Wild Safari: New and Old

[Takama]

OK I ha vent seen a Wild Safari Thread on here yet(other then the one that just asks about a list of the figures) So i decided to start one myself.

I see that there are 2 separate lines with the Wild Safari name.   There Classics, and the Modern.  The Classics are the ones that started in 1993(i think) and went on until 2006. The Moderns Safaris started in 2007 with the release of there Crappy T-Rex remake and there African Pterosaur and Dunkolosteus. I Only Collect the modern ones, which are still being released to this day. I distinguish them from the originals because there more scientifically sound then the original classics(though i am glad they replaced that 2007 T-Rex with the re-remake in 2011.

The following pics are some from my collection.



















Feel free to post your collection of either of the two lines

[Jetoar]

Great figures. Of this figures, I have only the Postosuchus  .

[Takama]

Dose any one agree with the modern line starting in 2007?  Or do you think it relly started in 2008

[dinohunter24]

What are your opinion on Wild Safari line?  Do you guys like it?  Do you guys buy it?  Do you think it pale in comparison to Carnegie line?

[Gwangi]

What are your opinion on Wild Safari line?  Do you guys like it?  Do you guys buy it?  Do you think it pale in comparison to Carnegie line?

At the moment I honestly think Safari is the best mass producer of dinosaurs currently out there. Even better than Carnegie. Allow me to elaborate.

WS releases several figures a year. Not one or two like Carnegie and Papo.
WS is striving for more accuracy with their models. Papo models are great but typically inaccurate. CollectA is improving but their models are still hit and miss for me.
WS models are increasingly better detailed, some models are comparable to Papo's level of detail.
WS models are the best quality for their price range. Most of them cost under $10. Papo and Carnegie models often cost twice that much but are of course typically larger too.
WS models are within a good size range. They're not to scale but they are not too large or too small. I like large figures but the mid-sized models are easier to display. Small models don't catch my attention much (though I love Kaiyodo).
WS typically offers a diverse array of species every year. Some oldies, some obscure and some newly discovered genera as well. Papo mostly sticks with the better known dinosaurs. CollectA has a diverse range but again...they're hit and miss.

Yeah, I know I sounds like I work for WS at this point but they really are my favorite line at the moment. I know some people will take issue with their recent tread of texture stamping and giving their bipeds large feet but those don't really bother me. I prefer the large feet and stability over the tripods offered by Carnegie and the unstable models by CollectA. Honestly I hope they start experimenting with removable bases.

[dinohunter24]

What are your opinion on Wild Safari line?  Do you guys like it?  Do you guys buy it?  Do you think it pale in comparison to Carnegie line?

At the moment I honestly think Safari is the best mass producer of dinosaurs currently out there. Even better than Carnegie. Allow me to elaborate.

WS releases several figures a year. Not one or two like Carnegie and Papo.
WS is striving for more accuracy with their models. Papo models are great but typically inaccurate. CollectA is improving but their models are still hit and miss for me.
WS models are increasingly better detailed, some models are comparable to Papo's level of detail.
WS models are the best quality for their price range. Most of them cost under $10. Papo and Carnegie models often cost twice that much but are of course typically larger too.
WS models are within a good size range. They're not to scale but they are not too large or too small. I like large figures but the mid-sized models are easier to display. Small models don't catch my attention much (though I love Kaiyodo).
WS typically offers a diverse array of species every year. Some oldies, some obscure and some newly discovered genera as well. Papo mostly sticks with the better known dinosaurs. CollectA has a diverse range but again...they're hit and miss.

Yeah, I know I sounds like I work for WS at this point but they really are my favorite line at the moment. I know some people will take issue with their recent tread of texture stamping and giving their bipeds large feet but those don't really bother me. I prefer the large feet and stability over the tripods offered by Carnegie and the unstable models by CollectA. Honestly I hope they start experimenting with removable bases.

Thanks for the reply, I just love hearing other people opinion.

I believe Papo and Carnegie release few figures a year cause they are more detail?  When I compare my Safari Dracorex, it still nothing compare to say the Carnegie Triceratops.  My problem with Wild Safari is why is there Ceratosaurus, T-Rex so small compare to other brand?  When a Safari Velocriaptor is as big as a Ceratosaurus, something is wrong.  Regardless of what anyone say, size do MATTER!!!  I'm still waiting for my first batch of CollectA to arrive before I can compare.  Also the Ceratosaurus, Dilophosaurus, and Velociraptor look good but feel cheap, (very lightweight), but that only cause I haven't not experience the other brand yet. 

Which WS model is comparable to Papo?

[tyrantqueen]

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[deanm]

While I am very happy that they did a Early Life Tube toob as those fossils are under-represented (for understandable reasons), i was disappointed by the relative lack of figure detail & the paint-jobs (or lack thereof also). Do others feel this way also or an I being over-critical? 

