Fembrogon's Bestiary (post-2020)

[Fembrogon]

I haven't been too consistent with updating this thread, have I?

2022 (summer) - COLLECTA LINE



Despite having watched Collecta since its Procon days back in 2007/08, I've barely owned any models from this line until recently. You can see the scarcity of my figures both pre-and-post-move in my earliest posts; but at the end of May this year I finally put in a big order I had been meaning to do for a long time. Collecta is at last a little more substantially represented in my bestiary now; their figures can be more hit or miss than Safari ltd in my opinion, but there's no arguing Collecta is a king when it comes to variety!

Individual figure shots are below.

standard-scale dinosaurs:

Spoiler

Bistahieversor, Lythronax, Gastonia, Gigantspinosaurus, Brontosaurus, Borealopelta, Mapusaurus, Kamuysaurus, Megalosaurus, Mantellisaurus

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Standard-scale non-dinosaurs:

Spoiler

Hydrotherosaurus, Liopleurodon, Attenborosaurus, Dolichorynchops, Excalibosaurus, Basilosaurus



Somehow these all ended up as marine animals.

[close]

Deluxe-scale figures:

Spoiler

Spinosaurus (2016 ver), Deinocheirus (2017 ver), Edaphosaurus, Bajadasaurus, Dilophosaurus, Xiphactinus

[close]

Okay, so the "scaling" is incredibly arbitrary on some of these figures. Well, whatever; I do appreciate how affordable most figures in this line are.


Next time I'll probably do some miscellaneous review on my acquisitions from the year so far, since the remaining items are more scattershot in variety. I'm running out of group shots!

[Gwangi]

A nice assortment of CollectA figures, and some of their better ones too. I don't have many CollectA figures either, you might have more than I do. With CollectA their figures that aren't dinosaurs or mammals are my favorite.

[Ludodactylus]

Great pick-ups - The Mantellisaurus is a surprising show-stopper for such a modest figure, and your Borealopelta has a much nicer paint app than mine.

[SidB]

That's a fine spread of figures, @Fembrogon , excellent choices. It's quite remarkable to see the improvements in the line over the years from the old Procon days, their 'dark ages', so to speak. It will be interesting to see where the overall direction of CollectA heads in the future, what with the passing of Anthony Beeston.

[Fembrogon]

It turns out I managed to get some more group shots done after all. 


2022 (summer) - CARNEGIE COLLECTION



Although the numerical quantity of my Carnegie figures hasn't changed much since last year, one could say the volumetric quantity certainly has; adding three sauropods to the collection will do that, you know!
I'm still terribly fond of the Carnegie figures, even if many of them are dated in one way or another. The Apatosaurus and Diplodocus are especially nostalgic in a funny sort of way, as they were like the unobtainable treasure of dinosaur toys to me as a small kid. humorously, in some ways these great big sauropod toys don't feel quite so great & big anymore - not when compared to some of the newer theropod toys released by some companies today, at least! They're impressive models regardless, however.

The new acquisitions:


Apatosaurus - I believe this is the 3rd mold, 1st version released in 1996. I had no idea how many variants of certain Carnegie models existed until recently. A beautiful hulking vintage beast.


Diplodocus - mold 1, version 5 (?) from 1986. This figure is just long enough that I don't have a good place to store it, so it's been consistently on shelf display since arrival. Now I need to get myself the 2008 version (or at least Eofauna's model) for comparison.


Saltasaurus (1997) - much smaller of a model, but arguably much nicer-looking due to a more refined mold. I feel like I used to see Saltasaurus a lot in media as a kid (Alpha's Egg, anyone?), so I'm a little surprised more companies haven't taken a stab at it recently. Do companies think small sauropod species don't sell or something?

The prior collection pieces:


Plateosaurus (1995) - sort of a semi-retro piece in appearance? My copy was kind of banged up when I got it, but the color scheme is still nice.


Stegosaurus - mold 4, version 1, I think (1996). I didn't give this model much thought as a kid, but this version's color scheme is much more attractive than the black & yellow contour or red & green variants I think I saw more of back then.


