CollectA: New for 2023

[Halichoeres]

I'm very excited about the goblin shark as I also collect extant animals with a focus on sharks. CollectA is really stepping up their shark game, their basking shark is one of the best sharks in my collection. I might be in the minority here but I would have preferred seeing the goblin shark without its jaw extended. I know, that's what makes it look cool. When I was a kid I assumed the goblin shark always looked like that, with the extended jaw.

Just thank goodness they didn't try to articulate it!

I don't even know how you would do it, maybe PNSO will figure it out like they did with the Dunkleosteus.

I dunno, they did a pretty shoddy job with their articulated Megalodon.

[Gwangi]

I'm very excited about the goblin shark as I also collect extant animals with a focus on sharks. CollectA is really stepping up their shark game, their basking shark is one of the best sharks in my collection. I might be in the minority here but I would have preferred seeing the goblin shark without its jaw extended. I know, that's what makes it look cool. When I was a kid I assumed the goblin shark always looked like that, with the extended jaw.

Just thank goodness they didn't try to articulate it!

I don't even know how you would do it, maybe PNSO will figure it out like they did with the Dunkleosteus.

I dunno, they did a pretty shoddy job with their articulated Megalodon.

Well I say that tongue-in-cheek, I don't think that's something they or anyone can realistically pull off. And I don't have their megalodon but wasn't that an earlier release? They've improved since then.

[suspsy]

Less than 24 hours till the next reveal!

[Halichoeres]

I'm very excited about the goblin shark as I also collect extant animals with a focus on sharks. CollectA is really stepping up their shark game, their basking shark is one of the best sharks in my collection. I might be in the minority here but I would have preferred seeing the goblin shark without its jaw extended. I know, that's what makes it look cool. When I was a kid I assumed the goblin shark always looked like that, with the extended jaw.

Just thank goodness they didn't try to articulate it!

I don't even know how you would do it, maybe PNSO will figure it out like they did with the Dunkleosteus.

I dunno, they did a pretty shoddy job with their articulated Megalodon.

Well I say that tongue-in-cheek, I don't think that's something they or anyone can realistically pull off. And I don't have their megalodon but wasn't that an earlier release? They've improved since then.

Yeah, a shark jaw would be borderline impossible in PVC and I wish companies wouldn't try. The PNSO meg with the articulated jaw was 2019, so they have improved since then. I also had completely forgotten that CollectA made a hinge-jawed megalodon that looked equally horrendous.

[Gwangi]

I'm very excited about the goblin shark as I also collect extant animals with a focus on sharks. CollectA is really stepping up their shark game, their basking shark is one of the best sharks in my collection. I might be in the minority here but I would have preferred seeing the goblin shark without its jaw extended. I know, that's what makes it look cool. When I was a kid I assumed the goblin shark always looked like that, with the extended jaw.

Just thank goodness they didn't try to articulate it!

I don't even know how you would do it, maybe PNSO will figure it out like they did with the Dunkleosteus.

I dunno, they did a pretty shoddy job with their articulated Megalodon.

Well I say that tongue-in-cheek, I don't think that's something they or anyone can realistically pull off. And I don't have their megalodon but wasn't that an earlier release? They've improved since then.

Yeah, a shark jaw would be borderline impossible in PVC and I wish companies wouldn't try. The PNSO meg with the articulated jaw was 2019, so they have improved since then. I also had completely forgotten that CollectA made a hinge-jawed megalodon that looked equally horrendous.

Yup, there are a multitude of reasons I don't have a megalodon in my collection yet. Although I do like CollectA's more than PNSO's it still looks like a ventriloquist dummy.

[Pliosaurking]

Less than 24 hours till the next reveal!

Please god, just let it be a Purussaurus, please!

[Flaffy]

Well, seems like there's truth to the leaks afterall!

Brighstoneus


Ruyangosaurus 1:100


Anomalocaris

[Lynx]

Well, I think it is set in stone for me, I won't be getting any 2023 CollectA figures.
They look good but the sauropod is too small for my taste, the hadrosaur/iguanodontid not having much to it, and the last offering is good but I don't collect that stuff.

[suspsy]

https://blog.everythingdinosaur.com/blog/_archives/2022/11/11/new-collecta-models-2023-part-2.html

Well now. Guess we can look forward to Shastasaurus and Mosasaurus next week.

These three all look to be spectacular sculpts. However, the Ruyangosaurus is coloured just like the Mamenchisaurus and the Brighstoneus is coloured just like the Fukuisaurus. I'll still get them both, but a wider palette would be a wise move in the future.

No complaints whatsoever about the Anomalocaris, though. That sucker is a lock. CollectA needs to make a sea scorpion next!

Oh, and I think it's high time we all stopped bemoaning about how ornithopods don't receive enough attention from toy companies. CollectA, PNSO, Safari, and Schleich have released plenty of ornithopods by this point, and it's safe to assume that we'll be getting them in Cyberzoic/BotM as well. We should be calling for more ornithomimosaurs and oviraptorosaurs instead!

[Ludodactylus]

Oooh, I'd never heard of Brighstoneus before but that is a lovely figure.

I'm torn - Anomalocaris has been my favorite prehistoric creature since I read "Wonderful Life" in high school. But that paint job just makes the toy look dirty.

[Flaffy]

Mildly miffed that the colour schemes for Brighstoneus and Ruyangosaurus are so similar to their Fukuisaurus and Mamenchisaurus respectively. But overall, very glad to see these two join CollectA's 2023 line-up!

Ornithopods and british dinosaurs are always welcome in my book, so Brighstoneus is going into the cart no doubt about that.

Ruyangosaurus's pose and integument is what I was hoping for from Safari's Patagotitan; and basically what a modern reconstruction of a titanosaur should look like. Another figure going into the cart.


