Happy Hen Toys - Buying Guides

[HappyHen]

We have been getting a lot of positive feedback on our combo / comparison pictures
on the Animal Toy Forum so thought we would open a similar thread here so that
you can see all the comparison photos in one spot / thread.  We will add more
to this thread over time.

Here are our Ankylosaurus comparison pics:








Here is the link to the associated Ankylosaurus Buying Guide if interested:
https://www.happyhentoys.com/ankylosaurus-dinosaur-toy-reviews.html

Feedback is appreciated!

[Gwangi]

Wow, Mojo sure has a lot of Ankylosaurus figures.

For me, PNSO is best. But runner-up is Safari. It's funny that you dislike it because of the armor when along with PNSO's it's actually the most scientifically accurate figure in your buying guide. They don't look the same but use different scientific papers for reference. Figures by Mojo, Schleich, and Papo are all inaccurate and borrow heavily from older reconstructions. Many of them are more reminiscent of Euoplocephalus than the actual Ankylosaurus.

That said, I appreciate these comparisons. And it is interesting and somewhat refreshing to get a perspective from someone that is not concerned with scientific accuracy. There are many ways to judge a figure. Keep it up!

[Sim]

I wasn't expecting the Schleich Ankylosaurus's head to look like that when seen from above!  Clearly the skull of Ankylosaurus was ignored when making that figure and instead it was sculpted to look like a dragon or alien.

CollectA's Ankylosaurus are poor.  It's odd that CollectA keeps making nearly identical ornithopods while they don't have any good ankylosaurid with a tail club or dromaeosaurid.

[HappyHen]

Ba Ha Ha Ha Gwangi

We are all laughing here at your comment of: "perspective from someone that is not concerned with scientific accuracy". 

The debate is raging: 1) Is he politely calling me a dino dunce? or 2) Does he really appreciate the alternative perspective? 

We know it is the latter, but it did make us laugh.

I readily admit that I am a neophyte and wish I knew more about the detailed scientific specifics of dinosaurs (or animals, or knights, or any of the other 3500+ products that we sell).  While I am interested in all, the day to day realities of running HHT precludes me from getting too much into the weeds on any given product.  I often joke - my #1 (and some days my only) job is to write checks and keep the treadmill running. 

That said, I am glad that I have deepened HHT's relationship with DTF and ATF because just hanging out on the forums - I am learning more and more every day.  We all have to start somewhere and I am appreciative of the vast knowledge that is available in this community. 

I am working on bringing more knowledge in house in a way that I think will really be enjoyed by this community.  I will post more info if I can make it happen but fingers crossed.

Thanks for the laugh and the continuing education.

All the Best
HHT

[Fembrogon]

Thanks indeed for the comparison! I'll echo the surprise at the Safari figure being ranked bottom; it's uniqueness is precisely what shoots it to the top for me, second only to PNSO. The Safari and PNSO are the only two of the bunch to really capture the absurd girth of ankylosaur anatomy, and their color schemes are much more attractive than most of the others, being varied yet naturalistic.
I'd probably give Papo 3rd place, if only for the dynamic pose; but like mentioned already the figure resembles Euoplocephalus more than Ankylosaurus proper.
However one leans, though, these comparison shots are very useful!

[Sim]

The dynamic pose of the Papo Ankylosaurus is impossible for it.  The second half of Ankylosaurus's tail was stiff as it formed the handle of its tail club, so it couldn't curl its tail into a scorpion pose like in the Papo figure.  Also I hope I don't annoy anyone when I say the armour of the Papo Ankylosaurus is based on that of Scolosaurus, which is what the armour of Euoplocephalus was based on too.

[Flaffy]

Very helpful comparison @HappyHen , thanks! I'm sure new buyers will appreciate this.

Personally I only consider the PNSO and Safari versions worth acquiring, as those two are the only ones that accurately reflect the girth, armour and anatomy of Ankylosaurus proper; with the PNSO having better osteoderms, and Safari accurately displaying the stiffened ossified tail. The rest are all based on outdated reconstructions as shown below, or are pure fantasty altogether.


"Hypotheses of osteoderm morphologies and placements in Ankylosaurus magniventris..." By Victoria M. Arbour & Jordan C. Mallon http://www.facetsjournal.com/doi/10.1139/facets-2017-0063

[Gwangi]

Ba Ha Ha Ha Gwangi

We are all laughing here at your comment of: "perspective from someone that is not concerned with scientific accuracy". 

The debate is raging: 1) Is he politely calling me a dino dunce? or 2) Does he really appreciate the alternative perspective? 

We know it is the latter, but it did make us laugh.

I readily admit that I am a neophyte and wish I knew more about the detailed scientific specifics of dinosaurs (or animals, or knights, or any of the other 3500+ products that we sell).  While I am interested in all, the day to day realities of running HHT precludes me from getting too much into the weeds on any given product.  I often joke - my #1 (and some days my only) job is to write checks and keep the treadmill running. 