Mosasaurus (1996). Oh, what a naïve child I once was, thinking this model was ugly just for looking "old". This is an adorably retro model, and possibly one of my favorite pieces in my whole bestiary now.


Deltadromeus (1997). I think I've long had an on-and-off soft spot for the mid-size theropods, and Deltadromeus became a nearly iconic genus for me thanks to Mark Hallet's painting of it challenging a huge Carcharodontosaurus. I realize now this is actually a fairly fragmentary animal, but I quite like Carnegie's take on it all the same.


Tyrannosaurus - mold 3, version 4 (1998), if I'm correct. This was another "big treasure" model to me as a kid, displaying high out of reach on the shelves of museum shops. Obviously, this model has since been outclassed many times over by other companies (and Safari ltd themselves, more than once); but this model makes a nice compare & contrast piece for how the animal's depiction has changed.


Tanystropheus (2000). A classic Triassic weirdo! It would be neat if someone did a newer take on the genus, since there have been more studies/theories on the animal's behavior.


Camarasaurus (2002). I'm not sure if this was one of Carnegie's best sauropods (it's kind of ghastly-looking from certain angles and in certain lighting), but it's got nice shelf presence. If my newer Wild Safari Doug Watson version wasn't in storage, the two of them would make another great compare & contrast.


Woolly Mammoth, Mammuthus primigenius (2003). Oh, what a naïve child I once was - again! - for neglecting this model on merit of it being a "boring old mammal". This model is gorgeous! I guess I can't blame companies for struggling to match it since. This is definitely a must-have piece from the Carnegie line even now.

There aren't too many Carnegie figures I'm still actively hunting now - most of my desired figures were already acquired pre-move, and the remaining desirables are among the rarer ones now - so time will tell if this section of my bestiary gets updated again in the near future.

[Gwangi]

Great post @Fembrogon. There aren't many old Carnegie figures that I display anymore but I still display the big 3 sauropods, the retro Mosasaurus, and a lot of the others in your post. I remember my childhood introduction to the Carnegie collection via the Tyrannosaurus and I was blown away by how "sophisticated" it was compared to other toy dinosaurs. Then I eventually was gifted the Brachiosaurus and it remains one of my all time favorite dinosaur toys to this day. Such an awesome toy to have as a kid.

I have a fondness for Deltadromeus too thanks to that very same Mark Hallett painting. I also almost passed on the mammoth because it was a boring overdone mammal but I'm so glad I got it now, it's still my all time favorite mammoth figure.

[PrimevalRaptor]

Some great acquisitions, congratulations!
I have many fond memories of those Carnegie models (e.g I remember hunting down the Mosasaurus on eBay when I was young since we didn't have any other Mosasaur toys released at the time, man how things changed, huh?) and they really are a nice window in the past and some like the Diplodocus still are stunning models!

[Fembrogon]

Some more classic Safari goodies:

2022 (summer) - SAFARI LTD AUTHENTICS HABITATS COLLECTION: DINOS I-III



I think I gained my first Authentics figurines over 20 years ago in a trip to London; it took until just a few years ago here on the forum to discover this was an entire line of its own! After cycling through several lots from Mercari and eBay this year, I've amassed a satisfactory collection of every figure from the three Dinos sets: two of each save for the Brontosaurus. One of each appears fully genuine, while the second copy has a softer, glossier feel & finish with minor copyright marks; I'm not 100% these ones aren't knockoffs, but they make for good comparison.

Set I - featuring Brontosaurus, Brachiosaurus, Parasaurolophus, Stegosaurus, Triceratops, and Tyrannosaurus



The "version 1" figures in the back row were the Authentics I grew up with, before I knew they had a line name of their own. They're not quite as nostalgic for me as some of my bigger Safari models, but they're valuable all the same for sure.

