Protoceratops & other dinosaurs of the Gobi Desert - Your best figures recommendations

[Protopatch]

Things go faster than I thought thanks to all of your kind recommendations and five Gobi fellows are now on their way to their "new home", can't wait !
Meanwhile, another species came to my mind and did some research but unfortunately, nothing conclusive.
Should you have any interesting lead on a Gobivenator figure, please feel free to share.

[thomasw100]

Things go faster than I thought thanks to all of your kind recommendations and five Gobi fellows are now on their way to their "new home", can't wait !
Meanwhile, another species came to my mind and did some research but unfortunately, nothing conclusive.
Should you have any interesting lead on a Gobivenator figure, please feel free to share.

Would you also consider 3D printed resin models? If so, I would have some suggestions.

[Sim]

There is no toy figure of Gobivenator, or Gobisaurus which you asked about earlier.  I don't know about resin figures, but unfortunately there's a lack of good troodontid figures.  I've been asking for a Saurornithoides figure for years and still there's no good troodontid figure.  The most suitable one for you, considering the size and slender snout of Gobivenator, I think would be the Vivid Walking with dinosaurs mini Troodon.  It's been retired for a long time though and it's in a strange pose.

[Protopatch]

T @thomasw100 Yes of course I would be happy to consider the resin models as well.
As far as I am concerned, the choice of the figures is mostly based on their size as well as on their overall design (including the colour choice/pattern and position) but not specifcally on their material.
So please, do not hesitate to share the references which are in your mind and which, by the way, might be of interest for other people who are reading us here.

@Sim Indeed, such as Nemegtosaurus.
Your comment is very interesting as it highlights the fact that many Gobi species already have their own figure(s) whereas there is a lack of figures for some others.
The WWD troodon is cute, thanks for suggesting. Actually, its rather flashy toothless head's colours and small size (proportionally a bit small in comparison with the rest of the other dinos I'm currently gathering) would bother me more than its weird pose.
To be considered anyway as an alternative solution in case.

In parallel, I'm also working on creating the setting, a surrounding appropriate environment in which the figures would be dispersed.
I've looked for Mesozoic Gobi play mats but once again, nothing conclusive.
BotM offers a cool desert environment setting, however, it's highly likely that it'll not be big enough to shelter the dozen of dinos expected by the end of the year, not to say that the Gobi Desert was not only desert during the Cretaceous...
Any ideas would be welcome !

[Sim]

I've owned some of the BotM environment sets and they are great but not very large.  You wouldn't be able to fit more than a couple of the figures you're getting on each base.

[Elengassen]

If you want something big enough to display around a dozen figures, you'd probably be best off with a desert-theme gaming mat, something like this:



If you want something more 3D, I'm sure you could find artists willing to make you a custom diorama base, but for such a large size it would probably be pretty expensive.

[thomasw100]

T @thomasw100 Yes of course I would be happy to consider the resin models as well.
As far as I am concerned, the choice of the figures is mostly based on their size as well as on their overall design (including the colour choice/pattern and position) but not specifcally on their material.
So please, do not hesitate to share the references which are in your mind and which, by the way, might be of interest for other people who are reading us here.

I have resin models of two ankylosaurs and will share pictures of them below.

1) Tarchia, designed by Miniature Museum, printed by Dinosauria Creatures, painted by dinocommissions



2) Talarurus, designed and and printed by Paleokhris, painted by Dinosaur Models Artworks

[Protopatch]

@Sim & @Elengassen Thank you both, you give me an idea that would be worth exploring : a combo of BotM's environment sets on a desert gaming mat.
I'll try this way for starters, the result shouldn't be bad 

[Protopatch]

T @thomasw100 Yes of course I would be happy to consider the resin models as well.
As far as I am concerned, the choice of the figures is mostly based on their size as well as on their overall design (including the colour choice/pattern and position) but not specifcally on their material.
So please, do not hesitate to share the references which are in your mind and which, by the way, might be of interest for other people who are reading us here.

I have resin models of two ankylosaurs and will share pictures of them below.

1) Tarchia, designed by Miniature Museum, printed by Dinosauria Creatures, painted by dinocommissions

Oh wow, the Tarchia figure is simply amazing, so realistic !
(may I ask you the price ?^^)

[thomasw100]

Oh wow, the Tarchia figure is simply amazing, so realistic !
(may I ask you the price ?^^)

Currently, this is what you would pay now including the custom painting:

https://dinosauriacreatures.com/en/products/tarchia-kielanae-1?_pos=1&_sid=a8e6806ec&_ss=r&variant=44586230776076

I got it for much less, but this was a while ago. Nowadays, I rather get my custom paints from Dinosaur Models Artworks.

But indeed this Tarchia is very lifelike. I always feel it stares at me.

[Sim]

I had a look at Gregory Paul's Tarbosaurus skeletals again and according to him the more robust-headed specimens are immature. The adult Tarbosaurus has a more elongated snout according to Gregory Paul. I think the PNSO Tarbosaurus is a good representation of an adult Tarbosaurus. Not perfect, but good. I've included Gregory Paul's relevant Tarbosaurus reconstructions below.

