Fembrogon's Bestiary (post-2020)

[Fembrogon]

That's neat to know! Thanks for that information, @Duna. Mine is probably a knockoff of the Panini, then, like how many other vintage lines have been repurposed over the decades by other companies..

[stoneage]

It looks similar to the small Playvision figure.

[Duna]

That's neat to know! Thanks for that information, @Duna. Mine is probably a knockoff of the Panini, then, like how many other vintage lines have been repurposed over the decades by other companies..

I think it looks like the real thing, but it's easy to know, in the 90s version, the rubber is very soft and are not very shiny, in the belly you can read the species name, CHINA and a number (there are 24). Newer editions are harder and even they shrank a bit in size (but it's difficult to tell if you have only one) and in this smaller version it only puts CHINA in the belly, not the species name.

[BrontoScorpio]

I love your sinclairs and Marx's.
Just a small note - you really need to minimize your pics a bit -
You may not have notice it - since all pictures probably already inside your browser's cache -
But, for newcomers - they take ages to be downloaded.

[Shonisaurus]

I am glad that you have so many new dinosaurs in your collection, honestly those from Schleich are not today at the same level as Collecta and the PNSO dinosaurs whose figures, as you say, are expensive, but they are worth collecting for their high quality. ´

On the other hand, I love the vintage figures of Marx and Sinclair, they are, together with Invicta or Starlux, legendary figures in the world of toy dinosaur collecting.

On the other hand, the Mattel dinosaur figures are quite decent figures, although in my case I did not collect them. You have a very varied collection of prehistoric toy animals.

[Fembrogon]

Thanks, @Shonisaurus; I do enjoy having some diversity in my collection, even if I do tend to gravitate towards certain animals/brands more than others.  Variety is the spice of life, they say; it's true for hobbies too!

Thank you for pointing that out, @BrontoScorpio; I'll see what I can do.

[Fembrogon]

MISCELLANEOUS 2021 ADDENDUM

...So, while I'm still working on photographing/cataloguing my newest additions, it occurred to me I did miss one bunch of toys I don't give much thought about. The below assortment is a random bag's worth of toys which either evaded storage or were acquired from relatives with my first Sinclairs. They're not as significant as the other items in the bestiary, but at the very least I can trace some common brands/groups between them; and they do hold some nostalgic value still.



The most notable figures, in my opinion, are these unmistakable Marx knockoffs and their "kaiju" comrades from Hong Kong, by the company Tai Sang. It's kind of funny (or sad?) how long I've known and played with these figures as a child before learning of the original toys they were cheaply based on; suppose there's a lesson in there about how bootlegs can affect/influence the toy industry.
I wonder about the little monsters, though: I can kind of see parallels to movie characters for some of them, but frankly they're all rather freaky and uncanny-looking.





I have DOZENS of little rubber dinos and party toys similar to these still in storage; I know some of these have confirmed company names behind them but I don't remember what they are. The hard little party toys had some nice genus diversity, but the flexible rubber figurines were probably my favorites.




Okay, NEXT time I should have some properly "new" bestiary photos.

[Shonisaurus]

My congratulations, beautiful additions to your collection, even if they are figures from the bestiary, I also have them and I can affirm that they are figures that, despite everything, are not without their charm.

[Crackington]

Well said @Shonisaurus and congratulations too @Fembrogon. I'm enjoying the way you are collecting the old toys and models too. You are developing an interesting and eclectic collection.

[Gwangi]

I think most of us collectors must have a box of these assorted little toys somewhere, in my case they're my daughter's toys now. That Pteranodon/Archaeopteryx hybrid always perplexed me, even as a kid.

[Fembrogon]

^For what it's worth, I know I've seen concept art from the original Rodan depicting the titular character as more birdlike in appearance; and I believe at least some of that imagery made it into promotional material. Maybe the Tai Sang sculptors noticed and took that to heart? It could be a stretch, though.

[Fembrogon]

2022 UPDATES - PLUSH TOYS



I grew up with probably about as many stuffed animals around me as I did regular plastic toys; with most of said animals locked away in storage, I've been enjoying adding new members to the bestiary as I explore the variety of brands catering to kids and collectors alike.
Dusty the Diplocaulus from Paleo Pals is the one plush I brought along with me in the move; it's a very finely-built toy, and Oakley the Opabinia makes a great companion plush. I missed out on the first Anomalocaris toy, so I hope the redesign sees release in the near future.
The Paleozoic Pals line was introduced to me thanks to reviews and discussion here on the Blog & Forum, and I was pleasantly surprised to find a bunch of them in person while visiting the St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site last year. Everyone should have a Tully Monster in their collection!
The Trike was a whim purchase for about $5 at Kohl's; the Kohl's Cares program cycles through a lot of books and stuffed toys, so it was basically time & chance that I picked this one up. It's not the best Trike plush out there, but it's pretty cute.
The Dilophosaurs are some of my latest acquisitions; although they came with a "Miss Bloom" brand tag, I haven't found any other info regarding this brand; likely it's just a placeholder name for whatever anonymous company/factory originally manufactures these. Honestly they seem like quite good quality, and I appreciate the choice of making frilled and non-frilled versions.

[Shonisaurus]

I like your collection of stuffed animals. In my case, the ones I like the most are the ophabinia and the diplocaulus. I don't know if you could tell me, but do you know which company sells those stuffed animals of prehistoric animals?