Individual figures ("version 1" on the left, "version 2" on the right):

Spoiler

Brontosaurus


Brachiosaurus


Parasaurolophus


Stegosaurus


Triceratops


Tyrannosaurus

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Set II - featuring Euoplocephalus, Dilophosaurus, Dimetrodon, Protoceratops, Styracosaurus, and Velociraptor



Seeing pictures of these figures came as something of a shock the first time. Suddenly the Toobs dinos I knew had much more history than I realized.
These sculpts by Gregory Wenzel are much more realistically designed than Forest Rogers' more caricatured takes. Honestly it's a shame the Protoceratops and Styracosaurus sculpts were never repurposed by Safari; they're among the best in all three sets. At least Protoceratops got a nifty new sculpt for the Feathered Dinos Toob.
(Dilophosaurus is my favorite of the set, though; I'm just biased.)

Individual figures:

Spoiler

Euoplocephalus


Dilophosaurus


Dimetrodon


Protoceratops


Styracosaurus


Velociraptor

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Set III - featuring Allosaurus, Diplodocus, Iguanodon, Plesiosaurus, Pteranodon, Spinosaurus



Dan LoRusso's sculpts feature kind of a mix of realistic and stylized depictions, like a blend of the prior two sets. The Allosaurus is my favorite out of these, and another  I wish had made it into the Toob sets. This set also features two non-dinosaurs, instead of one or none (neither of which, however, have aged particularly well).

Individual figures:

Spoiler

Allosaurus


Diplodocus


Iguanodon
https://i.imgur.com/oFBcV77l.jpg

Plesiosaurus


Pteranodon


Spinosaurus

[close]

[Gwangi]

Great post! I don't collect these but still have a few of them, I quite like the Elasmosaurus I have. The Protoceratops is one of my holy grail items, I need to commit to finding one.

[Fembrogon]

NABISCO/LIDO - Complete Dinosaurs and Mammals sets



Thanks to a few chance lots on eBay and Facebook Marketplace early this year plus last year, I found myself with a fairly extensive collection of little cereal prehistoric beasts. Nabisco was a brand, like Sinclair, which I "knew about" due to playing with them as kid but never REALLY knew about until recently. Lido Corporation was apparently the original manufacturer of these figurines, commissioned by Nabisco before switching to weaker knockoff toys in later years. These toys are all very small and quaint now, but like so many of the good lines from those days these have lots of charm.

Dinosaur Set - Series A

Brontosaurus

A whole herd of itty-bitty thunder lizards. This is a very simple sculpt, but also very attractively smooth and streamlined.

"Pteranodon" (Rhamphorhynchus)

So, did Lido copy Ajax, or did Ajax copy Lido? Both pterosaur toys were produced around the same time frame. Obviously this is a terrible Pteranodon, but for Rhamphorhynchus I think it's quite good. I really like the swirling patterns in the plastic of this copy.

Stegosaurus

Just one lonely roofed reptile in my collection. It's weird to see a Stego toy without tail spikes, even at this scale.

Triceratops

Another little herd - one of the silver trikes belongs to the original two figurines I played with as a kid. I'm rather partial to the caramel/cream-colored version.

Tyrannosaurus

A pack to hunt the herd! This is probably the cartooniest sculpt out of all the dinosaurs; just look at that bumpy head and snarling mouth, not to mention the long 3-fingered arms. "Broken-hand" in the front is the other "original" in my collection.

Dinosaur Set - Series B

Dimetrodon

Another token "not-actually-a-dinosaur" genus - kind of froggy-looking fellows, but the scales on the backs are a nice touch.

Paleoscincus (Ankylosaurus?)

This is my favorite figurine of the set; these little herbivores look like prehistoric armored woodlice or silverfish, and somehow I find that adorable. Another neat copy with mottled-color plastic among these.

Parasaurolophus

without a doubt, this is the most pronounced I've ever seen this dinosaur's crest reconstructed in size! The dark purple-ish version has some subtle color patterns again.

"Plesiosaur"

It occurs to me just now that it's ironic for the one aquatic genus in this set to have some of the most detailed scales. The little duck-faces are another funny (but cute) choice.