[tyrantqueen]

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[dinohunter24]

At the moment, with the sculptor they are using...I hate this line I will admit they have released a few nice (but not amazing) figures (Vagaceratops, Dimorphodon, Elasmosaurus) but I hate their Ceratosaurus, Acrocanthosaurus, Gryposaurus, and Dracorex models. With a passion.

If they started using the sculptor they used for their Brachiosaurus, Velociraptor, Nigersaurus, etc., I would love their models again.

Just compare these models with the older sculpting style...the older models look so much better it's not even funny. The skin textures are not monotonous (the sculptor actually took the time to carve in wrinkles and scales, rather than just slapping the same texture stamp over the skin) and the limbs are mostly in proportion and natural looking.

I will compare the newer sculptor with the old one.


This photo is actually a bit misleading since the final product has much blunter teeth, and the head is not so sharply tapered...but anyway. This figure represents what I hate about the current sculptor's style. Gigantic clown feet, horrible texture stamping. No animal on the planet looks like this, this is a deformed mutant. It has gigantic star fish attached to its legs.


I know this model is wrong because of the posture of the forearms, lack of feathers blah blah blah..but in my opinion this is a much nicer figure. It actually looks organic and lifelike. The limbs are not mutated and the sculptor actually bothered to carve the wrinkles in.

WS models are increasingly better detailed, some models are comparable to Papo's level of detail.

No offense, but...NO way. How does slapping a texture stamp over the surface of the clay equal the same as carving each scale and wrinkle by hand? I find that pretty offensive to suggest that such a lazy way of sculpting can be considering equal or better to Woon's (Papo's) sculpting style. The reason why people like Invicta models so much is because of their organic, life like sculpting and details. If the sculptor for the Invicta line had just used texture stamping for the models, imagine how much the toys would suck.

Which WS model is comparable to Papo?

I believe some of the older models, such as the Velociraptor, Brachiosaurus, Nigersaurus etc. were closer to Papo in terms of style, because of their organic and life-like feel. The newer sculptor, not so much, because they very much look like toys.
The naked brown Velociraptor fits in pretty well with Papo's models.

I'm not saying texture stamping is a bad thing. I know many sculptors use it, in conjunction with hand sculpting . But the Safari toys are done in such a way that it's obvious it's the only kind of detail they bother to add. It just comes across as lazy and ugly looking imo. It looks very manufactured to me.

That really suck to know since most of the one you hate I have.  I didn't know they were different sculptor. 

[tyrantqueen]

That really suck to know since most of the one you hate I have.  I didn't know they were different sculptor. 

It's all good. Opinions are just opinions after all I was just sharing my thoughts.

[Gwangi]

I know this model is wrong because of the posture of the forearms, lack of feathers blah blah blah..but in my opinion this is a much nicer figure. It actually looks organic and lifelike. The limbs are not mutated and the sculptor actually bothered to carve the wrinkles in.

I did address the texture stamping and large feet in my original post, keeping critics of the line like yourself in mind. I can't say I'm a big fan of it myself but it is not enough to turn me off to what are otherwise detailed, well painted and mostly accurate models. I'll take a Ceratosaurus with big feet any day over a naked Velociraptor with broken wrists who must use one hand in order to even stand upright (mine falls over anyway). Stability is important to me, so is accuracy. I can bump into my dinosaur shelf in a drunken haze and watch half my models topple over...those new Safari stay standing (also I don't get drunk that often)! The newer Safari models address these issues (despite the large feet). The WS Velociraptor is a lovely model...of a movie monster, not a real animal. The same is mostly true for Papo.

Which WS model is comparable to Papo?

No offense, but...NO way. How does slapping a texture stamp over the surface of the clay equal the same as carving each scale and wrinkle by hand? I find that pretty offensive to suggest that such a lazy way of sculpting can be considering equal or better to Woon's (Papo's) sculpting style. The reason why people like Invicta models so much is because of their organic, life like sculpting and details. If the sculptor for the Invicta line had just used texture stamping for the models, imagine how much the toys would suck.

Well I wouldn't take it too personally there TQ, it is just my personal opinion. When you take into context the price attached to these things than yes, the two are comparable. Have you looked at the detail that went into the skull on that Dracorex? Have you held the Safari Vegaceratops and Papo Styracosaurus side-by-side? Sure, Papo is still the leader in detail but they also cost twice as much and to my eyes at least some of the Safari models do come close. The Safari Postosuchus comes to mind, one of my favorite figures. It looks real, much like the Papo models, more so because I know it is mostly accurate. Also there is the issue of color, Papo has no imagination where coloration is concerned.
Lastly, Safari seems increasingly concerned with accuracy. The fourth finger on the non-pronated hand of their Ceratosarus. The hands of their Vegaceratops. The knobs and bumps on their Dracorex. They even sculpt cloacas on these things. The Ceratosaurus has a throat hole, and it's painted! Papo takes their inspiration from movies and the media and as lifelike as their models look I know the real animals probably didn't look anything like what they sculpt. So you could say it is lazy for WS to use a texture stamp but I find it lazy that when Papo wants to make a Tyrannosaurus they use the most popular motion-picture movie monster they can find and simply copy it rather than study the anatomy of the real animal. The head on the Safari Dracorex alone is more accurate than half of Papo's models.

