CollectA: New for 2023

[Flaffy]

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?

I've posted my list a couple responses up, but the link is attached here:
https://dinotoyblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=10525.msg332316#msg332316

The discrepancies are quite obvious once you know what to look for.

[suspsy]

Meh. None of that diminishes my excitement for the Anomalocaris in the slightest. It's still perfectly recognizable as one and it resembles at least 95% of the existing paleoart. I'll enjoy it the same way I still enjoy the feathered T. rexes from CollectA and Safari, accuracy notwithstanding.

[Gwangi]

Thanks for the insight regarding the Anomalocaris @Flaffy, I wouldn't have noticed them on my own. I commend CollectA for making an Anomalocaris but it is a shame when a company known for accuracy delivers an inaccurate model. But it's also not a dinosaur so most people won't be nitpicking it as much.

The Ruyangosaurus is really cool but yes, very similar to the Mamenchisaurus. I don't have that Mamenchisaurus but if I did I probably wouldn't bother with the Ruyangosaurus. As it is I'll probably get one or the other but not both.

The Brighstoneus doesn't excite me in the slightest. Aside from the genus it represents it comes across as mundane. So far, the only must have for me for 2023 is the Hadrosaurus. But a Koolosuchus would be a must have too, it has been a personal wish list staple for many years.

[Flaffy]

Meh. None of that diminishes my excitement for the Anomalocaris in the slightest. It's still perfectly recognizable as one and it resembles at least 95% of the existing paleoart. I'll enjoy it the same way I still enjoy the feathered T. rexes from CollectA and Safari, accuracy notwithstanding.

Again that is perfectly fine. But just because you can't personally identify discrepancies and/or not bothered by them, does not make the figure exempt from critisism. Especially since CollectA as @Gwangi stated is a scientifically oriented company compared to the likes of Mattel & Papo.

[TooOldForDinosaurs]

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

Oooh Shastasaurus sounds exciting. Really bummed out about the colour scheme of that Ruyangosaurus. But if 1:100 means that it will be about the same size as their "1:100" Mamenchisaurus, it might still be worth picking it up for a repaint.

[PrimevalRaptor]

A shame that Anomalocaris is pretty outdated, still nice to see more Paleozoic invertebrates at least. Hoping for a sea scorpion in the future.
Brightstoneus is nice for yet another British species even if the colors are veeeery similar to the Fukuisaurus (same with the Ruyangosaurus, at least some variety would be neat especially there, we got enough drab grey sauropods). The sculpts are really nice though.

[Remko]

Really bummed out about the colour scheme of that Ruyangosaurus. But if 1:100 means that it will be about the same size as their "1:100" Mamenchisaurus, it might still be worth picking it up for a repaint.

I agree. I waited with the Mamenchisaurus a long time and only bought it recently.
Much better than I expected, and it will function just fine as a smaller Mamenchisaurus species.

Same for that Ruyangosaurus.
It's still 40 cm's long according to the Everything Dinosaur blog, and I assume that's standing length, not along the spine and counting for the curvature. So it will probably be somewhat larger than most people expect it to be.

[Faelrin]

Just woke up. Have to get ready for my surgery soon but glad to see these before that. Love that Anomalocaris (even if outdated unfortunately, but well I have enough of those as is in my collection that it doesn't bug me). As if I need another though lol, but of course I'll need to pick it up someday. Guess those leaked names were true. I'll need to update my Paleozoic thread with that one. The others are nice as well though I'm not as familiar with them.

[ceratopsian]

I'm pleased to see the Ruyangosaurus, though this is because it holds a personal memory for me.  Back in 2019, I was lucky enough to spend a couple of weeks in China with a group on a holiday based around dinosaur museums.  At Lufeng, we were treated to a personal (and very unexpected!) tour by Prof. Dong Zhiming.  As he stood with me looking across the bone beds within the museum, we tried to make conversation.  I'm not a great conversationalist! I said I was keen to visit Argentina to see Patagotitan.  He then remarked that China also had large titanosaurs and asked me if I was familiar with Ruyangosaurus. I wasn't, so it took a while for me to pick up the name he was saying.  After a few attempts I had it, he beamed with pleasure and told me to look it up.  So Ruyangosaurus brings back a treasured memory of a wonderful holiday.

[Faelrin]

@Flaffy Didn't see this earlier but had a tiny bit of down time, so wondering if the upcoming F-Toys Anomalocaris (which should be releasing this month?) is up to date as well?

[suspsy]

Meh. None of that diminishes my excitement for the Anomalocaris in the slightest. It's still perfectly recognizable as one and it resembles at least 95% of the existing paleoart. I'll enjoy it the same way I still enjoy the feathered T. rexes from CollectA and Safari, accuracy notwithstanding.

Again that is perfectly fine. But just because you can't personally identify discrepancies and/or not bothered by them, does not make the figure exempt from critisism. Especially since CollectA as @Gwangi stated is a scientifically oriented company compared to the likes of Mattel & Papo.

When did I ever remotely suggest that the Anomalocaris is exempt from criticism? I simply don't consider the inaccuracies glaring enough to warrant condemning or not buying the toy. I still want it. No one is stopping you from making an alternative decision.

[bmathison1972]

those innacuracis in the Anomalocaris won't stop me from getting it in a million years LOL, and I would like to jump the gun and reserve it for the DTB, assuming someone hasn't beaten me to it!

[Flaffy]

Meh. None of that diminishes my excitement for the Anomalocaris in the slightest. It's still perfectly recognizable as one and it resembles at least 95% of the existing paleoart. I'll enjoy it the same way I still enjoy the feathered T. rexes from CollectA and Safari, accuracy notwithstanding.