That said, I am glad that I have deepened HHT's relationship with DTF and ATF because just hanging out on the forums - I am learning more and more every day.  We all have to start somewhere and I am appreciative of the vast knowledge that is available in this community. 

I am working on bringing more knowledge in house in a way that I think will really be enjoyed by this community.  I will post more info if I can make it happen but fingers crossed.

Thanks for the laugh and the continuing education.

All the Best
HHT

Oh no, no, no. It's definitely the second one, "appreciate the alternative perspective". I want to make it clear that I was being sincere. I don't always care about accuracy myself, which is proven by the fact that I collect Mattel dinosaurs. And I have and like the Papo Ankylosaurus too. Us here on this forum live in a bubble of sorts, where accuracy is widely considered the most important thing about a dinosaur toy and people don't seem to understand that to other folks, it's not. I think some people don't realize that to the general public accuracy is probably their least concern. So it really is nice to get that perspective.

Thanks @Flaffy for sharing that picture. Good call. I want to point our for @HappyHen that the Carpenter 2004 paper is what the Safari Ankylosaurus is based on while PNSO's is based on one on the far right labeled "this paper".

[EmperorDinobot]

Are you an American retailer, @HappyHen ?

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Yes they are. Based in Indiana.
https://www.happyhentoys.com/?gclid=CjwKCAjw04yjBhApEiwAJcvNoZZah1T2f6Sch70iccSOlzE4d88pP3lLGcp4ZjkNNThEhJ9ygBBMzhoC1pEQAvD_BwE

[HappyHen]

Are you an American retailer, @HappyHen ?

Yes, Saarlooswolfhound is correct, we are based in Indianapolis, Indiana.

[Halichoeres]

Thanks for going to the trouble of putting this together. While we may all have different rankings (I too place PNSO and Safari in first and second place), the comparison photos are extremely useful, and the commentary can draw attention to details that are easily overlooked. I can see why these features have been so popular.

[ceratopsian]

I found the comparison shots really valuable. And your comments @HappyHen made me meditate on why I came up with my own preferred order.

[HappyHen]

Stegosaurus Time.

Here are the comparison pictures we did when we looked at the current Stegosaurus figures.







Here is the original Stegosaurus Buying Guide.

https://www.happyhentoys.com/stegosaurus-dinosaur-toy-reviews.html

Feedback is appreciated!

[Lynx]

The guide is great! I've decided to put the Papo Stegosaurus on my wishlist after reading through it. However, only critique I have is that the guide doesn't seem to go very in depth about the drawbacks of some figures unlike other guides. The Safari LTD newer Stegosaurus, which is ranked as the lowest on the list besides the Mojos, doesn't go into much depth about the drawbacks, unlike the Mojos.

But that's just me nitpicking, other than that, this seems like a solid guide!

[Fembrogon]

An excellent lineup; thanks again!

Once more, Safari Ltd. and PNSO are the easy winners in my eyes. I don't say that just out of bias, or even for accuracy; Safari's and PNSO's figures just look better. The posing, the nuances in sculpting, and the applied color patterns are all of distinctly higher standard than the rest.
I appreciate the shout-out for the old Safari figure; that's still one of my favorites for how colorful and elegant it appears, even though the overall posture and proportions are dated now.
Papo's figure is definitely more old-school in appearance, but the newer color scheme definitely does the sculpt a favor. It's actually quite reminiscent of the Carnegie model now! I think Mojo's 2022 figure would also benefit greatly from more interesting coloration, as the sculpt itself isn't too bad.

[Gwangi]

Excellent! Of those listed my personal favorites are the two from PNSO. But I like both of Safari's too. The older Safari figure is one of the first figures I got as an adult collector. And I also have a soft spot for that short and chunky Stegosaurus from Mojo. 

[HappyHen]

Styracosaurus time!

Here are the comparison photos we did when we looked at the current Styracosaurus figures.




Here is the link to the original buying guide:
https://www.happyhentoys.com/styracosaurus-dinosaur-toy-reviews.html

We we are getting closer to our "big" announcement.  We are very exited about what is coming and will
fill in more info as it develops.

Feedback is appreciated.

HHT

[Gwangi]

I'm starting to look forward to these guides, both here and on the Animal Toy Forum. Styracosaurus was a good choice, lots of great figures of this animal.

Of those featured I have Papo's, the red variant. I might get Safari's and/or PNSO's eventually but I already have my absolute favorite Styracosaurus figure, the Battat one from the 1990's. For that reason I'm in no real hurry to get another.

[Flaffy]

Of those featured I have Papo's, the red variant. I might get Safari's and/or PNSO's eventually but I already have my absolute favorite Styracosaurus figure, the Battat one from the 1990's. For that reason I'm in no real hurry to get another.

Even though I've got the PNSO Styracosauurs, I'm never getting rid of my Battat one, it's such an elegant sculpt.