SidB's Collection Thread

[SidB]

I was in the kitchen this morning and BOOM - a loud thump resounded from the condo door! At the foot of the doorway a package had been dropped ... my Haolonggood 'yellow' Pentaceratops had arrived from Dan's Dinosaurs. I'll share some  images with you, with comparisons with the darker version. The latter was my first choice, I really like the paint scheme, but the lighter, yellow version clearly shows off the detail of the sculpt more effectively.

[Jose S.M.]

Really nice figures!

[ceratopsian]

I'm glad there was no drama attached to the yellow's arrival.

[SidB]

I'm glad there was no drama attached to the yellow's arrival.

Yes, I've had enough of that for now!

[SidB]

Really nice figures!

As a friend of mine says, "not too shabby"! They certainly were worth waiting for, postal aggravation for the first one and all.

[postsaurischian]

 Love the orange version !

[SidB]

Love the orange version !

Having selected the darker version first, I now prefer the orange, @postsaurischian , both for the colors and the detail they allow to show through.

[ceratopsian]

My route was much the same.  I rather preferred the dark before ordering, though there wasn't a huge difference in my preference.  But now they're on my shelf, it's the yellow that draws me every time.  Still love the dark one too though!

Love the orange version !

Having selected the darker version first, I now prefer the orange, @postsaurischian , both for the colors and the detail they allow to show through.

[Halichoeres]

I passed on these due to the large size, but they sure are lookers!

[Concavenator]

The darker one gives off Dinosaur King vibes - that's a plus in my book. 

[SidB]

The big cats. Never a primary focus of my collections, but I've picked up one or two here and another there, so over the years they've added up.



A couple of Papo Smilodons, topped with the Wild Republic one:


Two CollectA Smilodons:


On top, the Favorite Smilodon, below AAA's version. I used to have the larger one, a huge figure, but it was given away to a daycare when I make downsizing my collections to make room for the next generation (largely PNSO's).




Left, the new TNG Smilodon, probably the best one here on display, further back in the picture the old Schleich and Carnegie Safari representatives:

Above, two Mojos's, below the Wild Safari, still a really nice figure:



Below a smattering of extant big cats for comparison purposes, above - the Bullyland subcollection.

To the right, three Smilodons; left back -Machairodus: left front - Eusmilus. I like that Bullyland made their cats at a 1/24 scale, which blends much better with the 1/20-1/25 scale mammalian Cenozoic collectibles in general. They were apt to produce more than the occasional unusual genus also. Their absence from the market is missed.

[Crackington]

Excellent photos S @SidB - you can take pride in your, ahem, pride

[SidB]

Excellent photos S @SidB - you can take pride in your, ahem, pride

Thanks, @Crackington , it's always been a whole lot of fun collecting and displaying the various sorts in my collections. Even more so now that more people get to enjoy them too. No doubt others, including yourself, feel rather the same way.

[SidB]

This morning , I'll now highlight my venerable collection of Invictas. Back in 2008-9, when I first started collecting, these were quite common in Toronto area thrift shops, and so I was able to build up a reasonable assemblage rather quickly. Even back then, it was obvious that they were precursors of the equally available Carnegies, Schleichs and the very occasional Battat. Most were of the classic unpainted, hard plastic type, others painted. Now, in 2023, all are totally gone from these shops. It's been several years since I've seen even one. This scarcity, along with their elegant, retro appearance, gives them real value to me. I've radically dialed back my Schleich and Papo collections, due to the inevitable space limitations, but not the Invictas - they have a very special sentimental and intrinsic worth. I have all of the various models, even the rare Lambeosaurus (which I purchased online for $70 USD), though obviously not all of the color variants.

The unpainted classics


The factory painted ones. The blue Mamenschisaurus marks the beginning of my dinosaur collecting hobby in 2008 and  holds a special place for me.


The personally painted ones. back in the day, when I was learning how to use brush and paint, I used a number of my then very numerous extras to try out my developing skills.  kept these as the results, though relatively simplistic, were not unpleasing. I seriously doubt that I'd do this again with a now rare Invicta.

[TooOldForDinosaurs]

Those personally painted ones look super good! I like that you kept it simple, it fits the sculpting style. Congrats

[SidB]

Those personally painted ones look super good! I like that you kept it simple, it fits the sculpting style. Congrats

Thanks, @TooOldForDinosaurs , that makes me feel better about the experiment.

[SidB]

My rex collection has just acquired a new member, the all but forgotten HLG one.



Its new home:

[ceratopsian]

Elegant is definitely the right adjective for those Invictas.  They look fabulous as a group.

[Crackington]

I agree with @ceratopsian, wonderful Invicta collection. Your self painted models are great, particularly those Icthyosaurs - beautiful job!

[SidB]

Well, again thanks! Actually I was more than a bit shy to display them, as I'd done them so many years ago. But the Icthyosaurs did turn out well, I'll concur. Glad that you liked the rest too!