Again that is perfectly fine. But just because you can't personally identify discrepancies and/or not bothered by them, does not make the figure exempt from critisism. Especially since CollectA as @Gwangi stated is a scientifically oriented company compared to the likes of Mattel & Papo.

When did I ever remotely suggest that the Anomalocaris is exempt from criticism? I simply don't consider the inaccuracies glaring enough to warrant condemning or not buying the toy. I still want it. No one is stopping you from making an alternative decision.

"I don't see enough difference between CollectA's Anomalocaris and that illustration to warrant any real complaint"

Came across as such, apologies if that was not your intention. I recognise that every collector has their own unique criterion to determine whether to purchase a figure or not. And likewise there are plenty of figures with glaring scientific inaccuracies that I still purchased and am quite fond of. Unfortunately this Anomalocaris to me is not one of them, as better versions of the genus exist on the market.

[Ludodactylus]

So for fun, I showed my wife (a complete layperson and truthfully, a bit of a gremlin) the CollectA releases to get her opinion:

Anomalocaris: "That looks like the nightmare you have after eating buffet sea food. Don't bring that into the apartment."

Brighstoneus: "He's got a little mask, he's a bandit!"

Ceratosuchops: "He looks very mean and aggressive. I wouldn't want to meet him in the dark."

Hadrosaurus: "He looks like he got punched in the nose and knows he did something to deserve it."

Ruyangosaurus: "What is there to be excited about with this one? You put him at the back of the shelf and he'll just look like another figure's shadow."

Triceratops: "Meh, I like the triceratops I got you last year [Eofauna] better."

She's been encouraging me to hold off on buying more of the less-expensive CollectAs in favor of buying fewer but nicer PNSOs, and she hasn't seen anything in this year's announcements to change her opinion on that.

[Flaffy]

@Flaffy Didn't see this earlier but had a tiny bit of down time, so wondering if the upcoming F-Toys Anomalocaris (which should be releasing this month?) is up to date as well?

Oh of course forgot that F-Toys is making one too. Thanks for reminding me to pick that little guy up (eventually)!

Here  would be my ranking:
1. Takara TOMY
2/3. F-Toys / Kaiyodo (Great Leaps)
4. Favorite Co. (mini)

Takara is still the clear winner with the correct shape, location and number of head sclerites. Bonus points of the setal blades and 3 small "neck" lobes. Both the F-Toys and Kaiyodo versions seem to be missing the lateral head sclerites + incorrect central sclerite shape & position, and each has their own individual pros and cons:

F-Toys
Pros: small "neck" lobes present
Cons: Setal blades placed on the lobes instead of on the trunk (Paleozoo ver has a similar issue); Less precise appendage sculpt, singular spikes instead of trident-shaped.


Kaiyodo
Pros: Very precise appendage sculpt, accurately depicts the trident-shaped spikes
Cons: "Neck" lobes entirely absent it seems; Central head sclerite may or may not be present?



Goes without saying all 3 Anomalocaris figures above are good representations of the genus. No hard exoskeleton to be found here, which is a major gripe for me as it perpetuates the misconception that radiodonts were just weird shrimps.

[suspsy]

Meh. None of that diminishes my excitement for the Anomalocaris in the slightest. It's still perfectly recognizable as one and it resembles at least 95% of the existing paleoart. I'll enjoy it the same way I still enjoy the feathered T. rexes from CollectA and Safari, accuracy notwithstanding.

Again that is perfectly fine. But just because you can't personally identify discrepancies and/or not bothered by them, does not make the figure exempt from critisism. Especially since CollectA as @Gwangi stated is a scientifically oriented company compared to the likes of Mattel & Papo.

When did I ever remotely suggest that the Anomalocaris is exempt from criticism? I simply don't consider the inaccuracies glaring enough to warrant condemning or not buying the toy. I still want it. No one is stopping you from making an alternative decision.

"I don't see enough difference between CollectA's Anomalocaris and that illustration to warrant any real complaint"

Came across as such

Nope. If I truly believed that the toy was exempt from criticism, I'd have stated that in no uncertain terms. My words are a reflection of my own subjective take and I stand by them. Same as how my disdain for kimchi doesn't mean it's a bad dish.

I recognise that every collector has their own unique criterion to determine whether to purchase a figure or not. And likewise there are plenty of figures with glaring scientific inaccuracies that I still purchased and am quite fond of. Unfortunately this Anomalocaris to me is not one of them, as better versions of the genus exist on the market.

And that's perfectly fine. By all means, don't buy it.

[Pliosaurking]

None of these reveals excite me, they look cool but I have no interest in picking any of them up, with the possible exception of the Ruyangosaurus which looks really good.  Now hopefully those rumours of the Mosasaurus and shastasaurus are true. I'm still hopeful for a Purussaurus, but I'm not holding my breath. Also is there rumours of a koolasuchus getting made? If so that would be fantastic!

[Bread]

I definitely prefer this set of 3 reveals compared to the previous.

The Ruyangosaurus definitely needs a repaint though. Heck, I even consider modifying the model to where its sculpt foes not represent a Ruyangosaurus, maybe another sauropod of the same buildup but at a bigger scale (~1/35).

Correct me if I am wrong, is the Ruyangosaurus the first sauropod model/figure we received to have the more updated posture we have conceded to be accurate?

[bmathison1972]

Here  would be my ranking:
1. Takara TOMY
2/3. F-Toys / Kaiyodo (Great Leaps)
4. Favorite Co. (mini)

this would be my ranking too!

[suspsy]

So shall we assume that the rest of those leaks are legitimate then? Strikes me as odd that anyone would toss in random phoneys with real products. I'm very keen to see the remaining four, although I'm betting that Koolasuchus and Stegouros will be fall releases. Perhaps the former will even have an articulated jaw.