Trachodon (Edmontosaurus?)

another fairly janky model, rather similar to the T. rex. I really like the burgundy-red hue of the plastic my copy came in, though.

I think my favorite aspect of the Lido/Nabisco molds is how they almost resemble little carved figurines - the smooth, minimal textures and irregular plastic colors remind me of precious stones being cut into shape, like something an ancient human might have crafted if they had the chance to witness a live (retro) dinosaur. Overall the dinos are much more stylized than the mammals, which attempt to be a little more realistic. I'll cover the mammals in my next post.

[Crackington]

You've amassed a great collection there @Fembrogon, well done!

It must have been great being a kid in the 50s and 60s expectantly opening the cereal box for the prize toy. I vaguely remember this thrill with Dr Who cards and (weirdly) famous peoples' mini busts from Weetabix, but I think I missed the plastic dinosaur give aways here in the UK.

Conversely, it wouldn't have been so great being the kid's parents being hassled for the same old cereal in the supermarket 

[Fembrogon]

NABISCO/LIDO PART 2 - The Mammals Set

The single set of mammal minifigures commissioned by Nabisco were larger and more detailed than any of the dinosaurs, so I suspect Lido's sculptor had more experience or better reference when designing these. All of my figurines are silver in color, which I believe was the norm. Despite being more detailed, some of the mammals are styled in ways that make them look like entirely different genera, so I wonder what the story was there.

Alticamelus

This fellow broke his leg in transit from the seller, but I was able to neatly glue it back in place (you can barely spot the seam on the left hind leg). I can't say this is a genus I'm used to seeing getting advertised; it's probably too "boring" by modern standards.

"Baluchitherium" (Indricotherium/Paraceratherium)

I had the good chance to acquire two of these little giants. Even at this scale you can sense the mass of this animal in real life.

Barylambda

I remember seeing this critter pop up once or twice in my books as a kid. It's neat to see someone did a toy of this heavy-tailed oddball.

Dinohyus

Is this the first-ever "hell pig" toy? It does a decent job at looking mean even at this scale with all the rounded features.

Macrauchenia

Now this is an underrated "classic" genus. Lido's sculpt resembles a scaled-down MPC figure.

"Mastodon"

This looks a lot more like a mammoth than a mastodon; was there a name mixup at the company?

"Smilodon"

With its long tail, I've seen some suggest this figurine is more accurate to Eusmilus. Again, I'd be interested in learning more about the design choices here, even if they proved trivial.

"Titanotherium" (Brontotherium/Megacerops)

Another big bruiser in an itty-bitty package. Look how friendly he appears! The size of the horns almost resemble an Arsinoitherium to me.

I tend to give prehistoric mammals far less attention than just about any other group, but once again these figures are certified charmers.

[Fembrogon]

2022 (Fall)  - PNSO



I took this group shot in September when I was pretty sure this would be the extent of my acquisitions from the brand for the year. We'll see if that holds true, now that Deinocheirus and Therizinosaurus are beckoning oh so strongly...

PNSO is an ironic brand for me; they're one of the most consistently higher-priced brands among those I collect before and presently, which is the antithesis of why I got back into actively collecting dinosaurs, etc - they're typically much cheaper than kaiju models, my other main interest. That said, PNSO figures can be REALLY nice-looking, so it's hard to stay away. As one can see, I've managed to accumulate a decent number, usually by waiting for the occasional sales to ease the burden on my wallet just a little bitty bit.

Museum Series:

Naturally, I don't have many Museum figures from the company, since these are the most expensive; but I did manage to acquire the Dayong/Xiaobei set on one of the last AliExpress sales, after having eyeing it for several years! This release feels more balanced between product and price.

Yangchuanosaurus


Chungkingosaurus



Small Model Series:




I didn't give these guys nearly as much attention as the regular-sized models; but now that I have a bunch of them, I really like them. I do wish they were a bit more consistent in size, and I think the boxes are a little excessive in space; but I'll add my voice to the chorus in hoping for more minis in the future.
The "six little dinos" are pictured above; here are individual shots for the rest (007-024):

Spoiler

[close]

Archaeopteryx and Glyphoderma are my favorites, if I have to pick; but they're all quite charming and lively-looking.


