Misc. Business/Flotsam and Jetsom

[SBell]

I guess my point was how frustrating it is to continually find just how little is REALLY known about prehistoric animals for ABSOLUTELY SURE.

I agree - and it's troublesome, how a reconstruction of a prehistoric animal can be considered totally up-to-date one day and comically outdated the next. It seems the most you can do, when faced with an issue like the pterosaur wings or the theropod/sauropod lips is to investigate why each expert is convinced about each side, then do what any scientist does: try to eliminate personal bias and determine which reconstruction genuinely seems better-supported. However, it seems like some issues are so indeterminate that I think you'd be fine going with whatever you think looks best - until some new material adds weight to one side or another. 

It is frustrating, mostly because we can't have 'absolute' correctness. We can, however, have 'absolute' incorrect. In this case, David Peters' work.  It's one thing to have opinions, but his have been universally refuted, mostly because of weak methodology (studying photos from books? Really?) and and a lack of  repeatable observations (only he seems able to see the things he sees).  In an interesting circle to another thread, his articles (and a well-reasoned refutation) appeared in PT magazine for a while, where he not only presented his ideas, but also his diatribes against the paleo-establishment for ignoring his work (I would have used those as examples against the magazine, but he seems to have vanished from it now, so that's good).

In short, it is often possible to find current consensus on any given issue. If not, it is often possible to find two reasonably supported sides in an issue--in which case, it's up to the artist to make the choice (the BBC is a good example of an organization that does that--for their shows, they will often take less popular or more outrageous opinion or size estimates for better TV).

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

100% agreed.  There are so many theories out there..when creating a piece it's like Darwin's grab bag. I can use this and this but let's skip that and so on and so forth. Just mind blowing sometimes.

[Takama]

Another "throwing it out there" suggestion.


I would like to see a Arizonasaurus done for your line.

Seeing that the only one out there is the Bullyland one.

[Takama]

I have high hopes for this line to rise up to become something incedible, Cambarible to the Carnegi Collection.

here is a wish list from me for future pieces in 1:40 or larger

Arizonasaurus
Cetiosaurus
Alamosaurus
Concavenator Active
Dacentrues
Carnotaurus
Rugops
Majaungasaurus
Miasaura with optinal nest
Shantungasaurus
Alioramus(active)
Velociraptor(up it to a larger size to fit with the 1:40s)
Basiliosaurus
Dimetrodon

and here is a creative take on a pourly known dinosaur
a group of Paleontoligest unearthing Deinichirus

I will admit, I might set aside collectA, and give in to your amazing models

[dinonikes]

Interesting idea- making a model of a dig showing paleontologists digging up a fossil skeleton- wouldnt really be a figure- more like a small diorama

[Takama]

Yeah, but it would count as a species figure because..well, all we have of Deinochirus are two big Hands

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Yeah, but it would count as a species figure because..well, all we have of Deinochirus are two big Hands

Well we do have the CollectA figure. Guess another interpretation wouldn't hurt though.

[Yutyrannus]

I would like to see a Yutyrannus made, and the rest of the Allosaurus pack that never got finished. I also think that for the allosaurs the individual bases should be shaped so they can connect together to make a whole diorama.

[Patrx]

With the somewhat recent discovery of Sciurumimus showing just how basal feathers are, I think it'd be great to see a cutting-edge allosaur bristling with feathers - or maybe a model of Sciurumimus itself? I actually had a list of suggestions from the old board. Perhaps, in the spirit of sharing ideas, I should post mine here:

Velociraptor (with all of its feathers intact, of course)
Leaellynasaura
Coelophysis
Dimetrodon
Eupocephalus
Postosuchus
Eoraptor
Smilodon
Pachycephalosaurus
Spinophorosaurus
Archaeopteryx
Stegosaurus
Camarasaurus
Lycaenops
A new mosasaur with tail fluke, maybe Platecarpus or simply an updated Tylosaurus?
Styxosaurus
Dakosaurus
Mesosaurus

Some of the smaller ones would probably not work well at 1/40, of course.
At any rate, I think it's worth mentioning that, as I understand it, Malcolm is a pretty busy guy these days. Not to speak for him or anything, but it should be clarified that even with all these suggestions, it's up to him to decide what to spend his time sculpting 

[Takama]

Ok, this is just an idea

What i like about your line is the fact that they are acurate down to the last detail(unless the times change on you) knowing that, how about you give the option of removeable bases for all of the models, and not just for the sea and sky animals. and some how put there name on the base, like the favorite Desktop models.


Its just an idea.

also

Yutyrannus

[Takama]

Wow I see that you retired some of the older pieces.     

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Wow I see that you retired some of the older pieces.   

Malcolm did mention doing that eventually. Of course it should make them more collectible now as well.

[dinonikes]

Wow I see that you retired some of the older pieces.   

Malcolm did mention doing that eventually. Of course it should make them more collectible now as well.

Yes, I retired ones that are being either redone, or ones that were a pain in the a----s to make. You can find some last pieces out there of some of these retired pieces either through Dan's Dinosaurs who had a few of the Parasaurolophus, and also the ebay seller Kingofmodelcars has quite a few of those that were retired in unpainted versions, sort of pricey though, although for say the 1/40 dilo, 1/40 T.rex version 1 and a few others, he is the only one to have those, get em while you can if you want.