[Protopatch]

Excellent, thank you very much for sharing this additional analysis @Sim it is very informative.
Actually, between you and me, I confess that the PNSO's Tarbo is on approach 

[Protopatch]

Excellent, thank you very much for sharing this additional analysis @Sim it is very informative.
Actually, between you and me, I confess that the PNSO's Tarbo is on approach 

By the way, you make me think that I should definitely buy Paul's book, The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs, if I guess correctly.

[Sim]

That's indeed the name of the book, although the one I have is the third edition.  I had the second edition but gave it away after I received the third edition.  The third edition is really worth getting instead of its predecessors, there's a lot more information in it compared to the previous version for example.  Paul also wrote The Princeton field guide to predatory dinosaurs which came out a little after the third edition of the dinosaurs book, but I don't recommend it as it's content is nearly identical to the dinosaurs book except that it only focuses on theropods.  So, The Princeton field guide to dinosaurs third edition, I recommend that book!  I particularly like how the environment, stratigraphic level and location for each species is described.

[Protopatch]

Based on the assumption that during the late Cretaceous, the Gobi area was a lot different : parts of it were covered by dense conifer forests, crisscrossed by streams and dotted with lakes, I've optioned two gaming mats for the setting, for which I'd be keen on knowing your opinions.

Option 1 :


Option 2 :


The first one is currently out of stock but would be my preference.
The second one is cool too, but maybe lacks some desert parts ?...
I'll be combining the one chosen with 3 BotM's environment sets (desert, forest and wetlands).

[Sim]

I would choose option 2.  I think option 1 is too arid and devoid of plants to work for the Nemegt Formation which was a wetland environment.  I think besides working for the Nemegt Formation, option 2 could also work for parts of the Djadochta Formation.

[Protopatch]

Excellent, thank you for the feedback @Sim
Your analysis makes sense, I will experiment in this way as soon as I receive the BotM's sets.
I'm super excited with the idea of the final output !

[Protopatch]

Regarding the Mongolian pterosaur, I don't know if it's been named, but I know there is no figure of it.  However the illustration shows it as an azhdarchid, so I think you could use a Quetzalcoatlus from the following lines to represent it: Wild Safari, Haolonggood, Papo.

The Vitae Zhejiangopterus would also probably make a decent stand-in for any fragmentary azhdarchid genus.

A good option to consider indeed.
By the way, thanks to your great reco, CB's figure is my definitive choice for Velociraptor (small size in black) 

The GR Toys Quetzalcoaltus is rather good too, albeit featuring some anatomical inaccuracies according to what I could read in an old thread on the topic : (quote)

1) The torso is far too large relative to the head and neck
2)  the head and neck are far too short
3) the eye appears to be mounted too high in the skull
4) the leading edge of the headcrest doesn't match the two that are preserved in the fossils
5) the lateral distal syncarpal and pteroid appear to be attached to the proximal carpal instead of the distal carpal (pteroid should attach to the proximal side of the lateral distal syncarpal)
6)  the massive deltopectoral crest is missing from the humerus
7) Phalange IV-4 (the tip of the wingfinger) is waay too long)
I don't see any indication of Sesimoid 'A' that seats on the antero-dorsal end of the lateral distal syncarpal and supports the tendon that attaches to the proximal Metacarpal IV-1.  The tendon isn't shown either
All in all, many proportions are wrong

Reflections in progress regarding the pterosaur but I'm facing a dilemma.
I came across the Kaiyodo Collect Club UHA Dsungaripterus which might well be a good challenger alongside the Safari's Quetzalcoaltus and the Vitae's Zhejiangopterus, in terms of finishing touches and despite its flashy colours :

Would be keen on knowing your opinions on the former if possible.

[Maritimer]

Reading this thread, I _really_ wish I could get this computer to pick images from my phone; Apple and Dell, they're not on speaking terms at the moment.

After a two-week birthday and retirement celebration / expedition to the Gobi (Nemegt, Altan Uul, Tugrigeen Shiree, and Bayn Dzak; through Mongolia Quest and led by Phil Currie) last September, I took all of my Jurassic (period, not park) figures off the primary display area and replaced them with Collect-A trees & plants, interspersed with figures of Gobi dinosaurs and casts of fossils pertaining to them, mostly from Gaston.

Far fewer taxa, but far, far more meaningful to me ... and, I suspect, more fun for most folks to encounter.

~Bruce, who will have to figure out a way to get some photos up on this site

[thebermuda303]

I had a look at Gregory Paul's Tarbosaurus skeletals again and according to him the more robust-headed specimens are immature. The adult Tarbosaurus has a more elongated snout according to Gregory Paul. I think the PNSO Tarbosaurus is a good representation of an adult Tarbosaurus. Not perfect, but good. I've included Gregory Paul's relevant Tarbosaurus reconstructions below.

I wouldn't rely on Paul's reconstruction, first of all he put holotype's skull (the biggest individual's head we have) on an immature tarbosaurus body, that's why it looks like a bobblehead. There are also plenty of big adult tarbosaurus skulls that retain their wide and tall appearance.
ZPAL-MgD1/4 is a good example of that (beware as most reconstructions show damaged head that's very narrow)
Specimen from France is also a good example, though the best would be the skeleton from Taiwan. Here are some examples of big tarbosaurus skulls.