I'm not saying texture stamping is a bad thing. I know many sculptors use it, in conjunction with hand sculpting . But the Safari toys are done in such a way that it's obvious it's the only kind of detail they bother to add. It just comes across as lazy and ugly looking imo. It looks very manufactured to me.

Well...I don't like it either but it doesn't bother me enough to ignore the positive aspects of these models. Texture stamping is lazy. That is why they cost half as much as a Papo model. I love Papo but I have a very small budget on dinosaur toys. I might splurge and buy one or two Papo models a year but not only can I find WS models locally, they're also cheaper. I managed to buy all the WS releases from last year for the same price as one very inaccurate Papo Brachiosaurus (which I also bought). You have to take it all in context here. At the end of the day they're all dinosaur toys made in China. If I wanted real quality, I would by sculptures and kits but that is out of the question at this time in my life.

I believe Papo and Carnegie release few figures a year cause they are more detail?  When I compare my Safari Dracorex, it still nothing compare to say the Carnegie Triceratops.  My problem with Wild Safari is why is there Ceratosaurus, T-Rex so small compare to other brand?  When a Safari Velocriaptor is as big as a Ceratosaurus, something is wrong.  Regardless of what anyone say, size do MATTER!!!  I'm still waiting for my first batch of CollectA to arrive before I can compare.  Also the Ceratosaurus, Dilophosaurus, and Velociraptor look good but feel cheap, (very lightweight), but that only cause I haven't not experience the other brand yet.

Recently Carnegie has taken a turn for the worse it seems. Though many of their models are lovely they seem uninspired. They tend to have the same color schemes. Their latest model the Concavenator look terrible to me...and I'm tired of the tripod pose.
It seems like your issue with Safari has to do with scale. That is fine, some people like models that are to scale with each other. For me that is not an issue. I don't only collect WS either. I collect Papo, Carnegie, Bullyland, Kaiyodo, some Schleich and CollectA, Kinto Favorite etc.

[tyrantqueen]

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[John]

What are your opinion on Wild Safari line?  Do you guys like it?  Do you guys buy it?  Do you think it pale in comparison to Carnegie line?

I think that the Wild Safari line has been getting much better in the last few years.While some are as nice as the Carnegie Collection (Dimorphodon for instance) the overall line has not quite gotten better than the main museum line just yet (but to be fair,the Carnegie Collection has been around for 24 years,plenty of time to get really good).

[Takama]

In my opinon, the line is cool. Many of them look good to me and (for the most part) accurate.  I don't care about texture stamping and oversized feet.

I will say that some of the models are far better then the ones in the Carnegie collection (which is a line that needs some improvement)

[tyrantqueen]

I will say that some of the models are far better then the ones in the Carnegie collection (which is a line that needs some improvement)

I don't think that's really fair to compare the modern Safari toys with Carnegie's older toys. Carnegie still has models from the '80s in their lineup. If only they would get their act together and make new sculpts.. Safari's older toys do have some bad ones among them, for example this stinker



I think Carnegie's newer sculpts (Carnotaurus, Giganotosaurus) are much better than Safari's new sculpts.

[Takama]

I was referring to the Wild Safari models released in 2007-Present.

Yes the Carnegie line has some good models, if only they would update there oldest ones.

[tyrantqueen]

I was referring to the Wild Safari models released in 2007-Present.

Yes the Carnegie line has some good models, if only they would update there oldest ones.

So why compare them to Carnegie's older models? Of course they're going to be better than those, because they were sculpted about 20 years ago.

[dinohunter24]

I was referring to the Wild Safari models released in 2007-Present.

Yes the Carnegie line has some good models, if only they would update there oldest ones.

So why compare them to Carnegie's older models? Of course they're going to be better than those, because they were sculpted about 20 years ago.

Is it me or is the material to make Carnegie dinosaur different than those of Safari? 

[John]

I was referring to the Wild Safari models released in 2007-Present.

Yes the Carnegie line has some good models, if only they would update there oldest ones.

So why compare them to Carnegie's older models? Of course they're going to be better than those, because they were sculpted about 20 years ago.

Is it me or is the material to make Carnegie dinosaur different than those of Safari?

That depends on which one...the plastic of the Wild Safari Mosasaurus and 2010 Brachiosaurus that I have is softer than the plastic of the Carnegie Cryolophosaurus,but the Apatosaurus and Kentrosaurus feel the same as the Carnegie ones.