[amargasaurus cazaui]

I am unsure if this fits with the content of the thread or purpose, but I see all these artists here sculpting and making new dinosaurs and mammals and I always wonder....why cannot one of you just make a simple scenery piece, generic enough to display whatever dinosaurs we own in a common or most popular size, or type, perhaps two different kinds..a Jurassic and a Cretaceous, each with some sculpted in features and plants etc.Very basic , simple, and should not be that costly if done properly, but ....who doesnt own dinosaurs that could use a base or stand.  The beauty is that whoever does figure that little stunt out gets to sell all of the artists customers a piece.......and then you could create an upgrade kit, with a snake, a few small dinos, perhaps a pterodactyl, some bones...a turtle, whatever. Imagine the market once you consider how many carnegies, battats and so forth need a nice little presentation platform

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

I have seen some pieces like what you describe. Kinto I believe had two or three different dioramas you could buy and use with many of their figures.

There are some problems though, what scale do you make it in ? You would require different sized bases for different figures. Most of the time people just build their own dios anyway since you can find almost every scale of shrubbery or animal life here and there.

I'm sure any of the artists here including Malcolm could make you something like what you describe.

[SBell]

I have seen some pieces like what you describe. Kinto I believe had two or three different dioramas you could buy and use with many of their figures.

There are some problems though, what scale do you make it in ? You would require different sized bases for different figures. Most of the time people just build their own dios anyway since you can find almost every scale of shrubbery or animal life here and there.

I'm sure any of the artists here including Malcolm could make you something like what you describe.

More than that--do you remember the prices of the Kinto bases--they were quite well done, but you could have bought the whole line of dinosaurs twice over instead of a base (which, in the end, was a hard foam base with trees or rocks on them).

But I`d have to agree that, overall, a generic base for any age is almost an impossibility--trees and landforms are as much specific to their exact time and place as anything. For an example close to me--Cretaceous Saskatchewan (and much of western North America) at 85 Ma was underwater. At 70Ma it was a coastal plain. So which one is 'typical' Cretaceous?

The only way it can truly work is if someone makes a series of a specific time and place and scale, with a base to go with it (Western Interior Seaway, late Jurassic Utah, late Cretaceous Niger, etc). But then, that's not very generic.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

I remember not buying them.. I imagine that's why . heh

They were built just like model train enthusiasts make their dioramas I guess. It's not too difficult most hobby shops have materials to do it with.  I generally make my own I like going through the woods or whenever I'm at on a trip or vacation looking for materials I can add.  My only thing is water..I'm still practicing with different ways to do it.

I guess if you just want a forest base, desert base, ocean base, things like that would be okay, but then you will miss out on specifics and the scale is still an issue. :/

[stoneage]

Wow I see that you retired some of the older pieces.   

Malcolm did mention doing that eventually. Of course it should make them more collectible now as well.

Yes, I retired ones that are being either redone, or ones that were a pain in the a----s to make. You can find some last pieces out there of some of these retired pieces either through Dan's Dinosaurs who had a few of the Parasaurolophus, and also the ebay seller Kingofmodelcars has quite a few of those that were retired in unpainted versions, sort of pricey though, although for say the 1/40 dilo, 1/40 T.rex version 1 and a few others, he is the only one to have those, get em while you can if you want.

Do you have a list of what you've retired?  I'm just curious if I've missed out on anything I haven't got yet.

[Takama]

Wow I see that you retired some of the older pieces.   

Malcolm did mention doing that eventually. Of course it should make them more collectible now as well.

Yes, I retired ones that are being either redone, or ones that were a pain in the a----s to make. You can find some last pieces out there of some of these retired pieces either through Dan's Dinosaurs who had a few of the Parasaurolophus, and also the ebay seller Kingofmodelcars has quite a few of those that were retired in unpainted versions, sort of pricey though, although for say the 1/40 dilo, 1/40 T.rex version 1 and a few others, he is the only one to have those, get em while you can if you want.

Do you have a list of what you've retired?  I'm just curious if I've missed out on anything I haven't got yet.

Go to the Figure avaibility thread, He listed the word retired next to the ones that are

[stoneage]

Wow I see that you retired some of the older pieces.   

Malcolm did mention doing that eventually. Of course it should make them more collectible now as well.

Yes, I retired ones that are being either redone, or ones that were a pain in the a----s to make. You can find some last pieces out there of some of these retired pieces either through Dan's Dinosaurs who had a few of the Parasaurolophus, and also the ebay seller Kingofmodelcars has quite a few of those that were retired in unpainted versions, sort of pricey though, although for say the 1/40 dilo, 1/40 T.rex version 1 and a few others, he is the only one to have those, get em while you can if you want.

Do you have a list of what you've retired?  I'm just curious if I've missed out on anything I haven't got yet.

Go to the Figure avaibility thread, He listed the word retired next to the ones that are

Thanks!  Oh no!  Looks like I missed out on the Quetzalcoatlus.  So I take it none of the 1/15 or 1/1 figures along with Apatosaurus and Leedsichthys etc. were ever released.