceratopsian Series no.27: Styracosaurus ("Old Buck" variant)
This is far and away one of the coolest concepts achieved for a repaint in the line. David Arnsby has cited the BotM line as one of his reference points when designing his characters for the Dinosauria web short series, so it's truly poetic that his Old Buck character would be realized in a collaboration with that very same line.
I never got the original Styrac, but this version is certainly spectacular in its own right. The patterns and paint washes are very striking, and bring out lots of detail from the sculpt. For a "monochrome" figure, this feels extremely colorful. Articulation is also very good, about the same (expectedly) as my Trike. Beautiful figure all around.




Beasts of the Mesozoic, Ceratopsian Series: 1/18 Diabloceratops Nestlings
These are cute, what else can I say? I don't typically buy baby dinosaur toys, but I really like the concept for this line in particular. Ironically, I don't have the adult Diabloceratops yet, so I'll have to remedy that sometime soon, at least before Lythronax arrives to munch them without supervision.
Posing these is a bit tricky, due to the engineering of the legs; but overall they have a fine range of motion for their size.

[Fembrogon]

Mattel Jurassic World, Roar Strikers series - Megaraptor
If I'm correct, this is the first Megaraptor toy not based on the original deinonychosaur interpretation - and for what it's worth, it's not bad at all. Obviously, it's pretty stylized - the head in particular still has a JP-raptor vibe to it - but it's far less generic in appearance than some of Mattel's other recent theropods, and the sculpt detail and color scheme are quite nice. I keep meaning to leave the Mattel line alone for good, but occasionally toys like this one still entice me back.

[Fembrogon]

Mattel Jurassic World, Dino Trackers (Wild Roar) - Kronosaurus
I wasn't really planning to acquire this toy, but it popped up on sale at Amazon while I was browsing for other items, so I figured why not?
It's a pretty solid toy, I'll give it that; the skull look reasonably pliosaurid, the back flippers are accurately the larger pair, and there's even a tiny fin on tail. The play gimmick is decent, but not quite as effective as it could be - I actually find it easier to open the mouth by wiggling the neck directly, instead of the button.
Overall this is a pretty nice action figure of Kronosaurus; another one of Mattel's better recent efforts, imo.

[Halichoeres]

The Mattel Megaraptor is a surprisingly decent effort from them. It's one of the very few times that a Mattel figure has replaced a figure from any other company in my collection (in this case the awful Geoworld one).

[Fembrogon]

A couple recent acquisitions from Happy Hen Toys last week:




Schleich (2023) - Gastonia
Definitely one of the better dinos to come out of Schleich this year, I felt a little extra compelled to get it after Safari's Utahraptor got announced. For all the yellow & orange dino toys out there, I can't think of as many that are straight red like this one - and again, this will make a nice contrast to the Utah's blues.




Papo (2020) - Megaloceros
One of the more iconic mammals from the prehistory books I grew up with, I'm a little surprised - but not really - that this great deer relative doesn't have more toys to its name. Papo at least stepped up to the plate and delivered a surprisingly naturalistic figure (surprising compared to their dinos, at least). It would be neat to see Papo reissue this figure with an updating color scheme in the future.