Prehistoric Animal Series:

The main attraction. I was slow to start collecting these for multiple reasons, but I haven't regretted any of these purchases so far. At least a few of these figures are probably among my favorites out of my entire bestiary. I also appreciate that PNSO has given us some relatively uncommon dinosaurs non-dinos in the line, and I hope they continue doing so.

013 Ankylosaurus


016 Spinops


017 Eurhinosaurus


018 Dakosaurus


032 Lambeosaurus


033 Atopodentatus


034 Tuojiangosaurus


035 Spinosaurus


037 Pinacosaurus


038 Sauropelta


039 Miragaia


041 Machairoceratops


054 Cretoxyrhina


055 Himalayasaurus


060 Centrosaurus

[Fembrogon]

Some bonus shots -

A couples comparisons between large and small stegosaur models:






...And I recently picked up some cheap bathroom storage pieces to help out in display, so I took some practice shots:







_{(ignore the sticker labels I hadn't removed yet...)}

[Fembrogon]

KID GALAXY (XIDI/HAPPY KIN)

Juxtaposing sharply with my last posts, Kid Galaxy is a kid's toy company who came into my attention just within the past 2 years; I don't know how long they've been distributing dinosaurs, but as soon as I noticed many of their toys were based off of the models used in Dorling Kindersley books - which I grew up reading aplenty - I had to know more. From what I've gathered since then, both Kid Galaxy and another company called Lontic are merely western distributors for a Chinese-based(?) company known as Happy Kin/King or Xidi. All of my toys are from Kid Galaxy sets, and if the boxes are anything to go by, these are very new releases - the copyrights range from 2017 to 2020. Some of these look kind of cool; others are obviously junky bootlegs of old Hasbro JP toys. None of them are particularly good; but they make an interesting assortment.

Poseable Action 3-Pack




Styracosaurus is a definite DK imitation and I rather like it, but I haven't confirmed the other two yet; they'd have to be based on newer digital art. It's a curious selection of genera they chose for this set, at least.
Individual shots:

Spoiler

Argentinosaurus


Styracosaurus


Australovenator

[close]

Dinosaur Action 10-Pack




Kid Galaxy also has released these much larger sets of mixed smaller-scale and standard "poseable" figures; I think I've seen two variations. This one I got primarily for the Giga (the same genus which caught my attention first with the poseable versions).
Individual shots:

Spoiler

Allosaurus (plus comparison with the regular-sized version which I bought on its own)



Amargasaurus (what an ugly little runt)


Brachiosaurus


Carnotaurus


Diceratops (ie Nedoceratops - wasn't expecting that one)


Giganotosaurus (trying to get this one standing was a hassle)


Suchomimus (an even bigger standing hassle - I don't know if it's the design, the packaging, the length of time within the packaging, or some combination, but warping is pretty bad on some of these)


Triceratops


Euoplocephalus


Styracosaurus, again (compared with the 3-Pack version, almost identical)

[close]

Poseable Action 6-Pack (ver. A)



One of two sets which grabbed my attention in the first place. The Hasbro bootlegs are barely worth mentioning, but the Suchomimus is a low-key delgiht, even if it's still a cheap, janky piece of plastic. The Scaphonyx is another noteworthy selection.
Individual shots:

Spoiler

Brachiosaurus


Pachyrhinosaurus


Scaphonyx (probably the correct MVP of the set)


Spinosaurus (blech)


Suchomimus (my own MVP of the set)


Tyrannosaurus (another blech)

[close]

Poseable Action 6-Pack (ver. B)



Another mix of junk and... almost-junk, but with interesting choices. The central toy in this group for me is the Giganotosaurus; the DK model commissioned back in 2001 was probably my default image of the big theropod for a while (also true for Suchomimus. The Icthyovenator is the most surprising choice here, although perhaps not the best-looking.
Individual shots:

Spoiler

Deinonychus (yes, that's right: this toy has been "correctly" labeled as the terrible claw. Still a blechy bootleg, but a funny one.)