[Fembrogon]

Sure, @Shonisaurus; as I mentioned, Oakley and Dusty are produced by Paleo Pals, a small company which has been slowly producing new products through Kickstarter campaigns. They've released three "characters" as stuffed toys so far - the first was Andy the Anomalocaris. Sadly, only Dusty is currently in stock in their store, but they have a variety of other related merch available. Andy should be getting a revised design in the future, if circumstances permit it.

Most of the others are from the very-similarly-named Paleozoic Pals, who have a larger (and more affordable) catalog of critters so far. I believe they have one or two more toys on the way as well, circumstances permitting again.

[Ezikot]

MISCELLANEOUS 2021 ADDENDUM
(...)
The most notable figures, in my opinion, are these unmistakable Marx knockoffs and their "kaiju" comrades from Hong Kong, by the company Tai Sang. It's kind of funny (or sad?) how long I've known and played with these figures as a child before learning of the original toys they were cheaply based on; suppose there's a lesson in there about how bootlegs can affect/influence the toy industry.
I wonder about the little monsters, though: I can kind of see parallels to movie characters for some of them, but frankly they're all rather freaky and uncanny-looking.




(...)

I think they were widely spread in the "west" since late 70's (?).
They're usually called "patchisaurs", and they have a funny story to tell:
inspired (ko) by Ultraman, they were source of inspiration for D&D illustrator (Gary Gygax).
So, if you read some of the first D&D monster manual, you can find a description and an illustration of some of them.
You miss at least a couple of them, "bulette" and the rarest "owlbear", but you own the "rust monster".
Here more infos: 
https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-ultra-mysterious-history-of-d-ds-iconic-monsters.672346/

[Fembrogon]

i had heard parts of the story about the D&D connection before (I have a couple of "bulettes" in storage, too); but I think the Ultraman connection is new information for me! Honestly that makes a lot of sense, knowing the diversity of Ultra-franchise monsters.
It's remarkable how much kaiju-DNA is present in Western pop culture.

[Fembrogon]

2022 -  MPC OVERHAUL

A recent lot purchase granted me the opportunity to "complete" and reorganize my MPC collection. I have at least one figure of every genus MPC released across their mold groups, and in several cases far more than I really needed! Generally speaking these are noticeably inferior to the Marx models they often imitated, but a few rival the original Marxes in quality, and most of the brand-new molds MPC produced are very good in their own right.

Here's the full collection as it stands, after dividing up what to keep and what to resell - I've managed to acquire a few environment pieces between lots as well:



Again, the colors are pretty gaudy compared to Marx; but I'd be lying if I said they didn't all look pretty neat together with all the varieties between them.
I'm not sure which sets or variants I have in most case; but to my knowledge, the purple and orange figures are unique to the Nabisco cereal sets and a little more uncommon. Honestly they're probably my favorites; the colors pop really well and compliment the sculpts better.

Next I'll start breaking down the MPCs by mold groups.

[Bokisaurus]

Awesome MPC collection! Love their simple yet bright colors!😃

[Shonisaurus]

I congratulate you on your latest and at the same time great acquisition. I am amazed at the variety of figures that this MPC company had regarding dinosaurs and prehistoric animals (although many of the ones you show are repeated) these vintage companies put current dinosaur companies in the place of shame when it comes to production of figures such as the moschops or the megatherium that were previously dealt with more in the toy market and that are currently practically ignored with some honorable exceptions (Safari, Schleich or Bullyland in relation to the megatherium).

Moschops and megatherium need more love from toy dinosaur companies than we know of.

[Fembrogon]

MPC COLLECTION BREAKDOWN - PART 1/2

There's enough variety in this line to warrant a few closer looks. I wasn't aiming to acquire a large MPC collection, but after a couple of big lot purchases, here I am!

Series 1, Mold Group 1 (1961)
(Brontosaurus, Kronosaurus, Trachodon, Tyrannosaurus)



Three out of the four figures in this set are obviously based on the Larger, older Marx counterparts; but they're of noticeably lower sculpt quality once one knows what to look for. Interestingly, the Brontosaurus is an entirely new sculpt; I wonder what the rationale was for this figure as opposed to the other three.
The individual genera:

Spoiler

Brontosaurus


Kronosaurus - just one of these guys. Somehow I think this mold was hit the hardest out of the Marx copies.


Trachodon - I really like the assortment I've acquired for this figure.


Tyrannosaurus

[close]

Series 1, Mold Group 2 (1961)
(Allosaurus, Ankylosaurus, Stegosaurus, Triceratops)



This set is all copied from Marx; generally speaking none of the models match the originals. I'd probably consider this MPC's blandest set, both generally and also as represented in my own collection.
The individual genera:

Spoiler

Allosaurus


Ankylosaurus


Stegosaurus


Triceratops

[close]

Series 1, Mold Group 3 (1961)
(Cynognathus, Dimetrodon, Plateosaurus, Pteranodon)



Another set of all copies, although the range of genera is more unique. I've acquired a LOT of figures from this set - which is ironic, because the Pteranodon and Cynognathus in particular are among the least-represented among my Marx collection. The world works in funny ways sometimes.
The individual genera:

Spoiler

Cynognathus

triad shot


Dimetrodon

triad shot


Plateosaurus


Pteranodon

[close]

Series 1, Caveman Mold Group (1961)



Like most of the animals, the three cavemen appear to be modeled after some of the Marx figures; but I think these fared better than a lot of the dinosaurs. I'm not especially interested in prehistoric people, but these figures are pretty nice and make a good compliment to the mammals MPC would start producing the next year. I have three of each caveman from the set, so it's a nice neat bunch.