The Anomalocaris is incredibly disappointing. Looks like a carbon copy of this commonly circulated model of the Cambrian radiodont. Not sure what the sculptor was thinking by referencing this extremely outdated reconstruction when PLENTY of updated resources are available. Easy pass. If you're looking for an Anomalocaris that reflects our current understanding of radiodont anatomy, the 2020 Takara Tomy one is your best bet; closely followed by Favorite Co's minis and Kaiyodo's "Great Leaps" version.



(Top: decade old outdated shrimp/arthropod-like reconstruction. Bottom: up-to-date reconstruction of A. canadensis by Jun)

[Duck]

Heyy these actually look pretty good! Shame CollectA is harder for me to get in person where I live, but I'll try and get the Ceratosuchops, Hadrosaurus, and Anomalocaris despite its flaws (I might even have a go at painting it!)

[Brontozaurus]

I can almost guarantee that the Koolasuchus "leak" is false.

I feel like a CollectA Koolasuchus this year makes sense though, even without the Anomalocaris potentially confirming the accuracy of that leak. We know that their deluxe Triceratops was made in collaboration with the Melbourne Museum, where the Koolasuchus holotype is housed. Furthermore, Koolasuchus was recently made the Victorian state fossil emblem, which got a lot of press here. I wouldn't be surprised if the museum reached out to them again to make a Koolasuchus (their shop's toy dino section is dominated by CollectA), or CollectA decided to take advantage of their working relationship for some expertise.

[Flaffy]

No complaints whatsoever about the Anomalocaris, though. That sucker is a lock. CollectA needs to make a sea scorpion next!

It's fine if you enjoy the older arthropod-like reconstructions, but the CollectA model definitely does not reflect current science. The sculpt is something I'd expect from the likes of Mattel, where they tend to go for the most popular / pop-culture recons; rather than a science & accuracy focused company like CollectA.

A darn shame, was really looking forward to CollectA doing radiodonts. But if this is what we're getting then I'm really not sure anymore.

[suspsy]

I don't see enough difference between CollectA's Anomalocaris and that illustration to warrant any real complaint. I'd rather be grateful that we're still getting Paleozoic invertebrates. And I'm sure the majority of palaeontologists wouldn't raise that much objection to this toy either.

[Flaffy]

I don't see enough difference between CollectA's Anomalocaris and that illustration to warrant any real complaint. I'd rather be grateful that we're still getting Paleozoic invertebrates. And I'm sure the majority of palaeontologists wouldn't raise that much objection to this toy either.

Just to name a few major ones:
- complex trunk sclerites, radiodonts did not have hard exoskeletons like advanced arthropods, but were instead "softer". Think Velvet worm (panarthropod) instead of Centipede (arthropod).
- no evidence for regular parallel series of raised bumps on the dorsal surface of the trunk.
- irregular head sclerites, head plates should be ovoid.
- lack of dorsal setal blades on the trunk; basically the CollectA model has no gills (the Kaiyodo and Favorite figures also have this issue).

Minor:
- Either, the first 3 "neck" flaps/lobes should be significantly smaller than the following lobes; Or, the 3 "neck" lobes are missing entirely. IIRC Anomalocaris had 3 pairs on the neck, 13 pairs on the trunk, and another 3 on the tail. The figure only depicts the 13 trunk pairs + tail  lobes.  But most companies gets the lobe number wrong anyways.
- *issue on the museum model, NOT CollectA's model*  Dorsal spikes on the frontal podomeres should not be present, they only appear in the distal podomere segments.

CollectA's Anomalocaris represents what we know about the genus, and radiodonts in general around 10 years ago if not more.  But one commendable aspect of the model is how the sculptor tried to depict the complex nature of the appendages, particularly the trident-like individual spikes on the podomeres.

[DragonRider02]

Ruyangosaurus is definitely my favorite so far, it's sculpt and design looks amazing. But I am definitely dissapointed with choice of colors-it's pretty much identical to their Mamenchisaurus. If I display these two together it will look like I have two excatly same figures, just with diffrently bent necks!
I can even imagine a parent taking a look at the Ruyangosaurus at a store and skipping it, thinking their kid already has that one.

Same issue with Brightstoneus-good sculpt, but the colors aren't only very similar to Fukuisaurus, they're also identical to this year's Triceratops.

[Bokisaurus]

So far a very strong and wonderful group of models from CollectA for next year!
Excited to see some mix of classic as well as new ones.
I really love the Ruyangosaurus despite the similarities with the Mamenchisaurus colors. I may sign up to review that one😃
I wonder if these are all Anthony's designs and choices or some are from their new artist?
Can't wait to see the next batch of prehistorics as well as extant animals 😃

[KrazyKaprosuchus]

Quite unfortunate that the Anomalocaris isn't very accurate to what we now know. Oh well, the Paleozoo Anomalocaris still serves me well. The other figures are quite nice, I think i'll pick them both up.

[Ikessauro]

The Anomalocaris is incredibly disappointing. Looks like a carbon copy of this commonly circulated model of the Cambrian radiodont. Not sure what the sculptor was thinking by referencing this extremely outdated reconstruction when PLENTY of updated resources are available. Easy pass. If you're looking for an Anomalocaris that reflects our current understanding of radiodont anatomy, the 2020 Takara Tomy one is your best bet; closely followed by Favorite Co's minis and Kaiyodo's "Great Leaps" version.



(Top: decade old outdated shrimp/arthropod-like reconstruction. Bottom: up-to-date reconstruction of A. canadensis by Jun)

Pardon my ignorance, but I can't really notice where are the differences between these images, other than one being a realistic model and the other a line drawing. Could you guys elaborate for me?