Giganotosaurus (MVP but can't even stand on its own. Oh, well...)


Ichthyovenator


Pachycephalosaurus (not too shabby, actually)


Protoceratops


Tyrannosaurus, again (and blech, again)

[close]

Overall, these are hardly my most rewarding purchases; but I'm satisfied to be able to examine them in hand, as well as rekindle some nostalgia for those DK designs.
There are a few other Xidi-related toys I've also acquired, but I'm less sure about their origin. I'll save them for the next post.

[Fembrogon]

KID GALAXY (HAPPY KIN) PART 2 - Individuals and Undetermined

Although the vast majority of my KG figures came in the aforementioned box sets, there are plenty of listings out there of single or assorted dinosaurs which are unboxed. Some of these figures, I have seen confirmed as being sold in sets originally; others are mysteriously absent outside of random eBay listings. All of these figures, however, feature a "KGxxxxxx" number stamped in black on their undersides. If these aren't all Happy Kin in origin, then someone else is doing a very good job at imitating them.

Allosaurus


This one is guaranteed Kid Galaxy/Happy Kin; I've seen listings of mulitpacks featuring this sculpt. Other color variants exist as well, but the base sculpt appears to imitate one of Dorling Kindersley's later digital models. It's pretty unremarkable as an Allosaurus, though.

Achelousaurus


Here's a more interesting one; it's certainly not often this genus shows up as a toy. I haven't seen this figure anywhere outside of loose eBay listings, so it's almost impossible to determine the true origin. However, the overall build is obviously aping the Hasbro JPIII Triceratops sculpt in the same way other Kid Galaxy ceratopsians do, so I'm guessing it's of the same or similar origin.



Here's a shot of all four poseable horn-heads to illustrate.

Diplodocus


Honestly this figure isn't terrible-looking, although it's hardly one of the best depictions of the genus either. This figure is featured in one or more of the Happy Kin box sets I discovered and posted to the main "Lontic" page a while back, so I say it's "legit" (as Happy Kin toys go).

Giganotosaurus


This is a curious case; while the sculpt is obviously the same as the KG 6-pack figure, the color scheme is one I've never seen for a box set. The sculpt also appears to have been subtly tweaked, because this version has no issues standing and balancing on two feet.

Majungasaurus


Another mystery figure. I've seen some similarly-built abelisaur genera from Happy Kin, but not this one. Honestly I think this is a pretty decent toy, if still cheap and a little front-heavy.

Stegosaurus


Now this is a definite DK imitation, based on one of the physical models often featured in their (earlier?) books. Although a bit dated overall, I dare say this is a better depiction of the roofed reptile than Jurassic World could manage. 

Velociraptor


Another repaint mystery. I've seen this sculpt featured with a brighter, more DK-inspired (or perhaps Luis Rey-inspired) color scheme, but this black version seems rarer. This is probably the ugliest figure out of this bunch, although it's at least ugly in that early-years feathering manner instead of being a straight movie monster.

That covers everything for that junk. *chuckle* I should have just a few more updates to the bestiary before year's end.

[Fembrogon]

A surprising bonus to My Kid Galaxy acquitions: a new photography backdrop to play with!

















More than one pack had removable backdrops, honestly; but the backdrop to the 3-pack is of a manageable size and fit within my makeshift lightbox, so I'll be holding on to that one for the future.

[Flaffy]

I thought getting the Battat Styracosaurus would be redundant since I already have the PNSO version. But having both in hand I have to say both of them will be staying in my collection. There's just something about the Battat sculpt that's so regal and majestic looking, and your picture proves it.

[ceratopsian]

Indeed. The Battat Styracosaurus really shines under that golden-lit background.

[Fembrogon]

Indeed, it's a great little figure, isn't it? Even with splendid new releases from Safar, Collecta and PNSO, the Battat stands its ground firmly. It was an easy choice for playing around to test the backdrop.